Have you considered the ponderosa pine? It is the dominate tree throughout the Black Hills towering some 180 feet high. It is able to survive a forest fire in a unique way. You can recognize a mature ponderosa pine by its bark; its thick yellow to orange plate-like bark looks like puzzle pieces. When the bark is on fire during a forest fire, these plates pop off. The tree actually sheds the fire! How did this pine know how to do this? The Ponderosa pine did not get together with other ponderosa pines and talk about the threat of forest fires and what to do about it. Pine trees can not think. God in His wisdom designed these pines to survive a fire in this manner. When we see design we know there must be a designer and that designer is God.
-Wind Cave National Park has a self guide trial that help you explore the ponderosa pine forest. Trail booklets are available at the visitor center or trailhead.
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