The Holy Trees



When we hear "northern California," we usually think of San Francisco. But there are several hundred miles of the state north of the Bay area, where I spent today. Who knew that California, home of so many people and Disneyland, had tourist sites that are practically deserted? At least in December. I spent the day tromping around the paths and drives of this beautiful part of the state and saw very few people. Humboldt County reminds me of the Badlands in that I'm only going to spend a couple of days here and it could be a lot longer.

First place I went was Fern Canyon. I took an four-mile, unpaved pothole-pocked road through a woods like something out of the Wizard of Oz.


Then I walked two miles through scenery like this:


The canyon, which apparently was used in the filming of Jurassic Park, reminded me a little bit of Rocky Glen, back in Peoria.



Then it was on farther north to the coastal drive at Klamath.


But the main attraction of the day and the reason I drove all these miles north of San Francisco was the redwoods at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park near Orick. When I walked onto the trail at this park, I had a feeling of awe that reminded me of the first time I saw the Pacific Ocean. These trees really do seem so holy. They are hundreds of years old. Some of them have been around since the time of Jesus. Maybe things that live so long accumulate a type of wisdom. 

After I took all of these photos, I texted some of them to John. He showed them to our friend Gary, who was in the last hours of his life. Gary pronounced the trees dignified. I am glad he got to see a photo of the trees. 

 





Impossible to get the entire tree in a photo.




Count those rings!



The thick, protective bark looks like old skin.






Love these shamrocks at the base of a redwood.










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