Big Trees

I heard about Big Trees State Park in Northern California on the West slope of the Sierra Mountains and asked my brother, Ron, about it, but he had never heard of the place . . . even though he has lived in California for 40 years or so. "Big Trees" sounded interesting so we looked it up on the GPS and set out to see Calaveras Big Trees State Park.



Giant Sequoia trees only grow at an elevation of 4,000-8,000 feet and this park was at about 5,000 feet. These "Big Trees" are an awesome sight. The park had a wooden walkway which wound through the forest for a mile and a half with numerous places to view "Big Trees". At one stop, they provided a bench constructed with the back leaning way back so you could set on the bench, lay back, and look up at the tall trees reaching over 300 feet into the air.

That's my brother, Ron, and his daughter, Holly, enjoying the view without getting a stiff neck.






















At another stop, there was a stump 30 feet in diameter from a tree which was cut down over 100 years ago. A group of enterprising men, cut this tree down to take part of it on tour back East thinking they would make a fortune. But it didn't work out as everyone thought it was a hoax . . . "Trees couldn't grow that big!"

The stump is so large that in the past, weddings, parties, and dances have been held on it. That's some stump . . . but be careful not to step off the dance floor.





At every turn in the trail, there was another big tree. We were dwarfed by the size of many of the trunks. I'm pictured leaning against a tree on the left below. My brother, Ron, is standing in front of another big tree on the right below. These trees live for over a thousand years.






















This is the trunk of a fallen tree laying on the ground. This tree fell over a hundred years ago and, since Sequoia wood is nearly impervious to insects and rot, it is still pretty much intact today. There it lays . . . nearly 300 feet long. Now, wouldn't that make a lot of firewood!











Years ago, a tunnel was cut through one of the trees. Here I am standing in the tunnel inside a Giant Sequoia tree.

This tunnel wounded the tree to the extent that there are only a few live branches up on the top. So defacing or damaging a tree in this manner is no longer permitted.

These "Big Trees" are some of God's wonderful creations. The wonders of this world and our scenic country seem to be endless . . . but we'll continue our "wandering" trying to see it all.