In Search of Giants

You’ll find terribly wonderful things!

I recently had the pleasure of seeing ‘Into the Woods’ in San Francisco, and it was amazing. It inspired this post about my recent adventures with a friend into the Redwoods of California.

Hidden away in the Northern Coastal Mountains of California is a world that time seems to escape. It is filled with ominously tall mountains, majestic emerald rivers, and monstrously tall trees. There are well traveled paths, and paths that seem to have been forgotten. Join me ‘In Search of Giants.’

Giant: an imaginary or mythical being of human form but superhuman size.

Driving up Highway 101 from San Francisco, the buildings grew shorter and the trees grew taller. One by one signs of civilization and urban life fell by the wayside, and a wild frontier overtook the dashboard. Soon enough, you had to lean forward to look up to see the treetops, which climbed higher and higher with each passing mile. We stopped in search of direction, to stand on the edge of the earth, to peer out in search of Giants. We were in a place where routes were forgotten, and where nature reclaims what was once mans domain.

Somewhere between here nor there you’ll stumble upon a tiny mountain road that will take you deep into the hidden places, where you just might find a giant. You’ll leave behind the world of horizons, where up is blue, down is the ground, and enter a canopy of wonder, where up is green, and down is all around. As you charge deeper and deeper into the woods you’ll start to feel smaller and smaller. Trees challenge the height of skyscrapers, boulders the size of homes, and ferns the size of cars. When you feel these feelings, and see those sights. you’ve found ‘The Avenue of the Giants.’

Far away from the video screens, the climate control, and lazy boy recliners, hides a world more luminous than you can imagine. Where the greens are greener, and the reds of the redwoods captivate your eyes. Where the air has an unknown freshness and the aromas of ferns, redwoods, and a slight hint of salt from the coastal breeze fill your lungs. Walk down a fallen tree, across a creek, a meadow, and into the hillside. Imagine this tree beneath your feet once stretched above the canopy and felt the cool breeze, basked in the sunlight, and stood strong, firmly rooted.

It makes you wonder if there is something else going on in the woods when no human is around. This once glorious tree standing tall, one day fell, forever changing the forest. It evokes an emotion of sadness to see such a giant downed, laying helpless on the forest floor. The rain began to fall as if the heavens opened in mourning, and the breeze blew stronger as if to embrace those around the fallen tree. A song of raindrops, running water, and whistling through the branches whispered harmoniously as a final stand in solidarity was offered to this fallen Giant.

As wondrous as a standing Giant is, seeing one stretched across the ground allows you to appreciate the magnitude of its being. It’s a wide as some trees grow tall, its as long as some buildings are built, and its older than any human alive. It stood the test of time, until time was no longer on its side. And now it lay in rest until time withers away what remains strewn across the forest floor.

Driving down Highway 101 toward San Francisco, the forest fades as lights appear on the horizon. Concrete sidewalks replace overgrown pathways. The Giants retreat to imaginary thoughts, in a land of mythical beings. I say to you, adventure to far off places. Find the things that used to be found. You never know what mystery and wonders await! Tell a story. Climb a tree! Sing a song. Do something out of the ordinary that sets your mind free.

Find your Giant. 

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