The silhouette of tree tops, they flash by the window

Day 11: Eueraka, CA to Portland, OR
total miles traveled: 130 + the number we didn't record again

Today we woke up and the sun was shining and we knew the day was going to be beautiful. We were driving along hwy 101 and there was actually a place to pull over and see a bunch of elk. Apparently the elk like this one field and stay there often because there were a bunch of people taking pictures. We pulled over onto a side road, but couldn't proceed to where the elk were because the road was flooded by a stream. I feel that Sylvia could have taken it, but I didn't want to risk it since she sits so low to the ground. Turtle, Jenn, and I walked through the marshy grass to the other side of the stream in order to get some good pictures of the elk. Turtle wanted to go up and pet one, but luckily, he spotted the sign that told him that elk are very hostile. We snapped a couple of pictres and went on our way. We were approaching the redwoods when we started looking for signs to the tree you can drive through. We stopped off at a state park ranger station and asked one of the people there who directed us to the only one that was on our way. People apparently get lost trying to find this tree, but we actually found it with relative ease. We got to the tree and paid the $5 to visit the tree. When we got to the top of the hill, we were the only ones, so we got to take a bunch of pictures. We drove through the tree twice, and each of us actually took pictures while standing inside of the tree. I had the idea, being the true Boone kid that I am, to hug one of the trees. I also have seen other pictures of people hugging the redwoods and it just looks cool. We all ended up hugging this one tree. A couple of other people had actually come up to drive through the tree so we went on our way. As we drove along 101, we stopped off at one overlook area. The water was crashing against the rocks that were out in the surf. The view was gorgeous, and we all stopped and were actually able to have a group picture because a nice person took one of us. We drove further north and got off 101 and took hwy 199, which was BEAUTIFUL!! The road was curvey and had beautiful views the entire way. We crossed over the Smith River multiple times, which was amazing. The color of the water was spectacular and we already have plans to come back and kayak. We arrived in Oregon and got some gas. The gas station actually had no self service, which was weird. Apparently in Oregon and New Jersey, it is a state law that you can't pump your own gas; an attendant has to do it. I guess you learn something new everyday. We ended up getting to the hotel just outside of Portland around dinner time. We all walked over to the Wendy's and grabbed some food and then headed back to the hotel. We sat and ate and watched tv. Turtle ended up going to Bally total fitness (we got a free pass with the room stay) and the three girls sat on the bed and ate our frostys. Sarah and I ended up heading down to the hot tub, where we met a very nice man from Atlanta. We chatted with him for a bit. Jenn came down a little later, so we all hung out for another half hour or so. After our fingers were all pruney, we headed back up to the hotel room. Turtle came back from working out and decided that he wanted to dye his hair. He had bought hair dye in New Oreleans, so we finally used it. Turtle is now the proud owner of a very red head of hair. Sarah had actually done her laundry in the hotel tub and proceeded to hang her clothes all around to dry. We all grabbed showers and such and headed to bed.