07/20/2006   English German
  Edition # 62  
San Francisco, 07-20-2006

Off to the Redwoods
Figure [1]: A mighty redwood tree in Prairie Creek
Redwoods State Park>

Angelika And here's a quiz question: Which is the American holiday (apart from December 25th and New Year's) that is always celebrated on the same date? Correct, Independence Day on July 4th, which is why it's commonly referred to as "4th of July." Other American holidays are based on the weekday in a specific month, such as "Labor Day" on the first Monday in September or "Thanksgiving" on the fourth Thursday in November.

The 4th of July 1776 is considered, so to speak, the birth of the United States, as the Declaration of Independence freed the nation from the yoke of the English. Nowadays, Independence Day is mainly characterized by somewhat patriotic parades, fireworks, and the obligatory barbecues with friends and family. In San Francisco, the fireworks often disappear into the fog. During the day, the weather is fantastic, but just before the fireworks, the notorious summer fog lives up to its name. This year, for a change, it was actually clear. Due to the limited American vacation days, we use every holiday to get away, and Yahoo! had also declared July 3rd a holiday. So we sped up north in our beloved car "Perlman" to Humboldt County, home of the Redwood National Park and various state parks under the patronage of California.

The so-called "Coast Redwoods" are truly a special kind of tree. These "coastal redwood sequoias" can live up to 2000 years and, in some cases, tower over 110 meters into the sky. About 60 meters is the average height. There's nothing better than lacing up your hiking boots and wandering through the redwood forest. How small and insignificant one suddenly feels. We did this in the "Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.

Figure [2]: Perlman makes his way through a small stream to
a remote hiking trail.>

To reach the parking lot of the hiking trail, we not only had to drive a few miles on an unpaved road, but also cross two small streams. Thankfully, the Perlman managed it with ease, even though it sits quite low compared to American cars. And although the campground, which was right on the beach, was bustling, we hardly encountered anyone on the seven-mile loop trail.

During our hike, we repeatedly came across plaques that named small sections of the forest after families. However, these are not gravesites; the plaques simply bear the names of generous donors whose funds were used to purchase Redwood land to protect the trees from commercial exploitation. The groves named after the donors do not belong to them; the plaques are merely a recognition of their willingness to donate. This "Save-the-Redwoods-League-Program" was established back in 1921 to preserve the Redwoods for future generations. Even today, Redwoods are considered one of the most sought-after types of timber.

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