Crescent City, CA - Day 14
We had originally planned to stay in L.A. for 3 days, but somewhere along the line, we had to change our itinerary to 2 days in L.A. and arranged to spend a day instead in the California redwood forest outside of Crescent City. We ate breakfast at the ubiquitous Denny’s and definitely got a taste for the local culture, which was your classic Small Town U.S.A. for sure, which was an interesting side of California to see after L.A. and San Francisco. We got to spend some time driving around the forest and then were able to set off on our own on foot for some rare alone time in one of the most beautiful settings I’ve had the pleasure of seeing. There’s nothing like being surrounded by trees at least 70 feet tall to make you remember how small you really are.
However something about driving paved roads through this absolutely beautiful landscape brings to mind the line from Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi”- “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” On the one hand, it seems a tragedy to develop this land at all, because the redwood forest is truly one of nature’s treasures. It seems like paving the roads, marking out trails and posting up signs all through the area cheapens the experience a little. But on the other hand, I can kind of understand the point behind it, because by ensuring there are a minimal number of roads and trails, the government is able to control when and where people go, to a certain extent. And it makes the forest- at least a small part of it- easily available for public use, which is what national parks are supposed to do. Developing this land for hiking and driving allows people who might not have the time or money to plan a rustic camping trip to have a leisurely, simple experience in this beautiful place. So this brings mixed feelings for me- I can understand it but I still think development looks out of place in a setting that feels so timeless and still.
But overall, the absolute silence of the woods was more than refreshing, especially after the hustle and bustle of Vegas, L.A. and San Francisco back to back. After our afternoon in the woods, we cleaned the bus, got some laundry done, made a shopping trip and had a much-needed productive day. We then traveled on to Portland, one of the most anticipated cities for many of us.
We had originally planned to stay in L.A. for 3 days, but somewhere along the line, we had to change our itinerary to 2 days in L.A. and arranged to spend a day instead in the California redwood forest outside of Crescent City. We ate breakfast at the ubiquitous Denny’s and definitely got a taste for the local culture, which was your classic Small Town U.S.A. for sure, which was an interesting side of California to see after L.A. and San Francisco. We got to spend some time driving around the forest and then were able to set off on our own on foot for some rare alone time in one of the most beautiful settings I’ve had the pleasure of seeing. There’s nothing like being surrounded by trees at least 70 feet tall to make you remember how small you really are.
However something about driving paved roads through this absolutely beautiful landscape brings to mind the line from Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi”- “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” On the one hand, it seems a tragedy to develop this land at all, because the redwood forest is truly one of nature’s treasures. It seems like paving the roads, marking out trails and posting up signs all through the area cheapens the experience a little. But on the other hand, I can kind of understand the point behind it, because by ensuring there are a minimal number of roads and trails, the government is able to control when and where people go, to a certain extent. And it makes the forest- at least a small part of it- easily available for public use, which is what national parks are supposed to do. Developing this land for hiking and driving allows people who might not have the time or money to plan a rustic camping trip to have a leisurely, simple experience in this beautiful place. So this brings mixed feelings for me- I can understand it but I still think development looks out of place in a setting that feels so timeless and still.
But overall, the absolute silence of the woods was more than refreshing, especially after the hustle and bustle of Vegas, L.A. and San Francisco back to back. After our afternoon in the woods, we cleaned the bus, got some laundry done, made a shopping trip and had a much-needed productive day. We then traveled on to Portland, one of the most anticipated cities for many of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment