
Crescent City – Prairie Creek

Once again we were at a marina for breakfast. The Chart House
sits right on the shore and as you eat you can watch a group of sea lions
sunning themselves on a nearby dock. After breakfast we walked down to the
adjoining dock and got some great close-ups.
Leaving the beach we drove to a
state park called Prairie Creek . Prairie has it’s share of redwoods but our
destination was a spot called Fern Canyon. On the way we hoped to see some of
the wild elk herd that populates the area. Fern Canyon is 8 miles off of the
main highway. The road is unpaved and you have to travel through several
flowing creek beds to get there.
At the start of the drive in a meadow where
the elk are known to feed, we could see a large group off in the distance. To
far to really enjoy or get good pictures, it looked like it was a group of only
females. Where were the males? We moved
up the road a bit and got out to scout around a bit. No luck. The males were
not to be seen.
Zib really loves her photography and I have to say she gets some amazing shots. Below is one of the many wildflowers found in the forest. The other is this brilliant red dragon fly that she was very patient in getting a picture of!


A trail marked Trillim Falls was nearby. It was a short hike
and we loaded up the camera gear to go see the
falls. Like the entire area, the trail wandered upward amidst redwoods,
hemlock, ferns and flowers. Arriving at the falls we snapped some pictures and enjoyed the picturesque scenery.
Traveling up the road we
finally arrived at the parking spot for Fern Canyon. The parking lot is next to
the beach by about 150 yards. We found the males! They were feeding in the
grasses near the beach. These guys were amazing to watch. At least six feet at
their heads with 8 and 10 point racks reaching to the sky.
We positioned
ourselves for some pictures at a good distance. They looked at us but didn’t
seem to show much interest. Then, remarkably, they began moving our way! Closer
and closer they approached and it was soon clear that we were on the path they
normally traveled for feeding. They got within 10 yards of us! We felt so
privileged to
be seeing them. It was clear that it was time to move out of the
way and we reluctantly did so. Those boys can move at 35 miles per hour and
will attack if provoked. As long as we were quiet they seemed to be content
with our presence. Of course they have been around humans a great deal and had
no reason to feel threatened. Still, tame they were not and it was time to
clear the path.
We then moved on to the trail into Fern Canyon. It's called Fern Canyon, well, because the walls of the canyon are covered with ferns! Ferns, moss and small water falls filled the canyon. The hike took you in and followed a stream bed. It was beautiful.
Returning to the car we said farewell to the Elk who were still nearby and made the drive back into town We stopped at the Beachcomber for an excellent dinner and then drove out to a point on the coast and watched the magnificent sunset!