Northern California to Northern Oregon

As sour as I'd been the night before, I was excited and relieved to be back on the road with such minimal damages. I continued on the Avenue of the Giants to gaze up at the behemoth trees that lined the pavement.



And, of course, when I saw the signs for "Oldest Tree in the Redwoods!" and "Drive-Through Tree, Don't Miss It!" I had to oblige. It was just beginning to rain, and even though it was shaping up to be a miserable day, my spirit was riding high. I stopped at this old general-store looking attraction, where it cost $2 to drive through an old tree. Actually it cost me $2 for a soda and to drive through a tree. Very nice old hippy behind the counter who felt for me when I told him his vending machine didn't work - he happened to have a 6-pack of Coca-Cola right there. Mmm. So I drove through a Tree.

(Pretend the red car is mine...)

This tree was so old and withered you could see straight out the top!

And I hung out in a Tree House:

You could literally climb up to the second floor! It was much more square-footage than my car allowed me!

I hit the coast for one last peak before retreating into the forests, gorges and mountains toward Portland.

Barely crossed the line into Oregon - what we see here is a river running into the ocean.

A few scary accidents aside, I'd arrive in Portland that night. But the good thing about all the scariest accidents I've seen? They've all occurred about a mile up-road from me. Good, good luck.

Although the sign below was kind of freaky: