I avoided visiting Rachel at St. Mary's during her sophomore year, but was again committed to driving down at the end of May to bring her home along with all her stuff. Like before, I drove down at night, took a nap at a rest area halfway down, and met Rachel at her dorm just before noon. I listened to the Dungeon Crawler Carl audiobook on the way down, which made for a more pleasant drive.

After quickly packing everything into the car, we were on the road and back to Highway 101. Last year, we missed the scenic route through Redwood National Park in northern California, but this time we made sure not to miss it. We took the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway road through the park and had the road mostly to ourselves. Rachel was excited to see elk along the way. We also did a short hike among the huge trees, but turned around as it was starting to get dark.

Once out of the park, we decided to push further to Grants Pass in Oregon before stopping for the night. The sun had long set by the time we started the long, dark, and windy drive along Route 199 through the endless forest. It was a bit intense, but we safely made it to our hotel. The next day was just a long final drive up I-5 to home and summer vacation for Rachel.

Empty Dorm

Driving Along the Redwoods

Checking the Redwood Map

Redwood Drive

Redwood Elk

Big Tree

Zig Zag Trail

Danger Drive to Grants Pass

Home State

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May 19-20, 2026