Vacation Part 2: Armstrong Redwood State National Reserve, Bodega Bay and Melk TERT!!

Welcome back for PART 2 of our adventures in Northern California! The town that we were based in was called Windsor and the Armstrong State National Reserve was only +- 30 minutes away. The drive from Windsor to the Armstrong Redwoods was very scenic! With little barns, farms and vineyards! Here are a few from the drive: (You can see a vineyard next to the barn...)

 

 

Here is one of us crossing the Russian River which is the second largest river in the San Francisco Bay area (110 miles long). 

  Then in the little town leading to the Armstrong Redwoods... (The road's name was Armstrong Woods Road)

 And here we reach the Woods:

 Here is a link to check out the Armstrong Woods in more detail:  http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=450
The most variety of giant redwoods are found in California. So enjoy sights of these incredibly beautiful trees! We first did a very easy walk, called the Pioneer Nature trail to see some of the famous trees in this specific reserve.

 

Here are some fellow explorers that were along on the trail with us... It wasn't long before the little girl was asking if they were lost! hehe!

Here are some more pictures of treetops, one of me next to a HUGE tree (you have to look carefully!) and one of Izak and I being towered over by a giant redwood:

 

 

Then they have this huge tree and have marked down it's germination at 948AD! Amazing to think of all the generations that have passed while this tree stood!

A few more... In this one you can see how lovely and flat this trail was:

Look at how big this tree is! Izak fits inside quite comfortably!

We then proceeded onto the East Ridge Trail which appeared to be as easy a walk as the one we had just done... But it turned out to be pretty intense! Lots of ups and downs and we weren't wearing the right shoes... but it was beautiful and also good to see how far we could push ourselves!
Note the ups and downhills in these pics:

 

 

 After completing our 'moderate' hike, we made our way to Bodega Bay... It is so interesting to see how quickly the temperature can change as soon as you head towards the coast... Watch how the fog sets in only after a few miles:

 

 And here are some pics of the coast leading up to and in Bodega Bay... Note the dark brown sand and cliffs. It reminded me of a mix of Port Alfred, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We actually found that we wished we had something warmer to wear after being so warm at the Armstrong Woods!
Here is a picture on our back to Windsor: (It reminds me of the Karoo in a way... perhaps close to Somerset East.)

 And lastly, I made MILK TART and took it for a dessert for some friends to try. It tasted just like milk tart and Izak and I were very excited about that! Can you believe that we have already been away from home for almost a year exactly! This is where I found the recipe: http://www.justeasyrecipes.co.za/2009/08/27/milk-tart/
And here is the finished product:

 

Such an easy recipe and it makes TWO medium tarts! Bonus! Well, we hope that you enjoyed seeing another part of Northern California... We will be back with PART THREE of our vacation shortly! Keep in touch and please feel free to leave as many comments as you have time for!
Love the Bakkes three