Monday, February 21, 2011

Sequoia Sempervirens

This video has nothing to do with riding but it shows one of the most beautiful areas I rode through last year on my cross country trip.   I am referring to the beautiful Redwood National Park in California.  Pictures don't really show the beauty and serenity of these very old giants but this video by Jesse Rosten captures it beautifully.  I was awed as I walked through sections of the park with moss covered branches and fallen trees all around me and the still standing trees stretching upwards as far as the eye could see as if wanting to touch heaven.  The silence was deafening with only the occasional crow cutting through the silence with their loud crows. I hope you enjoy this video as much as I did.  Make sure you turn HD ON and then watch the video full screen.


I saw these giant trees for the first time before I moved to the United States in the Endor scenes on the Star Wars film Return of the Jedi (Episode VI) in 1983.  These giant trees offered the perfect backdrop for the battle of Endor when Han is elected to lead a strike team to destroy the battle station's shield generator on the forest moon of Endor.

The Sequoia sempervirens can live between 1200 and 1800 years and as I stood in the middle of the forest looking up I could only imagine the animals that have passed through the forest, the humans lives that have come and gone and the weather changes through the years witnessed by these old giants from above.  The area is truly breathtaking and affected me profoundly, giving me a new sense of how insignificant our lives are when compared to the California Redwoods and the world we live in.  The Redwood forest instilled a new sense of reverence in me for the world we live in.




My blog entry covering this area during my cross country trip "here"

10 comments:

  1. Great video and photos. I have never been there, but it is on my list of places to ride to and through.

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  2. Great recap. I miss the trees!! Thanks for reawakening the longing...

    -Lori

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  3. Awesome vid! Aren't those trees magic? Too bad that many of the old growth forest has been succumbed to destruction by axe and saw.

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  4. Great Vid and Pics...truly magnificent.

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  5. Very nice! These trees are just amazing and getting up to the Northwestern area to ride is definitely on my bucket list!
    Thanks for sharing!

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  6. To all of you:
    Thank you. When I saw this video it brought back memories of my trip and I could almost smell the trees and moss. For those that haven't been there you must find the time to travel up the Californian coast, it's magical :-)

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  7. I wonder why I didn't ride the redwoods when I was in the area. Kicking my butt now...I guess it's just gonna be something that will cause me to come back. Nice photos...good blog, enjoyable writing. Thanks.

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  8. Chessie:
    Thanks for your comments. I love your photography, I need to get a better camera. I have been using a point and shoot Samsung camera but I need to get a DSLR, the results are cleaner pictures.

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  9. Wow what some magic pictures of the old growth forest. That would have been a magical ride.

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  10. Chillertek:
    Thanks for stopping by :-)
    The Redwoods are magical, it was a beautiful ride through the park.

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