Trip of the Trees

(Archie says, "Dogs love trees - we leave our personal information with trees so other dogs can learn about us - they're kind of like social bulletin boards for dogs.")

“Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and all its fullness; let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord.” - Psalm 96:11-13a Sometimes, vacations unintentionally take on a theme of their own. Looking over pictures from our July RV trip, I decided this one was all about the trees.

Our first sight-seeing day, when we rode the Sugar Pines Express, we encountered the train’s namesake, said to be the tallest of all pines (around 200 feet). It can live up to 500 years. This tree gets its name because the resin in the bark is sweet. I thought the name came from the short, stiff needles that make the branches look like they’ve been sprinkled with sugar.

Yosemite’s Mariposa Grove was next. These famous trees are Giant Sequoias, quite tall at 290 feet. Many of the trees here are so unique they’ve been given names.

The grove isn’t the only place with trees in Yosemite - there are plenty of trees all around this national park.

 

At Lake Tahoe, there are trees everywhere. I think they were mostly Ponderosa Pines at our campsite, but they were so thick, we had a hard time seeing the stars at night.

Next stop, Santa Cruz, which included a visit to the Redwood Grove Nature Trail in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. The trees in this park are just majestic!

Redwoods are the world’s tallest trees and they repel fire and disease. One tree is about 270 feet tall and over 17 feet wide - almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty. They only grow in temperate, foggy, moist conditions. You could also see Douglas-fir, Tan Oak and Bay trees on the trail.

We took a drive over to Pebble Beach and, among other impressive sites, saw awesome Cypress Trees.

Then there were some pretty big Eucalyptus Trees at Natural Bridges State Park.

Look at the size of that branch!

During our last stop, in Buellton, we visited the Santa Inez Mission. Perhaps that was where we saw the most inspiring “tree.”

Have a wonderful week!