Bryan wondered how I know about the Bristlecone pines. You see, I grew up with a family story about them. Every summer my parents took their family on a fabulous and educational vacation. My mother loved to plan our trips and she would spend the school year doing research on what to see. She would type on 3x5 cards interesting things about the sites we would see on the way and those would be read aloud as we traveled.
One summer we took an extended camping trip from Kansas to California and back. We hit every major National Park and interesting site along the way. I was only six so I have only snippets of memories. But I guess that one thing we either did or learned was about the Bristlecone pines. When we returned my brother began 5th grade and one day his teacher told the class that the redwoods were the oldest living trees. My brother rarely spoke in class but he raised his hand and explained that actually the Bristlecone pines were the oldest living trees. She told him he was wrong. So he went home, gathered up the information proving her wrong and took it with him to school the next day. The story was that she did not appreciate being corrected.
Even the road up to the Bristlecones was amazing. We arrived before the visitor center was open and began a mile trek through Schulman Grove. Bristlecone pines are the oldest single living organism known. Some of them are nearly 5,000 years old...older than the Pyramids. The oldest know Bristlecone pine is over 4,800 years old. It is nicknamed Methuselah and it is not identified so as to keep people from vandalizing it.
At an altitude of around 10,000 feet we walked up the side of a mountain in order to admire these old, gnarled trees. Wikipedia says that it is because their wood is very dense and resinous and therefore resistant to insects, fungi and other pests that helps the Bristlecone live so long.
When Bryan and I got to the summit of the trail we sat down on the bench that was provided. There wasn't anyone else on the trail. There were no human beings, except us, to create noise and we sat as still as possible. A bird flew by and we could hear the sound of her wings beating as she flew. It was so quiet...so peaceful. I was filled with wonder and reverence for God's creation. I began to understand the psalmists words: "Be still and know that I am God."
As we started our descent we heard another group of hikers on the trail. They were yelling between themselves. Bryan said, "Some people come up for the experience. Others are conquerors." We headed for Yosemite National Park from the east along Tioga Pass. It was a very long trip and a very beautiful trip. The speed limit never exceeds 45 miles an hour...which isn't fast enough for the conquerors who rode my bumper!
We are all checked in to Yosemite Lodge and I am hoping to see stars tonight. I am also hoping that if there are others around me they will want to experience it and not conquer it.
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