We left Westport Beach late in the morning as I did a lot of work on the blog and also had to process a number of Internet Orders for our Motorcycle Parts business. I knew that we’d be turning East today away from the Coastline so I was a bit disappointed in that, but as with each day, keep your mind open and great things will appear and appear they did.
So we hit the road with our only plan to see the Drive Through Tree in Leggett, CA. I was very impressed with how tall and green the trees were as we continued to wind our way 
through the steep mountains on Rt 1 as we headed toward the 101. This area reminded me a lot of back home in Vermont, though not nearly as windy as hear, it is lush, green and offers spectacular views. Perhaps that is why I did not stop as frequently for Photo Ops, but we made our way…Slow and Steady, toward Leggett.
As everyone told me, there was no way I’d miss the tree. There were signs for it starting about 15 minutes out. I was hoping it was not like South of the Border in South Carolina and thankfully, it was not. Upon arriving at the Entrance Gate, the friendly Park Ranger quickly made conversation with Lexie before turning her attention to me and simply told me…she won’t fit through the tree, referring to Sandy. No Problem, I replied, as long as I can get a picture in front of it. So off we went driving down the dirt path widing our way past some giant trees and then finally at the end, there she was…the Drive Through Tree.
The tree was actually a bit smaller than i imagined, but cars were driving through it. Even some SUV’s. Sandy would have made it if she wasn’t a Westy with the Pop Top, but she was about 2″ too tall and I didn’t see the need to risk damaging her just for a photo op so we pulled over and let the line behind us go through and then I put Lexie inside the tree and took a picture.
It was then that a gentlemen approached me and commented on the bus. He wanted to know if I actually drove it from Vermont. I explained to him what we were doing and then he turned his attention to Lexie. This gentlemen was none other than Dr. Roger Mugford an Animal Psychologist and CEO of The Company of Animals. He both knew and admired the Westy and was enthralled with Lexie and her personality. He could tell Lexie was a lucky girl, but I must say…it is I who is the lucky one when it comes to Lexie. The Doctor offered to take a picture of Lexie and I and I happily agreed as it is rare for me to get my picture with her. We spent some time resting up at the Tree Park and enjoying playing outside in the large open field out back, though I did keep a watchful eye on the sky for Birds of Prey.
The rest of the day was spent winding our way through the interior mountains away from the coastline. The Giant Redwoods only seemed to get bigger and bigger as we made our way north up the 101. Outside of that, it was just a day of driving. We finally arrived in Eureka, CA and I had expected that to be our stop for the day, but it was still early so I continued on. Some of the rocks were stunning and there was a lot of work happening on this road as it looked like they were cleaning up from Rock Slides. Looked like slides happen frequently and all the trucks carried tiny snow plows which I think were more for mud and rock than snow.
Up hills and down hills, back up and then down and then it happened….
I’m coming down a steep grade and holding the bus in Third when up ahead I see some cars pulled over. Since I am trained to read the road ahead more so than the road in front of me (something you learn driving big rigs and motorcycles) I quickly focused in on what was causing this disturbance in the traffic pattern. And there it was…
A huge Elk was walking right across the 101 at the bottom of the hill, I began to hit the brakes and got off to the shoulder as soon as I could. This was the photo op I was waiting for all day! I saw a dirt driveway and I pulled in, but I was so focused on that giant Elk that I did not see the herd of Elk in the field before me. Dozens of them! All over! Lexie and I spent the next hour just parked on the side of the dirt road watching them graze, listening to them bugle. Listen to them here and witness what I saw. CLICK HERE If you don’t want to click, the Bull Elk is rounding up its Harem and fending off other Bull Elk from taking some of the Cow Elk from him.
What we saw was specifically the Roosevelt Elk and they are quite common in this spot.
We pulled back on the road and no sooner did we then I saw a campground right next to the Elk Herd so I pulled right in and got a spot in the park. I was warned that the Elk will come right up to the Bus and I needed to keep a close eye on Lexie and not let her run. They were not kidding. We awoke the next morning to the herd all around the bus. So many and so close that I could not even walk Lexie.
Photo Link: https://goo.gl/photos/GvB7WmjVBH6hXik49
