Grace Senior Trip Day 6 -- Redwoods National and State Park, Newton Drury Scenic Parkway, Trillium Falls Hike, Ocean Overlook

 Today was a pretty, pretty day.  We headed down the Newton Drury Scenic Parkway and had a bunch of fun little stops along the way.

We first stopped to get our bearings and found this super cool tree.

You could probably stop at almost any spot along the way and see something amazing!

We decided to visit a tree called Corkscrew Tree.  There used to be a main tree in the middle, but it died off and then a lot of little baby clones grew from it's former base and when they grew together they just kind of wrapped together in a corkscrew kind of way.  It's a super cool tree.

Then we stopped for a quick picnic at the Elk Prairie Visitor's Center in Redwood National and State parks.  There are signs all over warning people to stay away from the Elk which can be "violent and aggressive".  We were hoping to see some aggressive violent elk, but no such luck. 

After lunch we took a small hike up to Trillium Falls.  It was so beautiful.  Similar to walks we had undertaken earlier in the week, but this was kind of like a Utah, up a mountain kind of feel PLUS the beautiful Redwoods and ferns.  Cute little waterfall as a reward. 

Totally felt like I was walking through Jurassic Park the whole time.

After we finished our walk, we took one more stop to see our favorite "Big Tree."  

My favorite sign in this part of the park ...

We finished our drive and walk and were headed back home when we spotted giant birds swooping and circling and diving off the coast, so we had to pull over and watch them for a while.  HUGE pelicans, dozens of them flying and fishing, plus other sea birds on and off the water.  It really was incredible to watch.  Definitely one of my favorite parts of the day.

Finished the day with ice cream at CC's Diner.  Super yummy!

Grace Senior Trip Day 5 -- Church in Brookings, OR, Viewpoints, Simpson-Reed Grove

 Today we got up to go to church.  Being in Oregon helps me appreciate how good we have it back home to be in such close proximity to churches and temples.  One of the closest wards to our location was in Brookings, OR, a 40 minute drive away.  Luckily, Brookings was a place that was on our list to visit anyway and the drive was beautiful!  

We went to a lovely ward and this week was a missionary farewell for a couple leaving to serve in the Navajo Nation on their mission.  Pretty cool!  Plus also when you go to church in Oregon you just might run into cute visitors. 

To be fair, it DOES say visitors welcome.

After church we changed clothes and we drove down the State Scenic Corridor and stopped off at a viewpoints.

The first spot we stopped off at was called Natural Bridges Viewpoint and it was so cool!  There were two sea arches and one other sea cave.  It totally gave us Cape Flattery vibes.  We loved it!  So so pretty!

 

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We pulled off at another scenic viewpoint as well and then headed to Harris Beach State Park.  That was the winner!  Lots of sandy beach (and the sand was so soft and clean!), lots of parking, easy to carry our picnic down to the beach, plus such cool sea stacks in the water and so much to see!  It was windy and cold, but warmer than the night before so that was a big bonus in my book!  

Grace had a nice nap on the warm sand, JJ and Ted went on an explore I got a little reading done, then Grace and I had an explore on the beach, then JJ spotted an otter on one of the sea stacks.  At first we weren't quite sure whether or not to believe her because she has recently been spotting "condors" in the Sky and so her credibility is a little shaky, but sure enough!  We grabbed the binoculars and indeed!  Cutest little otter ever on the sea stacks closest to the shore. 

Plus also, to be fair to JJ, condors have recently been reintroduced to Redwood National Parks and have the release program has been spearheaded by the Yurok tribe which is headquartered very nearby.  So ... it could happen!  I'll be watching the skies a lot more closely the next couple of days. 

After the beach we came home and rested for a while and had some dinner we had popped in the crockpot and then we were off to explore another nearby grove of trees called the Simpson-Reed Grove.  It's amazing how each of these groves looks similar in a lot of ways, but they all have a little bit different feel and flavor.  The walk was amazing with so much new life growing on old fallen trees.  The ferns were taller than I was which was crazy!

Grace said that if she were an evil queen she would definitely want this to be her throne