Magnificent California Redwood Trees
@DeborahDiane (40055)
Laguna Woods, California
July 19, 2018 6:06pm CST
One of the side trips we took during our visit to the northernmost realm of California was to the Humboldt Redwood State Park.
We drove along a narrow road called Avenue of the Giants, and the trees there are giants, indeed.
Some of the trees are over 340 feet tall. Their lowest branches don't even start until 190 feet in the air! Their estimated ages are between 1600 and 2200 years old. This means that the grove of redwood trees was already growing when Jesus was born.
While the trees in the state park and Redwood National Forest are safe from lumberjacks, many of the surrounding trees are being cut for lumber, much of it being shipped to China. I know some trees in our forests need to be cut to protect the rest, but it was astounding and a bit sad to see the huge stacks of redwood logs waiting in the Eureka Harbor to be shipped to China.
Visiting this forest was an awesome and humbling experience.
10 people like this
11 responses
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
19 Jul 18
The redwoods and giant sequoias are our state treasures.
3 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40055)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 Jul 18
@JohnRoberts - You are so right. These trees are our state treasures and I am glad that parks have been set aside to help preserve them!
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40055)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 Jul 18
@DianneN - I'm sure your father's home was lovely. I have been in homes which were built from redwood and they have such a warm, comfortable feeling. I loved just strolling through the forest last week. It was not crowded and it was so peaceful to walk among these stately giants!
1 person likes this
@DianneN (246838)
• United States
21 Jul 18
@DeborahDiane The outside was redwood, and it had a blue shingled roof. It was a ranch style, and very contemporary for its time.
I'm sure walking through those redwoods was magnificent.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40055)
• Laguna Woods, California
21 Jul 18
@DianneN - The home sounds like it was lovely. I remember there was a period of American architecture, perhaps in the 1960s and 1970s, when a lot of contemporary homes were built of redwood. They were very striking and memorable.
It is rare to see new homes in America being built of redwood, which is why it seemed so sad to see so many magnificent logs being shipped to other countries, like China.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (215441)
• Chile
19 Jul 18
I went there with my husband many decades ago. It is an awesome experience.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40055)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 Jul 18
@marguicha - Yes, it is an awesome experience. We loved the afternoon we spent there. I'm glad you have been there, too.
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
20 Jul 18
I have only been to northern California once and we drove up to Muir Woods so we could see the redwoods, they are magnificent. I agree with your assessment, it is a humbling experience.
2 people like this
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
20 Jul 18
@DeborahDiane California is such a huge state, so different in the north from the warmer south!! I have been to southern California 3 times but on our first visit, we drive up the coast on route one.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40055)
• Laguna Woods, California
21 Jul 18
@BelleStarr - Driving along Route One (also called the PCH or Pacific Coast Highway) is an incredible experience. We only do it occasionally because it is more time consuming, but it is a beautiful drive. You are right that California is a huge state.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40055)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 Jul 18
@BelleStarr - Yes, the trees in Muir Woods are also magnificent. We are so fortunate to have these treasures in our forests here. Many people only know about California from movies, so they have no idea these trees even exist!
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458192)
• Switzerland
20 Jul 18
Many olive trees in Greece and Italy are more than 3000 years old. I love to look at those trees and imagine life when they were very young saplings. In California you have the most ancient tree in the world, Methuselah, a pine tree from California's White Mountains, it should be almost 5,000 years old.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458192)
• Switzerland
21 Jul 18
@DeborahDiane I am always sad when an ancient tree is chopped down. They are part of our history.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40055)
• Laguna Woods, California
21 Jul 18
@LadyDuck - I feel the same way. I always feel there needs to be a very good reason to chop down a tree, such as when the trees need to be thinned out, or when one is leaning dangerously. Otherwise, I think they should just be allowed to keep growing old!
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40055)
• Laguna Woods, California
21 Jul 18
@LadyDuck - Yes, I have heard of those olive trees and I have also heard about Methuselah, although I have never seen it. It is hard to imagine the life and the changing world these trees have seen. It seems sad to me that redwood trees that old are getting chopped down for lumber.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (73444)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
20 Jul 18
That is an amazing photo. I have read about redwoods but never seen them.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40055)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 Jul 18
@RasmaSandra - I hope you get to see them someday. They are magnificent!
1 person likes this
@lady1993 (27225)
• Philippines
21 Jul 18
@DeborahDiane 
that is quite high.. i don't think anyone can climb that
i was just used to people climbing trees here, but i think the highest trees we climb are coconut trees
that is quite high.. i don't think anyone can climb that
i was just used to people climbing trees here, but i think the highest trees we climb are coconut trees1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40055)
• Laguna Woods, California
21 Jul 18
@lady1993 - I have seen people climb coconut trees when we have visited Hawaii. It is amazing how people can scale those trees!
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40055)
• Laguna Woods, California
21 Jul 18
@lady1993 - I have never seen anyone try to climb a redwood tree. The lowest branches are usually 100 feet or more from the ground.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40055)
• Laguna Woods, California
21 Jul 18
@Elizaby - I'm so glad you have a wonderful memory of seeing California and the redwood trees!
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40055)
• Laguna Woods, California
22 Jul 18
@Elizaby - Awww! That sounds like a terrific trip. When we were young, my husband and I had a VW van and traveled all over Mexico and the United States in it. We kept the windows open, too. Wonderful memories.
@Elizaby (6901)
• Pensacola, Florida
21 Jul 18
@DeborahDiane A lot of wonderful memories as we traveled for the month of July in 2 VW vans with the windows down to keep cool
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40055)
• Laguna Woods, California
21 Jul 18
@Shiva49 - I agree with you. It seems a shame to cut down a tree which took hundreds of years and possible more than 1000 years to grow. It seems almost tragic.
1 person likes this
@dave121495 (1296)
• Philippines
19 Jul 18
Nature is stunning. Is it the same with the sequoia trees?
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40055)
• Laguna Woods, California
19 Jul 18
@dave121495 - Yes, the giant sequoia trees are very big, too. Some of them are so large you can drive a car through a gap in the middle. Amazing. We are fortunate to have both in California.
@DeborahDiane (40055)
• Laguna Woods, California
8 Aug 18
Amazing, isn't it? It was an awesome feeling to walk among them.
1 person likes this
