The Trees

The Trees is more than just one of my favorite Rush songs (and perhaps one of the reasons it's taken them so long to be nominated to the Hall of Fame), it's also what the past two days have focused upon.
We drove along the eastern edge of California's Central Valley through groves of oranges, plums, olives, and others I could not recognize on our way up to Kings Canyon/Sequoia Natl Parks.  Windows down in the crisp dry air and the citrus scent filled the truck.  A few miles later it was replaced with alpine forest.
We both admit we were not prepared for the epic scale of the giant sequoia, the redwoods' big brother.  While they don't quite reach the same stellar heights as the coastal variety (325-350' vs. 350-375') they double them in mass and volume.  The stat that really stuck with me ... a sequoia's bark can be up to 31" thick!
We don't own cameras that can do these magnificent trees justice, but here are a few attempts...

And she thought playing against Poth was bad...

They must have been an inspiration to Tolkien.  Heck, I think I could write about a culture that lived in these tree tops!
Continuing with the tree theme, as we were stopping to photograph the truck by a tree for reference, noted red and blues in the rearview and got to visit with a dubious yet polite NP Ranger, Ranger Jordan.  She was curious about whether we were removing resources from the national park since we had a Douglas fir tree on the roof.  While Sophia tried to disappear into her seat, I patiently explained, then re-explained that the permit from ID was attached to the tree and the woman at the north gate would verify it was on the roof when we entered the park.  Ranger Jordan finally settled down enough to look for and check the NF permit.  Think she was convinced she had her big bust for the week and was a little overstimulated.  Perhaps I just have the affect on law enforcement.
Anyway, she handed my drivers license back and stated, "well, you don't look like a convicted felon and you haven't done anything wrong, so I'm just gonna let you go.  Just didn't want you to go through the park with that tree without someone from law enforcement checking you out."  Guess I'm glad that someone was her!  Perhaps now I have something to add to my bidness card - doesn't look like a convicted felon!
Found a wonderful fruit stand at an intersection that had an interesting shelter belt (one of my favorite agricultural features anywhere in the country) - olive trees planted to provide protection from northern frosts for citrus groves ended up being a lucrative business opportunity for the farmer.  Love stories like that!  And love the options of fresh California produce!

The transition from the Central Valley's produce basket to the Mojave Desert's harsher climes may be as stark as anything we've seen thus far.  There's plenty of life in the Mojave and I'm not one of those travelers that finds the region or those like it devoid of life or anything interesting.  Perhaps most telling are the only trees that dot the horizon for a hundred or more miles ... the joshua trees.