How I spent my vacation part 3 or....More information than you wanted to know about Redwood Trees or ...is this girl still talking about vacation?

At one time, when the dinosaurs were here, North America was covered in Redwood trees. Can you read this sign? This tree started growing before Christ was born.

Now, there are only 20,000 acres and they only live on the California Coast, because that area has the perfect climate for them (cool with daily fog). Its the perfect climate for me too. Mornings were about 48 degrees, it was so cool and brisk, and not humid... anyway.... The preservation efforts began in 1918. After Redwood trees were used to build the finest homes in San Francisco.

This is called the "Stout Grove", what use to be a wagon trail straight up a mountain to Oregon.

That's not an ant in a red shirt in the picture.... its my 6'4" husband.

They are the world's tallest living trees. Redwoods live to about 2000 years old and can grow to about 360 feet tall. Taller than the Statute of Liberty, taller than a 29 story building.

They have no known diseases and insects and fire can not kill them (because the bark is so thick). They weight about 500 tons. The only way these trees die is if lightening strikes them, or if the roots get too waterlogged to hold them up or if another tree falls on them or if someone cuts them down.

I kept thinking, "why did God make a tree that cant be killed?"

The sign says that this tree is 900 to 1000 years old and has survived a flood, a fire, being struck by lightening and loggers. Its called the "immortal tree". That's me in the picture, and I am not petite myself.

Even when a tree dies, a ring of new trees will sprout from the trunks base called a "family", using the first trees root system. They also sprout from seeds the size of a tomato seed, or a cone the size of a large olive.

I'm in this picture too. ... see me blending in with the forest....

I have a lot of dark pictures, because, being the professional photographer that I am, did not bring my digital camera which is another story completely... the story of the most stressful day in my life when my husband had to pack for me and pick me up from work and drive like a maniac to make the plane.... anyway.... I had to buy disposable cameras and then never used the flash.

And its dark in the forest.

This is a tree that fell and my husband is standing on top of it. Look hard.

I think God just likes trees and wanted to keep a few of these around.

Of course we did the tourist things.

There are three drive thru trees, where you can drive your car through a live tree. We hit two of them:

And, there are animals in the forest.

'Roosevelt elk" live in the prairies. They look like reindeer. We also saw a skunk, two baby deer, squirrels and a coyote (and that was just in California... not mentioning the two snakes and whale in Oregon).

Only the elk stopped for a picture.