On a recent trip to the west coast my wife and I had the opportunity to visit Muir Woods National Monument just north of San Francisco and part of the Golden Gate National Recreation area. Nearly one half of the 554 acres are populated with an old growth coast redwood forest, one of the few such stands remaining in the area.
During our morning visit we were fascinated by the story of how this preserve came into being thanks to the foresight of early 20th century conservationists, William and Elizabeth Kent, Lovell and Laura White and President Theodore Roosevelt.
The average mature redwood tree is over 200 feet in height with a diameter of more than 10 feet. With some redwoods being 2,000 years of age, they are certainly the tallest, and oldest living things on the earth.
If you find yourself in the Bay area, plan ahead and make time to visit Muir Woods for an awe-inspiring visit https://www.nps.gov/muwo/index.htm.
Returning to the city, we juxtaposed our time with the redwoods by visiting the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt in Oakland, CA https://gardensatlakemerritt.org/bonsai-garden/.
Located in Oakland’s Lakeside Park, the Bonsai Garden is home to some of the finest bonsai on the west coast.
While touring the garden, to our amazement and delight, we had the opportunity to see a number of bonsai Redwood trees which gave us the unique opportunity to “look down” on the smaller version of the magnificent Sequoias.
Truly a memorable day where we had the opportunity to experience the “long and the short” of it!
Comments