Simpson-Reed Trail - California

Driving south along the 101 and crossing over into California from Oregon was an interesting experience. It was incredibly foggy and hard to see far ahead in the road. It was in California that the trees suddenly became humungous. The Redwoods. Driving along the highway and turning off onto the curvier 199 to head east was one of my favorite parts of my roadtrip.

All this leads us to a stop at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park for a short hike on the Simpson-Reed Trail. It was a weekday, so it wasn't busy. A photographer was taking photos of the trees. 

A forest of skyscrapers beckons. I can't stop looking up.

I love this magical place so much.

I feel tiny and magnificent at the same time.

One of my inspirations for traveling through northern California and southern Oregon was reading the whole Virgin River series this year. A romantic at heart, I also loved reading about how beautiful this area is and I wanted to check it out myself. After the hike I'll be driving through Grants Pass and heading towards Crater Lake!