Day 56 - Trinidad area beaches and parks - Redwoods

Trinidad, CA - 88 miles total and 22.8 mpg. Totals for the trip, 8783 miles, 27.2* mpg. Those are the stats.

Hi! Woody and Jake here. Today we get to write the blog. Give a different perspective, a lower point of view, so to speak.

Before breakfast there was a great smell – both of us were very interested. We remember that we saw the big brown animal with that similar smell some time earlier in the trip. The big dog called it a bear? Well, we couldn’t get our alphas to wake up and check – they just grumbled and said ‘dog bed’, so we went back to sleep. But not long after our tummies issued the first alarm – again, the alphas said ‘too early, dog bed’, so we did. Not long after the second tummy alarm went off, and this time the alpha female responded, and we ate, then we were taken for a walk! We smelled that bear scent again. Then all back to bed. It’s a good life.


The big dogs loaded us into the car and went to town for their breakfast and big dog 1 carried the flat shiny box into the place. He sits in front of the thing for a long time each night (and other times too) and makes tapping sounds. (How can this entertain him so long?)

When we got back to the room, our female alpha remembered that we needed heart worm medicine. She takes really good care of us, grooming (oh we love that brushing!), feeding, cleaning, cleaning up after… she really cares. We love her.

I think I heard someone say ‘Road Trip’! Oh boy! Even after so many days of road trips, they are still interesting and exciting. We have the whole back of the CR-V to ourselves, with a bed and water, lots of interesting smells coming in the window, and now that everything is unloaded we have tons of room. And if we want to, we can ride in the lap that occupies the shotgun seat. It just doesn’t get a lot better. But the extra advantage, that seems to be going away, is that if any food is left in here, when we’re left in here alone, which is often, we get to eat really well.


This trip involves many stops, at the beach several times, at overlooks, and at visitor centers. We almost never get to get out of the car, but we get out enough to take care of the necessities. Apparently there are lots of restrictions – dog discrimination – places we aren’t allowed to go. In Canada we got out a lot, but here it must be different.

This time when we stop the female alpha brings food to the car. But it’s not for us. They both eat it all, and don’t share. I’ll be glad when I’m an alpha! We’re in a little place called Orick, and there are a lot of wood carvings and products for sale. The male alpha wants to get something for Pete and Ali as a gag gift – something inexpensive that can be given as a serious present, but in reality is obnoxious, ugly and space consuming as everything. A small wooden windmill, which are everywhere here, seemed like a good candidate.


After they finished eating they drove to Redwood National Park, Lady Bird Johnson Grove. At least they found us a shady parking place, because they left us again. I guess we’re not allowed on the trails. Even from where we are we can see that there are some pretty big trees around. I guess that’s what they went to see. Gee, we wish we could go. They might need help. And we would like to see all the really big trees. Finally they came back, and we were on the road again.


This time they continued up the road to Redwood Creek Overlook, then to Tall Trees Trail. We didn’t stay long at either place. The overlook was good, but we couldn’t get out again. We guess they could see the old growth forest and the area that had been stripped, and was now in the second generation of regrowth. We get sad when we think of what the lumbermen did to the old forest, and we hope it was stopped soon enough to maintain the ecology of the system. That’s pretty heavy for a dog, we know, but we live here too!


The final stop for the day was at Prairie Creek Redwood State Park. It is located right on the ocean, with lots of access to a long beautiful beach. At the end of the road is a trail through Fern Canyon. It must be very pretty, although we stayed in the car again. I think the canyon was narrow, with tall walls covered with ferns, and water running through it. Very beautiful, we think. And not only that, but we know they must have seen elk! We can still smell the elk. A 7X7 with his entire entourage. Very nice. We were sure we heard a bugle.


The male has been driving all day, so the female is the driver on the way back. She does a good job, and that’s a good thing, because it is way past our dinner time. She fed us immediately when we got back. Thank you, thank you, thank you – and a wag.
Then it’s time for the alphas to eat. Which of course means that we stay in the car [again]. But that’s okay – after they eat they are in a really good mood, and we all have a good time together. I can tell from their breath that they enjoyed Halibut and Salmon, and a little wine to boot. Wish they had brought us some. We get a walk before we head into the cabin.

Got to rest up now. We think we’ve got a long drive tomorrow. Woof!