California: Part 1

After arriving in Santa Rosa airport I grabbed my rental car and shot north. My goal was Eureka and ultimately Redwood National Park. In the morning I headed up to the Lady Bird Johnson Grove. Absolutely amazing is all I can really say! In fact words do almost nothing to describe the Redwood's shear size and beauty. The Lady Bird Johnson Grove sits atop a ridge so the redwoods were not nearly as big and lofty as their lowland friends but that didn't matter because the real treat at this grove was the fog. I've seen pictures of redwood trees in fog but to see it in person was pretty ethereal.

The next grove I visited was the tall trees grove. Instead of situated high on a mountain, the tall tree grove was at the very bottom of the valley along Redwood Creek. These trees were, yes, tall. Protected from the wind and given a consistent water source most of the mature trees were well over 300 feet. Some were listed as being 320 to 350 feet but which ones remains a mystery, although I have my speculations.

The last (but not in the bit least) grove I visited was the Prairie Creek Drainage Grove(s). These trees were much closer to the coast than any of the others. Being so close to the ocean meant that the trees were bathed in constant fog and moisture and the results were BIG trees.

I asked a park ranger where I might be able to find the Illuvatar tree, the Lost Monarch tree, or the Del Norte Titan tree. These mysterious "lost" redwoods rival the size of the Giant Sequoias (in fact there are only a dozen or so Giant Sequoias that top these great Redwoods.) The park ranger laughed and said, "I don't know, but if you ever find the Illuvatar, let me know where it is." So if a park ranger doesn't know where these legendary lost trees are, then there must be only a handful of people who know where they are. Anybody who is a big tree fan knows these trees by name and knows that they are something special. However, practically no one has ever seen them. They are lost spirits in the fog.