Note From James : Being a Coug is tough. Being a Coug in the middle of nowhere without cell service during football season is even tougher. We were without reception all day yesterday so I was left in a state of panic all night wondering if the Cougs were able to pull off their first victory. As we packed up at 7am I kept glancing at my phone to see if it found service but no luck. We hit the road at about 730 and continued on our way deeper into California. With each passing mile my mind ran and my thoughts grew more and more pessimistic. As we dipped in and out of valleys I feverishly tapped refresh in hopes of catching a sliver of 1g but it wasn't until about 9 in the morning that I got my answer. We pummeled them. Halliday tore Portland state apart in a victory that I wish I could have savored myself but at least I can sit happy knowing we got our much needed 1st W. Now back to what you all are actually here for.
Today we wrapped up our last day in California with a trip through the Avenue of Giants in the Humboldt Redwoods State Park. This two lane, 30 mile winding road has thousands of daunting redwood trees lining it creating a dark forest floor with sparse patches of harsh light breaking through the tree tops. Conditions like these are less than ideal but we decided that we made the long journey down there so we might as well try it out!
After setting up our first time lapse of the sun breaking through the tops of the branches of a massive redwood we got to planning out a shot of the Subaru with the tent. This whole process ended up taking around 30 minutes or so but sadly we never got the shot we were looking for so we scrapped the shoot and finished the time lapse a bit early.
In hopes of reviving the 2 hour trip we just made we thought we would try out an out of car time lapse. We did this by attaching the D600 to the roof rack of the car using a manfrotto arm and clamp. This allowed us to take a time lapse while rolling through the forest. We haven't had the opportunity to put the hyper lapse together yet but we hope it turns out so we can share our drive through the state park with you all! After finishing up in the Avenue of Giants we started our trip back up north with our final destination of the day being an airbnb in Grants Pass, Oregon.
We pulled into Grants Pass at around 6pm and quickly headed to our hosts home to drop off all of our gear and to start some much needed battery charging. Since Brad and Kala weren't home at the time they let us know their passcode to unlock the front door. When we opened the door we were greeted by their golden retriever named Molly who was extremely nice and well behaved. After getting situated we decided to head to the grocery store so we could make ourselves dinner but per usual something grabbed our attention on our way back. The sun was just about to go down and started to light up smoke from a nearby fire. Naturally, we jumped out of the car and started to time lapse it and the surrounding mountains. By the time our time lapses finished up and we got back to our airbnb Brad and Karla had also returned and we finally got to meet our hosts.
After 3 full days on the road without a real shower you can guess just how gloriously ripe we were. (Think layered dirt and canned soup) I felt bad for Brad and Kala because despite our obvious stench they were happy to talk with us about the area, our work and their home. This was our first airbnb experience and I do have to say that it is a little weird staying in another persons home but at the same time it really is pretty cool for both ends! Brad and Kala's home was extremely clean and the fact that we could use their shower was worth the money itself. You really take showers for granted until you can't take them for over three days!
Once we finished eating dinner and taking showers we got to working on our blog and then passed out at about 1:30 or so in hopes of getting a few hours of sleep!
Enjoy these teaser photos from some of the time lapses we shoot during our 3rd day! Follow our instagram and like us on facebook for more photos!
Sunset over Grants Pass, OR
Redwood National Forest
Driving through the Redwoods