This summer, I have been fortunate to have traveled to Mendocino in July and Yosemite in October. Both trips involved driving and walking thru the incredible redwoods, and each trip was a different experience.

The coastal redwoods in Navarro (Mendocino County) are breathtaking. After winding over the rolling hills and valleys of the beautiful Anderson Valley on highway 128, you slow down to drive through this awesome redwood grove. Only 12 acres in size, the forest of trees appears to go on forever. This portion of the road is often called ‘the Tunnel of Redwoods-to-the-Sea'. Coastal redwoods are one of the tallest living things and nothing is more beautiful than to observe the sun shining through the top branches.

Second growth redwood groves stretch the length of the Navarro River Redwood State Park, which is the smallest state park in California. It is home to raccoons, coastal black tail deer and birds such as the ‘belted kingfisher', whose habitats are river-oriented. Unlike most coastal parks, the weather gets as warm as 85-90 degrees.

Coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), are native to the central and northern California coast. This area has moderate to heavy winter rain and summer fog that is vital to this tree. Another important redwood in California is the giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), of the Sierra Nevada. We enjoyed this massive tree in Yosemite. Coastal redwoods are taller, thinner trees. The sequoias are shorter and massive in width.

Now only inhabiting a narrow belt along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, the giant sequoias were once found across much of the northern hemisphere. They are a member of the cypress family, (Cupressaceae), and survive in 75 isolated groves in California. They are home to the Black bear, Acorn woodpecker, and the Mule deer. The climate at 6,000 feet in elevation means heavy snows, sunny days, cold nights, frequent fire and sufficient moisture, which enable the giant sequoias to flourish. Through research and experimentation it was discovered that fire promotes reproduction of these giants. It clears away the competing fir and cedar trees, exposing bare mineral soil for the tiny sequoia seeds to root.

Mother nature is amazing and being in the redwoods is experiencing years of history! How small one feels when walking among these beautiful giants.