Saturday, May 19 – We camped here in Garberville, CA, because it is knows as "The Gateway to the Redwoods." It is home to Richardson Grove State Park which has an amazing hike through some wonderful Redwoods. The Ranger at the gate gave us a one-hour pass so we could hike a short trail and see what he called some of the best Redwoods in the area. We have to agree! If you have limited time, this is a great spot to check out these huge trees.
We then drove about 30-minutes north of Garberville, to The Avenue of the Giants. WOW!
Another unbelievable forest with soaring giant Redwoods. These trees are over 300-feet tall. They are as tall as a football field is long. They aren't anything near in circumference as a Giant Sequoia, but they sure are tall.
And there are 1000's of them scattered through the forest in this part of California.
The Avenue of the Giants intersects frequently with CA-101, and you could easily jump on and off that divided highway if you preferred not to drive the Avenue. But the Avenue of the Giants is so neat weaving in and out of the Redwoods making you feel like a tiny creature in a land of giants!
Yep, that is our tiny car.
These are awesome trees! Thank God they are being saved for future generations to enjoy.
A Redwood can be complete hollow and still grow.
The Forest floor is made up of ferns and clover.
Our conclusion is that they don't beat the Sequoia in the overwhelming awe you feel in the Sequoia forest. With the Sequoia, it's like someone sat the massive Washington Monument down in the middle of a forest to amaze you. Simply indescribable! Unlike anything you've ever seen. In comparison, in our opinion, the Giant Redwoods can be associated to a normal tree, just soaring to unbelievable heights. Hope you understand this comparison. Both are certainly worth seeing and shouldn't be missed.
| SEQUOIA | REDWOOD TREE | |
| To 311 feet | HEIGHT | To 367.8 feet |
| To 3,200 years | AGE | To 2,000 years |
| To 2.7 million lbs. | WEIGHT | To 1.6 million lbs. |
| To 31 in. thick | BARK | To 12 in. thick |
| To 8 ft. diameter | BRANCHES | To 5 ft. diameter |
| To 40 ft. diameter | BASES | To 22 ft. diameter |
| By seed only | REPRODUCE | By seed or root sprout |
| Shape like chicken egg | CONES | Shape of large olive |
| Small, overlapping needles | FOLIAGE | Single needles |
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day.
Glad to hear that you're enjoying the big trees. We thought they were amazing when we were there.
ReplyDeleteThose trees were really incredible and just kept me in awe at their size. My neck got stiff looking up and up and up. Are you guys going to see the sea lions on your way up the coast?
ReplyDeleteThe Avenue of the Giants is an awesome drive for sure. The size and height of those trees are amazing.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures, they're always fun to see!
Just looking up the length of these trees is enough to make one realize that we're not as important in the grand scheme of things as we might think we are.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great bike ride. We'll have to do that sometime.
ReplyDeleteWith all the tall trees in the last few days, I'm surprised you haven't reported a stiff neck. Keep the Ben Gay handy.
ReplyDeleteWe've been 'out of the loop' since we're here in Pittsburgh with family, so enjoyed getting caught up tonight. When you're BOTH wine tasting, who is the designated driver? Appreciated knowing the difference between the redwoods and sequoias. Interesting that the trees could be hollow.
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen the Sequoias in many years but we sure do love the redwoods. Thanks for the pictures and glad you are enjoying such wonderful sights.
ReplyDeleteThat picture of Paul inside the tree immediately made me want to be a child setting up camp in there.
ReplyDeleteThat's where I first learned about burls over 40 years ago.
ReplyDeleteHi Guys! Thanks for the comment on our blog - we're hoping we'll have the chance to meet you, assuming you're coming up Hwy 101 into Oregon. We'll be hosting the Junior Ranger program at Humbug Mtn SP just south of Port Orford starting this weekend, so if you're in the area please let us know. The coastal Oregon parks are amazing! Harris Beach in Brookings is worth a stay, it has internet and cable, and Brookings is an interesting town. We volunteered there four years ago and enjoyed it. We haven't been to Humbug Mtn before, but I'm sure it also has big rig sites.
ReplyDeleteSo how about those Indians? Big series starting tonight. Let's hope that Jeckel/Hyde Jimenez has a good outing. Keith