I've been on vacation and I wish I hadn't come home. Things were better on the road. I return to have my dog become partially paralyzed. Yes, things were better just a few days ago, but....
It was a short vacation, but peaceful. I'm always happiest when a vacation is amongst nature. Not a fan of cities no matter how much culture they offer. I'd still rather be impressed by that which humans cannot make.
Days in the redwoods followed by days at a lake in the Trinity Alps. One day of rain, the rest perfect mixes of fog and sunshine. It wouldn't be the redwoods without some fog. They thrive in the fog, coastal fog. The majority of my life I have been little more than 1/2 hour away from the Pacific Ocean. Ocean, trees, and mountains are a perfect mix for me. And redwoods my favorite.
One of the things you see when traveling through redwood country are eventually photos of people standing next to or on the stumps of the trees. People love to pose next to these giants. I recently took a photo of a man taking a photo of a group of people posing next to a fair sized tree in a nearby park. The group were giddy to be near a tree so large, but I kept thinking "Boy, you ain't seen nothin' if you think this is big." But they were happy and had a photo to take home of themselves next to a redwood that made them look small. The boys in this old postcard were experiencing this same giddy joy. I've had this card for several years. It was not purchased during my vacation.
Click on image to see it larger.
This is the Boy Scout Tree located in the Jedediah Smith State Park. A stunning place. On the back of this card it says "The 'Boy Scout Tree' near Crescent City contains over 147,000 feet of lumber and is 31 feet in diameter at the base." I love when people see lumber when they see these trees. I see natures cathedrals. Others see track homes.
Which brings me to the photos you also see of people standing on or next to fallen trees or stumps. The most bizarre one I saw on this trip was taken at a great distance from a tree being cut down. The thing was huge, thousands of years old, and the lumberjacks had put in a large notch and were now standing on what would become the stump, in the notch, tree above them. HUGE tree above them. They would have been squashed like ants if that gentle giant had come down. The tree below with the un-squashed fellow is tiny compared to the really large trees unless he was the height of Paul Bunyan. Still, on the back of this vintage postcard it states "Millions of feet of lumber are made from the Redwoods annually." There they go again, seeing dollar signs. It's like someone picking up a rock and thinking it won't have any value until it has been polished. The natural form is not sufficient for its use.
Click on image to see it larger.
If you've never been in a redwood forest where the ground is covered with ferns you might enjoy this interactive panorama by G. Donald Bain which allows you to stand in the middle of the trail to the Boy Scout Tree and turn a full 360 degrees. Make sure to place your cursor over the photo and then spin to your hearts content in the ancient forest.
And to read and see more about the redwoods go to the National Geographic link to their October issue.
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GREAT post! We've been to the Redwoods - only once, but hey - we were on our honeymoon, my having just got back from spending a year in SE Asia on a forced vacation of sorts. I thought everything about the US was big and beautiful and the Redwoods were no exception.
ReplyDeleteThat must have been a real shock to the system to go from the hot humidity of SE Asia to the fog of the redwoods. Which area did you go to?
ReplyDeleteI love the country too. We went to see the Sequoias when we were over in the California in 2008. And yes, we took some of those photographs lol!
ReplyDeleteGod, that is so sad about your dog. Hope there is some improvement for the pooch...or comfort at the least.
ReplyDeleteI was in Muir Woods a couple of times. Even though it's probably the most tourist-y of the redwood forests, I loved it.
Poor little fellow has been down this road before. Three years ago he became completely paralyzed from the neck down two days before Christmas. He had major spinal surgery and was up and about in a day, even though the recovery took 6 months before he was once again allowed to wander through the house and not sleep in a cage. This time he's pulling out of it slowly on his own. Baby steps. That's all I'm askin' for.
ReplyDeleteWith choices like the Redwoods and the Trinity Alp are, sounds like you know how to get a lot out of vacation time. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteMDV / Oregon
M.D. indeed I do. The last one I sat by a lake for three days and did literally nothing. I watched the lake. I watched the birds on the lake. I watched fishermen go one way and then the other. And I sat the whole time doing nothing else. It was sweet!
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