Day 5: California Adventure Vacation ~ Monday, May 28, 2012

After a good night’s rest in our wooded cabin – we enjoyed breakfast with our lovely host.  She told us the story of Miranda Garden.  It turns out it was a 1920’s built (not 1930’s) motor lodge along the widely traveled route, Avenue of the Giants.   A man purchased the lodge 35 years ago and completely restored each cabin, down to the original redwood trim frames of windows and doors.  He also planted gardens of rhododendrons and fern that surrounded the century old redwood trees throughout the property.  She also told us about the year the high winds caused one of the huge redwood trees to topple onto the lodge office.  It has been rebuilt, in excellent accordance with the remainder of the structures. 

We ventured to the visitors’ center and Ruben and David were fascinated with the 1917 log camper on a Nash Quad 1913 chassis.  This first prototype of a RV was designed and built by naturalist, Mr. Kellogg.  We hiked Albee Creek and Bullcreek Trail, South.  During our hikes, we saw towering redwood trees, including the tallest which boasted a whopping 375 feet tall.  Picture lying flat on a football field and looking towards the field goal from one end to another—this is the distance the tree spanned from ground to top branch!  So awe-some.  At one point, I counted the rings of a fallen tree and calculated that it was 412 years old—or sprouted around 1612- before the Revolutionary War, and around the time the Pilgrims landed on the east shore of our nation.

Tomorrow, we head out to Grants Pass, Oregon, and look forward to lots more to see.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!