If a Tree Falls in a Forest…?

I always thought the philosophical question, “"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" was the dumbest thing I ever heard.  I know the question is all about reality and perception, blah, blah, blah.    Seriously, a tree makes a sound when it falls—especially a 10-foot in diameter redwood—most likely a very large crashing sound.  Like the one that fell last night.  The Newton B. Drury parkway was closed today while workers worked to clear the large redwood from the road.   This was our planned route for the next hike.  Fortunately, the south end of the road was open up to the Prairie Creek State Park visitor’s center and we were able to hike from there.  In fact, starting from the center made a much better hike than what we originally planned.

Our hike started out by going under the parkway.

 

 

 

 

While the  road was closed, Mike practiced the sobriety test. 

 

 

 

 

Our hike took us to “Big Tree”, 287 feet tall, 23.7 feet in diameter and a circumference of 68 feet.   One of the big, bad boys of redwoods.

 

Since we first arrived at the redwoods, it felt like I was here before…  Finally, I remembered!  The Ewok forest from the Star Wars movie, “Return of the Jedi”.  I did a computer Google search to be sure; and confirmed it was filmed here in the redwoods.  Very cool.

These trees do not rot and they are resistant to bugs—this path cut out (see picture below) through a fallen redwood will last for many years to come.

We are truly in awe of the redwoods.  Unless you have spent some time here, it is hard to describe the emotion you feel being among them.  There is a remarkable article and insightful pictures in the October 2009 issue of the National Geographic on Redwoods.  In fact, the article is titled, “Redwoods”.  Here is the link:  http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/10/redwoods/bourne-text

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the saving of the redwoods.  Read the article and reach your own conclusions.  But, in my mind, this is a treasure that should never be lost.