Scenic trails through the redwoods of California

Lady bird Johnson, former First Lady of the United States, was well-known as a champion of wildflowers and beautiful landscapes in Texas, but she is also remembered for her activism in the redwoods of California.

Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail in Redwoods National Park goes through a stand of old-growth redwoods to the spot where the former First Lady dedicated the national park in 1968. Located about three miles north of Orick, California on US 101, the former logging trail—short and easy to walk-- provides visitors with outstanding views of the tallest tree species in the world.

A wilderness of giants hugs the 40-mile stretch of coastline from Orick to Crescent City, California. Scenic drives encompass redwood forests in three state parks.  Wayside exhibits along the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, the original Redwood Highway, commemorate this historic route through the heart of the old-growth redwood forest.

At Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, six miles south of Orick, you may spot wildlife including Roosevelt elk. Although Prairie Creek has earned the name of “Elk Prairie,” it’s possible to see Roosevelt elk in any open landscape in the parks.

Sixty miles further south is the iconic Avenue of the Giants, a 32-mile drive through Humboldt Redwoods State Park on old Hwy 101. An auto tour brochure includes a map with numbered stops where visitors can walk short trails like popular Founders Grove. But it’s easy to admire magnificent redwoods from the car since the road skims beside many of these enormous trees. Enjoy another view of the scenery with a picnic in the shadow of redwoods at Williams Cove above the Eel River.

For a unique perspective that illustrates the scale of these giants, check out drive-through trees along US 101 in Klamath, Myers Flat, and Legget, California. While fascinating, the practice of carving a hole through a tree harks back to a time when we didn’t appreciate the forest’s role in the environment and the significance of protecting it.

The ancient redwood forest ecosystem is so large that it is preserved by both the National Park Service and California State Parks, organizations working cooperatively to manage their contiguous park lands. Whether you’re traveling through a national or state park, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer size of the trees and magnitude of the ancient forest lands.

A version of this article by Beverly Burmeier was originally published in Texas Journey.

Photos by Larry and Beverly Burmeier

           

 

 

 

A look at 2018 in pictures

Elephants leaving water hole in Etosha National Park, Namibia

As a new year arrives and we start planning travel adventures for 2019, it’s a good time to look back over the past year at the places and activities we experienced. There was a good mixture of domestic and international travel and even a little time off between trips. This is what 2018 looked like for Larry and me.  

View of Fishtail Mountain from our resort in Pokhara, Nepal

January:  We arrived in Nepal after spending two weeks, including Christmas and New Year’s Eve in India. As many of you know Larry became ill and spent eight days in a hospital in Kathmandu, but before that happened, we traveled to the beautiful resort town of Pokhara.

Walk trails beside water and through these lovely gardens in
San Antonio, Texas.

February: This was a month for recovery, but later we took a few days to visit San Antonio, a favorite city of ours that (fortunately) is just a little more than an hour away. Early spring blooms added color to the Chinese Garden near the San Antonio Zoo.

Climbing Enchanted Rock

March: During Spring Break we took a grandson to several notable sights in Central Texas including Enchanted Rock near Fredericksburg and scenic Pedernales State Park where rocks and water combine for a perfectly scenic romp.

Limestone formations along the Pedernales River

April: We spent a glorious week in Carmel, California exploring beaches, parks, and forests of Big Sur along Highway One. This is one of America’s most spectacular road trips, with plenty of trails to hike and new sights to see around every bend of the coastline.

Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur can be hard to find, but it's totally worth a visit

May: We finished that driving trip in San Francisco with adventures including a round of golf, wine tasting at a vineyard, climbing the tiled steps on 16^th Avenue, and wandering around Golden Gate Park.


Spring blooms at Golden Gate State Park in California

June: Disneyworld may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s certainly fun when treating a granddaughter to the experience. If you go early enough in the summer before it gets too hot and crowded, you’ll come to understand the Disney magic that makes this place so well liked.

Night time in Epcot just prior to the fireworks show.



July: It was time for a trip to a less-traveled destination. We headed to the exotic country of Namibia, where we would not only see many species of African wildlife but would also have the opportunity to witness—and climb--the world's highest sand dunes, the red dunes of Sossusviel.

Climbing the magnificent red sand dunes in Namibia

August: Our African journey continued into Botswana, a growing destination for incredible wildlife safaris. We stayed in multiple remote camps and were able to observe activities aimed to conserve Africa’s resources and preserve wildlife species like lions, elephants, and leopards.

We watched this leopard stalking prey in Botswana.

September: Although we had been to Ireland and London, England several times, we wanted to see more of the United Kingdom, so we booked a cruise that sailed around the UK and Ireland. Despite the hurricane that interrupted our trip in Scotland, it was a pleasant journey that ended with a day in Bath and the Cotswolds.


Incredible Giant's Causeway in Ireland

October: We had booked a cruise on the magnificent Rhine River that started in Basel, Switzerland. Since we had five days between cruises, we spent that interlude in Geneva and went paragliding off a mountain in the Alps of France. Then we enjoyed the towns, castles, and vineyards as the ship sailed to Amsterdam.

All along the Rhine River are picturesque vineyards and castles

November: Most of the month was spent visiting children and grandchildren in various stateside locations, but one excellent Texas day trip we recommend is to Lost Maples State Natural Area. Fall colors made hiking on trails in the park an event to remember.


Autumn leaves are especially beautiful in this rare Texas stand of maples.
 

December: Back in Central Texas, we celebrated the holiday season with an evening drive to Johnson City for its Festival of Lights. We also walked down Austin’s iconic 37^th Street and reminisced about visiting to the famous Trail of Lights at Zilker Park. This annual event never ceases to amaze as it grows better every year.

Photos by Larry and Beverly Burmeier

Lassen Volcanic National Park is a study in changing natural environments

We love America’s national parks, so it’s not surprising that we managed to visit three in one day on a West Coast road trip.

After visiting Yosemite National Park in California, which we believe is one of the most beautiful places in the world, we headed towards Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. Along the way, we stopped for a couple of hours at Lassen Volcanic NationalPark in northeastern California.

Mt. Lassen reflection in Lake Helen in Lassen Volcanic National
Park in Californa

 A lesser-known destination, this park clearly shows how the earth’s surface is constantly evolving. It provides an area for geologic study of ever-changing thermal areas as well as showcasing long-ago volcanic activity and subsequent recovery of nature.

Mud pots boil with steaming
sulfur-infused water in Lassen
Volcanic National Park.

First-time visitors will want to take the 30-mile diving tour on the main park road as we did. Along the way we stopped to view hydrothermal features like fumaroles, boiling mud pots, steaming sulfur springs, and three of the four types of volcanoes in the world. At Sulphur Works we watched superheated ground water bubbling to the surface. Boardwalks lead to many of the ecological sites, and it’s best to stay on the trail since these molten regions have been known to collapse.

Clear, sparkling water of shallow Emerald Lake, a glacial U-shaped pool at the base of a mountain, gets its green color from algae growing at the bottom.  It makes a wonderful photo opp.

Emerald Lake sparkles in Lassen Volcanic National Park.

A little further down the road, we stopped to admire the gorgeous azure water of Lake Helen. A true alpine lake, it is 110 feet deep and frozen most of the year. During our July visit the ice had melted, but given the cold temperature of the water, we enjoyed colorful mountain reflections and resisted the temptation to wade in. And there was still snow on the ground in places—an ironic sight for shorts-clad visitors like us.

Snow in July!

Hiking trails scattered throughout the park attract visitors who come to learn about, explore, and appreciate the unusual landscape.  Some trails lead to hidden lakes, but lakes like Emerald and Helen are easily accessible from the road. Since our time there was limited, we stuck to sights near the main park road.

Lassen Peak, at more than 10,000 feet tall, provides a beautiful backdrop for a landscape created by volcanic activity.  Seeing what remains today, you can muse about Lassen’s eruption in 1915 which blew a mushroom cloud of ash seven miles into the sky.

This park may not “wow” you with gorgeous scenery found in other national parks, but it’s worth visiting to observe the interesting geology and geography that is being preserved. And take a hike if you have time. Meadows filled with wildflowers are lovely in spring and summer.

Photos by Larry and Beverly Burmeier

Two tours worth taking in Yosemite National Park

Trees in Cook's Meadow frame mountains in
Yosemite National Park

Flowing waterfalls and abundant hiking trails are big draws for visitors to YosemiteNational Park in  northeastern Mariposa County, California. As one of the most beautiful places in the world, Yosemite has a great variety of opportunities to admire nature at its finest.

During a recent visit, we also participated in a couple of tours that may be under-utilized but which allowed us to enjoy different aspects of what the park has to offer.

Photography Tour

Pink and purple star-shaped
flowers of milkweed decorated
Cook's Meadow.

On our first morning in the park we took a photography tour guided by Christine, a ranger/photographer who absolutely loved being in the park and sharing spectacular views with visitors. Leaving from Ansel Adams Gallery (be sure to peek inside at the beautiful works of art there) near the Visitor Center, we spent an hour and a half walking through Cooks Meadow. Noted as the best place in the park to see wildlife—mostly towards sunset—the meadow was sprouting with a variety of wildflowers and grasses in early July.

Our first look at Upper Yosemite Fall.

Since we had arrived after dark the night before, this meadow walk yielded our first views of famous Yosemite Falls and Half Dome. Christine knew the best places to take pictures, and directed our attention to scenic spots. The Falls were flowing in a steady but thin stream, but because of little snowfall during the winter, Christine estimated that they would be dry within ten days. During our five-day stay, we watched the water level diminish, although it was still flowing somewhat when we left the park.

The free tour follows an established, level path and is suitable for most people. Take water, as the Valley can be hot during the summer.

Glacier Point Stargazing Tour



Half Dome at sunset

In the evening we chose the Glacier Point Stargazing Tour, which left at 7:00 and returned around 11:00 p.m. We rode a bus for the hour-long journey to Glacier Point passing forests of California black oak trees and the slow-moving Merced River (again from lack of snowfall). We saw wind blow remnants of Bridal Veil Fall and viewed Fern Spring Fall, the smallest waterfall in the park at just 18 inches—but it runs year round.

Panoramic views from Glacier Point of
Vernal and Nevada Falls,
which are still flowing well.

Reata, our driver, provided narration of Yosemite's diverse natural and cultural history. She pointed out the original stagecoach road and told how stages going up had to dismantle and move aside so the one going down could pass on the narrow road. We learned about the efforts of Gaylen Clark to have Yosemite named a national park, about fires in 1990 that closed the park for 10 days, and about animals that inhabit the park.

Upon arriving at Glacier Point (after a series of sharp turns and switchbacks) we wandered for 45 minutes admiring views of mountains and waterfalls. As darkness descended, our group gathered at the amphitheater for an hour-long program by Jennifer, a ranger and astronomy expert.

She told stories from mythology on how the constellations were created and used a laser to point our specific stars. Shooting stars streaked across the sky several times, and we saw lights on Half Dome and by Yosemite Falls, possibly from hikers or rock climbers spending the night on the boulders.

As the sky went from dark to black, stars popped out brighter and clearer that I’ve ever seen, and the Milky Way spread across the sky. Without light pollution interfering with the view, we could appreciate how glorious the universe really is—and how infinitesimal we humans are.

Actually, all of Yosemite is a lesson in humility--and respect for nature's enduring landscapes.

Make prior reservations for this tour, which costs about $40.

Photos by Larry and Beverly Burmeier