Fern Canyon and Gold Bluff’s Beach
In the morning, before my family is awake. I head outside and am greeted with two elk right in front of our house. These are big, majestic animals. I watch them as they barely take a notice of me. Yesterday, when we arrived, we were greeted with an Elk so Amber, Eli and Josh have already seen these wonderful creatures. Yesterday, Josh and I also played in the creek behind the house. Amber and Eli joined hoping to see a banana slug. Some kids staying two houses down found a few in the creek and now we are on the hunt. After Eli and Amber give up, Josh finally spots one. He must have better eyes than me. They can vary in color, but are known to be bright yellow. The one we find is more a brownish yellow.
After the family gets ready we head to the visitor center and our first trail. Right as the hike begins, these massive trees make me feel small, in a good and holy way. The Sequoia trees, earlier in the trip can grow up to 250 feet high with massive trunks. The trunk of the Redwood is not quite as large, but they grow above 350 feet high. We often don’t associate “feeling small” as a good thing, but here it helps to put everything in perspective. The grandeur of God is too large to comprehend. The vastness of creation can begin to open us to God’s glory. Feeling small here helps me to feel a part of the wonderful world God created. I don’t want anyone to feel small, insignificant as if they don’t matter. But to realize the world is much larger and God is even holier, helps us to not get too big for our own britches. Quite a few of the human struggles between one another find their root in humans seeking to be “bigger” than they are. These trees, this forest feels holy to me. We hike for about 2 1/2 miles enjoying the Redwoods.
Later in the day, we drive to Fern Canyon and Gold bluff’s beach. To arrive before 5:00 pm, you need reservations to help keep the crowd down. Many scenes from the Jurassic Park movie franchise were filmed in Fern Canyon to give a rain forest feel to the movies. This canyon is neat, beautiful. I begin to find myself comparing it to Turkey Run which I like just as much.
After the hike and a change of clothes for Josh and I, we head across the parking lot to the beach. Hardly anyone is here. It’s a beautiful scene with the lush green rocky hills giving way to sandy beach. The ocean is too strong to swim which is a bit disappointing. We walk and wonder. Eli and Josh find a sand mound/dune that catches their eye. The next thing I know they are sledding, rolling down, and just throwing themselves down this dune over and over again. I decide to have a seat and watch.
These past four weeks, we have seen unbelievable beauty created by God: granite peaks of Yosemite, massive trees of sequoia and redwoods, snow covered mountains of Lassen Volcanic, roaring rivers, beautiful canyons, cliffs retreating into the ocean on an island seashore, the expansive Pacific Ocean, etc. But somehow, you get used to it all. What is it about us as humans? It’s easy to begin to take the extraordinary for granted. As we are now in the Redwoods, have we begun to treat the unbelievable beauty with a ho hum attitude, as if such beauty is not really that big of a deal. What beauty back home do I not see anymore because I am used to it? What everyday gifts or even people do I take for granted because I am human?
After a wonderful day, we end it with a very nice dinner. Josh and I had an expensive steak. Driving back to the house, I begin to feel guilty. All the money spent, fancy steak, all that we are doing is this too much extravagance? There are so many people that will not get to experience near this much in their lifetime. God, I do hope to be renewed, but are we spending too much money on ourselves? Should we find better ways to be renewed every day back home?
After the family gets ready we head to the visitor center and our first trail. Right as the hike begins, these massive trees make me feel small, in a good and holy way. The Sequoia trees, earlier in the trip can grow up to 250 feet high with massive trunks. The trunk of the Redwood is not quite as large, but they grow above 350 feet high. We often don’t associate “feeling small” as a good thing, but here it helps to put everything in perspective. The grandeur of God is too large to comprehend. The vastness of creation can begin to open us to God’s glory. Feeling small here helps me to feel a part of the wonderful world God created. I don’t want anyone to feel small, insignificant as if they don’t matter. But to realize the world is much larger and God is even holier, helps us to not get too big for our own britches. Quite a few of the human struggles between one another find their root in humans seeking to be “bigger” than they are. These trees, this forest feels holy to me. We hike for about 2 1/2 miles enjoying the Redwoods.
Later in the day, we drive to Fern Canyon and Gold bluff’s beach. To arrive before 5:00 pm, you need reservations to help keep the crowd down. Many scenes from the Jurassic Park movie franchise were filmed in Fern Canyon to give a rain forest feel to the movies. This canyon is neat, beautiful. I begin to find myself comparing it to Turkey Run which I like just as much.
After the hike and a change of clothes for Josh and I, we head across the parking lot to the beach. Hardly anyone is here. It’s a beautiful scene with the lush green rocky hills giving way to sandy beach. The ocean is too strong to swim which is a bit disappointing. We walk and wonder. Eli and Josh find a sand mound/dune that catches their eye. The next thing I know they are sledding, rolling down, and just throwing themselves down this dune over and over again. I decide to have a seat and watch.
These past four weeks, we have seen unbelievable beauty created by God: granite peaks of Yosemite, massive trees of sequoia and redwoods, snow covered mountains of Lassen Volcanic, roaring rivers, beautiful canyons, cliffs retreating into the ocean on an island seashore, the expansive Pacific Ocean, etc. But somehow, you get used to it all. What is it about us as humans? It’s easy to begin to take the extraordinary for granted. As we are now in the Redwoods, have we begun to treat the unbelievable beauty with a ho hum attitude, as if such beauty is not really that big of a deal. What beauty back home do I not see anymore because I am used to it? What everyday gifts or even people do I take for granted because I am human?
After a wonderful day, we end it with a very nice dinner. Josh and I had an expensive steak. Driving back to the house, I begin to feel guilty. All the money spent, fancy steak, all that we are doing is this too much extravagance? There are so many people that will not get to experience near this much in their lifetime. God, I do hope to be renewed, but are we spending too much money on ourselves? Should we find better ways to be renewed every day back home?
