[h1]Cathedral Grove[/h1]
On April 23, Miss Linda and I flew out to Vancouver Island, on the west coast of Canada, for a week. While there we took the time to tour the Cathedral Grove, a rain forest heritage site, once belonging to the lumber giant MacMillan Bloedel, and now a Provincial Park. It was gifted to the province with the stipulation that it be preserved in perpetuity so that future generations would have the opportunity to see these ancient trees. Years later, in an act of utter stupidity, Mac & Blo requested the return of the Grove that they might log it—destroying all the good publicity that the gift had originally generated. A really dumb, poorly thought out act of plain greed!! You really gotta wonder sometime
The Grove is a mix of Douglas Fir and Cedar, and the size of the trees truly boggles the mind. Now these are nowhere near the size of the giant Redwoods, but to a Saskatchewan boy they’re HUGE. Back home in Saskatchewan there are vast forests, but they’re somewhat limited in size—the really BIG trees are reserved for fence posts.
As we toured the now fenced pathways of the Grove, naturally in a light rain, we stared open mouthed at the huge trees that surrounded us—truly an awesome site. Although it’s hard to imagine, the trees vary in age from 300 to 700 years.
Out of all the pictures we took, these are some of my favorites. Unfortunately, the pictures fail to adequately portray the grandeur of the Grove. Keep in mind that Miss Linda is 5’ 2” tall.
Apparently these trees aren't real fussy about where they grow:
Mother Nature lets nothing dead go to waste:
It would seem that nobility and common sense are often sadly lacking in Human Nature. What a surprise:
Speaking of human nature, as we left the Grove, still in awe of what we had seen, I leaned over and quietly spoke these words to Miss Linda—“I probably shouldn’t say this out loud here in tree hugger country—it could easily get me killed. But……I’d really like to log this area.” What can I say? Ain’t Human Nature a wonderful thing?
Gary
On April 23, Miss Linda and I flew out to Vancouver Island, on the west coast of Canada, for a week. While there we took the time to tour the Cathedral Grove, a rain forest heritage site, once belonging to the lumber giant MacMillan Bloedel, and now a Provincial Park. It was gifted to the province with the stipulation that it be preserved in perpetuity so that future generations would have the opportunity to see these ancient trees. Years later, in an act of utter stupidity, Mac & Blo requested the return of the Grove that they might log it—destroying all the good publicity that the gift had originally generated. A really dumb, poorly thought out act of plain greed!! You really gotta wonder sometime
The Grove is a mix of Douglas Fir and Cedar, and the size of the trees truly boggles the mind. Now these are nowhere near the size of the giant Redwoods, but to a Saskatchewan boy they’re HUGE. Back home in Saskatchewan there are vast forests, but they’re somewhat limited in size—the really BIG trees are reserved for fence posts.
As we toured the now fenced pathways of the Grove, naturally in a light rain, we stared open mouthed at the huge trees that surrounded us—truly an awesome site. Although it’s hard to imagine, the trees vary in age from 300 to 700 years.
Out of all the pictures we took, these are some of my favorites. Unfortunately, the pictures fail to adequately portray the grandeur of the Grove. Keep in mind that Miss Linda is 5’ 2” tall.
Apparently these trees aren't real fussy about where they grow:
Mother Nature lets nothing dead go to waste:
It would seem that nobility and common sense are often sadly lacking in Human Nature. What a surprise:
Speaking of human nature, as we left the Grove, still in awe of what we had seen, I leaned over and quietly spoke these words to Miss Linda—“I probably shouldn’t say this out loud here in tree hugger country—it could easily get me killed. But……I’d really like to log this area.” What can I say? Ain’t Human Nature a wonderful thing?
Gary
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