I
am a lover of trees. It comes from growing up in Idaho, the most forested of
all the western states. As you have probably surmised I am fascinated by how
such gigantic creatures can live so long. So, in mentioning gigantic, I have to
travel to California and tell you about the Sequoia and Redwood trees. These
trees are so large that they have had sections hewn out of them large enough to
drive cars through! To me they seem a
close relative of the Western Red Cedar in my neck of the woods with their tiny
cones and scale like leaves rather than needles like the other evergreens.
The
Sequoia trees of Sequoia National park are not quite so tall as their coastal
Redwood brethren with their own Redwood National park, but they are still the
largest trees—Sequoia National Park is where the largest tree in the world is.
I haven’t seen those, only the coastal trees, but I am still amazed by the grandeur
and age of these amazing trees.
Whenever
I get a little down about all the craziness of American humanity, the politics
of our country in general, I just want to run away. And, living in Idaho, I’ve
always been able to do that out in the woods so I have fallen in love with
trees. We are lucky to live in such an amazing country where there are such
amazing trees, the oldest and largest in the world. The California Redwoods and
Sequoia are a sampling of some of those majestic trees and they make me proud
to be an American even when other things might get on my nerves. A nice drive
down the California coast and the Redwood forest is both an escape and a moment
of great American affection for me, so I am very thankful for the California
Redwood forests.
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