Will These Photos Never End?

The family at the Redwood Forest at the top of the mountain near Brookdale Lodge. Not exactly the place I had intended to take the kids. When I was living in California with my mother and stepfather, we used to go to the Redwood Forest that had some of the largest, oldest trees on the North American continent. There was one tree in the forest that had grown so large that by the time it had been discovered, it had already fallen over and died. It was old when America was discovered. The bottom of the trunk, with the roots still in the ground, was smoothed over and finished and was once used as a place for square dancers. A portion of it, still standing next to the trunk, was used to show the rings and distinguish the age of the tree. There was also a tree that grew in such a way, cars used to be driven through it. You know, the small Model T's.

Nevertheless, this was not where we went. Needless to say, I was extremly disappointed and after we made the journey through the trail and discovered the Mother of All Trees, over 400 ft tall and the Father of All Trees, almost 400 ft tall, we left and made our way to the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. The drive through the forest was beautiful, if a bit curvey. The small towns we came across were beautiful. And the house was worth the trip.