Live Burls: Humboldt County, California

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

A journey into the Redwood Forest

Big Tree in the forest 

         The most comprehensive sign on accessibility we have seen at a trailhead

  We planned to hike the James Irvine Trail then join the Clintonia Trail to the Miner's Ridge Trail.  About 1/2 hour into our hike, we discovered the Irvine Trail was blocked with a closed sign. (The Prairie Creek Visitor Center was closed so no updates from them). We moved onto the Miner's Ridge Trail then at the fork of Clintonia and Irvin, we retraced our steps and returned home on the Miner's Ridge Trail. When there is a choice, I often prefer to hike a loop trail to observe different scenes on the return trip.  In this rainforest, there are so many details, gigantic to tiny, that the return trip remained a feast for the senses.

The following pics are of mushrooms seen at different points along the trail.  Here in this blog, I have grouped the photos together.

 My picture does not fully represent the beauty of this blue mushroom. It seemed like it was made of suede. I did not touch it for fear of harming it.  I only saw one like this.

                                      We saw several mushrooms of varying sizes in this style.

                                                                     A kind of moss?
                                            It was a single sighting, like the blue mushroom.

The bark of this tree was stretching away from the trunk. Is it dry? Is it caused by wind?

                                           There were so many configurations of tree fall.

(From the Trees of Mystery gift store)

http://home.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/upload/Redwood_Burl_Final.pdf

                               Jonathan noticed that the tip of this tree does not have foliage.

We stopped at the "Trees of Mystery" attraction in Klamath: gift store, museum. redwood carvings, trails, and SkyTrail gondola ride. We opted to stroll through the gift store and explore the museum.
                                               http://www.treesofmystery.net/welcome.php

                                            http://www.treesofmystery.net/paul-babe.php

The museum has an impressive collection of Native American artifacts.
http://www.treesofmystery.net/museum.php

The following two photos show the museum's collection of baby carriers.

Here, I purchased National Geographic: Indian Nations of North America to learn more about the history and culture of Native  Americans.  "Before Europeans arrived, an estimated 300, 000 to a million indigenous people from more than 500 nations lived in what is now California. There are at least six language groups and more than a hundred federally recognized tribes in the state's 58 counties."  On Sunday, I noticed the word "rancheria" on a road sign with the name of a native tribe. My book explains that rancheria means the same thing as reservation. "The use of the term -rancheria- is unique to California, (and) may be due to the Spanish and Mexican influences in the state."