Big trees

I know I already showed you the sequoias, but it's hard to resist taking pictures at every opportunity. These giant redwoods are impressive for their age, their history, their rarity and, most of all, their sheer enormity. These are really, really big trees.



That little speck near the bottom right is Ant Candy. I'll admit that she's a small person, but that's still a huge tree.



They don't get smaller when they fall down either. Sequoias take an unusually long time to decay once they die. They lie around for ages while people point and say "Look at that big tree!"

It's hard to get a sense of scale from this picture, but those rocks tangled up in the roots of this tree are boulders. Every one of them is bigger than my torso. The tree just worked its way around them in life, and seized them in death.

While Ant Candy and I were visiting the sequoias we had a disturbing experience. There were a number of Yosemite National Park guides leading groups of children through the park. As we walked past one of these groups the guide asked for a volunteer to help demonstrate the hydration technique. Ant Candy and I hurried on to where Patricia and Dad were waiting for us and didn't hear any more, but I've been worrying about it ever since. What is this hydration technique? Does it really require the help of an assistant? Have I been doing it incorrectly all this time? How will I ever find out?

I've decided there's only one thing for it. I'm going to have to go back to Yosemite, march up to a guide in the Sequoia grove and ask them to teach me how to drink properly.