My third post about the road trip that my family and I took last weekend. The furthest North we went in California was to Klamath California. This town has the best of every aspect of California. They have access to the wonderful national redwood forest, and also access to the pacific coast. The beach that we stopped by was so perfect in so many ways (other than being cold). When we were there it had just rained a few hours before arrived at the beach, it was a clearing before the next storm. Beach is completely vacant. You can see the thunderhead clouds rolling in and shadows along the waves and little sunlight rays peeking through the holes in the clouds and touching the wave tips. Here are a few shots of what I could capture, although the photos do not do it justice.
Along our journey we stopped at the Trees of Mystery. Trees of Mystery is a roadside attraction in Klamath, California. It is alongside US Highway 101 in the Redwood National and State Parks. The property contains a number of unique tree formations, hence its name. It includes a 15 meter tall statue of Paul Bunyan and a 10 meter Babe the Blue Ox. In 2001 an aerial tramway was installed called the Sky Trail. It takes visitors to an observation deck where they can enjoy a view of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding forest.
Here are a few examples of the odd trees we seen:
There are more photos of these odd trees and more in the gallery below. Click on one to view:
The trees of mystery tour is awesome. You must stop by and take the tour. It is a little bit of a hike but nothing that you can’t handle.. Take the drive, see the trees and then go chill at the beach.
Sorry for not writing a blog as religiously as I have been, I am wrapping up the final days of this school year, and a lot has been going on that is really kind of interesting. coworkers are retiring who I thought that they would outlast me at the ROP center. Some of the greatest teachers are not given contracts for various reasons. It just has been really crazy. I hope all the best to all of them as they find a better place in this economy. Any who, as I mentioned on Monday, my family and I went to the California Redwood forest of which I decided not to do a typical blog about the trip, I decided to do it in segments and individual posts. Today’s post is about Natures Drive Thru. What is that? In northern California they had a total of four redwood trees that you can drive your vehicle through I have been through three due to the fact that the Wawona tree fell due to its slight lean to the side and a load of snow on it’s crown. People have been driving through trees since 1887 starting with the Wawona Tree in Yosemite National Park. Here are some vintage photos that have been take through out the years of people and their vehicle driving through the trees.
This video was from South40db’s youtube. Clark and Erna Rogers, Dennis and Aggie Bayer took a 702 mile 3 day trip in their 1952 and 1953 Citroen Traction Avant cars. they went from Sausalito, CA to Grass Valley-Auburn-Fort Bragg-Leggett and back down the coast to Sausalito. In Leggett we drove our tractions through the Chandelier Tree.
So now that you have seen the many people and various vehicles that have passed through the drive thru trees, here are the photos we took of us and our red ford focus going through the 3 trees that are located in northern California.
So this concludes the post of the Nature’s Drive Thru. If you have the chance to visit these trees please do so.. It is an experience of a lifetime and it’s really a beautiful drive.
Last weekend (May 21st – 23rd) My family and I took a trip to the northern California Redwoods National park. Instead of doing a recap of all the events and highlights that we experienced in chronological order, I decided to do posts of points of interest and their history. During our trip we went to Garberville California which is located on the “Avenue of the Giants” which is also known as CA-101. On the Avenue of the Giants route there are so many places to stop with really awesome roadside attractions including 3 giant redwoods that you can drive you vehicles through. One of the attractions that we ran across during our adventure was the “One-Log House”. When we think of a one log house you most likely think of a singular log cabin like the one Abe Lincoln lived in. Well when they use the term “One log house” They literally mean one log. Not possible you say? Check this out:
Historical Photos from digthatcrazyfarout.com
Crafted in 1946 from a 2100 year old redwood, this section of the tree weighed 42 tons and took 8 months of labor to hollow out a room 7 feet hight and 32 feet long. With wheels attached it toured the United States in its early years, then settled in redwood country, arriving at its current location (Garberville, California) in 1999. Just like home: the inside is furnished with living, dining, and bedroom areas.
This famous Northern California attraction was the result of a three month search for the perfect specimen Sequoia Sempervirens, which was finally located near the town of Orick, in Humboldt County, California. After felling this 13 foot diameter forest giant, Art Schmock and a helper needed 8 months of hard labor to hollow out the log into a room 7 ft. high and 32 ft. long, weighing about 42 tons. His plan was to take it on a cross country tour to promote the redwoods. However its excess size caused highway problems. Its first permanent home was at Hurrin’s Shell Shop at Clam Beach, in Northern Humboldt County. It then became a redwood knick knack shop at Leggett, Mendocino County, just off of the Redwood Highway. During a sojourn in Phillipsville, it slid into decay until the current owners bought and lovingly restored it to a new life along the Redwood Highway.
This was a really awesome sight to see and experience. I was surprised because what you see on the outside makes the inside seem small but once you walk inside it really is pretty spacious. I was most surprised when I was able to walk inside and not hit my head on anything. I could totally see myself living in something like this. It was about 50 degrees F’ outside. Inside the temperature was more like 65F or so. It was a great thing to see. I highly recommend it if you are up that way. Below are some historical photos along with some more photos of the exterior and interior with wonderful girlfriend posing pretending to be a tenant. Click on the photo to enlarge:
If you have the chance you must go take a trip to the redwoods and see all the breath taking views and magnificent trees. It is for sure something you should put on your bucket list. Here is the location of the One Log House:
705 US Highway 101
Garberville, CA 95542-8701
(707) 247-3717
Through the week or so I will be posting more of what we went and seen during our trip to the redwoods.
Sorry for not posting as religously as I have. I have been under the weather this week. I was looking on ebay and found these prints. All of the prints that I am showcasing are being sold to help support a non profit organization: Cat Adoption and Rescue Efforts, Inc. (C.A.R.E.) is an organization dedicated to the rehabilitation, care, and adoption of cats and kittens rescued from euthanizing shelters in the Richmond, VA metropolitan area. Our main goals are to provide animals with safety and comfort, to place them into home(s) in which they will receive a quality lifetime commitment, and to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with the community. We are committed to the highest principles of humane care for all animals.
They have only a few prints but they are really neat. These are signed limited edition art pieces. Each one has a number and is signed. Here are some examples:
Here is an example of what it could look like in your house:
These would look great in any house decor. Please check out the artists Ebay store for more details. Puppetoon’s online store
If you are a regular visitor to my blog, you will know that I absolutly LOVE Disneyland. I love the history, nostalgia, technology, and the way that all of your worries and troubles disappear once you step foot onto Main Street. If you have been living under a rock for the last 60 decades, Disneyland was designed from a dream of cartoonist, and movie producer/maker Walter Elias Disney. Walt Disney had this dream of creating an amusement park that both children and adults could enjoy. He had so many ideas that he used to make you feel certain ways through out the park. For example Walt once said “I don’t want the public to see the world they live in while they’re in the Park (Disneyland). I want to feel they’re in another world.”. He captured and perfected that effect , by visually over stimulating your eyes with so many visual details that it is impossible to take it all in. By over stimulating your brain with all these details it forces out whatever is on your mind.
My first time that I visited the park was in 1998. Since my first visit I have been hooked. I have read books, got involved in websites and forums, raid ebay on rare odd Disneyland items, and find dvd’s and home movies from either film footage from the Disney company or personal family films. I browse youtube and oftern find a bunch of neat videos of rare footage such as walkthroughs to emergency exits due to a ride breaking down and little secrets (like areas that people don’t know exist.)
Today I have a few videos and photos that I ran across through out my search of nostalgic Disneyland and or rare footage of the park.
So without any further adieu lets start with some photos. All of these photos belong to a blog that I follow called Gorrilas Don’t Blog
These are photos of Disneyland in its younger years somewhere near its opening year 1955.
This is archival footage of the park’s birth. Using time-lapse and traditional eye-in-the-sky photography, this is a dazzling piece of history, presenting how the fearless construction crews had Disneyland up and running in just under a year. Again: just under a year. commentary by Tony Baxter, Ed Hobleman, and Walter Magnuson, who discuss the frantic construction of the park. Courtesy of Walt’s persnickety insistence to document everything.
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Walt was a very imaginative man. His mind was always working. He constantly thought about how he could do things better even when things were at their best. Unfortunately Walt was a chain smoker and as a result of that he died of lung cancer. Although since his death, over 4 decades later his dream is still putting smiles on children’s faces, and putting adults instantly back into their childhood. My dream job would be to be the care taker of Disneyland, to help preserve Walt’s dream and visions. I am planning to go to Devry University for engineering classes, and for my senior project (graduation year end project) I plan to make it something that Disneyland could use or add to the park. Walt made an apartment above the fire station on Main Street. When he was in the park he would turn on the lamp that is located in the center window on the second floor of the fire house. when the lamp was seen on, everyone new that “the boss” was in. Since his death they leave the lamp on to pay tribute to the man responcible for the creation of Disneyland. Everytime I visit Disneyland, I always walk by the fire house on the way in and say “good morning Walt” and on the way out at closing, I always say “Good night Walt”. Why do I call him Walt instead of “Mr.Disney”? Walt never liked being called Mr. Disney. This is why all name tags on all cast members say their first name and not their last name. Disneyland is my place of serenity. I wish I was there now..
Check out these new retro styled headphones from a partnership between Roc Nation & Skullcandy. The Aviator headphones are the first audio creation from the joint venture and are available in black, white and brown.
The headphones cups can be folded into the headband saving a little space when travelling and they come with their own carry case. The brown version comes with semi translucent covers over the speaker cups allowing you to see the mechanics and speakers inside.
Roc Nation & Skullcandy Retro Aviator Headphones will be available during June 2010. Unfortunately there no indication of price at the moment.
These are replicating the head sets that WWII pilots wore while in flight. Here are a few photos of what the originals looked like. Also a few examples of what kind of planes these were used in.
