Strange things about America (Not mine!)

Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Red Woods

"Wow, I didn't know that trees could grow so large." Germany said in amazement as he stared at the redwoods around him. America had invited him to his Redwood National Park, and Germany was glad that he taken the invite.

"Well, redwoods are the tallest and most massive trees on the planet." America said as he looked up at one of the trees. "Some have been here for almost 2,000 years."

"Really?" Germany asked.

"Yep." America said with a sad smile. "But the trees you see are only the last ten percent left of their kind."

"What do you mean?" Germany asked with a frown. "What happened to the rest of the trees? Was there a forest fire?"

America chuckled at the question. "No, it's almost impossible to burn down a redwood, seeing as their bark is nearly fireproof. The trees were cut down in massive amounts by loggers who had traveled to California during the gold rush. Due to unrestricted logging, and the delay in protecting the forest, the forest was severely damaged."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Germany said with a sympathetic look.

"Don't be." America said waving his hand and smiling. "Today the government protects them, so they aren't in any serious danger anymore. So, do you want to climb one?"

"What?" Germany blinked in surprise at the unexpected question.

"Do you want to climb one?" America asked, pointing to a redwood near them.

"Is that even allowed?" Germany asked with suspicion. (America was known to break the rules a lot if it meant having fun.)

"Well, not in the national park." America said. "I happen to own a piece of property near here that has a few redwoods on it. Trust me, there is nothing that can beat the feeling of sitting on one of the branches and looking out at the horizon."

"Well, as long as you don't get us stuck, I guess I wouldn't mind." Germany said with a small smile.

A/N: The Redwood National State Parks don't like it when people try to climb the trees. However, if someone owns a peice of land and a redwood happens to be on their land, they will sometimes let people climb them.