The Giants

 

This picture is from Muir Woods.  The coastal red woods aren't the biggest organisms on this Earth, but they are tall.  i don't remember how tall, just super tall.  Muir Woods is incredibly beautiful.  somehow quiet and eerie and awe inducing, yet crawling with tourists.  its a neat trick.  do not be tempted to buy your own souvenir sapling unless you live somewhere with an appropriate climate.   

So in elementary school i wrote a report on the giant redwoods.  ever since i've wanted to visit and in 2018 i finally did.  i took my mom.  i was supposed to go with the old man but he was being.... well that's another story.  anyway, took my mom because she didn't want to be alone (deep sigh) also another story!  move forward!  in addition to Muir Woods we also visited a few things in San Francsico and Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon.  

Now in Sequoia that's where you see the real giants!  not as tall, but FAT!  these are the largest living organisms on the earth.  we had a great ranger talk to us about the trees.  i loved this guy!  his enthusiasm for his job was catchy.  i should also note that he was mentally handicapped.   now do you understand the level of enthusiasm i'm talking about?!  anyway, apparently they purposely do controlled burns because that's how the spores open and spread.  since we do our best not let forest fires happen naturally something must be done or else these dumbass trees with the outdated reproductive mechanism would just stop and wouldn't that suck.  thinking back now i remember every morning smelled like a cook out.  it was wild fire season.  dry and hot.  a spark from a car dragging something metal set it off.  i remember signs about having a good defense around your home including so many feet of cleared woods.  i took me a while to understand it was defense from fire.  It's a different world.  so another side track, a friend of mine told me invasive species make wild fires worse.  they spread fast, dry out and have no fire resistance.  anyway, fun side fact, not off topic.  

my only suggestion if you visit is to stay in the park.  i thought staying just outside the park would be fine, but you have to drive like an hour up the mountain to get anywhere.  and what a drive it is!  twisty and steep and if you're like me and want to see the view, well just don't.  The drive down to the end of King's Canyon was also interesting.  You're just surrounding by rock.  it's another alien world to a girl from somewhere green.  

i haven't talked much about the trees, but what can i say?  they're big and ancient.  reallllly big and reallly old.  the one you drive your car through?  yeah, that one's kinda small compared to General Sherman.  Thank god they're useless for any kind of manufacturing.  early settlers tried to monetize these bad boys, but they're too soft.  i want to say they ended up just making tooth picks or something.  they'd chop 'em down and when they hit the ground they'd just explode into bits. 

Look at that tiny person!  

I've got a few other stories from that trip, mostly about my Mom, but some other day.