Playing catch-up on the trip...leaving Yosemite

We left Yosemite on May 29th at about 9 am. We had a great site at the campground….very private (#39) shaded right next to a waterfall on the Fresno River. We decided to hook up the tow car just outside the entrance…nice place to pull out of the way. Good thing..Jim discovered left rear tail light on the motorhome was out. Took it apart and replaced bulb.
Took 49…scenic highway (!!!) to Mariposa then 140 to Merced to the CA99. Followed our route through Oakland and across Richmond-San Rafael toll bridge…$8.25. At the other side we could see San Quinton Prison. Connected with 101N and stopped in Ukiah at the Wal-Mart. The parking lot was filled with homeless kids and dogs. We decided to find a campground nearby. Drove just a little bit up 101 and found Golden Rule RV Park…on the Ridgewood Ranch..Home of Seabiscuit! Nicely hidden down off 101.
While Jim was enjoying a beer outside a nice guy came by and started a conversation. He and his wife are from Australia. They’ve been traveling from Vancouver and will fly out of Los Angeles in July. Very nice. They came to Canada, bought a small rig and took off. It's so much fun meeting people like this.
Spent the night planning our route for tomorrow and schedule to Medford, OR, to have rv repairs done.
Got up early next morning and got back underway towards Crescent City, CA, and the Redwood NP. Saw the white deer and lots of turkeys on the rv campsite property on our way out. Good trip up 101…up and down and all around but Jim did well even with no exhaust brake. Stopped in Eureka to fill up the rig. Eureka is right on the coast. We had good weather and beautiful scenery all the way. Not much further to Crescent City. The towns on the coast all have tsunami warning zones…never seen that before.
Got to Crescent City early and found our campground…Jeremiah Smith Redwood State Park on CA-199 just north of Crescent City. VERY tight roads…do not know how Jim got through and around the big trees but he did. We camped in #92 nice size for us. The rig and tow car just fit. We are surrounded by dense brush and redwood trees. We set up camp and then drove down to find the footbridge across the Smith River…it isn’t there. They will have it in summer (July). We decided to drive to Howland Hill Road and the Stout Tree trail. It’s raining so the road (dirt) is very muddy and lots of holes. We parked at the top of the trail and started hiking. Beautiful trail…very natural with redwoods, rhododendrons and ferns. Creek running down along trail. Finally made it to Stout Tree Grove and Loop Trail. Walked around and took some pics. It is raining but the canopy of trees is protecting us mostly. Very cold still. Went into Crescent City and found a restaurant/bar and had a beer. We decided to eat and shared a seafood platter…cod strips, calamari, shrimp and scallops with veggies and coleslaw. Very good. Raining very hard now. We could see the surf from the restaurant…which was in the harbor. Went back to camp and decided to leave for Medford in the morning. Had a good sleep…cold weather with rain.