Day 4 - Wednesday, Sept. 19 - Trees of Mystery

Day 4

(I tried to rein in the avalanche of photos, this is still a photo heavy post)

We started the day with another quick walk on Harris Beach before we hit the road. I really loved this beach and campground. Someday I will be back. I was even trying to decide if I could make a living in Brookings and move there.

Nim actually showed playfulness and enjoyment on the beach finally...especially in chasing the waves.

Then we headed into CA - destination: Trees of Mystery! Initially this was a "maybe" but pretty quickly on the trip I knew I wanted to make it there.

This place is just plain fun - for all ages, AND very dog friendly. I really nice gal offered to take our photo:

Nim made her miss her Rottweiler she lost to cancer 2 years ago. Considering I can cry on a drop still over Odin (now dead over 2 years) I get how bad that heartache hurts.

This tree is called the Brotherhood. One of many trees that I could only marginally photograph because of the huge size.

This below burnt out tree was apparently the size of the Brotherhood when it burned. I believe it was a lightening strike and the red glow/smoke could be seen miles away when it happened.

Nim was all silly around the Cathedral Tree:

This is actually a root system probably more targeted for kids to walk through. Didn't stop Nim and I:

As you can see, the main trail is wide, well maintained, and generally walk able. I would still recommend good shoes.

If I was walking a dog with mobility problems (like Rusty) I wouldn't have gotten him through this entire system (and I am not including the Sky trail or the Wilderness trail). There is enough distance and enough gentle up and down to the trail that a dog with limited rear end drive would wear out.

However this is still a great place to bring a senior dog, I just want to be clear there is actually more trail than I realized (which for me was a good thing). I hope this area always stays dog friendly. It is really a nice experience. Everyone we interacted with was so friendly.

Our big planned experience was the Sky Trail (by the way many cats have also ridden the sky trail). This system can be slowed to a stop if needed and frequently was. For us I wanted to try it at normal speed which is about the speed of the older chair lifts (the newer quads tend to come to a creep at the end whereas the older lifts maintain a constant speed).

We loaded nicely. If I had a geriatric dog or a dog that I couldn't physically lift if needed I would ask them to stop. You do need to move smoothly and there is enough of a gap between the door and the track that a dog could absolutely get a paw/toe in.

Nim was well aware we were up high up and also had some fabulous people watching of the people coming down (who would often wave to him).

At the top there is a viewing platform and you can see out to other ranges.

We then decided to take the Wilderness trail down. I loved this, but for my knees, I will hike up it next time and ride down. The top 1/3 or so especially is truly steep. You need good shoes and to move slowly.

Finally after seeing all possible trails you exit through the store and museum. This is probably the only time I will ever have a photo of a dog in a museum.

Outstanding and happy experience. Another place we spent hours exploring and walking and it was well worth it. It was the best part of this day because after that we did a TON of driving. I decided to head back up 101 from Klamath, took hwy 199 (beautiful highway) towards 1-5 and then drove all the way to Corvallis - extremely long day of driving.