I need to remember that the mini is NOT an suv.

Today I drove through the Redwood National Forest/Park. I decided to be adventurous and take one of the random routes that they have through the park. It was beautiful, but the road was terrifying. At one point I was driving along with my hand on the emergency brake in case I went skidding out of control. This was, of course, all at about 5 mph. Parts of the road were literally just shake. Where there weren't enormous rocks on the road, there were millions of rock shards with enormous drop offs on one side or the other (and at one point on both sides!).

The big mistake I made was not driving up to the 'look out' and then turning around and heading right back out. I mean, that road was pretty awful, but at least I knew what I had already driven and how to get back to the highway. Instead I followed the sign with an arrow that pointed randomly to rt. 199 in 21 miles. I thought, "Sure," I can see a bit more of the forest and take the round-about route -- I figured that I had nothing else I needed to do. It was a mistake not knowing what I was getting into, road-wise. It was really gorgeous and I took a ton of pictures, but it was nerve racking. Getting out and walking around was so relaxing and peaceful, that it really made me aware of how tense I was in the car.

Anyway, I lived.

You might also notice that I started using the little mini tripod that came with my camera. I've got a million pictures of myself in front of the view -- enjoy!