A few days before the summer ends, Anh-Vu, Stephanie Manning and George (her son and Anh-Vu's friend) planned a trip to Eureka, Humboldt County, north of San Francisco. I thought it was a wonderful idea to visit the redwood forest again. I vaguely remember the first time there with my sisters and brother over thirty years ago. It was a first trip to see the redwoods for Anh-Vu and Bao, and they were very excited.
Seeing the forest inside our rented car with Stephanie did all the driving (Thank you!). It takes about 4-5 hours of driving from Berkeley to Eureka.
(Left to right) Stephanie, Nga, Bao, Anh-Vu and George among the giant redwoods and plants.
These redwoods were so tall and big that I had to aim the camera first at the bottom, the middle and then the top in order to take the picture of the whole tree.
Man-made-roads that cut right through the forests and mountains gave you a sense of a tremendous power of what humans can do to destroy nature and the beauty it gives. But who would be stupid enough to do that?
Bao saw something on the ground that made him cringe.
Smaller plants grow on and around the fallen, dead redwood trees.
These redwoods have survived many forest fires and are still thriving. Anh-Vu and I got inside the hollow of the trees.
Bao squatted down inside the hollow, opened his hand and said: "Do you have any change?" and I took his picture.
A beautiful Victorian Inn in Ferndale that Stephanie wanted us to see. It was built in the late 1890s.
The man in the left hand corner of the picture is about six feet tall, and look at how small he is compared to the trees. Human are indeed one of the creatures and part of nature-a care taker, and not a master of it.
When we passed the long stretches of farm lands, they really reminded me of the countryside in Viet Nam.
A church in a small, sleepy town early in the morning.
Around 9 o'clock in the morning when the sun was just about to break through the thick fog and everything was so pretty and peaceful beyond words.
Passing through the park, we spotted this sign next to a small bridge...
...and looked down. There were still a little puddle left (on the right upper corner), and we all broke out laughing.
Lots of poison oaks on the forest floor.
On our way back to the Berkeley, we took Highway One near the coast, and the scenery was all green, blue and gold. We weaved and zigzagged through the redwoods, pine forests and then the coastal mountain. Everything was peaceful, fragrant and vast, and we felt so tiny and were overwhelmed by it all. You really have to be there to experience the scenery, and inhale the organic, fresh smell of the trees and plants. To me no pictures, even the most beautiful ones in the world would give you the real sense of being alive within nature.
The immense and power of nature that gives you goose bumps all over-- the feelings of belonging to the earth itself, and kinship to the surrounding creatures. I wonder why some people would want to destroy something that are so sacred and beautiful that no human on this earth could recreate. To me loving nature is like loving yourself--One body, one earth and there is no other choice, but to take care of it.
Here's to love, peace and the fact that we can still inhale and exhale.
