Redwoods

Day 3 has already come and gone. It is insane how quickly this week is passing. Today was a blessing. We took a little day trip to Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve (click to visit webpage). Armstrong Woods in an incredible old growth coastal redwood forest in Guerneville. Some of these redwoods age up to 2,000 years old and 350 feet tall. This place is awe-inspiring. If you want to visit, its free for pedestrians or $8 per vehicle, and I highly recommend it.

Nerd Alert: I'm going to drop some fun facts about redwoods. Feel free to skip ahead if you wish, but redwoods are pretty darn cool. Redwoods can grow more than 300 feet in height. Despite growing hundreds of feet tall, their root system only goes about 6-12 feet deeps. The roots create a shallow network that can stretch 50 feet from the trunk of the tree. Redwood bark is actually fire resistant, so to burn a redwood, you'd have to burn it from the inside out. Redwoods are also considered widow makers because they drop their lower branches when they become less productive due to less light availability. There are more, if you're interested in more fun facts, send me a message!

Moving along.....

Our group decided to to take a hike up into the forest, it was a few miles, but they were total troopers. One thing we didn't get to check out, but I recommend checking out is the amphitheater. Some of our eighth graders commented on the scale of there trees. Standing next to these giants was very surreal. The redwood in the photo below it took us 13 people to wrap all the way around. The other incredible part of this forest is its resilience. There were many trees that had scars from past fires, some so severe that it created a cavity within the trunk, but they continued to grow. One of our group's favorite things to do was climb inside of these cavities and use the ash to make face paint. If you get the chance, go hike in a redwood forest. It truly is a unique experience.

Happy Travels,

Colleen

#redwoods #california #travel #environmentaleducation