EMILY
EGAN
HELLO I'M EMILY
Avenue of the Giants
For the next stop on my United States travel bucket list, we are going to California! So, I’ve never seen any part of the great state of California, but one spot that really peaks my interest is Avenue of the Giants. Unfortunately, Avenue of the Giants is not a humongous version of a regular street in which giants go grocery shopping or chat in hipster coffee shops. I know, it’s very disappointing. But I assure you, Avenue of the Giants is still really cool.
Avenue of the Giants refers to a 31-mile stretch of highway through a forest of the largest trees in the world, California Redwoods. Now, I know what you’re probably thinking: okay, giant trees are cool, but really I mean it’s just a highway. Oh, how wrong you would be! This part of the highway consists of an auto-tour in which you can drive around and even through these marvelous giants. Back when the preservation of the environment was less prominent, people would carve giant holes in these trees for cars to drive through. Now, however, new ‘drive-thru’ trees are not allowed to be created, so the remaining ones are carefully protected.
Okay, so let’s be real. Who doesn’t want to drive through a giant tree? I mean just look at it!
For the runners in the world, the Avenue of the Giants holds a 10K and a half marathon every year, affectionately termed “The Ave”. Runners World Magazine placed it among the most scenic courses in the country. The Ave is a more laid back race that attracts first-time runners and families, as well as a host of regulars. Many people gather in the scenic surroundings to bear witness to the race.
Along the route of the Avenue of the Giants lies a tree of legendary origin. Nicknamed the Immortal Tree, this monstrosity has come face to face with the undertaker of the plant world countless times and lived to tell the tale. The tree has survived lightning strikes, floods, and ax-men.
Finally, when visiting Avenue of the Giants you cannot forget to visit the Eternal Tree House! With a name like that, it just has to be awesome. Unfortunately, the tree house is not perched on the highest branches of these colossal trees, for obvious safety and environmental reasons. So, the Eternal Tree House is made from the surviving giant stump of a monolith that thrived for over 2,500 years. Fire ravaged the tree, creating a cavernous area inside of it. The tree house itself is even home to a cute café.
So, from what I’ve read, the Avenue of Giants sounds fantastic. Of course, I knew about the giant redwoods of California, but I never realized the extent of the attractions. I love eco-tourism, and after researching the Avenue a little bit, it has definitely moved to a top spot on my travel bucket list.
One of my passions is travel so when we were given the opportunity to write about one of our passions I really wanted to explore this topic. When my family and I go on vacation I always lobby for another country because I love experiencing new cultures. As a result, I have never really travelled in the United States very much. So, I decided to explore interesting travel destinations within the United States.
Yellowstone National Park
The next stop on my travel bucket list is Yellowstone National Park. My parents are avid hikers and love the outdoors, so they have been to Yellowstone many times in their lives. Unfortunately, I have never gotten the opportunity to go with them. Yellowstone is America’s oldest national park; it was established in 1872. It is mostly nestled in the mountains of Wyoming, but small portions occupy Montana and Idaho as well. The park itself is more than 3,000 square miles across, and encompasses lakes, canyons, rivers, and mountains.
Yellowstone is home to the world’s largest collection of geysers In fact, half the geothermal features and two-thirds of the world's geysers are concentrated in Yellowstone. Old Faithful is the park’s major claim to fame. Old Faithful is hailed as one of the most predictable geographical features on Earth; it erupts almost every 91 minutes. When it erupts it sends between 3,700 and 8,400 gallons of boiling water straight up into the air. The average height of the eruptions is 145 feet. The eruption lasts anywhere from a minute and a half to five minutes. If they are willing to wait, tourists are basically guaranteed to see this natural phenomena unfold in front of their eyes.
The Yellowstone Caldera is the largest supervolcano on the continent. While technically termed a volcano, it is not the traditional volcano you would picture. Calderas are formed when land collapses after a volcanic eruption. The Yellowstone Caldera looks a lot like a series of pools, but you definitely don’t want to go swimming in them.
Another reason to visit Yellowstone is the wide array of wildlife. The park holds over 60 species of mammals, including elk, grizzly bears, black bears, bison, and mountain lions. In fact, the Yellowstone bison herd is the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States. But, don’t expect too much out of your visit. As a child my mom visited Yellowstone with her family. Before leaving for the trip, her father told her and her siblings over and over again that there would be bears there, and a lot of them. So, naturally my mom and her siblings were terrified the whole time they were there, but they never even saw a single bear.
So, Yellowstone is an amazing combination of sights to see and things to do. Even if you don't see a grizzly bear, you will see other amazing animals. You can witness the eruption of a geyser and see the beautiful calderas.