On my way to the Redwood National Forest & State Park I drove through Eureka where the local theater marquee advertised "Full Puppet Nudity".  I only wish I had time to stay for that show!

I finally made it to the Crescent City area on May 25.  I have now driven over 3,700 miles since leaving Columbus.  I am in the land of the giants and they are beautiful.

I had reserved a campsite at Del Norte Coast campgrounds.  The camp grounds are about 2.5 miles down a hill and deep in the rain forest.  It was dark, damp, mosquito infested and isolated.  After trying to set up my tent in various orientations on a postage sized campsite and after discovering I had absolutely no cell phone service in the park I decided to find other housing.  The place gave me the creeps and the thought of spending 3 nights there without any way to communicate with the outside world was enough to send me packing.  I did briefly meet very nice fellow campers Jack and his wife Elize (forgive my spelling, I lost my notes).  They are well seasoned campers from TX and probably don't understand my reluctance to stay there.  Sometimes you just have to trust your gut.  This place wasn't right for me.   

There was still ample opportunity for me to explore the rain forests and coastline without camping in it.  I spent a day hiking on the Coastal Trail and Damnation Creek Trail.  The later was a bit of a challenge but I survived it.  I chose to ignore the warning someone had scratched in on the sign.

I tried the fish tacos at a delightful restaurant on the pier and was entirely entertained by the critters hanging around the harbor.  The fish tacos:  delicious.  The pile of harbor seals:  smelly.

Time to say goodbye to CA.  Tomorrow I travel to OR.