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USA

CALIFORNIAN NATIONAL PARKS - SEQUOIA, YOSEMITE AND REDWOOD. OREGON COAST (May 2008)   photos

The next day weather was better, and blue sky welcomed us into the Sequoia National Park.  I wasn't sure about going there, I thought "just a few big trees".  But those towering giants blew me away!  The biggest of them, General Sherman, weighs 1250 tons and is 11 meters wide!  The oldest sequoia alive is 3200 years old!  Thanks to their super thick bark, they are safe from disease and fire.  They die only when they fall over during storms.  Another Californian national park, Yosemite, is considered one of the most beautiful. I disagree, although it's a paradise for climbers.  They come from all over the world to climb such granite giants as The Captain.  It takes over a week!  The whole valley is surrounded by shear rock faces, with waterfalls cascading down especially in spring.  Yosemite Fall is the highest is USA, at 739 meters.  It was a very long walk to the top of it.  The day we left we spent hours looking at a black bear with 2 cubs.  The really are amazing climbers, they go up trees like cats.  We kept our distance of course.

In the north of California, we visited the Redwood National Park.  Again it was more interesting than I thought, and my brother loved it.  Redwoods are the tallest trees on Earth, well over 100 meters, although not as thick as sequoias.  Coastal winds bring a lot of moisture, making it a very green place.