Redwoods and the Scariest Road in America

The next day we had a beautiful ride to the Redwoods. I guess I thought when you get to the Redwoods you would pass through a gate like you do at the national parks, when in actuality there are groves of trees that you can explore off the main road. A local ranger suggested we visit Lady Bird Johnson Grove just off of Route 101. What can I say about the Redwoods? They're mind-numbingly huge. They really make you think about your place in the world and the things that have happened in history since they've been here. They're beautiful. We were very lucky to have only three other couples in the grove with us, so it was quiet and peaceful.
In the Redwoods parking lot we met a couple that suggested we take Route 299 to Redding,California. By this time we had decided that we didn't have enough time to visit Yosemite and this looked like a nice "shortcut" on our way to the Grand Canyon. This shortcut turned into more than 150 miles of twisting, turning, cliff and tractor trailer avoiding scariness! I was literally white knuckling it the whole way! We followed the Trinity River for most of the ride, which offers tourists with nerves of steel the opportunity to white water raft it's length. 299 is actually a very beautiful drive with gorgeous mountain views and no guardrails. When we finally arrived at the village at the other end I told Kevin that if I lived here I would never drive west.
We continued driving down Route 5 south and stopped for the night in Corning, California. We found a beautiful, privately run campground among the olive trees. This was our first night camping without an electric hookup. It turned out that it was warm enough that we didn't need an electic blanket, so all was well.