May 20, 2012 Lunch – Sandwiches under the tallest trees in the world; Dinner – Morrison’s Rogue River Lodge

May 20, 2012 Lunch – Sandwiches under the tallest trees in the world;  Dinner – Morrison’s Rogue River Lodge

 

We awoke at 6:00 am. and made sandwiches with the fresh bread Molinari’s salami and Toma cheese we had bought at Lemon’s Grocery in Phil on Saturday.  We left Boonville at 8:00 am and drove to Ukiah and then up U.S. Hwy. 101 to the Redwoods.

We left Hwy. 101 and got on the Avenue of the Giants at Richardson State Park.  When we wee paying our $8.00 admission, a friendly guide told us that there were several trees over 375 feet tall in the Lower Bull Creek Loop in the Rockefeller forest of the Humboldt State Park that were among the tallest.

We did a ½ mile hike through the Richardson Grove, which had one grove of really big trees.

Then we drove to Humboldt State Park and found the Lower Bull Creek parking area.  It is located next to the South Fork of the Eel River.  The forest towers above you.  We did about a 1 mile hike through four or five groves of unbelievably tall trees that blocked out the sun when you looked up.  It is impossible to see the top of the trees because other trees get in the way when viewed from a distance and the branches block a view of the top from under the tree because of the spread of the their limbs canopy . 

Many of the trees had trunks that exceeded 25 feet in diameter.  The largest coastal redwood’s trunks are not as wide as a sequoia (about 24 feet vs 44 feet for a sequoia) t but they are taller. If measured by height coastal redwoods are the tallest.  If measured by weight the sequoias are the biggest.  Because there are a lot more coastal redwoods driving through mile after mile of them is very impressive.  We took our lunch into the forest at Humboldt and sat on a hillside near the convergence of the South Fork of the Eel and the main channel of the Eel and ate our sandwiches with the asparagus marinated in olive oil and clumps of fresh spinach leaves and the last of our Dry Gewürztraminer.

After lunch we drove up the coast on Hwy. 101 and we stopped at Orick where Suzette bought a slice of redwood burl and then on to Crescent City and turned onto Hwy. 199 and drove up the Smith River and down into Oregon to Morrison’s Rogue River Resort n the Rogue River, arriving around 5:30 p.m. .

The lodge is a lovely wood lodge set back from the Rogue River about 200 yards with an open manicured lawn between it and the River.  It specializes in fly fishing and is one of the top rated fishing lodges by Orvis.

At around 6:15 p.m. Elaine came to our room to tell us the solar eclipse had started and I remembered that this was the day for it. We walked out onto the large lawn where a group of six or seven folks who had ridden in from Portland had set up their cameras on tripods and were shooting photos of the eclipse.  They also had darkened glass to look at the sun without burning one’s eye and lent me the glass for a minute.  So I was able to see the eclipse.  We discussed why it was not a total eclipse and the fellow who lent me the glass explained that because the moon was so close to the earth (remember this is the year of the Mega super moon) that it did not fully obscure the sun.  I noticed that at the point that the moon fully covered the sun, there was still a slight ring of light of the sun around the moon and then a broad penumbra.

Before dinner I spoke to the chef, Walt, who had been to Taos where his relative is Malcolm Nichols, lawyer from Texas also.  He said he would send out the beef flank steak for me to try for dinner.   At 7:00 we were called to dinner.  Dinner was a four course meal.  The first course was red lentils with a sprig of cilantro, the second ocurse was the best, a Greek salad with slices of tomato, cucumber, and red onion with a light vinaigrette with a few kalamata olives and a few crumbs of feta cheese.  The third course was the entrée. We all ordered chicken flavored with caramelized fennel and onions that had been roasted in the oven until tender but not overcooked as stated by Chef Walt.  Brandon, our waiter also delivered another plate with a sliced up teriyaki marinated flank steak.  The plates were garnished with potatoes au gratin and sautéed Zucchini and yellow crook neck squash.

We had tried several whites and did not like any so we finally ordered a bottle of Fortis Pinot Noir which is the local Pinot, and very delicate and feminine that went well with all of the food.

Finally for dessert we had a chocolate roulade which is a thinly sliced flat sheet of chocolate cake covered with whipped cream and then rolled into a log that is cut and with a puddle of berry coulis poured beside it.

The vegetables were a little\e    

We took dinner at the Lodge and it was a lovely setting on the open patio overlooking the river.    

        

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