Adventures through Avenue of the Giants

Jim and I took a trip to see the magnificent Avenue of the Giants. These trees are some of the worlds oldest and my pictures just do not measure up to how awesome they really are. In this part of California they can live more than 2,000 years old. The largest surviving stands of ancient coast redwoods and sequoia are located on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada's. The coast redwood is one of the fastest growing conifer, the tallest measuring 360 feet and at chest height, 10-15 feet wide. Fossils have been discovered that verify the trees have been around for about 20 million years. The cones are tiny compared to the tree size....only an inch long. (I was hoping to bring back some giant cones.) Each cone contains 14-24 seeds and in good conditions seedlings grow rapidly...more than a foot a year. The high tannin content of the wood gives the tree remarkable resistance to disease and insect infestation. The thick fibrous bark has even higher tannin content and insulates them from periodic fires that occur naturally over the centuries.

The sequoias are another of the worlds giants, the oldest being 3,200 years old. They can grow to 250 feet tall (about 25 stories) with trunks measuring as wide as 30 feet. The bark of the sequoia can be up to two feet thick, keeping the tree cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Again, the tannins in this tree protects it from rot and fires.

To give you some idea how tall these trees are in comparison to something you are familiar with, (the redwood being the tallest), they are taller than the Statue of Liberty. Amazing, huh?!!!

Some of the pictures are from the base, looking up....some are of Jim standing next to it so you can see just how massive these trees are. We were fortunate to find a cute little cabin, among the giants, to stay in. At night I could hear the hoot owls conversing back and forth to each other and the locals say the bears in the area are more troublesome than a threat, spilling and spreading garbage that needs to be cleaned up each day.

Hope you enjoyed another of our adventures.