Those mighty redwood trees in northern California and southern Oregon represent one of the great wonders of this beautiful country. In the early parts of the 20th century when touring by car became a popular way for the middle class to travel the country, some people got the idea that tourists would pay to see and even drive through a tunnel carved at the base of one of those giant redwoods. They weren’t wrong.
Eventually, there were several giant redwood and sequoia trees available for tourists to explore this novelty. I must admit that when we happened by a sign offering the opportunity for us to do the same, we did stop to check it out. As I looked at what was done to this beautiful tree, I was filled with conflicting feelings about whether to feature our stop here.
The good news is that the process is now forbidden and there are no new holes being cut into the giant trees. As it turned out for us, our mode of transport for this trip was a Chevy Suburban, a vehicle that is too large to fit in the opening. Instead, we opted to capture the image of one of the several vehicles we saw pass through the tree on this day.
This tree, at over 300 feet (90 m) in height was able to survive the six by seven-foot wound at its base. Our traveling companion, Gary stands some 6-foot tall as you can see from the photo above, so there isn’t room for high-profile vehicles or trucks with large side mirror extensions.
The prayer on the sign we saw is a testimony that these trees should be respected and honored. By the way, in my research, I discovered the difference between sequoia and redwood species. The sequoia has an immense trunk with slight taper while the redwood is the tallest species and has a more slender trunk. The complete comparison of these mighty giants can be found on a National Park website here.
John Steiner
Flare Legend Adventures
I have no words
It is truly sad.
Such a massive tree!
Heartless cutting in the name of tourism.
A wonder that these trees survived!
Glad things are different now.
As am I!
I only have one faded memory from my trip to California when I was about 6yrs, and it is my mother standing in front of a giant redwood at dusk, that had a huge hole in it with a fence around it and I was terrified she would fall in! Hope to one day see them again, thanks for the post!
Glad to share.
I’m so glad this practice is now forbidden, it seems sacrilege to dessicrate these mighty trees like this. However it does give some sense of their scale I guess.
Indeed!
I’m glad the tree survived this completely unnecessary modification. Also, thanks for the lesson on redwoods vs. sequoias. I didn’t know the difference.
I am always surprised by what I learn when I research related topics.
The coastal redwoods are also more dense and closer to each other. I remember camping when my kids were young in Richardson Grove (a redwood forest) and we went to a ranger talk. Usually we didn’t bring flashlights with us because the moon would give us enough light. The amphitheater is in the middle of several campgrounds. I underestimated the denseness of the trees. When the program was over, my kids and I (my husband was back at camp) stepped away from the amphitheater and were in total darkness. I brought the kids back into the light of the theater and started asking people which campground they were going to. We found a couple who were going to ours and tagged along. After that experience, I started carrying a flashlight no matter what.
I can imagine the darkness of a moonless night in a dense forest. I have seen how bright the moon can be on a cloudless night.
This wasn’t a moonless night! It was bright, but its light couldn’t make it through the forest. It was an experience.
Seeing the giant sequoias is still in my bucket list. I agree, it shouldn’t have been done to the tree. It’s good that it’s not allowed any more.
My mom grew up in California and told us how they would go camping among the redwoods or in Yosemite. No need then for reservations years in advance! The redwoods are awesome in the real sense of the word; you feel awe standing among them.
We are still looking forward to seeing Sequoia NP. Last time in the area, it was closed due to fires.
Awesome photos of that giant. Isn’t it fun driving through a tree. 😀 😀
Evidently lots of people still think so. They are still open. 😀
This makes me so sad.
While certainly very impressive feats in a macabre sense I am glad that at least our modern sensibilities can acknowledge that carving chunks out of living things are wrong. Hundred-odd years ago people in this country would hollow out the trunks of baobab trees for things like pubs – sacrilege I say to do that to a tree that was already growing on this earth when Jesus was born.
Indeed!
Seeing Redwood trees is an awe-inspiring experience. I remember driving through a redwood tunnel when I was a child. It’s an amazing site to see cars pass through a tree, but I’m glad they prohibit it now.
It’s just such an unusual sight that people are still attracted to see the trees that are still alive.