One fine June we decided we ought to head out to see the Redwoods in California. I had always had it somewhere in the back of my mind to visit these woods. 
Driving I-80 out of Salt Lake City through Nevada was pretty ugly but then we reached the outskirts of the beautiful state of California. 
The volcanoes start to appear and the rocks strewn along the roadsides show when they last blew. 
We made our way to Shasta California and camped out among the Sequoia. Steve had looked at the map and said, if we drove a certain route, we could see Mt. Shasta, go visit the woods and swim in the ocean all in one trip.
So we did.
Waking up to this scene was glorius! 
In our family, we always know we are where we are supposed to be when the Crow shows up. The Crow has chosen to follow us wherever we roam. This one kept greeting us this fine morning. 
As we came out from paying for the nights camping we saw her.
The Mighty, Majestic, Mount Shasta! 
We drove into town to get some breakfast. Gazing at this mural on the wall of a building until the cafe was open 
Very healthy delicious food was to be had and we were so very glad we were first in line. The next few minutes, the locals all arrived for their morning coffee and I only wish we could have taken the photographs of each of these unique characters apparently right out of a mix of Northern Exposure and Gilmore Girls.
At night the other side of the cafe is a Caberet but it was daybreak and no such luck. 
We headed up the road towards the Lady, a nice long winding road through the Sequoias and a view to beat all!
I neglected to tell you, we took our friend Shelly
and her daughter Rachel on this trip
I was happy to see all the Manzanita along the trails. It’s fun to be able to identify the trees and plants
After that hike on the mountain we spent the afternoon browsing through the shops and boutiques of the town and drinking the water there. If I could, I would live there for the water alone. 
The Redwoods were everything one could hope them to be.
Old, Mysterious, and full of that wonder we are always looking around us for. 
In the photo below it was very quiet as we spread out to find our own peace and feel the place. Suddenly a screech to scare ya to heaven came with flapping wings and we hightailed it back to the car! 
See all that green on the ground? That is clover. They say everything is bigger in Texas, but I think this place has them beat to smithereens.
This is the photo op I was hoping for. I had always seen those old photo’s of the cars driving through a redwood and I wished to be in that car.
We had a lot of fun at all of the places along the trail 
We spent the night camped out under a ring of small redwoods.
In the morning we headed for that illusive beach and were told at the gas station to head towards Ferndale on these backroads and we would find the beach. Along the way, a few miles out in the middle of nowhere winding roads, we came around a curve and saw this beautiful cemetery surrounded by Sequoias and I had to stop and walk it. 
We found the ocean and made an offering to God thanking Him for all the beauty of this Earth.
and then I ran along her borders taking in all that wonderful energy
My photo taking skills could not do the town of Ferndale justice so one postcard of a Hotel will have to suffice, The entire town is Victorian. The small homes to die for. The old-fashioned grocery stores strawberries were not the tastelss large varieties we find these days but the small strawberries of my youth with a taste we have been robbed of for years. Do not miss this town in your travels.
We left the ocean and her loveliness to travel the scarey roads my Grandma traveled and lived on in the mountains of California, through the town of Hayfork, where they went in to get the mail and food every so often.
Then we headed back to Salt Lake wishing we could have stayed, and hoping to visit once more,
Safety in the Fall 