With baby fast approaching, Craig and I decided to get busy with some sight seeing. I wanted to show him some of the huge trees that grow here in California. The closest place was Muir Woods National Monument, just north of San Francisco. The California Costal Giant Redwoods were awe inspiring. We learned that they only grow in this small strip of Northern California, and that they are the tallest living things in the world. The woods have a reverent feel to them. It is one of the most peaceful places I’ve been in the natural world, aside from the Sacred Grove. Here are some pictures to give you an idea. They don’t do the wood justice, but short of taking you myself, what can I do?
Please look at the pictures we took of this amazing place!
This is Craig and me next to a cut out of a tree that has been around since 909 AD. Pretty incredible, and not unusual for this wood. Also, you can see my torpedo belly!
This is called a family group. Redwoods grow in these groups, much like we do, sharing their root systems for strength.
Redwoods are capable of reproducing from themselves, not just in seeds. These are baby redwoods at work. They will be exact duplicates of their parent tree.
These duplicates come from burls that grow at the base of the tree, then rise up the trunk if they are not needed. If the parent tree is sick, they will reproduce exact replicas of the parent tree. This is one amazing example of a burl.
This is just a beautiful tree trunk. We named it the Green Goddess.
By the time we were done with our walk I was pretty tired, the trip was worth every second!
