On this day we booked a tour of Muir Woods followed by some Napa wineries.  A giant bus picked us up at our hotel and we were off.  Muir Woods is a national monument for a reason.  Only twelve miles north of San Francisco, it protects 240 acres of old growth coast redwood forest (Sequoias) and is one of the few small areas remaining in the San Francisco Bay area.  These precious trees can only be found in a narrow, cool coastal belt from California in the south to Oregon in the north.  Before logging hit, there were an estimated two million acres of old growth forest containing redwoods growing along this narrow strip along the coast.  It is sickening really.  In 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt declared the land a National Monument.  Named after the famed naturalist John Muir, his environmental campaigns helped establish the National Park system.  I have no words to adequately convey the silent majesty of this small forest.  Pine needles lent silence to our steps as we approached one area aptly named “The Cathedral.”  They even posted a sign requesting no talking in acknowledgement of its tranquility.  It was literally like worshipping God in church and I had no doubt it was sacred; possibly even more so than edifices built by man.  In a huge semi-circle these majestic giants encircled us, and it was both humbling and awe-inspiring.  I had been through Sequoias as a child and they had always stayed with me.  This brought it all back and made me feel as if I’d never left.  Muir once said:

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.”

Burk and I both hated to leave this sacred spot of peace that is but a remnant of what once was.  But next it was on to wine tasting and I noticed our bus became a little louder with each increasing stop.  The Germans (whom we did not know were German) started to unwind and practice their English.  People began chatting with each other more freely and let down their guards.  By the time we broke for lunch folks were pretty well “loosened up.”  My husband likes sweet, white wines and I prefer heavy reds so we kept switching in mild embarrassment after we were given a glass to sample.  Everyone ambled out in the sunshine to feed the turtles in one of the vineyard’s ponds and I remember thinking it was awfully quiet on the way back.  We had a great day, full of beauty and discovery; learning and adventure.  I’d say we painted the town red.