A Giant Sequoia Tree Honors General Sherman

It takes many years to form a forest. But over a longer period of time - 80,000 years, in fact - one special tree, and its several hundred quaking aspen clones, have formed a colony.

And very little has shook it ever since.

The Pando (in Latin: "I spread") is a "clonal colony" of single male quaking aspen, located in the Fishlake National Forest in south central Utah. This 6,615-ton giant is a legend; in fact, its root system is one of the oldest living organisms on Earth. And, as you may imagine, the Pando is the heaviest species in existence.

When I think of family vacations, I remember long road trips in the car with my siblings when we were younger. We would play lots of games. We'd search for each letter of the alphabet (in order) on drivers' passing license plates. We'd play "I Spy" for hours while singing along to the over-played tunes on the radio to the point of annoying our parents.

But one thing I remember most vividly is the fascination that overcame me as we drove through tunnels in the Appalachian Mountains. One second we saw sunshine and the next we were enveloped by semi-darkness that seemed to continue forever. We incessantly asked our parents simple questions like: "When will the radio turn back on?" "Where are we?" "Why is it so dark?"

Just another long stretch of highway for my dad turned into a lot of fun for the 8-year-old me. My heart raced as we neared the end - would we make it out safely? And then the sunshine would peer into the car windows again - like magic.