Redwood Forest: Round 1...
Redwood Forest
We finally pulled away from San Diego with the intent to do a week in the Redwood Forest. Desiree worked on finding the perfect parking spot, one with wifi to keep Aaron working. We hooked up Little Ann and pulled away heading North on to Interstate 5.
All was smooth and good getting through LA. Heading over the mountains north of LA, an engine warning light came on followed by ominous statements about poor DEF quality. We pulled over at the nearest truck stop, read some manuals, and did some internet searching while Wade and Amelia ate lunch.
Long and short, we kept going knowing we could get to our stop for the night at French Camp, CA. Indeed we did but the next morning we had a stop engine light. This means we would not be able to go faster than 5 miles per hour. A call to a local technician, a quick discussion about how we might have some harmless old DEF fluid or dust in the system, and a simple reset of the engine we started right up. With that, we were on our way and $200 poorer.
We proceeded for several hundred miles and then the check engine light turned back on. This time, there was no ominous statement about DEF (I needed a win and took it). We continued to drive to a proper truck stop repair station. $109 later, I learned we had a NOx sensor that was detecting low NOx levels. The repair guy insisted that isn’t possible when the engine is running (aka the engine is producing NOx by the fact it is running) and we probably had a bad sensor. Again, we were advised we could travel to where we needed to be and with that, we proceeded to the Redwoods. I drove nervously the entire way expecting an emergency engine shutdown but we made it.
Ah the Redwoods, an amazing space tucked into mountains along the coast. The weather is a perfect sleeping 55 degrees at night with the day at 71. We spent the days on hike, splashing in the river and avoiding confrontations with the local Elk herds. Effectively, we resumed our usual programming: Aaron waking up in the mornings and working till 2, Desiree planning and coordinating, and Amelia and Wade going along with it all.
It was a week filled with an exceptional amount of awe, far to much to detail everything. Some special experiences should be noted though.
Hiking Stout Grove - Groves of old growth redwoods, which provided a more dense and enchanted forest experience than we saw in the Sequoias.
Point St George, headed to the coast on the windiest day. Nothing compares to an empty beach, with fierce ocean wave pounding the rocky outcroppings, and the shoreline scattered with driftwood . The highlight of this adventure (for the kids) - finding the dead sea lion.
Discovering the natural arch at Enderts beach
The first time we saw elk. First one of the herds, then some bucks chillin’ by the side of the road. They are MASSIVE, specifically they are Roosevelt Elk, weighing up to 1200 lbs, and 2nd only in size in the deer family to the moose. Lots of pulling over for photos - and wishing I had a longer lens.
Trillium Falls - the waterfall here wasn’t why this hike ranks as one of my favorite, but rather it was the first time I felt like I was close to being in a rain forest. Giant ferns and clover the size of a child’s hand covered the ground as tall trees covered in moss created this stunning forest of giants.
We also learned lesson 1 with the motorhome. VIN searches (aka the RV version of CarFax) on the RV do not tell you about engine recalls. Desiree’s searching and talking with Cummins told us we are part of a 500,000 engine recall, specifically the emissions system. Our current warning lights and error codes are a direct result of the recall issue around the SCR. Lesson number 2, SCR is the emission system that turns all that hot flaming gas from the engine into harmless nitrogen and water. The good news, it is going to be fixed without costing me anything, the bad news, it will take 2 weeks for the parts to get to California. Lesson number 3, keep your plans flexible.
Round 1 of Redwoods Completed Summary:
2 happy kids walking trails every day through tall giants, beaches, and rocky rivers.
Desiree learning Diesel engine design (specifically emission systems)
Aaron happy someone else is going to pay for it.
