Eureka! We Found Giants!

We discovered Giants in nature, art, architecture and industry in our adventures through Northern California.

Nature’s Giants

We had a relatively beautiful day weather-wise to venture into the land of the Redwoods. I loved driving the Avenue of the Giants, a tight, slightly 31-mile drive that parallels Highway 101 just south of where we were staying in Fortuna, California.

We hiked the Drury-Chaney Loop trail fairly early on in the drive. At the start of the trail, we met a woman who lost her wallet somewhere on the trail. I tried to keep my eyes on the trail, which helped with the appreciation of the gorgeous sorrel the blanketed the ground. But, when amongst these giants, all you can do is look up. And up.

I told Brad that I kept expecting dinosaurs to come charging through the forests, as they used to do. More than a hundred million years ago, redwood forests redwood forests dominated the Northern Hemisphere.

We were in awe at the fallen giants, their root structures small compared to the massive size of the trees. We were rather curious as to how this was possible. Then lo and behold, we came upon a sign explaining how the redwoods balance themselves out.

Our Jeep duck points the way through the Redwood Forest. Standing next to a fallen giant, and explanation of the science of the root structure.

Our hike was peaceful. We only saw one other couple during our time on the trail, and a handful of foresters who were reinforcing some of the trails to meet ADA standards.

The floor of the forest was beautiful, with ferns and edible sorrel. Redwoods are resistant to insects, disease and fires. New trees sprout from the roots of old trees. Brad marveled at the massive width of the giants.

This is the Shrine drive-thru tree along the Avenue of the Giants. The height restriction was 7’7″…our kayaks were on top of the Jeep, so we wouldn’t have made it through. As much as I loved the overall drive, I’m not sure I would have come out from under the tree without a few scrapes.

Eureka Architecture

The next day we spent the afternoon in Eureka. As was so much of the west, Eureka (Greek for “I have found it!) was settled by those chasing dreams during the Gold Rush. We loved walking around the downtown area, which has over 20 building in the National Historic Registry.

Driving around Eureka we discovered the amazing diversity of the well-preserved homes in the city, from Tudors, to craftsmen and bungalows.

At the far edge of town is the Carson Mansion, built in 1884 by employees of lumber magnate William Carson. It is considered the most-photographed Victorian mansion in California, possibly the country. It is a private club primarily to preserve the iconic structure.

The Carson mansion

The Artist and the Automotive Enthusiast

While strolling the streets of downtown Eureka, we discovered this beautiful storefront display of the work of Romano Gabriel. To learn more about this Italian artist who made Eureka his home, click here.

Then, we stumbled into Carl’s Car World, a unique collection of automotive memorabilia created by Carl Schneider, a car racer, enthusiast and influencer in the automotive world. We loved learning about early automotive history, even seeing original drawings by Ferdinand Porsche.