Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Summative Post on Place and Growing Up
Dear Readers,
As I sit at my kitchen island and write this post our whole big trip is beginning to recede into the fog of memory. Did we really drive 8,007 miles across 19 states in a matter of six weeks? What was our favorite place? What was the hardest part? What was the most unexpected? Those are questions that many of you readers have asked. There will be a final post with Grace and Julia answering some of these questions. For now I'd like to opine a bit about how place influences our point of view in a attempt to summarize our travel experience.
Ellen comes from Michigan, the Great Lakes State (for the record Michigan is a big place known for a lot of different things, but it's uniquely surrounded by the Great Lakes). Coming of age for her occurred on the harsh but beautiful and unspoiled shores of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula, in a town of a few hundred, surrounded by undeveloped land. There is an abundance of nature in this region and lots of clean freshwater (the Lake is called "Superior" for a reason). Her memories include exploring this landscape with friends and siblings as a backdrop to her childhood imaginings. The granite and agate strewn beaches and sand dunes, thick forests home to old growth hardwood trees, and sparsely populated landscape have shaped Ellen's personality. She likes finding cool rocks, Great Lakes swimming, and seeing beauty in nature. She feels uncomfortable in deserts and prefers to avoid crowds.
I come from Indiana, the Hoosier State (for the record I would rather my state be known by a cool geographical feature, but somebody has to be from Indiana). Coming of age for me occurred in the partially wooded suburbs of Indianapolis along Williams Creek, whose floodplain was thinly forested for miles in either direction. There's not a lot of nature in the suburbs, but the offerings along Williams Creek were about as good as it got inside the I-465 beltway. My memories are of romping around the creek with a passel of four other boys that included neighbors and a sibling. The karst limestone waterways, forests interrupted by major city thoroughfares, and the traces of other children who used the woods along the creek have shaped my personality. I like finding fossils, turning over rocks in streams, and seeing oneness in nature. I feel uncomfortable seeing suburbia swallow woods and, like Ellen, prefer to avoid crowds.
Our children live in Macon, GA (for the record they prefer the land of blue states that exist in plenty along the west coast, especially Oregon). Coming of age for them is occurring in an urban neighborhood within walking distance to a University campus and their elementary school; it lacks any real forested area. There may be a few places along the railroad tracks that are partially wooded but trust me, you wouldn't want your kids exploring there on their own. Their memories might include playing with neighbors on the sidewalks and backyard, growing food in the garden, and walking/biking/scootering to dad's office or park. The cement sidewalks, railroad crossings, pecan trees, boarded-up houses (although these are much fewer in number these days), and living life as a pedestrian with neighbors one can trust will shape their personalities. They like imagining anything and everything, rollerblading, as well as drawing with sidewalk chalk. They gravitate towards animals and are not afraid to be in wild nature, but also enjoy riding city buses and trolleys.
Now we have traveled so far and seen so much, all of us. The exotic landscapes certainly made an impression as they raced by from a car window or meandered by during a hike. I think one can still be shaped by this terrain, even if it's while passing through. I hope we all soaked in as much of it as possible.
We took this trip to show Grace and Julia that there's so much more out there than what they see in their everyday life. In this we succeeded magnificently. I wonder though about other motivations. Maybe we wish we could replicate aspects of our own childhood (only the best parts, of course) by immersing them in the most beautiful natural places. Maybe what we really wish is that we could replicate childhood for us, the parents. If we could go back to the beginnings, where our personalities formed, and somehow get it all right the next time around—maybe that's what we were after. Unfortunately there are no do-overs in life. We all must struggle with accepting our choices because we rarely get to see both sides. Speaking personally, adulthood has meant making tough choices and living with them while trying not to let that inner voice, which second-guesses those choices, dominate in your head.
The 8,007 mile trip was at times tedious and grinding, but it was also exhilarating and poignant. Certainly it was memorable. I'm glad Ellen had the guts to try this with me and also that she helped create such a great platform for documenting it all (this blog and its associated pages). Someday far in the future, this record will probably be the only memory left of our adventure.
Thank you all for following along.
Sincerely,
Craig
As I sit at my kitchen island and write this post our whole big trip is beginning to recede into the fog of memory. Did we really drive 8,007 miles across 19 states in a matter of six weeks? What was our favorite place? What was the hardest part? What was the most unexpected? Those are questions that many of you readers have asked. There will be a final post with Grace and Julia answering some of these questions. For now I'd like to opine a bit about how place influences our point of view in a attempt to summarize our travel experience.
Ellen comes from Michigan, the Great Lakes State (for the record Michigan is a big place known for a lot of different things, but it's uniquely surrounded by the Great Lakes). Coming of age for her occurred on the harsh but beautiful and unspoiled shores of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula, in a town of a few hundred, surrounded by undeveloped land. There is an abundance of nature in this region and lots of clean freshwater (the Lake is called "Superior" for a reason). Her memories include exploring this landscape with friends and siblings as a backdrop to her childhood imaginings. The granite and agate strewn beaches and sand dunes, thick forests home to old growth hardwood trees, and sparsely populated landscape have shaped Ellen's personality. She likes finding cool rocks, Great Lakes swimming, and seeing beauty in nature. She feels uncomfortable in deserts and prefers to avoid crowds.
I come from Indiana, the Hoosier State (for the record I would rather my state be known by a cool geographical feature, but somebody has to be from Indiana). Coming of age for me occurred in the partially wooded suburbs of Indianapolis along Williams Creek, whose floodplain was thinly forested for miles in either direction. There's not a lot of nature in the suburbs, but the offerings along Williams Creek were about as good as it got inside the I-465 beltway. My memories are of romping around the creek with a passel of four other boys that included neighbors and a sibling. The karst limestone waterways, forests interrupted by major city thoroughfares, and the traces of other children who used the woods along the creek have shaped my personality. I like finding fossils, turning over rocks in streams, and seeing oneness in nature. I feel uncomfortable seeing suburbia swallow woods and, like Ellen, prefer to avoid crowds.
Our children live in Macon, GA (for the record they prefer the land of blue states that exist in plenty along the west coast, especially Oregon). Coming of age for them is occurring in an urban neighborhood within walking distance to a University campus and their elementary school; it lacks any real forested area. There may be a few places along the railroad tracks that are partially wooded but trust me, you wouldn't want your kids exploring there on their own. Their memories might include playing with neighbors on the sidewalks and backyard, growing food in the garden, and walking/biking/scootering to dad's office or park. The cement sidewalks, railroad crossings, pecan trees, boarded-up houses (although these are much fewer in number these days), and living life as a pedestrian with neighbors one can trust will shape their personalities. They like imagining anything and everything, rollerblading, as well as drawing with sidewalk chalk. They gravitate towards animals and are not afraid to be in wild nature, but also enjoy riding city buses and trolleys.
Now we have traveled so far and seen so much, all of us. The exotic landscapes certainly made an impression as they raced by from a car window or meandered by during a hike. I think one can still be shaped by this terrain, even if it's while passing through. I hope we all soaked in as much of it as possible.
We took this trip to show Grace and Julia that there's so much more out there than what they see in their everyday life. In this we succeeded magnificently. I wonder though about other motivations. Maybe we wish we could replicate aspects of our own childhood (only the best parts, of course) by immersing them in the most beautiful natural places. Maybe what we really wish is that we could replicate childhood for us, the parents. If we could go back to the beginnings, where our personalities formed, and somehow get it all right the next time around—maybe that's what we were after. Unfortunately there are no do-overs in life. We all must struggle with accepting our choices because we rarely get to see both sides. Speaking personally, adulthood has meant making tough choices and living with them while trying not to let that inner voice, which second-guesses those choices, dominate in your head.
The 8,007 mile trip was at times tedious and grinding, but it was also exhilarating and poignant. Certainly it was memorable. I'm glad Ellen had the guts to try this with me and also that she helped create such a great platform for documenting it all (this blog and its associated pages). Someday far in the future, this record will probably be the only memory left of our adventure.
Thank you all for following along.
Sincerely,
Craig
Monday, October 14, 2013
Data Analysis Questions for Fourth Graders
In the interest of providing one last math exercise for fourth graders, here is a graph with climate data. Grace transcribed these data into a spreadsheet. The graph below places all our locations (in order) on the horizontal, or X-axis. Note that there are vertical, or Y-axes. On the left (in blue) is temperature from each location and on the right (in red) is humidity. Please use this line chart to answer the following interpretive questions.
1) Which locations were the driest places visited by us? What might these places look like?
2) Which locations were the wettest? What might these places look like?
3) What was the coldest location recorded in the weather reports? Name a place that was 20 degrees warmer.
4) Describe how the temperature and humidity of Klamath, CA compared with all other locations.
5) What is different and what is the same about Macon when we returned home compared to when we left?
1) Which locations were the driest places visited by us? What might these places look like?
2) Which locations were the wettest? What might these places look like?
3) What was the coldest location recorded in the weather reports? Name a place that was 20 degrees warmer.
4) Describe how the temperature and humidity of Klamath, CA compared with all other locations.
5) What is different and what is the same about Macon when we returned home compared to when we left?
Photo Round Up
In case you missed any of the photo links from our previous posts, I've compiled a list of all of our Flickr sets:
Trip Preparation (August)
Hitting the Road (September 1)
Wisconsin (September 2)
North Dakota (September 3-5)
Glacier National Park: St. Mary's (September 6 & 7)
Glacier National Park: Grinnell Glacier (September 8)
Glacier National Park: Swiftcurrent Valley (September 9)
Glacier National Park: Going to the Sun Road (September 10 & 11)
Road to Rainier (September 12)
Mt. Rainier National Park (September 13 & 14)
Mt. St Helen's National Volcanic Monument (September 14)
Oregon's Coast (September 15)
Portland, OR (September 17)
Goodbye Eugene (September 18 & 19)
Crater Lake National Park (September 19 & 20)
Rogue River Gorge, Oregon (September 21)
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, California (September 22)
Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, California (September 23)
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California (September 24)
MacKerricher State Park, California (September 25 & 26)
San Francisco (September 27-October 1)
Monterey Bay Aquarium (October 2)
Desert Drive (October 4)
Yurt at Nordic Center, Flagstaff, Arizona (October 5 & 6)
Meteor Crater (October 6)
Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta & More (October 7)
Acoma Pueblo (October 8)
Almost all of these pictures were taken with a camera I received for my birthday. Thanks Mom & Dad Williams, Mom & Dad Byron, and Betsy. As you know these photos captured so many priceless moments, and we will look back upon them for years to come.
Trip Preparation (August)
Hitting the Road (September 1)
Wisconsin (September 2)
North Dakota (September 3-5)
Glacier National Park: St. Mary's (September 6 & 7)
Glacier National Park: Grinnell Glacier (September 8)
Glacier National Park: Swiftcurrent Valley (September 9)
Glacier National Park: Going to the Sun Road (September 10 & 11)
Road to Rainier (September 12)
Mt. Rainier National Park (September 13 & 14)
Mt. St Helen's National Volcanic Monument (September 14)
Oregon's Coast (September 15)
Portland, OR (September 17)
Goodbye Eugene (September 18 & 19)
Crater Lake National Park (September 19 & 20)
Rogue River Gorge, Oregon (September 21)
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, California (September 22)
Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, California (September 23)
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California (September 24)
MacKerricher State Park, California (September 25 & 26)
San Francisco (September 27-October 1)
Monterey Bay Aquarium (October 2)
Desert Drive (October 4)
Yurt at Nordic Center, Flagstaff, Arizona (October 5 & 6)
Meteor Crater (October 6)
Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta & More (October 7)
Acoma Pueblo (October 8)
Almost all of these pictures were taken with a camera I received for my birthday. Thanks Mom & Dad Williams, Mom & Dad Byron, and Betsy. As you know these photos captured so many priceless moments, and we will look back upon them for years to come.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Albuquerque
The news last night reported that Grand Canyon is scheduled to open along with Utah's national parks. It's hard not to feel a wee bit frustrated at this news. It came a week too late for us. I say a wee bit because in the end our time in Albuquerque was really fantastic and had we gone to Grand Canyon we probably wouldn't have spent as much time there.
Albuquerque lays at the base of the Sandia Mountains, and as we drove into town we could see the mountains in front us and balloons floating over the city in the north. We arrived during the International Balloon Fiesta, the largest hot air balloon festival in the world, with 216 registered balloons this year and entrants from 11 countries. The best time to see the balloons is during the mass ascension, so we rose early on our first full day to watch them.
We had so many favorites, like Darth Vader and the bees, and we were surprised at the size of these balloons.
After watching what must have been hundreds of balloons rise over the city, we were treated to a wonderful breakfast at Tim's Place. Tim and his restaurant have received nationwide coverage, and his story is notable because Tim has Down syndrome. His lifelong dream was to own a restaurant, and in 2010 he realized that goal Our friends, Ardis & Ed, like to take visitors to Tim's because it's good to support this young man's business, but also because the breakfast is really delicious. The girls were thrilled to meet Tim, and they told him all about their cousin, Whitney, who also has Down syndrome. Tim told them that they were extremely lucky to have Whitney and that the amount of awesome in their lives had increased exponentially when she was born. We think so too.
Tim keeps track of the hugs he gives out, and we were lucky enough to be some of the first hugs of the day on his hug-counter.
In the afternoon we went to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. There are 19 pueblos in New Mexico, and the Cultural Center has a wonderful museum with exhibits on the pottery, art, and history of the pueblos. Photographs are not allowed within the facility, but visitors can record the native dances that are scheduled throughout the day. We were lucky enough to see two of those. Pictured below are white buffalo dancers.
On our second full day we traveled to Acoma Pueblo which is about 70 miles outside Albuquerque. The settlement of Acoma dates to 1100 AD, making it one of the oldest peublos in the Southwest. The pueblo sits 365 feet above the valley floor on a mesa, and access by visitors is limited. We purchased a tour package through the Sky City Cultural Center and Haak'u Museum at the base of the mesa and were driven on top and led through the village by an excellent tour guide, Brandon (pictured below next to an outdoor oven, still in use today, that was introduced by spanish colonizers).
He led us through the history of the pueblo, and like so much Native American history it was filled with the horrors of colonization. It's a testament to the strength of the Acoma people that their village, way of life, and language have been preserved through the centuries. Of course, the village has changed over the years, but inhabitants still don't have electricity and their water must be transported onto the mesa. However, it's no longer carried in jars atop of women't heads, but comes by water truck. We saw examples of the early sandstone brick construction, adobe brick construction, which was introduced by the Spanish, and a modern day cinder block building.
Approximately 30 Acoma people, mostly elders and their caretakers, still live on the mesa, and most of the remaining 5,000 live in the towns just outside the valley. Like all peubloans, they are known for their pottery and we were lucky to purchase several pieces from artists while we were there.
We opted to walk down the secret staircase when the tour ended, and it was a little harrowing. Thankfully the centuries old hand holds still work.
This post is already long, but it wouldn't be complete if I didn't share one more story. While we were in Albuquerque we got to spend time with Ardis & Ed's granddaughter, Shanta, a vibrant, talkative, and lovely 14 year old. The girls were immediately smitten and shared their love for American Girl dolls with her. Shanta pulled me aside before dinner on our second night and asked if it would be okay to give Julia her Kit Kittredge doll. It's not an exaggeration to say that my mouth dropped. Julia has been pining for a Kit Kittredge, and we had reminded her many, many times that she could ask for one for Christmas. Well, Christmas came early for Julia, and I know that forever in her mind the true highlight of this trip will be that she received her first American Girl doll.
Thank you, Shanta, you're fantastic!
Well, that's about it. If you want to see Balloon Fiesta pictures, go here, and if you want to see Acoma pictures go here. I know that Craig wants to put together some sort of summative post, and I'm sure that will come in a day or two. Also, we'll wrap up the Weather Girls with an interview. See you then.
Albuquerque lays at the base of the Sandia Mountains, and as we drove into town we could see the mountains in front us and balloons floating over the city in the north. We arrived during the International Balloon Fiesta, the largest hot air balloon festival in the world, with 216 registered balloons this year and entrants from 11 countries. The best time to see the balloons is during the mass ascension, so we rose early on our first full day to watch them.
We had so many favorites, like Darth Vader and the bees, and we were surprised at the size of these balloons.
After watching what must have been hundreds of balloons rise over the city, we were treated to a wonderful breakfast at Tim's Place. Tim and his restaurant have received nationwide coverage, and his story is notable because Tim has Down syndrome. His lifelong dream was to own a restaurant, and in 2010 he realized that goal Our friends, Ardis & Ed, like to take visitors to Tim's because it's good to support this young man's business, but also because the breakfast is really delicious. The girls were thrilled to meet Tim, and they told him all about their cousin, Whitney, who also has Down syndrome. Tim told them that they were extremely lucky to have Whitney and that the amount of awesome in their lives had increased exponentially when she was born. We think so too.
Tim keeps track of the hugs he gives out, and we were lucky enough to be some of the first hugs of the day on his hug-counter.
In the afternoon we went to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. There are 19 pueblos in New Mexico, and the Cultural Center has a wonderful museum with exhibits on the pottery, art, and history of the pueblos. Photographs are not allowed within the facility, but visitors can record the native dances that are scheduled throughout the day. We were lucky enough to see two of those. Pictured below are white buffalo dancers.
On our second full day we traveled to Acoma Pueblo which is about 70 miles outside Albuquerque. The settlement of Acoma dates to 1100 AD, making it one of the oldest peublos in the Southwest. The pueblo sits 365 feet above the valley floor on a mesa, and access by visitors is limited. We purchased a tour package through the Sky City Cultural Center and Haak'u Museum at the base of the mesa and were driven on top and led through the village by an excellent tour guide, Brandon (pictured below next to an outdoor oven, still in use today, that was introduced by spanish colonizers).
He led us through the history of the pueblo, and like so much Native American history it was filled with the horrors of colonization. It's a testament to the strength of the Acoma people that their village, way of life, and language have been preserved through the centuries. Of course, the village has changed over the years, but inhabitants still don't have electricity and their water must be transported onto the mesa. However, it's no longer carried in jars atop of women't heads, but comes by water truck. We saw examples of the early sandstone brick construction, adobe brick construction, which was introduced by the Spanish, and a modern day cinder block building.
Approximately 30 Acoma people, mostly elders and their caretakers, still live on the mesa, and most of the remaining 5,000 live in the towns just outside the valley. Like all peubloans, they are known for their pottery and we were lucky to purchase several pieces from artists while we were there.
We opted to walk down the secret staircase when the tour ended, and it was a little harrowing. Thankfully the centuries old hand holds still work.
This post is already long, but it wouldn't be complete if I didn't share one more story. While we were in Albuquerque we got to spend time with Ardis & Ed's granddaughter, Shanta, a vibrant, talkative, and lovely 14 year old. The girls were immediately smitten and shared their love for American Girl dolls with her. Shanta pulled me aside before dinner on our second night and asked if it would be okay to give Julia her Kit Kittredge doll. It's not an exaggeration to say that my mouth dropped. Julia has been pining for a Kit Kittredge, and we had reminded her many, many times that she could ask for one for Christmas. Well, Christmas came early for Julia, and I know that forever in her mind the true highlight of this trip will be that she received her first American Girl doll.
Thank you, Shanta, you're fantastic!
Well, that's about it. If you want to see Balloon Fiesta pictures, go here, and if you want to see Acoma pictures go here. I know that Craig wants to put together some sort of summative post, and I'm sure that will come in a day or two. Also, we'll wrap up the Weather Girls with an interview. See you then.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Home at Last
Here's the mileage of our van upon the completion of this trip. If you compare this to our very first tweet, we've completed 8,007 miles. It's bittersweet to be home. Have we learned anything? Yes, we've learned a ton and the kids have grown as a result of the experience, but next time we'll fly.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
The Drive East (Photo Links & More)
There isn't a whole lot to post about our drive out of California that we haven't already said (again, irrigated desert=buy more local), but we did take some photos of our journey, which you can find here. On another trip it would be great to investigate places like the Mojave Desert but this wasn't the time.
As you know we stayed in a yurt just north of Flagstaff, AZ after we left California, and we thoroughly enjoyed it (though truthfully the girls could have done without backpacking and hauling all of our gear uphill for a mile). The Weather Girls gave an excellent tour of the yurt, and you can find photos of our time there here. (Craig may write a post about it later).
After Flagstaff we headed to Albuquerque, with a couple of stops at Meteor Crater (thanks Tom for the info) and Petrified Forest National Park (spoiler: it was closed). Our pictures from those stops are here. Many people gave us great advice about other places we could visit in Arizona, and we love that you shared your ideas. We've filed them away for another trip to the Southwest (perhaps one without our kids).
Our last posts (to come very soon) will be about our visit to Albuquerque. I'm happy to say that our time there proved to be a salve on the wound created by the government shutdown. We had three nights at the home of very dear friends, and we were so happy to be able to experience Balloon Fiesta and some of the local Puebloan culture. New Mexico is the Land of Enchantment, and we were enchanted.
As you are reading this we are making the drive back to Macon. We will return ahead of schedule, and though it's been tough to miss out on Grand Canyon and Yosemite, it isn't such a bad thing to get home a few days early. Grace and Julia will get some time to adjust to life at home, and we'll be very happy to hand the job of educating them back to the professionals. Six weeks is definitely my limit for homeschooling.
We hope you'll keep reading. We do have a few more posts to share, and there are definitely more photos. We also have at least one more Weather Girls update too. I want to thank you for sharing the ride with us. We appreciate all the warm thoughts, the wonderful emails, and great comments. Now I'd better stop writing before the tears start to come. It's been one amazing journey.
As you know we stayed in a yurt just north of Flagstaff, AZ after we left California, and we thoroughly enjoyed it (though truthfully the girls could have done without backpacking and hauling all of our gear uphill for a mile). The Weather Girls gave an excellent tour of the yurt, and you can find photos of our time there here. (Craig may write a post about it later).
After Flagstaff we headed to Albuquerque, with a couple of stops at Meteor Crater (thanks Tom for the info) and Petrified Forest National Park (spoiler: it was closed). Our pictures from those stops are here. Many people gave us great advice about other places we could visit in Arizona, and we love that you shared your ideas. We've filed them away for another trip to the Southwest (perhaps one without our kids).
Our last posts (to come very soon) will be about our visit to Albuquerque. I'm happy to say that our time there proved to be a salve on the wound created by the government shutdown. We had three nights at the home of very dear friends, and we were so happy to be able to experience Balloon Fiesta and some of the local Puebloan culture. New Mexico is the Land of Enchantment, and we were enchanted.
As you are reading this we are making the drive back to Macon. We will return ahead of schedule, and though it's been tough to miss out on Grand Canyon and Yosemite, it isn't such a bad thing to get home a few days early. Grace and Julia will get some time to adjust to life at home, and we'll be very happy to hand the job of educating them back to the professionals. Six weeks is definitely my limit for homeschooling.
We hope you'll keep reading. We do have a few more posts to share, and there are definitely more photos. We also have at least one more Weather Girls update too. I want to thank you for sharing the ride with us. We appreciate all the warm thoughts, the wonderful emails, and great comments. Now I'd better stop writing before the tears start to come. It's been one amazing journey.
What We Learned at the Monterey Bay Aquarium
As Ellen wrote about in an earlier post, we went to Monterey after leaving San Francisco. We had heard wonderful things about the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and we needed a pick-me-up after losing out on a visit to Yosemite. The first area we came to in the aquarium was the Pacific Kelp Forest, and though the pictures can never capture the beauty and tranquility of tank, we were awed.
The giant kelp forests that lay off the California coastline provide a excellent example of a food web with three key players: sea otters, kelp, and sea urchins. These organisms exist in an important balance where the otters eat the sea urchins, and the urchins eat the kelp. The kelp is critical for establishing a habitat for countless near shore organisms, so too many urchins is a bad thing for the whole ecosystem.
Sea otters don't have blubber, but keep warm with an especially fluffy fur coat that they spend up to six hours grooming each day. These coats were prized among trappers and led to the near decimation of the otter population (otter decline has also been exacerbated by other environmental factors, like pollution). These gorgeous creature used to exist over the entire North American west coast, but today it's estimated that only 2,900 individuals remain, mainly in central California Pacific waters. Because otter numbers have decreased, sea urchin populations have grown, and kelp forests are shrinking. As a keystone species in this ecological web, sea otters are required to maintain this unique marine habitat.
At the aquarium we learned about efforts to raise orphaned otters and teach them to hunt and consume sea urchins using surrogate otter moms and lots of human TLC. We hope that these efforts to restore the kelp forests are successful so that future generations are able to encounter these important animals.
During our visit we also learned about the Monterey Submarine Canyon. This two mile deep canyon is very close to the shoreline and gives the scientists there an excellent window into the ocean, allowing them to study deep sea organisms and their unusual benthic adaptations. Remote operated submersibles are used to explore these deep water habitats (think underwater drones), and scientists have made some interesting discoveries as a result. The video below shows the Pacific Barreleye Spookfish. This unusual fish was recently discovered living between 1,000-3,000 feet deep in the canyon.
This fish has transparent tissues over its disproportionately large eyes that when turned upwards can make use of the sparse light to rob siphonophores of their catch. Siphonophores are jellyfish relatives that bioilluminesce (or emit light). They also live in benthic settings and consume fish attracted to their glowing lights. When a fish is ensnared, the spookfish can observe the struggle and move in for a free meal.
Our time in California was mixed due to events beyond our control. California is a beautiful state with amazing natural resources. There are beautiful coasts, magnificent mountains, prehistoric forests, and deserts that feed much of our country. It's no wonder that literally millions of people want to be there. We enjoyed this leg of our trip, but by the end missed the solace of the wilderness. As Ellen wrote in the last post, after our day in Monterey we turned east and headed for Arizona. She's already posted the weather report from our time in Flagstaff, and photos of our time there will come soon. Pictures from the Monterey Bay Aquarium can be found here.
The giant kelp forests that lay off the California coastline provide a excellent example of a food web with three key players: sea otters, kelp, and sea urchins. These organisms exist in an important balance where the otters eat the sea urchins, and the urchins eat the kelp. The kelp is critical for establishing a habitat for countless near shore organisms, so too many urchins is a bad thing for the whole ecosystem.
Sea otters don't have blubber, but keep warm with an especially fluffy fur coat that they spend up to six hours grooming each day. These coats were prized among trappers and led to the near decimation of the otter population (otter decline has also been exacerbated by other environmental factors, like pollution). These gorgeous creature used to exist over the entire North American west coast, but today it's estimated that only 2,900 individuals remain, mainly in central California Pacific waters. Because otter numbers have decreased, sea urchin populations have grown, and kelp forests are shrinking. As a keystone species in this ecological web, sea otters are required to maintain this unique marine habitat.
At the aquarium we learned about efforts to raise orphaned otters and teach them to hunt and consume sea urchins using surrogate otter moms and lots of human TLC. We hope that these efforts to restore the kelp forests are successful so that future generations are able to encounter these important animals.
During our visit we also learned about the Monterey Submarine Canyon. This two mile deep canyon is very close to the shoreline and gives the scientists there an excellent window into the ocean, allowing them to study deep sea organisms and their unusual benthic adaptations. Remote operated submersibles are used to explore these deep water habitats (think underwater drones), and scientists have made some interesting discoveries as a result. The video below shows the Pacific Barreleye Spookfish. This unusual fish was recently discovered living between 1,000-3,000 feet deep in the canyon.
This fish has transparent tissues over its disproportionately large eyes that when turned upwards can make use of the sparse light to rob siphonophores of their catch. Siphonophores are jellyfish relatives that bioilluminesce (or emit light). They also live in benthic settings and consume fish attracted to their glowing lights. When a fish is ensnared, the spookfish can observe the struggle and move in for a free meal.
Our time in California was mixed due to events beyond our control. California is a beautiful state with amazing natural resources. There are beautiful coasts, magnificent mountains, prehistoric forests, and deserts that feed much of our country. It's no wonder that literally millions of people want to be there. We enjoyed this leg of our trip, but by the end missed the solace of the wilderness. As Ellen wrote in the last post, after our day in Monterey we turned east and headed for Arizona. She's already posted the weather report from our time in Flagstaff, and photos of our time there will come soon. Pictures from the Monterey Bay Aquarium can be found here.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
What We Learned in San Francisco
Early in our planning, we knew that wanted to make a stop in San Francisco. For one, we anticipated that the girls would be tired of camping at this point in the trip, and two, it's San Francisco. In the end we spent four days in the city and had fantastic accommodations in a very nice flat off of Golden Gate Park. Here we met up with Ellen's sister, Betsy, and her significant other, Tom. Ellen, Tom, and Betsy all had (have) birthdays within a week or two of the visit, and Tom had just recently returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan. There was plenty to celebrate in the city by the bay.
We also had some learning objectives while in the city. We wanted to visit both the California Academy of Sciences and the Exploratorium. Since it was rebuilt in 2008, the California Academy of Sciences is the newest natural history museum in the country, however it's been around since the 1800's. The building is among the largest structures in Golden Gate Park, and the museum portion of the property is impressive with plenty of green technology built in to the design. The rooftop is perhaps the most obvious example, as it's planted with vegetation and rain catchment systems.
Despite the one million visitors that go to the museum, the primary mission of the institution is research, and about 70% of the property is devoted to this activity. The Academy is rightfully proud of this and uses its staff scientists to engage visitors in cutting edge science. Being a natural history museum there was much to captivate our attention. There is a rainforest exhibit that places the visitor inside a giant terrarium with rainforest plants and animals from all tropical regions in the world. One even has to enter the rainforest through an airlock to preserve the fragile climate of the exhibit.
In addition, we watched a tremendous program about earthquakes in the Morrison Planetarium. The movie takes the viewer deep into the earth's crust to better understand the tectonic events that are constant around our active planet. Earthquakes of course have played a very significant role in the history of San Francisco, which was presented in a compelling fashion. The movie made a large impression on all of us and helped to reinforce the idea that our own human view of a static world is limited by our relatively short view of time.
The reframing of our concept of time is so easily accomplished by studying natural history. It forces an appreciation of a much larger time scale that diminishes the importance of human lives and underscores the dynamic nature of earth as a closed system. Somewhere in the future of humanity we must come to terms with this perspective if we are to live sustainable lifestyles.
The Steinhart Aquarium, also on the museum property, has many excellent tanks with marine organisms from around the world. There's even a Southern Swamp that has an albino alligator. This made a whimpering impression on us since we were on this trip to see things distinctly non-southern. What did make a great impression on the girls were the South African penguins. Specifically there is a famous penguin there, Pierre, about whom a well known children's book was written. Pierre lost all of his feathers during a molt, and they failed to grow back right away. Concerned for possible hypothermia, keepers there fashioned a small neoprene wetsuit tailored to him. He wore this wetsuit (on display in the picture) until his new feathers grew in. Not only was Pierre's life saved, but he is now the oldest penguin in the exhibit by several years. We were told that he has sired many offspring and even has "grandchildren" that are now part of the display.
Now no tourist visit to San Francisco is complete without a ride on a cablecar, and we were able to do this on our last day in the city. We avoided the lines by starting our ride one stop up, which meant that we got onto a extremely full car. For a moment, we thought that perhaps we'd be stuffed in the back, craning for great views, but we had an fantastic driver. Within minutes he had maneuvered the girls into a better position, and by the next stop he had Craig riding on the side of the car. Soon after, the rest of us joined him, and by the time we were near the end, both Grace and Julia were standing along the side, arm wrapped around the bar, riding the rails in true style. It was the perfect cap to our stay in the city.
Of course, we did much more in San Francisco, but this post is already long. You can find all of our San Francisco photos (including some from the church where Ellen's parents were married 52 years ago) here.
We also had some learning objectives while in the city. We wanted to visit both the California Academy of Sciences and the Exploratorium. Since it was rebuilt in 2008, the California Academy of Sciences is the newest natural history museum in the country, however it's been around since the 1800's. The building is among the largest structures in Golden Gate Park, and the museum portion of the property is impressive with plenty of green technology built in to the design. The rooftop is perhaps the most obvious example, as it's planted with vegetation and rain catchment systems.
Despite the one million visitors that go to the museum, the primary mission of the institution is research, and about 70% of the property is devoted to this activity. The Academy is rightfully proud of this and uses its staff scientists to engage visitors in cutting edge science. Being a natural history museum there was much to captivate our attention. There is a rainforest exhibit that places the visitor inside a giant terrarium with rainforest plants and animals from all tropical regions in the world. One even has to enter the rainforest through an airlock to preserve the fragile climate of the exhibit.
In addition, we watched a tremendous program about earthquakes in the Morrison Planetarium. The movie takes the viewer deep into the earth's crust to better understand the tectonic events that are constant around our active planet. Earthquakes of course have played a very significant role in the history of San Francisco, which was presented in a compelling fashion. The movie made a large impression on all of us and helped to reinforce the idea that our own human view of a static world is limited by our relatively short view of time.
The reframing of our concept of time is so easily accomplished by studying natural history. It forces an appreciation of a much larger time scale that diminishes the importance of human lives and underscores the dynamic nature of earth as a closed system. Somewhere in the future of humanity we must come to terms with this perspective if we are to live sustainable lifestyles.
The Steinhart Aquarium, also on the museum property, has many excellent tanks with marine organisms from around the world. There's even a Southern Swamp that has an albino alligator. This made a whimpering impression on us since we were on this trip to see things distinctly non-southern. What did make a great impression on the girls were the South African penguins. Specifically there is a famous penguin there, Pierre, about whom a well known children's book was written. Pierre lost all of his feathers during a molt, and they failed to grow back right away. Concerned for possible hypothermia, keepers there fashioned a small neoprene wetsuit tailored to him. He wore this wetsuit (on display in the picture) until his new feathers grew in. Not only was Pierre's life saved, but he is now the oldest penguin in the exhibit by several years. We were told that he has sired many offspring and even has "grandchildren" that are now part of the display.
Now no tourist visit to San Francisco is complete without a ride on a cablecar, and we were able to do this on our last day in the city. We avoided the lines by starting our ride one stop up, which meant that we got onto a extremely full car. For a moment, we thought that perhaps we'd be stuffed in the back, craning for great views, but we had an fantastic driver. Within minutes he had maneuvered the girls into a better position, and by the next stop he had Craig riding on the side of the car. Soon after, the rest of us joined him, and by the time we were near the end, both Grace and Julia were standing along the side, arm wrapped around the bar, riding the rails in true style. It was the perfect cap to our stay in the city.
Of course, we did much more in San Francisco, but this post is already long. You can find all of our San Francisco photos (including some from the church where Ellen's parents were married 52 years ago) here.
Monday, October 7, 2013
Northern California's Pacific Coastline
The next several posts cover places we visited up to two weeks ago. We apologize for the lag in uploading material, but 1) San Francisco is the kind of place that begs to be experienced—not the kind of place you spend hours penning the next post; and 2) government shutdown. So here is your first post about the California Coast:
From many locations in our travels we were in contact with the Pacific Ocean, and with this post we'd like to focus on our experience with the Norther California's coastline. Our first exposure with this iconic feature was in Crescent City, CA, our jumping off point for the Redwoods. The weather here was raw with cold rain and fierce winds, and the surf was actually a bit terrifying. The roar from the ocean was substantial and the danger presented by the waves was real. The rule, "never turn your back on the ocean" was heeded here so that no one got snatched away to sea where, as the guidebooks say, survival is unlikely. I captured this photo from my iPhone while the girls and Ellen stayed dry and warm in the van.
As you might remember, we had some wet camping gear from our stay at Crater Lake when we first got to Redwoods, so we made the most of the some limited sunshine one afternoon and laid things out on the beach to dry. Unfortunately we broke the first ocean rule, and a sneaker wave caught us by surprise, dragging our tent into the surf. Acting as fast as we could we ran to grab the tent as a wave grabbed from the other side. We saved the tent, but it was a small consolation because it was even wetter, sandier, and saltier than we would have ever liked. Fortunately we had enough sunshine and wind and that was enough to dry things out.
One of the most striking features we observed from this coast are the enormous seastacks that remain along the coast where less durable sedimentary sandstones and mudstones have been eroded away. The seastacks are composed of silicious rocks like chert and stand strong in the surf creating lots of rocky habitat for tidepool and surf zone organisms.
Because the ocean was whipped up from the stormy weather we were unable to get a real satisfying glimpse of the tidepools around MacKerricher State Park (we remain so thankful that we had such a great tidepool experience on the coast of Oregon). We did find many hermit crabs, sea anemones, washed up kelp, and in the distance, harbor seals.
While camping at MacKerricher, we also had the chance to go to Glass Beach. As the ranger told us, "it's not like what you see in the pictures." Yes, it's a place where you can find great little pieces of white, blue, green, and brown sea glass, but you're constantly reminded that the only reason there's glass on the beach is because it was a dump. The people of Ft. Bragg no longer dump their household waste off a cliff and into the Pacific, but the remains of that history are well displayed. Glass Beach provided a priceless lesson in the 3 Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle.
For the full set of photos from our stay at MacKerricher, go here.
From many locations in our travels we were in contact with the Pacific Ocean, and with this post we'd like to focus on our experience with the Norther California's coastline. Our first exposure with this iconic feature was in Crescent City, CA, our jumping off point for the Redwoods. The weather here was raw with cold rain and fierce winds, and the surf was actually a bit terrifying. The roar from the ocean was substantial and the danger presented by the waves was real. The rule, "never turn your back on the ocean" was heeded here so that no one got snatched away to sea where, as the guidebooks say, survival is unlikely. I captured this photo from my iPhone while the girls and Ellen stayed dry and warm in the van.
As you might remember, we had some wet camping gear from our stay at Crater Lake when we first got to Redwoods, so we made the most of the some limited sunshine one afternoon and laid things out on the beach to dry. Unfortunately we broke the first ocean rule, and a sneaker wave caught us by surprise, dragging our tent into the surf. Acting as fast as we could we ran to grab the tent as a wave grabbed from the other side. We saved the tent, but it was a small consolation because it was even wetter, sandier, and saltier than we would have ever liked. Fortunately we had enough sunshine and wind and that was enough to dry things out.
One of the most striking features we observed from this coast are the enormous seastacks that remain along the coast where less durable sedimentary sandstones and mudstones have been eroded away. The seastacks are composed of silicious rocks like chert and stand strong in the surf creating lots of rocky habitat for tidepool and surf zone organisms.
Because the ocean was whipped up from the stormy weather we were unable to get a real satisfying glimpse of the tidepools around MacKerricher State Park (we remain so thankful that we had such a great tidepool experience on the coast of Oregon). We did find many hermit crabs, sea anemones, washed up kelp, and in the distance, harbor seals.
While camping at MacKerricher, we also had the chance to go to Glass Beach. As the ranger told us, "it's not like what you see in the pictures." Yes, it's a place where you can find great little pieces of white, blue, green, and brown sea glass, but you're constantly reminded that the only reason there's glass on the beach is because it was a dump. The people of Ft. Bragg no longer dump their household waste off a cliff and into the Pacific, but the remains of that history are well displayed. Glass Beach provided a priceless lesson in the 3 Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle.
For the full set of photos from our stay at MacKerricher, go here.
The Weather in Northern Arizona (and Other Thoughts)
As you all know our trip has been significantly altered by the government shutdown, and we're still reeling from the change to our itinerary. We spent an extra night in San Francisco as a result, then scrambled to make a few reservations and headed further south to Monterey, where we spent a fantastic afternoon at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (post to come on that from Craig). And while we were excited to spend the day at such a fantastic place, we also felt ourselves unraveling a bit. Where should we go from Monterey? What should we do? Should we continue to camp? Should we just go home?
We already knew that Yosemite wasn't going to happen (there's no way the government would get their act together that quick), but we thought that perhaps we could position ourselves to be close to Grand Canyon in case it opened, so we turned the wheels of the Odyssey to the east and headed out. While I wouldn't recommend California's central valley as a vacation spot, it was an illuminating drive that ended in the desert in Barstow, CA. You think hard about the produce you're eating when you pass through dusty, windblown field after field. You realize that those grapes you're eating, organic or not, come from an irrigated desert. It makes one think a bit more about "buying local".
As we were driving east, poor Craig was grappling with an even larger dilemma: my 40th birthday. It would have been cruel to make the 5th a day of driving, so Craig scoured the internet (and thank goodness for the internet, this trip wouldn't have been possible without the internet), he found some pretty great accommodations. We stayed in a yurt for my 40th and that is where the girls did their next weather report. Now I'm fully aware that a yurt wouldn't be the choice for very many birthday girls, but after the instability (and resulting irritation and frustration) created by the government shutdown, a yurt was just what I needed. Please enjoy the yurt weather report, and, rest assured, Craig kept us very warm by tending the wood burning stove while we were there.
We already knew that Yosemite wasn't going to happen (there's no way the government would get their act together that quick), but we thought that perhaps we could position ourselves to be close to Grand Canyon in case it opened, so we turned the wheels of the Odyssey to the east and headed out. While I wouldn't recommend California's central valley as a vacation spot, it was an illuminating drive that ended in the desert in Barstow, CA. You think hard about the produce you're eating when you pass through dusty, windblown field after field. You realize that those grapes you're eating, organic or not, come from an irrigated desert. It makes one think a bit more about "buying local".
As we were driving east, poor Craig was grappling with an even larger dilemma: my 40th birthday. It would have been cruel to make the 5th a day of driving, so Craig scoured the internet (and thank goodness for the internet, this trip wouldn't have been possible without the internet), he found some pretty great accommodations. We stayed in a yurt for my 40th and that is where the girls did their next weather report. Now I'm fully aware that a yurt wouldn't be the choice for very many birthday girls, but after the instability (and resulting irritation and frustration) created by the government shutdown, a yurt was just what I needed. Please enjoy the yurt weather report, and, rest assured, Craig kept us very warm by tending the wood burning stove while we were there.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Some Redwoods Math Problems for Fourth Graders
For those fourth graders who want some additional help preparing for their Unit 1 exam, I have some practice problems here relating to redwood trees found in the pictures below.
1) This tree is 1,547 years old. It's hard to be certain about the exact age, so as a good scientist you need to approximate (or estimate) an age that rounds to the hundreds place.
What is this age?_________________
2) Assume this tree is 1,298 years old. What is the place value for the digit 9?__________________
3) What is the age rounded to the nearest thousand?__________________
4) This tree is 554 inches around (in circumference). How much larger is the place value of the first digit 5 compared to the second digit 5?
5) This tree is 320 feet tall. How many tens is this?_________________
For an interesting exercise that anyone can do, measure yourself and use the chart found here to find out how many of you it would take to build a tree this tall. If you would like to share your answers via comments below please feel free. It would take 81 Julias and 71 Graces. Anyone else?
1) This tree is 1,547 years old. It's hard to be certain about the exact age, so as a good scientist you need to approximate (or estimate) an age that rounds to the hundreds place.
What is this age?_________________
2) Assume this tree is 1,298 years old. What is the place value for the digit 9?__________________
3) What is the age rounded to the nearest thousand?__________________
4) This tree is 554 inches around (in circumference). How much larger is the place value of the first digit 5 compared to the second digit 5?
5) This tree is 320 feet tall. How many tens is this?_________________
For an interesting exercise that anyone can do, measure yourself and use the chart found here to find out how many of you it would take to build a tree this tall. If you would like to share your answers via comments below please feel free. It would take 81 Julias and 71 Graces. Anyone else?
Thursday, October 3, 2013
What We Learned from Redwoods, Part II
In this post we'll highlight a few of the other features of the redwood forests beyond the trees. As magnificent as the trees are, they do grow old and die (after 2,000 years of living). When these giants go horizontal they become what are known as "nurse logs" These logs decay for years (decades probably) and provide nourishment for many kinds of plant and animal life on the forest floor.
From the above picture one gets a sense of all the ferns that take advantage of nurse logs, but other trees also take root around these decaying substrates. Trees that grow and spread their roots around the fallen trunks are known as "octopus trees" because as the nurse log rots away it leaves behind an empty space with fairly large tree roots apparently suspended in air.
Besides the octopus trees, we also managed to see some really amazing large mammals. Roosevelt Elk are in rut this time of year, and as we hiked we often heard the crash of antlers colliding as the males sparred with each other in displays of aggression and dominance. In addition to the Roosevelt Elk we also saw many black-tailed deer. These were new to us since throughout the east coast one only sees white-tailed deer.
Another plant feature found throughout these forests are ferns, ferns, and more ferns. In fact, there's one location in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park named Fern Valley because ferns cover nearly all of the wall space in a deep ravine. This is a very wet area and also home to a somewhat rare red-legged frog.
Visiting national and state parks within our country offers outstanding opportunities to view and experience wildlife in their natural habitats. In our month of travel we've been stunned and delighted by the animals we've encountered, and our hearts are a little heavy at the fact that Redwoods may have been our last opportunity on this trip of a lifetime to see such diversity. Still we've had a tremendous experience, and as we turn east to make our way home, we're striving for gratitude for all that we've had.
From the above picture one gets a sense of all the ferns that take advantage of nurse logs, but other trees also take root around these decaying substrates. Trees that grow and spread their roots around the fallen trunks are known as "octopus trees" because as the nurse log rots away it leaves behind an empty space with fairly large tree roots apparently suspended in air.
Besides the octopus trees, we also managed to see some really amazing large mammals. Roosevelt Elk are in rut this time of year, and as we hiked we often heard the crash of antlers colliding as the males sparred with each other in displays of aggression and dominance. In addition to the Roosevelt Elk we also saw many black-tailed deer. These were new to us since throughout the east coast one only sees white-tailed deer.
Another plant feature found throughout these forests are ferns, ferns, and more ferns. In fact, there's one location in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park named Fern Valley because ferns cover nearly all of the wall space in a deep ravine. This is a very wet area and also home to a somewhat rare red-legged frog.
Visiting national and state parks within our country offers outstanding opportunities to view and experience wildlife in their natural habitats. In our month of travel we've been stunned and delighted by the animals we've encountered, and our hearts are a little heavy at the fact that Redwoods may have been our last opportunity on this trip of a lifetime to see such diversity. Still we've had a tremendous experience, and as we turn east to make our way home, we're striving for gratitude for all that we've had.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
What We Learned from California's Redwoods Forests, Part I
On September 22nd we awoke in Crater Lake NP to freezing cold rain. In fact, we went to bed with the rain too, which meant that our tent, picnic shelter, rain gear, and the surrounding campsite were fully soaked and incredibly muddy. Packing up in such conditions is always rotten because things get haphazardly stuffed into the car before departure. We hoped to find drier weather south in Northern California, but of course, this part of the country is famous for misty, foggy, cool, and wet conditions.
Despite the weather, we found the forests of giant redwood trees to be spectacular. For kids born in the 1970's like us, California's redwood trees are embedded in our minds for their role as the scenery on the Ewok planet Endor in the 1983 Star Wars film, "Return of the Jedi". And walking among these giants allowed us to imagine our very own Ewok encounters.
As you might be able to see in the images below, these trees are some of the largest organisms in the world. Mature trees reach well over 300 feet tall and can be as old as 2,000 years (fourth-graders, that's 20 hundreds, or 200 tens)! They're critical for establishing and maintaining temperate rainforest conditions.
The evolutionary history of the redwoods goes back to the Jurassic, a few hundred million years ago when dinosaurs were the dominant vertebrate fauna around the world. During that time redwood and sequoia trees were far more common, but today redwoods are restricted to a 450 mile stretch of California and Oregon's coastline, where ideal climactic conditions have retained these forests as living fossils. Redwoods need cool, wet, and foggy conditions, and the Pacific coast fog of Northern California is vital to these forests. In fact, nearly half of their moisture intake comes directly from fog.
The trees have relatively shallow root systems (10-12 feet deep) that radiate outward hundreds of feet and interweave with surrounding redwood neighbors. Thus, a grove of redwoods exhibits mechanical integrity that is greater than the sum of the individual tree's root systems. Together redwoods in a forest stand strong against forceful coastal winds and storm systems.
How they grow into these mighty stands is in large part by cloning themselves from parent trees. Often you will see a large tree (even a dead tree) with a circle of similarly aged daughter trees all around.
Redwoods form large root burls that stay ready to sprout new growth in the event of injury to the parent tree. Often root burls can be seen with fairly large redwood growth emerging from them (Grace and Julia are standing on and amongst burls below).
Not unlike the giant long-leaf pine forests of the U.S. southeastern coastal plain, wildfire has played a crucial role in redwood ecology. Periodic natural fires have sweep through these forests and this is an important part of the evolutionary history of these forests. The redwoods, with their massively thick bark, are adapted to this regime.
We learned that the original loggers to explore through these forests bypassed the redwoods in favor of other old growth trees, This was because logging equipment had yet to be invented that could fell and mill these giants. Of course this all changed in the early 1900's as logging technology evolved to process such huge trees. The next chapter in the redwoods' is common. What took hundreds of millions of years to evolve was decimated in decades. Fortunately for us, many individuals and groups had the foresight to protect the remaining old growth forests, which are appreciated by thousands of visitors each year . Too bad the same can't be said for Georgia's long-leaf pine forests. These were ravaged at the end of the 19th century with no champion for their cause.
Despite the weather, we found the forests of giant redwood trees to be spectacular. For kids born in the 1970's like us, California's redwood trees are embedded in our minds for their role as the scenery on the Ewok planet Endor in the 1983 Star Wars film, "Return of the Jedi". And walking among these giants allowed us to imagine our very own Ewok encounters.
As you might be able to see in the images below, these trees are some of the largest organisms in the world. Mature trees reach well over 300 feet tall and can be as old as 2,000 years (fourth-graders, that's 20 hundreds, or 200 tens)! They're critical for establishing and maintaining temperate rainforest conditions.
The evolutionary history of the redwoods goes back to the Jurassic, a few hundred million years ago when dinosaurs were the dominant vertebrate fauna around the world. During that time redwood and sequoia trees were far more common, but today redwoods are restricted to a 450 mile stretch of California and Oregon's coastline, where ideal climactic conditions have retained these forests as living fossils. Redwoods need cool, wet, and foggy conditions, and the Pacific coast fog of Northern California is vital to these forests. In fact, nearly half of their moisture intake comes directly from fog.
The trees have relatively shallow root systems (10-12 feet deep) that radiate outward hundreds of feet and interweave with surrounding redwood neighbors. Thus, a grove of redwoods exhibits mechanical integrity that is greater than the sum of the individual tree's root systems. Together redwoods in a forest stand strong against forceful coastal winds and storm systems.
How they grow into these mighty stands is in large part by cloning themselves from parent trees. Often you will see a large tree (even a dead tree) with a circle of similarly aged daughter trees all around.
Redwoods form large root burls that stay ready to sprout new growth in the event of injury to the parent tree. Often root burls can be seen with fairly large redwood growth emerging from them (Grace and Julia are standing on and amongst burls below).
Not unlike the giant long-leaf pine forests of the U.S. southeastern coastal plain, wildfire has played a crucial role in redwood ecology. Periodic natural fires have sweep through these forests and this is an important part of the evolutionary history of these forests. The redwoods, with their massively thick bark, are adapted to this regime.
We learned that the original loggers to explore through these forests bypassed the redwoods in favor of other old growth trees, This was because logging equipment had yet to be invented that could fell and mill these giants. Of course this all changed in the early 1900's as logging technology evolved to process such huge trees. The next chapter in the redwoods' is common. What took hundreds of millions of years to evolve was decimated in decades. Fortunately for us, many individuals and groups had the foresight to protect the remaining old growth forests, which are appreciated by thousands of visitors each year . Too bad the same can't be said for Georgia's long-leaf pine forests. These were ravaged at the end of the 19th century with no champion for their cause.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
An Interesting Wrinkle in Our Journey
Greetings readers,
It's with a sad heart I share with you that our itinerary has been impacted in a very significant way. As you probably know, on midnight October 1, 2013 the federal government shut down. What this means for us is that all federal property (which includes national parks) have been closed to visitors. We had a camping reservation which was set to begin in Yosemite national park today, however I just learned that all reservations have been canceled and refunded, including ours.
Several weeks ago we contemplated the idea that the Yosemite Rim Fire would divert us away from Yosemite. Unfortunately we forgot to factor in the fact that our federal government is incredibly dysfunctional. Thus, it's not a natural event like wildfire that we need to be worried about, it's human blundering by our elected politicians.
Stay tuned to the blog for more promised updates. There should be some time to work on them because we are staying in San Francisco one more night and will leave tomorrow morning, a day later than planned in our itinerary.
It's with a sad heart I share with you that our itinerary has been impacted in a very significant way. As you probably know, on midnight October 1, 2013 the federal government shut down. What this means for us is that all federal property (which includes national parks) have been closed to visitors. We had a camping reservation which was set to begin in Yosemite national park today, however I just learned that all reservations have been canceled and refunded, including ours.
Several weeks ago we contemplated the idea that the Yosemite Rim Fire would divert us away from Yosemite. Unfortunately we forgot to factor in the fact that our federal government is incredibly dysfunctional. Thus, it's not a natural event like wildfire that we need to be worried about, it's human blundering by our elected politicians.
Stay tuned to the blog for more promised updates. There should be some time to work on them because we are staying in San Francisco one more night and will leave tomorrow morning, a day later than planned in our itinerary.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Your Weather Report
The Weather Girls did a report from Golden Gate Park this afternoon. Go check it out.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
...a bit about San Francisco
We've been in San Francisco enjoying this "city by the bay" for a couple of days, trying to channel our inner Otis Redding, who left his home in Macon, GA for this city decades ago. At least that's how the narrative goes in "Sitting at the dock of the bay". It's true that Otis Redding is from Macon, and it's true that we're from Macon, and it' true that we're now in San Francisco.
We have several posts to write to summarize our time through the Cascade mountains, the Redwoods, and McKerricher State Park, but those will have to wait though because today we are off to the California Academy of Sciences for some enrichment. We'll have to make due with posting these pictures of the sea lions at Fisherman's Wharf.
We have several posts to write to summarize our time through the Cascade mountains, the Redwoods, and McKerricher State Park, but those will have to wait though because today we are off to the California Academy of Sciences for some enrichment. We'll have to make due with posting these pictures of the sea lions at Fisherman's Wharf.
