Big Basin is California's oldest State Park, and the home of one of the largest stands of old growth Coast Redwood trees. Andy wanted to see redwoods, and we thought this was the place to do that.
Many of these trees are over 1000 years old, and some have grown to heights above 300 feet. To live that long, they've had to survive fire and other natural disasters. The photos on the right show "fire cavities" created when the inner core of the tree has burned, but the outer bark remains. The tree on the right is called the "chimney tree."
By the early 1900s, over 90% of the forests on the San Francisco peninsula had been logged to provide building materials for urban development.
But appreciation for redwood forests was growing; in 1902 a group of conservationists led a movement to establish a park in Big Basin near the city of Santa Cruz. The park originally preserved 3800 acres of old growth forest and since then, it has grown to over 18,000 acres.
Below, Andy is checking out the view inside the "chimney tree."
EPILOG
We stopped at Pichetti Winery on our way home. Andy and I tasted wine, while Mike sat outside at a picnic table tormenting these roosters.
He'd recorded their "cock-a-doodle-doo" on his cell phone, and played it back - completely confusing these unsuspecting birds.