During my adventurous weekend at Boulder Creek, I had the opportunity to be united with Lee. Those who have been following this site closely will remember that Lee came on a Kenya and Tanzania safari with Woni Safaris under the banner of Lee special safari.
She picked me up from Bev and Jeff’s place to show me the pride of California as a reciprocation of what we had shown her back in Kenya . Just like the way we protect our wildlife in Kenya from extinction, the Americans have also protected their forests from the same menace.
The red woods of California are the tallest and oldest trees in the world with heights of between 14 – 18 feet. It takes 25 adults to put a ring using their outstretched hands around the mother tree of the park which is over 2000 years old. This park which we visited is called Big Basins Redwood.California and I belief other States of America, have a history of wild fires which burn up to even two months and there are uncontrollable. Lee informed me that they have fires in major forest like every once in hundred years and because of the way they conserve their forests, the fires are out of the ordinary and very difficult to put out. The last time that there was fire in this particular park was 96 years ago. The most amazing phenomena with the red wood tree are that it can burn a hole inside the tree and yet the tree does not die. One of the trees had been burned up to the end and you can even go inside as there is an opening cause by the fire and see the sky through and yet the tree has green branches in it. Another tree was burned and was left with a cave like structure where old explorers could hide and sleep at night shielding themselves from the severe cold and the fierce mountain lions.
This part of California has so many tree forest as opposed to the central which is a desert with bear mountains. Such a contrast. Earlier on as we were driving with Evie, I had these urge to ask her to stop so that I may view this beautiful forest with such tall trees. Little did I know that I will take an entire morning being taken on a forest walk and enjoy the site of all these trees? Being in this particular park makes you really appreciate the efforts that governments take to ensure that natural resources are conversed not only as tourist attractions but as just letting nature being.
Before starting the walk, Lee had taken me to the forest museum to see the kind of animals found in the park but are not seen like our wildlife either because the forest are so huge or most of them have been killed. A forest like that would attract many birdwatchers in Kenya but I did not see any bird as per say. Either because they would be flying on top of the high trees where eyes could not reach or else there were deep in the forests away form the common walking trails.
You may not understand the wonders of the red wood trees until you get see them for real.
