Muir Woods

I had the great pleasure of visiting the fantastic Muir Woods, located in Mill Valley, a few miles outside of San Francisco. Drive across the Golden Gate Bridge, through twisty, windy roads, and you're there. According to the lovely brochures at the park, the land was purchased by William and Elizabeth Kent in 1905 and President Theodore Roosevelt turned the land into a state park in 1908. They named it after conservationist John Muir, and today it is one of California's national treasures.

I loved every moment of it. There are red woods in the park that over 1000 years old - that's right, before the founding of all of the current civilizations. And they are HUGE. There are also vultures, crows, chipmunks and banana slugs lurking about, all of which we saw, one of which I photographed.

My friend David and I hiked along the Ocean View Trail, Sun Trail, Dipsea Trail and Fern Creek Trail - about seven miles in all. Here are some photos taken along the way of the trek:

Close up of moss on the tree. Many of the trees were covered in the stuff.

The majestic redwoods. These are between 500 and 800 years old.

The winding creek.

And even more of the creek. We saw several creeks throughout the trip.

We walked across this tree being used as a bridge. It is as structurally unsound as it looks.

Behold the majestic red woods!

Banana Slug! We found five of these - they're about the size of your hand.

Here I am next to the trees for scale.

David looking up at the trees.

Here's an abandoned, rusted car frame.

Through the dark trees - these were closer together than any of the other trees we saw.

This reminds me of "Lord of the Rings."

And here I am again.

A great view.

Another great view.

The End of the Journey