Redwood trees now only grow in China and two areas of the U.S. Pacific West Coast along a narrow strip from Big Sur, CA up to southern Oregon. They can grow as high as a 40 stories or 378 feet, have a diameter of 22 ft and be over 2200 years old. They're very, very tall where we are, but not quite that tall. We suspect deep in the redwood forest, way off Highway 101, they can get that big. Apparently, the park rangers keep it a secret where the biggest, tallest trees are, in order to protect them.
Still, the redwoods we do see are massively large, wide enough for cars to drive through (you can pay $5 and do that in some places) and tall enough that you can't really see the tops.
We stop at a few of the groves along the Avenue Of the Giants near Garberville and check out the big trees. Further north, by the town of Orick, is Redwood National Forest, home to a few more of these lumbering monsters. A couple of strolls through the groves puts things into perspective pretty quickly!
Oh, and there's also elk in these them parts. They are not quite as tall and do not live for 2200 years. They do like grass and to show their best side.
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