Tom's National Park Adventure

Being in the Redwoods for the last few days has been incredible. Towering trees that create an unbelievable canopy. However….. I must have been craving sunlight!

I got up this morning and drove to Crescent City where I knew I could get a full cell signal. It’s that time of the month and the bills won’t wait, so I spent some time taking care of that chore.

When I finished, I decided to head down the coast in search of some Roosevelt Elk. From what I had been told there are at least four or five large herds numbering over a thousand head in total. How hard could that be to find!

I stopped along the way to take in some of the beautiful coastline and watched the surfers brave the cold water in their wetsuits

Couldn’t see any elk frolicking in the surf so I kept on heading south. I ended up in the town of Klamath by the Klamath River. Still no large fury animals, but I did see a sign for a tourist attraction and decided to go see the “Tour Thru Tree”.

I decided not to get stuck in it and not be able open my door to take a picture!

It appears tourism is alive and well. There was another roadside attraction that caught my eye and I had to get a picture!

I still hadn’t laid eyes on the elusive Elk. So I turned around and headed back towards camp. Along the way I saw a sign for “The cheapest gas in the area”. It was a fuel station off of the highway a bit that is owned by one of the local Indian tribes. And yes….. the fuel was almost a dollar a gallon cheaper than what I would have paid in Crescent City.

Lo and behold…… look what I found in the field right along side of the fuel station!

Roosevelt Elk! You could see that some of them are just now starting to grow their antlers or horns back. You could also tell that they are just now starting to grow back the thicker fur around their necks.

I guess the old adage “persistence pays off” has been proven once again!

I’m heading back to break down most of my camp. I’ll be getting up early and heading to Reno, NV to spend the night. It will be around an 8 hour drive. Monday I will have another 4 1/2 hours to get to my last National Park of this trip, Great Basin National Park.