Ben’s Cross-Country Trek to the California Redwoods

Recently, Penny Mustard co-founder Ben Huth took a bucket-list crosscountry trip to see some of the world’s most impressive. We asked him to tell the story in his own words:

Every year, my wife, Holly, and I take a trip to visit our friends who own a ranch in Montana. They calve about 1,150 cows each spring, and we like to spend a week there every spring to lend a hand during their peak time. This year, we added an extra week to our trip so that we could visit Yosemite before heading to California to take in the Redwoods. Holly loves trees, and the bigger, older, and more unique they are, the better. Plus, I’ve always been a tree fan myself. So, on March 19th, we departed from our home in Wisconsin and began our drive to Montana.

The ranch was a lot of work. The spring weather had been extra snowy and cold, so it took a while to warm up. But, while we were there, Holly and I helped deliver the biggest calf I’ve ever seen! Watching the cow, it was obvious she needed assistance. But, in the end, the birth wasn’t too bad considering the size of the calf. The average on the ranch is usually around 90 lbs, and that little (big) guy tipped the scales at a whopping 162 lbs! Thankfully, when we left for California, momma and baby were doing well.

En route to California, we traveled west through Idaho and Washington, and crossed the Columbia River into Oregon, where we stayed in the nice little town of Rufus. Heading south from there, we passed through wheat country, with huge rolling fields and electric windmills scattered everywhere. At one point, we stopped used binoculars to counted the far ridges. I easily saw 600 windmills from just that one spot! (Windmills cost roughly $4 million each, which means about $2.4 billion dollars of investment could be seen from a single hilltop.)

Our first night in northwest California was spent near the ocean in Crescent City. From there, we began our Redwood Forest hikes. Them redwoods are legit! I’d never seen trees so big! Photos and videos don’t do them justice. They’re definitely worth seeing in person. I was surprised at how many redwoods were growing per acre – young, middle-aged, and old – just like they’ve all been doing for centuries. I believe some of the oldest trees are nearly 3,000 years old and just shy of 400 feet tall. We also saw elk, blacktail deer, whales, seals, banana slugs (which are well-known and featured on a variety of tourist souvenirs), and many other wild creatures in and along the forest and ocean trails.

The Redwood Forests were, for the most part, do-it-yourself. Unlike other national parks, no parking passes or entry fees were required, and there was no opening or closing time. You just pull in, park, pick a trail, and hike away. The forest is steep, thick, and moist – definitely not ideal for casual strolls. But, the trails were well-kept and nice for traversing. Overall, the Redwoods, in my opinion, are a must-see. We’re so glad we got to experience them!

We then traveled inland from the coast and stayed for a few more days. In the end, we skipped Yosemite because it was still snowing! (This winter was one of the snowiest on record, smashing a 54-year-old snowfall record by the beginning of March.) Yosemite is known for its greenery, flowers, and waterfalls, and we didn’t want to trade all that for being cold, snowy, and miserable. So, we headed home.

But I’ll always remember the time I saw the biggest calf and the biggest trees I’d ever seen in the span of just two weeks!

Here are a few of the photos!