A Change in Plans

Today was supposed to be a travel day, but we woke to rain and the prediction of more rain for today and tomorrow. So we have decided to stay here in Klamath till Thursday. We couldn't see any point in breaking down in the rain, driving in the rain, and setting up in the rain when we couldn't go enjoy the ocean we were driving to. And there is a chance we would have encountered snow along the way! When we went to pay for two more nights, the woman in the office asked where we were going to work in a fish hatchery. When we told her "Astoria," she said, "well, get used to this weather." We'll see over two months, I guess.

We are using this day to work out, catch up on finances, blog and print photos. We are so glad we decided to hike in the Redwood forest yesterday! It was a beautiful hike—cold, since the temperature was only in the mid-40s. But the beauty of the Redwood trees, ferns and all sorts of other greenery everywhere is hard to believe. The trees are so tall it is impossible to capture it in a photograph. We tried, though, as we hiked three and one-half miles on the South Fork, Rhododendron and Brown's Creek trails just north of the Prairie Creek State Park Visitor Center.

The hike begins with a steep uphill climb, rising 650 ft in the first section. That brought us to where we could look down on some trees, not just up. Everything—trees, leaves, trail—was shiny from the rain overnight. The silence is amazing, broken only by a small gurgling creek and a few small birds. We did not encounter any other hikers on our trail.

In places where a Redwood tree has fallen, other bushes and trees begin to sprout along the trunk. Ferns grow in the hollow spaces of dead trees. Everything is so lush and fertile and green, unlike the fragile high altitude environment we are most used to in Colorado.

Our first day here, we noticed a Big Sky Montana trailer and saw the owners also belonged to the Montana Owners Club, an on-line association of RVers. When we talked to David and Jo-Anna, we learned that they are headed to Alaska this summer, so we got together yesterday for a glass of wine and good conversation about RV travel and the wonderful travel to Alaska.

We always try to get ourselves plenty of time to get from one place to another, so we aren't forced to travel in bad weather or feel rushed. That gives us the freedom to do what we did today. We can just relax and go with the flow.