Oddly, Redwood trees have no tap root. When I learned this, I knew they must have some other adaptation that helps them survive, otherwise they would blow over with strong coastal winds. I later found out that their roots go only 10-15 feet deep (though they can grow to 380 ft. tall) but the roots spread out 60 to 80 feet wide.
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While in California, we also hiked along the ocean at Patrick's Point. In the bottom picture, we hiked up the cliff on the far left and then on the summit straight ahead. Just a little rock climbing to get our blood flowing. The view overlooking the Pacific was pretty stunning. There is sort of this perpetual fog over the coast, which is really good for the redwood trees, as they soak up the moisture in their needles. They get about 30% of the water they need from the foggy air. The coast line is pretty rugged, but the cliffs are beautiful. We looked for whales and seals, but didn't see any. Maybe next time.
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My absolute favorite hike of the entire trip was Fern Canyon. You can only get to the canyon by dirt road through the redwoods. Literally you look out one window and you are staring at uprooted trees taller than your car, and out the other window all you see is a valley below and sunlight trickling in through the openings in the tree canopy above. Even in the middle of the day, you need to use your headlights because the shadows are so intense. This 8 mile drive on a dirt path through the wilderness is pretty amazing- though often we were unsure where the road would eventually lead us. Horrific scenes flashed through my mind: "Teacher lost in the forest," "Two friends get car stuck in Redwood Forest," "Vacationers misread map and fall off cliff." Alas, none of these headlines were printed in the local papers. Finally, the shadows opened up and we were driving with the ocean/beach along our left side and a wall of tall trees on our right side. We had to drive over/through some streams, which scared me... but Erin assured me that they were shallow enough to drive over. Yikes!! When we finally were able to get out to hike... we saw a wonderland of greenery.
A large creek runs through the middle of the canyon. This water is runoff of melted snow and so it is ice cold, but crystal clear. There are no fish swimming in this creek, because its depth and speed depend on snow and rain water. ALTHOUGH, Erin did see a snake about 1 foot away from me while I was trying to cross the river. Thankfully I kept my balance and was able to cross over without falling in. The ferns in the canyon grow on the sides of everything, which gives every surface a textured look.
There are many redwoods that have fallen over time. They lay undisturbed in the forest and provide homes to insects, moss, squirrels and birds. Most of the time when they fall, their roots pull out of the ground because they are so shallow. This leaves exposed roots up in the air, which are so cool to look at. More than that, they are fun to climb on!
Take a look at this cool berry. It looks like a raspberry, other than the color obviously. I didn't eat it because I've read WAAAAYYY too many stories about characters who eat fruit in the woods that ends up being poisonous and then they turn into a wicked witch or a bald gnome or a TEACHER... so I didn't dare try. I also saw hundreds of banana slugs. If you spread out your hand into a giant 5, they are about the size from your thumb to your pinkie. Even though I was hungry on our hike... I didn't eat one :)
But... I did make this on the campfire:
Veggie Pizza!
And....Chocolate Chip Pancakes!
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