One of the most difficult things for us to part with when we left NZ was our car, the Wish called Wanda. The Wish was a Toyota that was smaller than a mini van but a bit bigger than a station wagon. There were three rows of seats and the back two rows folded flat. This made it a perfect vehicle for sleeping in when we didn't feel like setting up the tent or it was raining (our tent fly sprung a leak about four months into our time in NZ). She got about 32 miles to the gallon, which was great in NZ where fuel is about $8 per gallon.
Much to our dismay, when we returned to the U.S., we were having trouble finding anything that was very Wish-like. We could find vehicles with fold-flat seats, but they tended to be quite a bit larger with worse fuel economy. And then we stumbled upon the Mazda 5, which is nearly identical to the Wish. A friend of ours refers to their one as a "nano-van" which I think is a very apt description. We happened upon a used one in Santa Cruz and are now the owners of what we call the Wish 5.
We took the Wish 5 for her inaugural trip in early November to the Humboldt redwoods. When we made our camping plans, we were mostly concerned about being rained out. That would have been a much better situation than the wildfires that were burning throughout the state. The Bay Area had been blanketed in wildfire smoke for about ten days prior to our trip and we were not sure what to expect for the weekend. The smoke forecasts were changing daily and were not always consistent with where the plume would be located. The air quality got worse as we drove north, but we managed to make it out of the smoke zone about 30 miles from our destination.
We live in a redwood forest, so it might seem crazy for us to drive five hours to spent the weekend in another redwood forest. However, the trees in Humboldt are HUGE compared to the babies we have down here so the forest felt quite different even though the trees are the same. The Avenue of the Giants is a spectacular drive with many hiking opportunities along the way.
The Save the Redwood League is largely responsible for the existence of so many large, old growth redwoods in and around Humboldt State Park. In the early 1900s, the founders of the club noticed that the big trees were being logged for timber and development and knew that many more would be lost if they didn't do something. Since 1918 they have protected more than 200,000 acres of redwood forest, supported the establishment of numerous state and regional redwood parks, and funded research throughout the states redwood forests.
Much to our dismay, when we returned to the U.S., we were having trouble finding anything that was very Wish-like. We could find vehicles with fold-flat seats, but they tended to be quite a bit larger with worse fuel economy. And then we stumbled upon the Mazda 5, which is nearly identical to the Wish. A friend of ours refers to their one as a "nano-van" which I think is a very apt description. We happened upon a used one in Santa Cruz and are now the owners of what we call the Wish 5.
We took the Wish 5 for her inaugural trip in early November to the Humboldt redwoods. When we made our camping plans, we were mostly concerned about being rained out. That would have been a much better situation than the wildfires that were burning throughout the state. The Bay Area had been blanketed in wildfire smoke for about ten days prior to our trip and we were not sure what to expect for the weekend. The smoke forecasts were changing daily and were not always consistent with where the plume would be located. The air quality got worse as we drove north, but we managed to make it out of the smoke zone about 30 miles from our destination.
all ready for sleeping
We live in a redwood forest, so it might seem crazy for us to drive five hours to spent the weekend in another redwood forest. However, the trees in Humboldt are HUGE compared to the babies we have down here so the forest felt quite different even though the trees are the same. The Avenue of the Giants is a spectacular drive with many hiking opportunities along the way.
The Save the Redwood League is largely responsible for the existence of so many large, old growth redwoods in and around Humboldt State Park. In the early 1900s, the founders of the club noticed that the big trees were being logged for timber and development and knew that many more would be lost if they didn't do something. Since 1918 they have protected more than 200,000 acres of redwood forest, supported the establishment of numerous state and regional redwood parks, and funded research throughout the states redwood forests.
giant trees!
The burls on redwoods (the bulbous bits) are important
for regeneration. Spouts can emerge from the burls when
new space opens up in the canopy or when the main tree
gets damaged or is stressed by environmental conditions.
big leaf maples provided some contrasting color to the forest
fern spores on a sword fern
it is amazing that these giants can still stand when
their bases are hollowed out from fire
The Dyerville giant - this 371 foot giant fell in 1991. It is
almost easier to get a sense for the size of these trees
when the whole thing is on the ground.
We were mostly out of the wildfire smoke, but a few
particulates in the air made for dramatic lighting in the forest.
Our first two nights in the Wish 5 were great and we have a list of things to add to the car to make it even better. We're looking forward to more trips in the near future!
