We took our vacation this summer by way of driving down the Oregon coast into northern California where we saw the Redwoods at Jedediah Smith Redwoods Park. This photo shows the remains of one old tree, which still dwarfs my wife (I'll be posting other pictures of living trees as well). These trees, some of the oldest living creatures on the planet, leave one speechless and feeling very small and transitory. No picture or words can really describe them.

While there we learned that the Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervierns) is taller but not as large in diameter or bulk as the Giant Sequoia. It can grow to 380 feet, live for 2000 years, has fire- and insect-resistant bark that is twelve inches thick, and has a cone about the size of a large olive. The park we visited is part of a complex of parks jointly administered by the state of California and the National Park Service that reaches for more than fifty miles down the California coast and provides a sanctuary for these amazing and wonderful trees.

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