Giant Redwood of Muir Woods National Monument – Click image to enlarge
Muir Woods National Monument is a remnant of the ancient coast redwood forests that covered many northern California coastal valleys before the 1800’s. In 1905, local San Francisco businessman William Kent and his wife Elizabeth Thacher Kent bought 611 acres along Redwood Creek to protect one of the last uncut stands of old-growth redwoods from logging. To ensure permanent protection of the redwoods, the Kents donated 295 acres of the land to the Federal Government. President Theodore Roosevelt created Muir Woods National Monument in January of 1908. President Roosevelt suggested naming the area after Kent, but at Kent’s request it was named after the famous conservationist John Muir, thus the name Muir Woods National Monument. Thanks to the inspiration of John Muir and the generous gift of the Kent family, 104 years later we are still able to experience this ancient old-growth forest. Today we are entrusted to protect this awe-inspiring place for future generations.
I have the good fortune to have family living in Mill Valley California, and for my visit to Muir Woods I was able to hike to the park from their house! The Coast Redwoods are the tallest living things on Earth, the tallest in Muir Woods is over 252 feet and is at least 1,000 years old. To walk among these trees is truly a humbling experience, and my images do not do these magnificent living things justice. It is of the utmost importance that we preserve and protect these trees and other natural resources that cannot be replaced.
Sunbeam through the Redwoods – Click image to enlarge
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