Week 6 Theme: Place

We headed north, on a typical rainy February day, to the one place my grandfather badly wanted to see on his trip out here. We certainly wouldn’t let the rain stop us entirely; but because I am such a nervous driver, I was hoping to wait until it let up a little bit. However, my Pop Pop was so excited about going, especially because we just watched the remake of Planet of the Apes (where there’s a scene in a make believe Muir Woods), so I couldn’t expect to make him wait. He even brewed coffee for us before I was awake, so when I got up there was a pot waiting for me.

The drive over the Richmond Bridge was a little scary. There was so much fog surrounding us I had to paint a picture of what we would normally see for him, as we drove over. Once off the bridge we got off the 101 and started a dangerous trek. Even on a nice day the way to our destination is a tricky drive. The road, lined with trees that you initially think are tall, is very windy, as you ascend up an enormous hill. There are no guardrails to protect you from a hundred foot fall into a valley, which is also mighty terrifying. I drove slowly and carefully enough to get us to our destination. 

While parking was no trouble at all, because there were hardly any other people out, the rain was getting heavier and colder. We grabbed some sweatshirts we had packed in the backseat and put them on under our raincoats. Now, with several layers on, we head towards the forrest. You do have to buy tickets to get in; but the price of admission is hardly ever thought about again, as you get a sneak peak of these massive trees as you approach the ticket taker. After you pay you walk directly into the woods. 

Upon entering, we immediately are greeted by some enormous trees, some more than a hundred feet tall.  I take out the map that we were given; but after a few seconds of having it out in the open, the rain gets to it; and the ink from the paper starts to run down my hand. Luckily as we keep walking on the wooden plank path of the main trail, there are signs loaded with information about the types of trees were are viewing.  A wooden sign, with a plastic covering protecting the information from the moist conditions, teaches us that we are looking at Seuqia and Redwood trees. As we keep walking we see a gushing river. Water flowed rapidly underneath us, as we walk across a bridge to get to the next path. The trees seem to get taller as you walk deeper into the woods. The trees are so massive, no pictures do them justice. The main trail is bordered completely by these Giant Sequoia and Redwood trees. There are fern groves and smaller moss covered trees that lay underneath them. On our walk we saw a couple of trees that had fallen over, their ten to twenty feet wide trunks exposed. 

After a half an hour our necks start to hurt from spending so much time looking up at the forestry. I was officially soaked to the bone, complete with drenched sneakers, when my grandfather said that he was ready to head back. As we approached the entrance and headed to the parking lot, we noticed the sun peeking out through the clouds. I even dared to take my hood off, which was foolish because some water fell directly on my head, the moment I removed it. We laughed as I joked that it was as a parting gift from one of the Redwood trees.