You are now entering...Muir Woods

Located 11 miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods stand tall, and silent. The woods are made up of Giant Redwood trees. (Not to be confused with the Giant Sequoia—which are shorter and much thicker in diameter—they are the ones you can drive through.) The Redwoods are the taller of the two, they can get up to 379 feet, 22 feet in diameter and have bark that is 12 inches thick. However, they have shallow roots that penetrate only 10 to 13 feet deep, but they spread out nearly 100 feet. I couldn't put my camera down. The forest is a touching place, it appeals to all your senses, and everything is beautiful and calm.

Below is a large piece of bark that is pealing away from a felled tree. This is the inside of that bark. Redwoods get their color—and their name—from the reddish-brown, bitter chemical tannin. Tannin makes both bark and wood resistant to fire and attack by insects and fungi.

I know, lots of mushrooms right? During the winter there aren't many flowers to speak of. But the different mushrooms were flower enough for me.

Below is a burl. Burl sprouting accounts for most reproduction of redwoods. A burl is a mass of dormant buds that grows at the base, or sides of redwoods. When a tree is injured or tissue near a burl is affected, the burl may sprout.

If you have a chance, I would recommend a visit to the redwoods. It's only five dollars a person. There is nothing like them, it will be a one of a kind experience. And after, you can head to the coast to view another large beauty...the ocean.