Everything but Alligators and Polar Bears

Since we finished hiking in all 50 United States back in November 2016, we've been asked, "What's next?" 

After spending many years on the Hike all 50 States Project, I didn't have a "Next". I was relieved, but also very worn out. Even though I wasn't ready, the girls are always ready for our next adventure.

A lot of people think visiting countries is the natural progression. There are many countries I'd love to visit, but the idea of traveling around the world isn't very appealing to me at this time. When I'd allow myself to think about what's next, I often turned to our neighbors to the north. Canada is beautiful, vast, and remote with tons of wildlife. Everything we love. 

I would need a specific goal and hiking in all of Canada's provinces and territories seems like a great plan and they only have 13 total. Should be easier than visiting 50 states, right? However, when you look at a map of Canada, one thing becomes very obvious, it's a huge country. In fact, Canada is the world's second largest country and you can't even drive to one of the territories. This project seems a little overwhelming...for now.

Avenue of the Giants

Humboldt Redwoods State Park, CA

April 14, 2017

We know from a past trip (July 2014) that photos don't really capture the abundance or great size of the redwoods along one of the most beautiful drives (Avenue of the Giants) that we've ever experienced, so we decided to make an amateur attempt to capture a brief portion of the drive on video:

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Roosevelt Elk

Elk Herds

Northern California Coast

April 14, 2017

Both girls love observing wildlife and elk are near the top of their favorites list. For Kellisa, I think she enjoys them because they approach the car without fear and their large size makes them easy to see. I think all the same reasons apply to Laurel as well, plus her initials are E.L.K. which elevates the animals in her mind. 

The elk we saw on this day were part of the Roosevelt Elk that call the area in and around Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park home. We were fortunate to observe the same elk when we visited the area in the summer of 2014. 

We were disappointed to only see a few in the distance in the elk viewing prairie and decided to drive the road to Gold Bluff Beach where we saw a few more close up as they crossed the road in front of us. When we returned to the prairie an hour or so later, it was full of elk and both girls enjoyed an hour of observing in the evening's fading light.

A Surprise in the Road

April 14, 2017 - Fun on the road to Gold Bluffs Beach:

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Sequoia Park Zoo

Eureka, CA

April 13, 2107

The forecast was bleak, calling for heavy rain in our area for most of the day. There would be a small window of a couple of hours in the early afternoon where mostly cloudy skies with only a 20% chance of rain was predicted. 

We were hesitant to head out on a trail with such a tight window, so we decided to stay close to the hotel and visit the Sequoia Park Zoo. The zoo is small, but its setting among a small stand of redwoods made for an incredible afternoon. 

Judging from the school directly across the street, the local district was not on spring break this week and we literally had the zoo to ourselves.