California Beaches Blog

It’s strange to consider people around the world look at California as a young place. New fashion designs, sports equipment, bathing suits, and a variety of trends are created on the beaches, in the think shops and even in the space labs designed to take us humans off planet to explore brave new worlds.

But one of the most overlooked things about California is really big and really old. California’s redwood trees lay claim to being some of the tallest, biggest and oldest living things in the world. If they could talk, you’d hear them speak about the floods, fires they survived, and not hundreds of years of time, but thousands. If a tree has a mind or consciousness in some form, wouldn’t it be cool to open up the sound and hear its voice? What would the oldest thing in the world think was important during more than its 5,000 years on earth? While 5,000 years isn’t much in the earth cycle, we only live 1/50th of that amount if we’re lucky.

As you plan your vacations this winter, several excellent journeys are to the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park where you’ll discover the most massive trees on earth. Or journey to the coast redwoods with a stay in Eureka to explore the tallest trees on earth.

On a trip to Calaveras Big Trees State Park, I stood with a group of people who convinced me to try hugging a tree like they did. I didn’t hear it speak in words, but I felt its massive size as my arms could only reach a small distance around  its base.

Living at the beach and never seeing a really big tree, I didn’t know what I was missing till I began visiting California National and State Parks, where the biggest and tallest trees in the world are located.

Before Christmas, a celebration is held at the General Grant Tree, the nation’s Christmas tree, at the Sequoia Kings Canyon NP. If you can make it up to the mountains for the celebration, it is one of the most awe-inspiring events to bring meaning to your holidays.