Part TWO of our recent Road Trip up the California Coast with my parents + sister is on the blog today!! (In case you missed Part 1, be sure to check it out here!). The portions of the trip that I am sharing today include my two favorite parts from the whole trip — The Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park + Crater Lake!! Such INCREDIBLE sights that I only hope everyone has the opportunity to experience in their lifetime!! Again, I can’t reiterate enough that the pictures will never do just for just how magnificent these natural wonders are — but I’m sure going to do my best to try + show it!!

While the Sequoias are known for being wide, THICK, gigantic trees — the Redwoods in the northern coast are known for their great HEIGHT!!

All of these photos were taken in the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park!! What is SO amazing about the Redwoods is not only their height, but just how MANY there are!! The Sequoias in Central California that we saw first were more few + far between — they are much more rare. The Redwoods, on the other hand, were just countless in number — clustered together in these dense forests for as far as you could see!!

So many shots of the truck … but it’s one of the only good ways to try + show just how MASSIVE these trees are!!!! Also, I think this could be a Chevy ad … ; )

While visiting the northern Redwoods, we stayed in Crescent City! It is definitely the best little city to stay in — so close the Jedediah Smith State Park (less than 10 minutes!). Our little rental home was so cute!! And wait until you see the view …

This was RIGHT outside our front door!! The weather during our time on the coast was very cool + cloudy, which we heard is typical for both this area + the time of the year!!

How ADORABLE is this little Bed & Breakfast that was just down the road from us!?! I could LIVE here!! Someone needs to stay here — phone number below ; )!!!

The famous Crescent City Lighthouse!

Our final stretch of the trip was from Crescent City, CA to Portland, OR! We were told to stop at Crater Lake on the way up, to break up the 6.5 hour drive!! Prior to this trip, I had never heard of Crate Lake. OH. MY. GOSH. It was unbelievable!! Gregg Ritchie — thank you for this recommendation!! Crater Lake was one of my favorite sites … if not my favorite of the whole trip!!

Okay, so I know what you’re thinking — I heavily edited these photos to get that blue color — right?!! NO!! All I did was brighten + sharpen these photos a bit!! Crater Lake is famous for it’s SIZE + COLOR. It used to be a 12,000 foot volcano that erupted + then collapsed, forming this major crater that has now filled with water of the past several thousand years! It is the deepest + clearest lake in North America. Because of it’s depth + clarity, when the sun hits the water, the only colors that reflect back are blue + purple because they have the shortest wave lengths!! This is what gives the lake its unbelievable color! This is REAL, you guys!!

When we finally made it to Portland, we only had one night to spend in the city! We had (what everyone agreed to be) one of our BEST meals of the trip at Noble Rot!! We also got the famous Voodoo Donuts (SO GOOD), but I have no pictures to document this!! If you follow us on Snapchat, however (you can find us under “maisonmeredith”!), you definitely saw our Voodoo Donut adventure!!

The view from the patio at Noble Rot!! Cheers to an UNFORGETTABLE trip!!!