The Redwood Forest, CA, USA

Giant Redwood Trees

Straight from George picking me up at the airport we headed to the Redwood Forest. Destination: Avenue of Giants, recommended by a friend.

The drive there was stunning, rolling green hills, vineyards, happy cows and an emerald green snaking river.  The land scape changed dramatically from acres of farmland to steep hills blanketed in dense forest.

Markers showing what this tree saw in its lifetime

Our drive through the Avenue of Giants, one of the largest populations of Redwood on the planet, was quiet, cool and perhaps even a little creepy as we cruised through the winding road.  It was a sleepy place, like a breezy summer afternoon that makes you want to curl up with a good book and eventually fall into a nap.  The air is perfect; fresh and moving just enough.

It was hard not to feel like a hobbit and to not think about how our lifetime is a blink compared to the age of these monsters. Many of these trees were standing when the Vikings discovered North America. Over the years they have withstood fires, floods and humans.

I was sure the Redwood forest was going to be pretty cool, but I couldn't stop telling George how amazing and unbelievable it was.  Those of you that know me can only imagine what this was like.  I must have muttered "I love trees" a thousand times.

Total tree huger

As we were leaving George noted that they really were missing out on some marketing opportunities by not having t-shirts that said things like:
I hugged a tree today.
I love trees.
I hugged the tallest tree in the world today.
I'm a tree huger.


The rest of our photos from this leg of the trip can be seen here: http://tinyurl.com/d5wd358