Days 23 to 24 - Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Days 23-24 (June 17-18):  For the past two days we've been at Sequoia and Kings Canyon.  We have really enjoyed these parks.  First, to get up here was a great adventure.  The road was extremely curvy (lots of U-turn type road signs with 10 mph posted as the speeds) and then there is a whole section of the road which they are working on where it is one lane.  We had stopped to get some fresh fruit (David's first taste of fresh RIPE apricots) so we had something to munch on while we were waiting in line for our turn through the one-way traffic.  I understand now why they don't recommend RVs and campers to drive up that section.

The windy road leading up to Sequoia National Park

Standing at the base looking up

Picture of the valley taken while driving through the park

Erin next to a trunk of a giant sequoia

Daniel next to the trunk of a giant sequoia

 Once we got to the Giant Forest grove of Sequoias it was hard not to try to snap photos of every tree we passed.  These trees are just magnificent!  They are so tall and big around!  We also learned all sorts of facts about them.  For example, they aren't the tallest tress (the California Coast Redwoods are taller), but they do have the largest girths and masses of any tree.  For this reason the General Sherman tree is considered the largest tree in the world.  it is a really big tree!

Erin and Daniel walking through a fallen log

Old graffiti on a stump (note 1885 date)

Erin crawling through a hole in the trunk of a giant sequoia

I think the kids had a really good time, especially when we found trees that they could climb around in, over, under, through, etc.  They especially liked the stump trail because they could climb up on the big stumps.  We did a lot of easy hiking in sequoia -- wandering through groves of giant sequoias.


















Eating was a bit challenging because we were a long ways from everything except the general store at our campsite.  The first night we pulled in 15 minutes before the general store closed and were able to grab some hot pulled pork sandwiches before they closed.  We had our fresh fruit (oranges, cherries, and apricots) to eat with that, so it made it a good meal.  The next day we had poptarts for breakfast (our standard breakfast when we don't have somewhere else to eat) and some more fruit.  We had to store everything in a bear box because there is the risk that the bears will come and tear up your car or campsite to get to anything they think is food (that is, anything with a scent).  Apparently the bears are strong enough they can open your car like a can of sardines and rip through any seats or anything keeping them away from your food.  So everything with a scent has to go into the bear box at all times.  For lunch on the second day we managed to find a restaurant at the next campsite and they agreed to serve us lunch, even though it was 2:35 and 5 minutes after their lunch hour (this was after we'd hiked about 3 miles and were starving).  For dinner we had gotten back late because we had driven over to Kings Canyon and gone through the General Grant Grove of Sequoias and then hiked through the stumps of the giant sequoias where they had logged them at the turn of the century (before they realized they should conserve them).  So, once again we were able to get to the general store at our campsite about 5 minutes before they closed and grabbed some lunchables and cold sandwiches for the night.

 

Daniel standing in a tunnel cut through a fallen sequoia

One of the interesting tidbits I read on one of the signs was they cut down one of the giant sequoias for the world's fair in 1896 and shipped it back east where they reassembled it.  They apparently didn't believe that trees actually grew that big in California and called it a hoax.

 All in all, this has been one of my favorite places we've been.  I could do without the camping (sleeping on the floor with the sunlight coming in at 5:30 am), but otherwise, I love it here.

Kids standing on a stump

The Mark Twain Stump -- I couldn't even get all of it in the picture!