Running with the Giants

she says:

When I was in elementary school (which is much more recent then when Jeff was in elementary school) I remember having conversations about things that were of this earth but were beyond my limited experience.  Like the dangers of quick sand, the power of Niagara Falls or the massiveness of the Himalayan Mountains.  The Redwoods were one of those things, "There are trees in California that are soo big you can drive a car through them!"  "No way,"  I thought and simultaneously, "I can't wait to see them."  

And so after waiting far too long, on a day off at Smith Rock, with an hour run under our belt and nothing on the agenda except figuring out what was next, Jeff and I pretty quickly decided that is was time to head south: Crater Lake, the Redwoods, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite (just to name a few.) 

 

So with Moby in the back seat, Johnny Cash on the iPod and a flavored cigar in hand we hit the open road.  We take in the foggy Oregon coast, have handpicked blackberry pancakes for breakie, and ultimately arrive at the Redwoods! 

Those large trees do make an impression (I'm still impressed by their size and it's been a week). We decided to take in some of the prominent Sequoia and Redwood groves by going for a morning run.  As we started running my thoughts wandered to how old these trees must be, the lush rainforest floor at the base of their trunks, and the feeling that now-extinct animals have passed by them.  Their immensity does remind you of prehistoric times and you almost think that a velociraptor is about to come barreling towards you from hind the closest overturned Giant.

So I had to wait 15 years to see these giants, but the wait was worth it.  One more thing to check off the bucket list.