"The Avenue of The Giants" - and more of Northern California

It is an amazing privilege to be on this adventure and everyday it is not lost on us as to how lucky we are to be doing this.  Being greeted each day with views like this as we journey on is incredibly special and it will never be forgotten as long as we live.

Another picturesque beach

But right behind there are hills and forests

We stopped for a coffee in small town called Garberville just off Highway 101 and some "essential supplies......"  See local brew below.

Once again we got talking to the folks in the restaurant and they mentioned just 7 miles down the road is the exit for "The Avenue of The Giants"  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avenue_of_the_Giants which is a world-famous scenic drive some 32 miles long which parallels the Freeway 101.  It comprises of more than 50,000 acres of redwood groves and is by far the most outstanding display of these giant trees in the 500 mile redwood belt.

Approaching these giant redwoods from a motorcycle saddle was incredibly moving.  We felt overwhelmed by their sheer size thinking like us, they are living things on this earth we share.  Some are more than 2000 years old!  It made us feel so small, and so insignificant and that these beautiful trees had literally stood the test of time, seen it come, and seen it go, and were still standing strong. 

The sun is up there somewhere.

Apparently these are not the big ones.  For those you have to park up and trek some distance into the forest, but with local stories of "Big-Foot" being spotted we decided not too!

You can keep pushing Jon but I don't think its going to budge

In 1964 (the year I was born) the Eel River flooded the whole region.  It must have been terrifying to see the waters get this deep and the lost of life both animals and humans must have been significant. 

The striped bar at the top of this picture is the flood line.  The river bed must have been at least another 100 feet below this!

We eventually rejoined the Freeway North feeling spell-bound that we had been so moved by these awe inspiring trees.