Redwood National Park

The biggest redwood in the park, appropriately named "Big Tree."

The next 8 pictures are of trees and the forest. No selfies, only big redwood trees, either along the Cal-Barrel Road or on the Cathedral Trees Trail.

 

I camped at the Elk Prairie Campground, named for the elk that often visit the area, but none were seen here.

While headed to Gold Bluffs Beach, this large bull elk crossed Gold Bluffs Rd. It was very unexpected to come across an elk here, but I was overjoyed to have seen one.

 A huge arching rainbow that I couldn't fit into a single picture.

Finally, this is our camping spot. There is a bear-resistant food locker where I stored my cooler and stove that might have had a food scent from cooking.

This picture was taken as we were entering the national park. This tree was a double-trunk tree. The average age of the trees at Redwood National Park is 500-700 years old. This tree has been here sometime between 1300 and 1500. The Mongol Empire was still going strong in the 1300s. Martin Luther and Shakespeare were alive in the 1500s.

This was on the Cal-Barrel Road. Other than in the campground and on this road, dogs are not allowed on any of the trails. Katie stayed in the truck while I took an hour-long hike on the Cathedral Trail. It was mid-September and not hot, and the windows were open a little less than halfway, enough for a 75-pound dog not to jump out. I wasn't unhappy with parts of the park I didn't see. After a while, one large redwood looks just like another.