Thursday, October 15, 2009

They Might Be Giants

Moro Rock From The Highway
That's Me In Green. How Tiny Am I Compared To These Trees?
I'm On Top Of Moro Rock. That's The Great Western Divide Behind Me.
Fall In Sequoia

So, I've possibly committed a cardinal blog sin by not posting in 6 days. It wasnt a good idea, however, to start a blog prior to going on a road trip. I really did think I would have more time at the lodge to blog about each day, but I was so exhausted by the end of each day, Trevor and I passed out before 10 pm every night.

If you've never been to either King's Canyon or Sequoia National Park, you MUST go. It's beyond magical, and these trees, which are the largest living things in the entire WORLD exist there. It's incredible. It's marvelous. I felt so dwarfed and humbled by these giant living things. These trees must have spirits.

Day one, we stopped in Three Rivers at We Three Bakery (as recommended) and had a very basic breakfast outdoors under a magnificent giant oak tree. Ok, so it wasn't the most amazing breakfast, and we had to move inside to avoid being attacked by yellow jackets but nonetheless the wait staff was very friendly and apologetic since they seemed 'slammed'. However, it didn't seem all that crowded to me and I was delirious from the early morning wake up call and 3 hour drive. I just went with the flow and I drenched my eggs and potatoes in tobasco sauce.

The drive to Sequoia was gorgeous and the highway, the 198, meandered through foothills covered in oaks and various chaparral anyone from California would recognize. We decided to do all the 'park and walk' tourist sights on the first day and save all the more nature, longer hikes for Sunday and Monday. Lucky for us, it's fall, and the park was sparsely populated with only random Europeans and other American tourists. The best part of the drive is that all of the sudden, you enter the Giant Forest, and youre surrounded by gigantic Sequoias right out of The Land Of The Lost. We were tempted to pull over, because were were in such awe, but knew that we'd have our chance in just a few miles and kept patient.

Sight's we saw on the first day that I highly recommend are:

  • Moro Rock - A granite dome with a 400 step stairway built in the 1930's. Amazing panoramic views.
  • Tunnel-Log - A fallen Sequoia you can drive you car through!
  • The General Sherman Tree - The largest living tree in the world! But not the biggest in diameter, that's The General Grant in Grant Grove. On our way back to the car, we saw a black bear!
  • Crescent Meadow - This is a beautiful meadow and short hike thats surrounded by a Giant Sequoia forest.
Ok, so I think Ive bitten off more than I can chew thinking I could write about my trip in one night. I'll add more about my trip in the next few days....


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