Jill's Journal: After two months and several hundred miles in the redwoods, I wouldn’t say the gargantuan trees had lost their wonder for us, but they were definitely becoming a little less thrilling.
That is, until we went to Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park today, the northernmost of California’s redwood parks. We went because we had heard, “THIS is the place. Prepare to be amazed.”
And we were. If someone only wanted to visit one redwood grove, I would recommend skipping Avenue of the Giants, Muir Woods, and anything else they’d ever heard of and coming to Jed Smith. It’s not the biggest; it’s not the most famous. But this is the crown jewel. It is beyond magnificent.
The spectacular Smith River dissects the park. It is the only major river in California without a dam. You can’t really tell from the photo, but it’s pure green in color and just sensational.
Here’s our intrepid little hikers navigating through predominantly old-growth redwoods. Established in 1929, Jedediah Smith is mostly untouched. It just feels natural and pure and wild. Other than a few trails cut through the park, everything is undeveloped.
Somewhere in this park, the three biggest redwoods in the world are located. All reaching close to 400 feet into the sky, they are unmarked to protect them from visitors.
The unpaved, one lane Howland Hill Road winds through Jedediah Smith. It is a gorgeous drive.
We always have fun spotting the burls, almost like warts, that grow on many of the oldest and largest trees. The girls thought this one looked like an old man sticking out his tongue.
The park’s namesake is the fur trapper who is credited for discovering the western side of the Rocky Mountains and for being the first white man to explore the interior of California (in the 1800s). His exploits all over the West are tremendous, but they include surviving three Indian massacres and one bear mauling. It was a group of Comanches that finally got him at age 32 when he left his traveling companions to scout for water (it kind of makes our blown-out tire a couple of weeks ago look a little elementary, doesn’t it?).
6 comments:
Isn't God an AMAZING craftsman? His handiwork takes my breath away... especially in the redwoods. We ventured up to a trail outside of Yosemite and I think my boys could have played among the giants ALL DAY. I can only imagine what beauty awaits us in heaven! Keep sharing it all with us, Jill. There is so much to see in creation!
I love the family picture and the one right above it with Victoria running towards the camera!
I hope I get to CA someday to see all the giants!!
Love the pictures, especially the last one. Great families take great family portraits.
Thanks so much, everyone!
He died at age 32? It seems like he did so much and survived so much that he surely had to be older. I guess that what happens when you're expected to be an adult before you turn 18. (o:
April -- crazy, right? I still felt like a kid at 32. I'm well past that and still feel like a kid sometimes now! Clearly people used to be much more productive with their time way back then!!
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