Tran 1

Damon Tran
R1A Sect. 017
Professor Teri Crisp
December 13, 2019
One with the Trees

One of the great redwood forest parks of California was established in 1968 near the city of

Crescent City, California. It spans a total of 58,000 acres and one of the few national parks where

Coast redwoods are naturally found. This extraordinary park houses redwoods as old as 2,000

years old, which are the oldest standing redwoods in the world. Some are the tallest trees in the

world, standing at around 300 feet. This national park embodies the true beauty of nature and

you have to be there to experience it yourself.

At the age of seven, I didn’t quite understand why nature is so important to us humans. I

had the knowledge that trees give off oxygen while taking in carbon dioxide through the process

of photosynthesis, animals thrive on plants whether it be living amongst them or consuming

them, and flowers were pretty to look at. I was an ignorant child with no knowledge of the true

outside which we call nature. But, that all changed once I saw the magnificent redwood forest in

Del Norte County, California in November of 2008.

One morning during a day which took place on Thanksgiving Break of my third grade,

my mom and dad randomly said we were going on a road trip. I didn’t know where or how far

we were going, but I was excited nonetheless. We left around five-a.m. in our 2003 Mercedes

e-class with my brother, mother, and father. The ride there was gruesome six hours for seven

year old me. I was anxious and I did not know where we were going or how long it would take to

get to our location. Around eleven-a.m., I noticed the car stopped and my mother says, “Look out

the window.” I did so with haste and I was immediately awestruck. I had never seen these
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towering trees in my life, nor have I ever heard of these trees before. Getting out the car and truly

experiencing the massive trunks of these bewildering trees blew me away even further. I swear,

it felt like I was in a movie witnessing these gigantic trees touch the sky with the leaves acting as

clouds blocking the sun. It was something I would have never imagined in my little child brain.

We walked over to the information booth and I finally discovered where we were, Jedediah

Smith Redwood State Park.

That morning, we were scheduled to go on tour and this journey is something I will never

forget. Driving through that forest in a tour car was truly something different. Every tree I saw

showed the true beauty of nature. No tree was the same, no tree grew the same, and no tree was

weakened by the disastrous forces of nature. When looking up at the sky, all I saw where lines of

redwood running through my vision and I felt as if I was in a tunnel of trunks. Creations of

nature were never this huge in my head. It made me feel small in the world but eager to explore

it all. While looking up admiring the waving leaves of the trees, I noticed a bird who was

cheerfully chirping. At that point, all I could think of was, “​How could I get up there, how could

I experience what that bird is experiencing right now?”​ I wanted to feel like I was on top of the

world, overlooking every single area in this dense forest. Being a seven year-old child, I started

to beg my parents to let me climb the trees. Of course, my parents being good caretakers sadly

refused my request. Our tour guide overheard our conversation and instantly started to explain

how tall redwoods can become. I learned that the average redwood tree height is about

two-hundred forty feet tall which to be honest, made me want to climb the trees even more.

When the tour car came to a stop and we were able to walk freely through the park, I was

thrilled. The first observation I noticed was the calmness of the forest. With no city near by, no
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skyscrapers to ruin the view, and no pollution to mess up the air, everything was perfect. I could

hear every bird chirping with the rhythm of a harmony which birds would only understand and

the rustling of the leaves when a gust of wind would hit the redwoods. I was put at ease knowing

that nature was surrounding me. It was therapeutic and stress relieving. The immersive

environment combined with the comforting feeling of being with my loved ones was truly

extraordinary. It made me realize how beautiful nature can really be without human intervention.

This park was nature at its purest form. In this industrial filled era, people rarely experience this

feeling with no cars, no smog, and no loud annoying noises.

Now, imagine yourself in an open field, with the meadows waving in the wind. Picture a

flock of birds flying past you as you notice a distant tree in the horizon. Unsure if that tree is

small because of the distance or huge due to your perspective, you walk over to examine it. Once

you finally get close enough, you see that the tree is indeed huge with a red tint in the trunk. A

few more steps and you are left standing in front of this gigantic specimen. As you turn around to

check your surroundings, you notice more of the same tree appears until the entire meadow is

left covered with redwoods. Filled with astonishment, you sit down and take in what just

occurred. The surrounding trees giving warmth to your body, the sounds of nature closing in on

you, and the tranquil feeling filling your emotions. That emotional state is what I felt during my

experience in Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park. My experience in this national park is

something that will be unrivaled my whole life. It taught me to appreciate nature and enjoy the

little times which we have with nature itself.