where we would hang a right...
The roads were on the twisty and windy side. Thank goodness TC was asleep or she would have hurled.
Bert chose this spot to visit after reading up on it, the Armstrong Redwoods, a temperate rainforest located in a canyon two miles north of the Russian River and the town of Guerneville. There are over 805 acres of coast redwoods; these species (Sequoia) are among the oldest living trees on earth and once covered much of Northern California and the Pacific Northwest. The area was set aside as a botanical garden and natural park by Colonel James Armstrong in the late 1870's. He and his family lobbied heavily to make sure that the forest would remain preserved for future generations.
The parking lot wasn't that full, which was good. It was already around 3 pm...
The visitor center was already closed but we grabbed a few brochures with a map to look over while we had our snacks...
We followed the yellow marked trails to check out the park's noted trees. It was a nice way to escape from the heat. The forest wasn't that crowded either so there weren't too many people around as we explored the paths.
Trees, trees, and more trees...
The Parson Jones tree is the tallest in the grove, measuring over 310 feet tall (longer than the length of a football field).
My camera couldn't even cover the length of the tree in one shot.
Covering the forest floor were Wood Sorrel, three-leafed clover-like plants with shamrock shaped leaves. In the sun, they open up; the leaves that were in the shade were closed up.
I apologize from the unclear photos. I was playing with my settings and they seemed off that day. Here, the remnants of a fallen tree.
We would see even larger and taller trees later on during our trip, but this was our first redwoods forest for our road trip.
The Colonel Armstrong tree is the oldest tree in the grove is named after the man who fought to preserve this parcel of land in the 1870's.
Not shown was the Icicle Tree which had unusual "burl" (knotty growths) formations sticking out of it.
Another fallen tree's cross section. This was quite massive.
We probably spent a good hour or so here before calling it a day.
Here's a short video about the Armstrong Redwoods:
We'll have to come back again in the future to explore not only this forest but others we didn't have the chance to visit.
More info here:
www.redwoodhikes.com
www.russianrivertravel.com
Armstrong Redwoods
17000 Armstrong Woods Rd.
Guerneville, CA 95446
(707) 869-2015
www.parks.ca.gov + reviews from yelp & tripadvisor
Our next goal was to obtain refreshments at a fairly new place set in a historic building in the nearby town of Guerneville...
2 comments:
Redwood trees are so majestic. When I was a kid we went on a trip up California and stopped the see the General Sherman tree in Sequoia National Forest. I remember I couldn't even really see the tops of the trees because they were so tall! Nice that not many other people were there that day - better to enjoy nature in peace and quiet, I say!
Those redwoods make our palm trees look so anemic!
We saw even bigger trees up in the Humboldt area and while driving through the Avenue of the Giants (aptly named).
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