Like typical travelers, I enjoy beautiful vistas, trying new foods, and taking cool pictures. But my absolute favorite thing to do on vacation is to visit awesome trees. When I am planning a road trip or visiting a new area, I always look up the National Champion Tree registry to see if there are any giant trees waiting for my admiration and possibly hugs. I would love to see the biggest of each species of tree in our country. This quest has taken me to some amazing places that I would never have enjoyed if it weren’t for my love of trees.
“Gus,”The World’s Largest Larch Tree
Fifteen years ago, when I visited Maui, I was thrilled to learn that the largest Banyan tree in our country (one that covers almost two acres) was only a twenty-minute drive from my hotel. That tree was gorgeous, and the excursion turned into a fun afternoon in Lahaina, an adorable waterfront town that I may have missed if not for the tree. Recently, when I read that Lahaina had been mostly destroyed by fires, I immediately searched the internet for news about the condition of the tree. The old Banyan is still standing but is badly charred. Time will tell. I hope for the people of that beautiful village that the tree recovers. I’m grateful I got to enjoy that old town the way it was. If it weren’t for my love of trees, I never would have visited Lahaina.
There have been times when champion trees were simple stops or quick excursions on already planned trips. Other times, the locations of trees dictated the entire adventure route. I once planned a two-week California trip all for trees. I visited General Sherman (the most gigantic of the Giant Sequoias), and I found my way to the tallest, the biggest, and the most beautiful of the Redwoods. I would highly recommend a California tree trip to anyone looking for a reason to head out to the West Coast. Washington state also has plenty of majestic giant trees. The world’s largest Sitka Spruce is in the Quinault Rainforest in Washington, which may be an even more magnificent forest than the Redwood forests. I have hugged that Spruce a couple of times.
When my family planned a road trip from Kalispell, Montana to Denver, Colorado we added an insane number of hours to our trip to go visit “Gus,” the world’s largest Larch tree. Larches aren’t really huge trees, but we were still impressed. And of course, as with most tree excursions, we ended up on the road less traveled with amazing views and a unique experience. Have you ever heard of or visited Seeley Lake Montana? That’s the town proud to call “Gus” their own. He is kind of a big deal there. We really enjoyed the area. I don’t think they get many visitors, just the occasional tree nerd or people road-tripping without a map.
If you are traveling across the country or even going on a day trip here in Alabama, please look up the National Registry of Champion Trees or the Alabama Champion Tree List to see if you can add a little tree time to your trip. You never know what you might be missing.
“Gus,”The World’s Largest Larch Tree
Tree Talk: Trees worth traveling for
By Jean Cox, VP of Friends of Pinchgut Creek
Commentary
Like typical travelers, I enjoy beautiful vistas, trying new foods, and taking cool pictures. But my absolute favorite thing to do on vacation is to visit awesome trees. When I am planning a road trip or visiting a new area, I always look up the National Champion Tree registry to see if there are any giant trees waiting for my admiration and possibly hugs. I would love to see the biggest of each species of tree in our country. This quest has taken me to some amazing places that I would never have enjoyed if it weren’t for my love of trees.
“Gus,”The World’s Largest Larch Tree
Fifteen years ago, when I visited Maui, I was thrilled to learn that the largest Banyan tree in our country (one that covers almost two acres) was only a twenty-minute drive from my hotel. That tree was gorgeous, and the excursion turned into a fun afternoon in Lahaina, an adorable waterfront town that I may have missed if not for the tree. Recently, when I read that Lahaina had been mostly destroyed by fires, I immediately searched the internet for news about the condition of the tree. The old Banyan is still standing but is badly charred. Time will tell. I hope for the people of that beautiful village that the tree recovers. I’m grateful I got to enjoy that old town the way it was. If it weren’t for my love of trees, I never would have visited Lahaina.
There have been times when champion trees were simple stops or quick excursions on already planned trips. Other times, the locations of trees dictated the entire adventure route. I once planned a two-week California trip all for trees. I visited General Sherman (the most gigantic of the Giant Sequoias), and I found my way to the tallest, the biggest, and the most beautiful of the Redwoods. I would highly recommend a California tree trip to anyone looking for a reason to head out to the West Coast. Washington state also has plenty of majestic giant trees. The world’s largest Sitka Spruce is in the Quinault Rainforest in Washington, which may be an even more magnificent forest than the Redwood forests. I have hugged that Spruce a couple of times.
When my family planned a road trip from Kalispell, Montana to Denver, Colorado we added an insane number of hours to our trip to go visit “Gus,” the world’s largest Larch tree. Larches aren’t really huge trees, but we were still impressed. And of course, as with most tree excursions, we ended up on the road less traveled with amazing views and a unique experience. Have you ever heard of or visited Seeley Lake Montana? That’s the town proud to call “Gus” their own. He is kind of a big deal there. We really enjoyed the area. I don’t think they get many visitors, just the occasional tree nerd or people road-tripping without a map.
If you are traveling across the country or even going on a day trip here in Alabama, please look up the National Registry of Champion Trees or the Alabama Champion Tree List to see if you can add a little tree time to your trip. You never know what you might be missing.