california road trippin' ~ day 5

we started the day with breakfast at our cozy motel in klamath called ravenwood motel. seemingly in the middle of nowhere is an unsuspecting charming motel off highway 101. the rooms are small, but immaculately clean. reminded me of a posh vegas hotel, except smaller. you could tell that thought was put into the details...from the italian wrapped soaps to the dark wood furniture. it was hard for me to believe that this gem was even called a motel. breakfast was waiting for us in a dining room that was filled with the collections of the owner's now deceased wife.


we were greeted with a wet and drizzly sky, but the air was so clean you could almost taste it. across the street from the motel you could see the backdrop of trees. it was the perfect place to start the day in the redwoods.



our first stop at the redwoods was the trees of mystery, just a few miles north of our motel. we were greeted by a gaudy gigantic statue of paul bunyan and his companion. after you pay a fee inside their tourist gift shot/museum, you get to walk through a self-guided trail inside the park. once inside, you are completely immersed in the beauty of the redwood trees. it was dense and wet all around, and we followed the trail to the cathedral trees, then up to the gondola that took us to the top, where, on a clear day we would have a spectacular view of the redwood forest. i managed to get some beautiful shots anyway.










we finished off our visit at the gift shop and had a look at their extensive collection of native american artifacts.



from there, we took the coastal drive that led us to a lonely unpaved road. we stopped along the way to see some interesting sights, like a native american ceremonial ground near the river. further along the road, we saw the most spectacular scenes...the towering redwood giants. the fog made them even more stunning and majestic. my mouth was gaping wide the entire time we drove down the road. you could hear all the oohs and ahhs coming from me over and over again. having never seen the redwoods, it was something surely not to be missed. my eyes thanked me for it. :)