Jedediah Strong Smith and the Redwoods

I'm going to do something new with this blog. Tell you interesting facts about where we went today interspersed with some caption less photos. Most of what you read are quotes from various sources.

Jedediah Strong Smith (born January 6, 1799 - presumed date of death May 27, 1831) was a hunter, trapper, fur trader and explorer of the Rocky Mountains.

Smith was the first white man to cross the future state of Nevada, Utah, American to enter California by the overland route, scale the High Sierras, and the first to explore the Pacific hinterland from San Diego to the Columbia River.

"Established in 1929, this predominately old growth coast redwoods park is bisected by the last major free flowing river in California, the Smith River.

Yes, It's more Trillium

Okay that's the last Trillium

"Wildlife of the park is both abundant and varied, Mill Creek is a spawning ground for many salmon and steelhead."

"Misty clouds shroud the northern California coastline as twilight settles on the towering trees of the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. The date is 28 August, 1995. A fleeting glimpse of a dimly lit figure, caught on video, a massive, shaggy bear. It walks upright, arms swinging at its sides, around a slight bend in the road some 30m or so ahead. "Let's go get it!" someone shouts. It's Bigfoot!!!"

The big draw are the awesome Redwood Trees, they are magnificent.

"Paleontologists Henry Fairfield Osborn of the American Museum of Natural History, Madison Grant of the New York Zoological Society, and John C. Merriam of the University of California at Berkeley founded the Save-the-Redwoods League in 1918. The League was formed as a nonprofit organization dedicated to buying redwood tracts for preservation. The majority of these purchases consisted of North Coast redwood groves. The California Department of Parks and Recreation created Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, and Humboldt Redwoods State Park in the early 1920s with these lands. Today the League continues its protective work in partnership with Redwood National and State Park.

The Memorial Grove Program of the Save-the-Redwoods League was started in 1921 when the first large donation was given to the League to purchase and dedicate a redwood grove. Now more than 700 memorial and honor groves, named for individuals and organizations, have been established in California State Parks and Redwood National Park, with more being added each year. "

As you can see even these smaller Redwood dwarfed the Musemobile

So that's the story of the Jedediah Smith Redwoods Federal and State Park but I did get two smaller subjects among all the giant trees. One was this bamboo looking stand near the Smith River. I'm not sure what it is but it looks like a small Totem Pole.

And I just liked the leaf all dried out and blanched laying there in the conifer needles like a lonesome feather from a white dove.

Scrabble Score - Scrabble Queen 327 - The Contender 347

Quote of the Day ~

Del Gue Ain't this somethin'? I told my pap and mam I was coming to the mountains to trap and be a mountain man. Acted like they was gut-shot. Says, "son, make your life go here. Here's where the peoples is. Them mountains is for animals and savages." I said, "Mother Gue, the Rocky Mountains is the marrow of the world." And by God I was right. - Del Gue was one of the Mountain Men in the movie Jeremiah Johnson with Robert Redford 1772

Del Gue was played by Stefan Gierasch who also acted in the first episode on Mr. Peepers with Wally Cox in 1952. He also played in "Knots Landing" as Professor Truwald in 1992