While staying in Klamath, CA, we planned to explore the Redwood National and State Parks. We had not yet stopped into a Visitor's Info Center for maps and recommendations, so we headed out with no plan for the day other than random driving around. We took the first exit off of US-101 that mentioned Redwoods. It was the Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway through Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.
All of the signage seemed to combine the National and State parks together. A Park Ranger finally clarified that the State parks were already established when the National Park was created in 1968. Apparently, there was an understanding that the State Park land would be ceded to the Federal Government for the National Park, but then California changed its mind. In 1994 the NPS and California State Parks agreed to co-manage the four parks: Del Norte Coast, Prairie Creek and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Parks and Redwood National Park.
The important thing is that the trees will be around to awe and inspire future generations. We still don't know who Newton B. Drury was, but his road is a beautiful drive. It is difficult to convey just how big the redwood trees are without something for scale. Many of the pictures we posted here have someone in them for that reason.
As we drove through this forest of giants, we saw a sign for a "Big Tree." You have to stop for that - right? Big Tree was estimated to be 1,500 years old, 21.6 feet in diameter and 304 feet tall. It was difficult to see that it was really that much larger than the trees all around it, but it did present a nice photo opportunity.
Brochures we picked up at the ranger station showed a short drive along Requa Road to the Klamath River Overlook. It is known for whale watching in the right season, but we thought it would be nice for sunset viewing. Our drive was rewarded with some really nice sunset cloud drama. We spent some time waiting out a few small showers as the skies increased the drama.
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