Highway of the Giants

Our time in Oregon was brief.

Such a pretty state, I wish we could have stayed longer, at least long enough to drive inland to visit some special friends. But, somehow we felt some urgency to gather miles and so we

drove along the coastline, admiring the Pacific along the way.

And, as predictably as B follows A, our driving south ended up

crossing into California.

Did you know you have to go through a customs border crossing

upon entering this state? Yep, looking for fruits and vegetables again.

Those dangerous things!!!

This time we passed through easily (unlike the USA/CA border)

since we'd parted ways with the offensive oranges.

For as long as I can remember we have dreamed of visiting

the Redwood National Forest.

Called the "Ancient Giants", these coastal redwoods follow the fog and thrive in continuous belts at elevations below 2,000 feet with heavy winter rains and moderate temperatures.

The area designated Redwood National Park is 105,516 acres and contains 36% of the state's old-growth redwoods.

Some of these trees are over 2,000 years old and healthy and thriving.

They stand over 300 feet tall.

They are now protected and cherished for the value of their witness to history,

not seen as products their wood could build.

The era of relentless harvesting and removing is over, thank goodness.

How does one capture the astounding size of these Ancient Giants?

How could we take a picture with our little Canon that would display

their massive and silent glory?

Show the width?

The height?

The innermost parts?

Or just crawl inside with a friend?

We simply didn't know.

But these huge and amazing trees deserve more than one blogpost,

to be sure.