Ever wanted to see the redwoods? Those impossibly tall trees you've heard about? The big trees everyone tried to save all those years - do you want to know if they did? Save them, that is? Well, you've come to the right place. Raised in the redwoods of Northern California - two different regions of the redwoods, in fact - I am often asked for advice on where to go, when to go, where to stay, what drives to take, what towns to visit, where the biggest trees are, and lots more. On at least two occasions I've mapped out full itineraries for people visiting the big trees, and gotten rather nice feedback on the results. So now that I've settled the Northern Word blog into what I hope will be its permanent home, I'm going to put together a series of travel articles - with pictures, where I have them - of some of America's least-traveled treasures. You'll see them interspersed with other posts here over the next few weeks, and a new category has been created on the right to gather them all. When done, this should be a comprehensive travel guide to the California redwoods. Suggestions and comments are always welcome.
Why see the redwoods? Because you haven't seen a real tree till you've seen one. And because the regions in which these trees thrive are some of the most culturally vibrant and interesting in the United States. And because finding them can take you on long drives through the gorgeous, unpopulated parts of California you didn't know existed. Like the fairy-tale green Carson mansion in Eureka, California, pictured below. If the witch from Wicked were to move to redwood country, this is where she'd live. Ironically, it's a private men's club. Made of solid 19th-century old-growth redwood.
Very nice photo of that mansion. It's way over the top compared to anything I'd ever desire in my own imagination. But I love old architecture like that.
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