sequoia task force

Riding for a 'cause' has been something Amanda and I have debated for as long as we've been planning this trip. I guess we just never made the time while preparing for this film, and during the last few weeks especially, I've regretted this. Now that the film is being pushed back until next summer, I see this as a second-chance to do the right thing.

Amanda's Mom, who is an outstanding english teacher at EMU, helped put the final touches on our fundraising letter, and with it, she sent back a packet of 'Sierra Club' information - most notably; a few fliers on their efforts to save the 'Sequoias', which read:

The Giant Sequoia trees of California are the largest living trees in the world... some are as ancient as 3,500 years old, with a diameter of greater than 35 feet and reach taller than a 25-story building. The Giant Sequoias were here before our nation was founded, quietly witnessing the evolution of our society. Their rings outline some of mankind's most notable achievements. Now our "progress" is the greatest threat to their continued survival. Without your help today, we will lose them forever... don't let it end here. Please respond right away.

Then it had one of those side diagrams of the Sequoia's rings: 1500 BC - Oldest living Sequoia "Grizzly Giant" sprouts, 1323 BC - King tut is entombed, 775 BC - Greeks develop modern alphabet, 221 BC - Great Wall of China started, 331 AD - Roman Empire falls, 1595 - Shakespeare writes 'Romeo & Juliet', 1776 - Declaration of Independence signed, etc... I've always been a sucker for those, it reminds me of the scene in '12 monkeys' where Bruce Willis and Madeleine Stowe are laying-low in the movie theatre watching the scene from 'Vertigo' where Kim Novak says, "Here I was born, and there I died. It was only a moment for you; you took no notice". All this makes me want to go and watch '12 monkeys', anyways:

Long story short, Amanda and I have been to California's 'Sequoia National Park', and during our mini-trip coming up this May, actually even on our next big-trip next May, we'll be riding through the northern Redwoods. Here's a few quick pic's:


I'm actually in mid-fall in this picture, I had to set the camera's automatic timer and then prop a small rock under the lens to get Amanda in frame, then I had to duck under the wooden fence, and jump up next to Amanda, which was really difficult wearing flip-flops considering the hollow in the fallen Sequoia was above my head.


I was 90% sure I knew which tree this was, but then I started thinking more about it and now I'm not sure at all... all I know is Amanda snapped this one and it was somewhere inside the 'Sequoia Park', that narrows it down...


For some reason, I love the way the black & white washed out the fence in the lower-left corner of this picture.


For those of you who haven't been lucky enough to see either forest - they are simply amazing... awe-inspiring... overwhelmingly beautiful... I can't think of the perfect combination of words to describe them... maybe "Cellar Door"? I guess you'd have to see 'Donnie Darko' to get that joke, okay, the point I was getting to was: having been to these places; I would have never thought that any one person or group of persons would ever think to destroy these forest... they're just too unique. But, I suppose that's not the opinion of everyone - now, even the 'Sequoias' with in the National Monument's boundaries, aren't safe from commercial logging.

So, I've been emailing the 'Sequoia Task Force' branch of the 'Sierra Club' - I'm hoping that we can talk local businesses in and around L.A. to pledge x-amount of money per mile [probably just a penny] that we ride...

But I think I should take a moment to stress that this film isn't meant to be geared towards 'environmental activists', I actually would prefer that our efforts didn't get any mention in the documentary, I wouldn't want it to be incorrectly labeled as an 'environmental-documentary'. Now, if we cross paths with another rider who is raising funds or awareness for an environmental cause, then that's okay to put into the film, it would simply add another layer to the narrative.

Okay, I've rambled on about this long enough - I'd love to hear what people think about this choice... and I will keep you all posted on our progress/ involvement with the 'Sierra Club'.