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Opinion Columns Editor's Note: Low-impact travels have a big impact
Editor's Note: Low-impact travels have a big impact
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Awhile back a Triplicate reporter gained notoriety by referring to a woman in her 50s as elderly. I decrepitly read right past the reference while editing the story and I’m 52, but still … At 88 and 86, my parents would acknowledge the term applies, and yet Del Norte County was such a friendly, accessible place for them to visit last week. Their briskest workouts involved hauling themselves into and out of my Jeep as we stopped here and there. We walked one brief beach and viewed many others from the car. And then there were the trees. If you or someone you love can only go short distances on foot anymore, you can still take in some of the gnarliest redwood sights on the planet. Three ways succeeded for us:
• Drive so close you can touch them: Just in time for my folks’ visit,
Howland Hill Road reopened on weekdays after some annual maintenance
made the unpaved ride less bumpy.
The driver needs to watch out for oncoming traffic and side mirrors in the narrow stretches, but passengers can simply roll down the windows and gawk at an old-growth redwood spectacle. And you don’t have to hit a hiking trail for a photo opportunity – there are plenty of pull-offs where you can pose with the imposing roadside attractions.
As someone who has spent a good deal of time in the last year and a half admiring the lower 30 or so feet of trees that reach past 300, the idea of rising to their tops without climbing them appealed to me. The ride delivers otherwise impossible views of the redwood nether-reaches, plus a panoramic Pacific in the distance. You can rest awhile at the top, eventually turn away from the sea and look out on the inland scenery, including a chick poking out of an osprey nest (binoculars included). Mom and Dad loved it. One note: If you’re looking to minimize steps, ask for a shuttle ride from outside the gift shop to the lower tram station. Otherwise it’s a 20-minute walk through those Trees of Mystery.
Walk the length of the trail if practical; but we definitely didn’t feel cheated turning around when we did. Getting up close and personal with the redwoods without getting sweaty was just one more way Laura and I celebrated with my parents. And now, they really know where we live. I took them home to Salem on Thursday. When I made a Father’s Day call to my dad on Sunday night and mentioned the sun setting on Pebble Beach, I could tell he was seeing it in his mind. After all, he photographed a similar scene a few days earlier. |
