North to the Forest Kings (Redwoods) and Oregon

Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park Visitor Center

A few hours later…we see our very first Sequoia sempervirens aka Redwood,

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right behind this visitor center.

And Moe hugged the darn thing in effusive greetings from one tree hugger to a tree. Only in this case, we are paying homage to tree royalty aka the “Monarchs of the North Coast”.

I looked up.

I also spotted a small burl.

See that knot in the foreground? Burls are found around the base or trunk of a Redwood and are how the tree reproduces itself. It also reproduces from seedlings. Saplings will emerge from the burl when there is enough moisture. Burl wood has elaborate patterns and people poach it to make things. I once had 3 burl clocks given to me. One was more than two feet in diameter.

Old Men Redwoods

“It’s like a fairyland,” I said aloud to myself. We were standing all alone in this silent forest of giant old men standing very still and stoic every 20 or so feet. The sun sent shafts of gold to the emerald ferns lying between the big trees, and lit up silver moss hanging from the thin branches of an unknown tree.

These ancient specimens of Redwoods remind me of very sleepy old men standing around in faded jeans with heavy eyelids. I say men because whatever trace of femininity ever existed in this forest was extinguished ages ago.

Redwoods: West Coast Originals

These beasts have bark a foot thick. This keeps them from burning up or getting infested with bugs. Some of them are more than 2,000 years old, and they can grow as high as 380 feet. The only place in the world that these Redwoods are found is on a narrow strip of shoreline along the northern Californian coast and south west Oregon. They are not found right by the sea because they don’t like salt water. Most plants don’t.

By the way, if you haven’t already guessed, this forest is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Leave it to them to get in on the action.,