Bart Weiss
I spent the week of November 15h in Santa Rosa California. I got a great deal on a boutique hotel right down town that used to be the cities court house. I really like Santa Rosa, it was a smaller town and had a great craft beer scene and cozy downtown. I spent the days in my hotel catching up on work and the night exploring the abundance of craft beers in town. 2 breweries that stuck out the most were the Russian River brewery and Seismic brewing, if you are ever in the area please check them out.
Itching to experience some of the local culture I went and saw a show at the local community with Brad Barton, Reality Thief – Magic, Mentalism & Mischief. Brad put on an amazing show that was mostly card based magic, his quick wit and glowing personality that engaged the whole audience. After the intermission cards were shuffled and people around the room choose their own and he guessed everyone’s card. It was amazing and his engagement with the audience was spot on. There were maybe 50 people and the intimacy of the event really added to it.
I drove to the Humboldt Redwoods around noon on Friday. I was originally going to go Thursday but the heavy rain in the forecast I extended my stay in Santa Rosa a day.
Humboldt Redwood was AMAZING. This was my first time seeing redwoods and the completely lived up to the hype. The trees were beyond massive. I stayed in the Burlington campground at a beautiful campsite filled with redwoods and stumps of redwoods the size my car were at my campsite
On Saturday I hiked 8.5 miles on the Bull Creeks Flats trail. The trail started out with needing to climb the side of a redwood tree and walk across the creek. It wasn’t to bad, but nothing id bring a kid to. The trail was beautiful, there was not an elevation gain, and the trail was filled with huge redwood tree’s. I was glad the trail was flat and didn’t have any obstacles so I could keep my eyes up taking in the humongous trees and beautiful forest. The day was clear and sunny, but you would not have known it from the canopy of the trees keeping out the sunlight.
Some of the most interesting sights were the fallen tree’s and root structure facing the path. The creek was barely visible the first half of the hike. The south end provided another redwood tree that served as a bridge to get to the opposite side of the creek and head west towards where I started. The creek was much more prevalent on the way back and sounds of the rushing water filled the air and was the trail was also filled with large mushrooms.
It was only a 20 minute drive back to my campsite after the hike. The night ended with a fire before a cold night that got down the 35 degree’s. I slept in to keep warm before packing up my camp and stopping at a short half mile trail called the Founders Groove. The trail featured a monster redwood tree that was 346 feet high and 12.7 feet in diameter. I was able get a fellow traveler to take a photo with me in front of it.
I am currently in Eureka, California for 2 days take catch up on work and take in the local craft beer and cider scene. On Tuesday I am going to take 2 days to travel down the California coastal highway on my way to San Francisco to spend Thanksgiving and the weekend with my cousins before heading to San Luis Obispo. After a few days there I will be starting my trip back to Wisconsin. I am not positive which way I am taking and plan to take 2-3 weeks to get back make a stop in Denver for a week for sure. The trip back will be mostly working 3-4 days a week and then exploring on 3-4 day weekends. I am contemplating stops in Arizona, Nevada and Utah. We shall see, if you have any ideas send them my way.
Full Photo Albums
Humboldt Redwoods Forest – https://photos.app.goo.gl/FCwc8zDoQrJpWhAj7
Santa Rosa, California – https://photos.app.goo.gl/5k3ewGJgMZX6ufFj7
Highlights
