Muir Woods National Monument

When I took this assignment in northern California I knew that I would want to check out some redwoods while I was in the area. I grew up singing This Land is Your Land and "From the redwood forests to the gulf stream waaaters..." continually played in my head while I was in the park. I had tried to come to the park one other time but learned it gets crowded early and the closest parking spot I could find was 3 miles(!) from the entrance. This time I got there around 9:15 am and still couldn't find parking in the parking lot but only had to walk about a half mile to the entrance. Because Muir Woods is a part of the National Park system, I got to put my National Parks Annual Pass to good use which was an added bonus! (Thanks Mom and Dad!)

When entering the park it felt like I was entering a different world.  Tall trees towering over me with a richness in color of the tree trunks and bright green leaves overhead.  The trail is crowded, which is to be expected considering how hard it is to find parking even early in the morning, but I took one of the side trails and managed to hike for about 30 minutes before seeing another soul.  It was calming and cathartic to listen to nothing but the sound of running water and birds chirping around me. I scaled a fallen tree over the stream and hiked up the side of the hill to get to be eye level with some of the tree tops.  I am kind of amazed that I didn't leave with a crick in my neck from looking up in wonder for so long.  I took lots of pictures and some of them turned out great but, as always, it can never really capture the feel of being among these giant old trees with so much history and knowing that generations before and hopefully after me will walk among them and enjoy their beauty.  It's amazing to be able to have so much accessible nature so close to a very large city.