Going Out Wooding

I have found another way to enjoy my hiking and that is to look for unique trees with unusual designs and shapes. No matter where you go hiking you can usually find some amazing trees that look like natural wood sculptures. This theme actually started by going out 'wooding' with my uncle as we would look for interesting pieces of wood that he would make into wonderful lamps and natural art pieces. So now I go out 'wooding' in a different way and look forward to getting out and being among the trees.

Bonsai Pine
It is amazing to see pine trees growing out of volcanic cinder with many forming into some interesting natural sculptures.
Cinder Cone Remnant
This old dead ponderosa pine tree really stood out from the dark cinder cone background creating a wonderful natural sculpture.
Canopy Tree
Hiking below a cinder cone this ponderosa pine tree branches spread out providing a nice shady spot to rest.

Twist And Turns
This alligator juniper was a very large tree with a thick trunk. One side was fairly smooth with alligator bark and this side was completely different with twisting patterns.
Burl Face
The tough alligator juniper bark can grow into all kinds of interesting patterns. No telling what you can see if you stare long enough. Can you see the face with the big nose?
Resilient
This large alligator juniper tree had half of the bottom trunk burned off yet still managed to grow into this amazing tree.

Bulging Burls
I came across an unusually large alligator juniper with a trunk of double burls at the base.
Alien Tree
This alligator juniper tree is one of the most unusual shaped junipers that I have ever seen. This tree has what we call 'character' as every side of this tree has interesting features.
Antler Tree
For some reason this alligator juniper tree had branches growing out from the bottom and all around.

Branching Out
This alligator juniper tree has the most branches that I have ever seen on a juniper. What an amazing display of a tree that grew out more than up.
Jaba The Juniper
For some reason this alligator juniper reminded me of the Star Wars character Jaba the Hut.
Cypress Roots
Walking down to a beach in Big Sur we found these wonderful cypress trees and their long roots digging into the sand dunes.