Big Trees

Looking at trees sounds a little boring, unless the trees you are talking about are unusual. Giant Sequoia trees are unusual. They are big - unimaginably big. Even when you are standing at the foot of the tree and straining your head back to look up its nearly 250 foot height it is diificult to comprehend the size of the plant.

These are trees that have branches bigger than the biggest oak tree in your neighborhood. These are trees that have been around since the Roman Legions rules the Western hemisphere.

These are also trees that only grow in very specific environments and that have existed for only a couple of generations. Weird.

In the photo, the boys and I are standing at the base of the General Sherman tree in Sequoia National Park. This tree is considered the most massive living thing on the planet, and it is still slowly growing, adding 50 cubic feet of wood each year.