Posts from the ‘Parks’ Category

Jul 6

Portola Redwoods State Park

Portola Redwoods State Park is great park located about 30 minutes from our home in HMB. We had not yet visited, so Kelly and I took Lilly there to explore the area today.

Welcome to the park

Like other California state parks, most of the trails are off-limits to dogs, but fortunately dogs on-leash are permitted on paved roads. This is not one of California’s giant parks which if you’re a dog owner I think is an asset. Most of the roads are quite narrow and open mostly to park vehicles, effectively making them more like a path in the woods. Utilizing a retractable leash, Lilly was able to easily access plenty of interesting things to sniff.

Giant Redwoods

This particular park is mostly a tent campground, although there were some smaller RV’s and trailers present. The park literature suggests that no trailers longer than 20′ enter the grounds. I do think that a few sites could accommodate our 27′ trailer, but I would not even try as navigating through the park with a trailer of that length in tow would be a real challenge. It’s times like these when a pimped-out Class-B would be perfect.

Water tank

In our case that is not an option, so I think we will return with a tent and partake in some really nice car camping.

I’ll also note that there is absolute no voice or data coverage – the giant Redwood trees block all access. Consequently, don’t come here if you’re looking to work remotely and need connectivity.

A giant banana slug – very common on the park

All in all, this is a really nice park, especially given the close proximity to HMB. There are a number of really interesting trails and if dogs were allowed, this place might be perfect for us.

Lilly and I crawling atop a felled tree

Kelly being Kelly

Campground amphitheater

Abandoned ranger house

Abandoned fire fighting equipment

One of the park’s bridges

This guy has seen better days

May 30

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Cruel Irony

Like most days, Kelly and I worked all day. Normally, this routine plays itself out as we sit in office buildings miles apart. Here in the Airstream this week we sit at a table working 42 inches from one another, yet hardly exchange a word. We are too busy pounding away at our laptops and remotely participating in meetings, all while bouncing in and out of instant message chat sessions with co-workers.

Sadly, I’ve accepted this mundane repetition of ours as the new normal … the quid pro quo of working for the man … we push the corporate rock uphill (a seemingly never-ending hill mind you) in exchange for a regular paycheck every two weeks.

Working remotely this week was supposed to shake things up a bit. Alas, even here in our beloved Ashland, we cannot escape the whispers of work as it peaks over our shoulders, it’s stale breathe an unwelcome reminder of what awaits us back in California.

It is what it is I suppose.

And, it sucks.

Oh the irony – here we are situated smack in the middle of natural beauty. Stunning 360 views abound and I hardly looked out the window.

On a more positive note, the day concluded in a lovely manner – Mother Nature gracing us with fabulous dusk lighting as the sun made its way elsewhere for the evening.

Our silver neighbors

Tomorrow is Friday and once Kelly and I close another work week, our first order of business will be to hit the town with Brian and Leigh; they too will likely be itching to step away from the responsibilities of the real world.

Surely they will be sufficiently bad influences … exactly what Kelly and I need.

May 28

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This Feels Right

On Monday Kelly and I drove about three hours, crossing into Oregon before settling-in for the week near the outskirts of Ashland. The winding roads, luscious green pine trees, and alpine fog made for a beautiful drive. If you are ever in the area, it is definitely worth diverting from I-5 and exploring the backroads of the national forests surrounding Mount Shasta.

Passing a jack-knifed truck along I-5 a few miles south of Ashland, OR

We’re at Emigrant Lake currently, a location we’ve been once before. It’s a fabulous spot, made even better as we’re here with friends Brian and Leigh for the week. Our jobs require that we all remain busy with work during the day, but the change of scenery is welcome, as is their company.

My office view this week.

Kelly and I adore Ashland; something about this place seems to fits us well. It will be nice to share our time here with others who will appreciate all this great little town has to offer.

I wish every week was like this.

May 27

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McArthur-Burney Falls State Park and the Pacific Crest Trail

The plan yesterday morning was to visit McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park (MBFMSP), which is located about 20 minutes from our current BLM location. MBFMSP is California’s second oldest state park, its main attraction being the whitewater falls of Burney Creek.

Anticipating holiday weekend crowds, we arrived around 9am which is crazy early for park standards. The combination of a Sunday morning and campers operating on “park time”, things were eerily quiet while we had trails and other popular lookout points mostly to ourselves. Like most large parks, there are a few “must see” attractions at MBFMSP. Here, the main event is the waterfall and I understand why. Unlike many waterfalls, the majority of the water does not ‘fall’ over the edge. Rather, a significant amount of water is routed through underground channels which end abruptly at the wall of the falls, sending 100 million gallons daily cascading below.

Water descends 129ft at Burney Falls.

The popular Burney Falls loop trail seems to be a common route for most visitors – it is short, focused on the falls, and conveniently located to the parking lot. Seeking a bit more walking, we opted for the lengthier trail which continues another 1.5(ish) miles towards Lake Britton.

The river trail to Lake Britton

Lake Britton

As was the case earlier this weekend, all this calm water had me bemoaning my lack of canoe or kayak. A park concessioner does offer rentals, but the steep fees coupled with our time constraints quickly squashed any illusions of a morning paddle I had swirling in my head.

Suffice it to say, we continued to walk.

Returning from the lake, we chose to continue back to the truck by way of the main park road. Because the park was so empty, we enjoyed a nearly car-free saunter, making a point to enjoy our surroundings as we viewed the area. Eventually we reached the main campground, which only served to reinforce how fabulous our BLM location was in comparison. Unlike this relatively crowded state park, our 10-acre campground contained only 7 sites (plus one for the host).

Kelly, practicing her balance routine

Kelly missed the landing

On a whim, we decided to visit the General Store before leaving the park. Not surprisingly, the selection was mostly junk, but I was struck with the beauty of a handmade bench outside the main door. Too awesome to be sat upon, I could only reflect on its exquisiteness.

The bench of all benches

As a general rule, dogs are not allowed in California state parks … at least not on any of the interesting trails (yet another reason this state drives me crazy). This being the case, following lunch back at the trailer, we made plans for an afternoon hike with Lilly – our destination being a trailhead along the Pacific Crest Trail. For those who don’t know, the PCT is a single continuous walking pathway extending through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington.

Other than its close proximity to our camping site, the section we visited wasn’t anything overly impressive. It seems that the more time we spend in nature, the higher our expectations bar continues to rise. Oh how we’ve come so far. Back when we were living in Chicago as urban condo dwellers, I’m quite certain Kelly and I would have found this particular trail to be amazing. Now it is simply a nice location to walk the dog.

That said, we love being outdoors and time spent in nature’s playground is always a precious treat.