BEAUTIFUL DESTINATIONS

Dewy morning light streams though evergreen-colored needles and along the thick, rust-red skin of the looming sequoias inside Kings Canyon National Park in California — the sight of which is truly humbling. These gentle giants can grow to heights of almost 300 feet and are estimated to live up to 3,000 years. The ancestors of our planet, there is wise magic that runs between their grooves and up and down their spines as they stretch from the earth to greet the sky. However, though they are mighty, they are not immune to the actions or events of the world. Both coast redwood sequoias and giant sequoias are marked as endangered on the IUCN Red List — threatened by the shifting climate and residual loss from mass logging over the last decade. Stunning photos like this are a reminder to us all, to do our part — consume less, conserve more, get active and involved in policy change and conservation efforts — or we could lose our gentle giants of the world. (