~HB ADVENTURE~ – Page 443 – "If you don't see the book on the shelf, write it." ~ Beverly Cleary

July 5, 2009

Trees of Mystery

A few months ago I read Wren’s mystery post and was reminded of Babe and Paul on Highway 101. We opted to pay the fee to get in after noticing that it was pet friendly.

I’ve had my picture taken in front of both Paul and Babe a number of times, but don’t quite recall wandering through the Trees of Mystery myself. It was fun and even a bit entertaining, but I’m not sure that I need to do it again.

Turns out that one of the perks of pulling off the highway to see these trees is that Paul Bunyan talks to the visitors. It was like meeting the Wizard of Oz, leaving Barry and I standing slack-jawed listening to the kids shout questions at the oversized giant. He used the word ‘folks’ a bit too much for my taste and sounded a bit like Barack Obama.

While inside the actual park we force Sydney to ride the Sky Train. Just as we had our mouths agape at Paul Bunyan’s speech patterns, we also found ourselves in awe as we rode our tiny green gondola over the tops of the trees that we had just been walking next to. The ride was quiet with a breeze blowing through our swaying little pod.

July 5, 2009

No Dogs Allowed II

We are all the way here in the magnificent Redwoods and it turns out that they love dogs less than Edmonds. We were kind of expecting this, but it still hurts. We love our dog more than is probably necessary or reasonable. For this reason we smashed her into our backpack and took her on the trail with us. Her little paws didn’t touch the forrest floor. We promise. Scout’s Honor.

She was really into it. I think that she really would rather be carried anyhow. For the duration of our time on the trail she sniffed, gazed and pretty much let it all hang out, at least until we got back to the car.

It was swift and quick to not move around with a short little dog needing to smell each and every leaf. We kept seeing other dogs left to sweat-it-out in their own cars. SO SAD. I get it. I do.

BUT wouldn’t it be cool to have an off-leash dog park at the head of each trail so at least dogs wouldn’t have to wait for their anxious owners to return? I know, I know, not the best idea, but I told Syd we’d try not to take her to any more National Parks unless there was a change.

July 4, 2009

Glen’s Bakery

Last night we fell asleep huddled in our tent talking about past 4th of July celebrations, both reaching back into our memories to recall our childhood traditions and newly developed ones.

We determined that for this year it wasn’t important to partake in the local festivities that Crescent City has to offer, mostly because we had just spent the afternoon walking around town watching the city slowly come alive with preparations for today’s celebration and were excited to feast our eyes on some huge trees.

As we wandered through town yesterday we noticed not only the city’s love for reminding visitors of the tsunami in 1964, but also Glen’s Bakery, which had signs up announcing it had gone out of business after 60 years. It might have been old and closed but Glen’s Bakery still had that delicious look to it. I know you know what I mean.

Well, our plan to hit the trail bright and early was foiled when we woke today and overheard some local campers talking about how Glen’s Bakery was opening for the 4th of July. The sound of excitement and astonishment in their voices led us to put our plans on hold and make our way back to Glen’s….only to arrive and find that there was a massive parade of locals lined up to taste Glen’s one more time!

I stood in line and heard two ladies gushing behind me about how happy they were that Glen’s was back! It was hilarious. There were cute little old ladies fluttering around handing out cups of coffee and tasty treats while people dressed in their festive reds, whites, and blues happily waited in the line to support this tiny and old joint.

I ordered two cookies and two apple turnovers and peeked my head in the restaurant next door halfway expecting to see a group of old men huddled around a couple steaming pots of coffee playing cards. It just had that feel to it. Old pictures of JFK, newspaper articles from Glen’s Glory Days.

Once I had my loot, I headed back outside to find Barry and Sydney enjoying the start of the local parade, bobbing their heads along to the beat of the soundtrack of all-songs patriotic. We opted to hit the road and eat Glen’s delicious treats on the trail rather than stick to the parade route.