California Dreamin'

My cousin Mindy got married last weekend in Oakland, CA, so JoLee and I flew out for a much needed break. My father happened to turn 60 (congrats, Dad!), so we celebrated that as well.

The wedding was beautiful. Our friend and former bishop, Brian, took the photos. It was a nice day for pictures at the temple.

These are the two Music Mates who enjoyed an adaptation of the Music Man (performed by the groom's family) the night before their wedding.

After the wedding Brooke, Aaron, and we took a short drive into San Francisco. We ate at the Ferry Building, which was a new experience for all of us (and one that I highly recommend). Then we went to an underwater aquarium on Pier 39. The aquarium literally takes you under the bay and through a Plexiglas tube where you can see native plant and animal life. It was a little touristy, but since we were visiting from Kansas we had a hard time pretending to be otherwise.

At the end of the exhibit we could pet the leopard sharks. Their skin is rough like sandpaper, and scaly so that you can only stroke them in one direction.

The next day we traversed the valley into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Our first stop (after a nauseating ride through windy hills) was Moaning Caverns in Calaveras County. The caverns were named Moaning, due to the water drops echoing out the entrance.

The caverns are privately owned, and they have a much different feel than a national park. The tour winds downs a spiral staircase to the cavern floor some 165 feet below.

Our next trip was to Big Trees state park where we visited some of the largest trees on the planet. The giant sequoia are larger, albeit shorter, than the coastal redwoods, making them the largest things to have ever lived on earth. They are are located only in handful of groves along Eastern California. Their branches are big enough to be massive trees on their own. There is no poetic metaphor of to their root system being as deep as the tree is tall, since these trees have shallow roots to collect surface water. These ancient trees can live for more than 2000 years. Their thick bark allows them to withstand fires. The trees that topple do so as a result of soil erosion exposing their root system. Man also is good at destroying these mammoth trees, but only after a great deal of exertion.

Redwood tours are somewhat awkward, since most of the time visitors are staring straight up. This bench was designed to give visitors a break.

The path takes visitors through the trunk of an old tree that was hollowed out from fires.

I don't know who's bright idea it was to put a tunnel through this tree, but it does make for a good shot. There is a similar, more famous tunnel through a tree along the coast.

This tree was the largest of those found in the North Grove at Big Trees. The 49'ers decided that it would be great to chop it down and take parts of it around the country to show everyone how big the trees are in California. It took five weeks to cut it down by boring into the base repeatedly, but human tenacity paid off in the end. The massive trunk fell to the ground, and the stump was smoothed down and turned into a dance floor. This form of tree dating left no doubt to the tree's age. It was 1244 years old, young compared to those around it. The stump is still in good shape 150 years later, although it has required a few band aids.

The stump is 25 feet in diameter. That's just long enough for Brooke, Aaron, and I to span the trunk by joining hand to toe.

Portions of the trunk of tree still remain. Here you can see the bore marks that lead to the trees demise. The trunk was split and fashioned into a bowling alley. Other parts of the tree did eventually go on tour, but ironically the exhibit caught fire and burned to the ground. The morale is obvious enough to not need to be stated here. Not everyone approved of chopping this tree down. In fact, the act fueled the conservation efforts lead at the time by men like John Muir.

Visiting the sequoia is an awesome experience that I would recommend to anyone that hasn't seen these trees (or their cousins on the coast). Their shear size is hard to comprehend even after spending a few hours in the grove. Aaron and Brooke were nice enough to accompany us on our trek last weekend. After seeing the trees we visited their property in Amador, and then headed back to Sacramento for Dad's birthday party. We had a great trip. Thanks to Mom and Dad and everyone who made it one of our best!