Redwood Forest

Waves crash onto sandy beaches along the Pacific Coastline as the Mama Bus drives to the Redwood Forest. Cool, salty air blows in through the open window, whipping my hair back from my face, and muting the music. A different music blows in with the wind; one of seagulls screaming, water breaking, and birds singing. Ahead of us, trees loom into the sky above, their branches forming a roof over one of the most famous natural places in the world: the Redwood Forest.

Redwoods are a very special type of tree, in that they only grow in a large quantity in just one place in the world. Right along the beautiful coast of California!

After a quick lunch at the base of some of these huge trees, we went for a walk. Jenny, the youngest of our group, immediately walked up to one of the redwoods and with eyes the size of saucers, announced to Mama Wood “those twees awe enowmous!”

What I found most surprising about the redwoods is that although the tree itself is the tallest on the planet, it has pine cones the size of a hen’s egg! And each individual seed inside the pine cone is the size of a tomato seed! Isn’t it interesting that such a tiny seed can become such a gigantic tree?!

We also learned that the redwoods have difficulty growing on their own, as they have very shallow root systems. But together they interlace their roots to form a strong and secure base. The trees will continue to grow until they fall down. Fire and parasitic bugs do little to no harm to them because of the super thick bark they boast. It can be up to a foot deep!

But in my opinion the best part about the giant redwoods is that even though they have no low branches, they are super easy to climb because their bark has long, widely separated grooves running through it.

Happy Trails