Cold Weather and Even More Big Trees . . .
Well, our really beautiful weather went away last when it started raining about 9:30pm and pretty much downpoured all night, and got a lot colder too.
And it didn’t get any better today, with a heavy overcast and more wind. It never got out of the 40’s, and with the wind chill probably was in the 30’s. Brrrrr!
So this was a great morning to just sit around the rig with a hot cup of coffee, listening to the wind and a little rain.
A little after 1 we headed over to Dickinson to have lunch at Dickinson Seafood, which is one of the best places in the area for inexpensive seafood. Jan loves their 1 catfish fillet, 3 Shrimp, 3 Oyster Combination Platter.
Then it was on up I-45 to Sam’s Club to pick up our prescriptions, then next door to Wal-Mart for some groceries and other stuff.
After stopping by Brandi’s house to pick up our mail, we drove over to Chris’ to visit for a while.
Leaving there, we headed back toward the rig, stopping off at the PO to mail our the first batch of Christmas cards. Along the way Nick Russell called to say that Dish Network had finally figured out that yes, he could watch TV in his RV after all, and he didn’t need the 150 mile extension cord, either.
We finally got home a little before 5 and settled in for another cold night with temps in the 30’s again. More hot coffee was in order.
This ‘Snowbird’ thing isn’t working out quite right. Of course, right now it’s 25 degrees and snowing in Elkhart, IN where we were a couple of months ago, so, on second thought, we’re not doing too bad.
And I think it’s colder in Florida where Nick and Terry are, than it is here.
How’s that Global Warming working out for you?
I’ve reposted our visit to Sequoia National Park below. Hope you enjoy it.
Some Really Big Trees…
Posted on April 30, 2010
Today we headed out to visit Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park. Leaving about 9 am we drove 70 miles south thru Fresno to the entrance to Sequoia National Park.
But before we left we set the crockpot on a timer so that when we came home we’d have a big pot of Tuscan Chicken Spaghetti waiting for us. Then we hit the road, heading toward Fresno, about 30 miles south.
Leaving Fresno, which is at 300 ft elevation, we starting the climb up into the Sierras, with some great views along the way. Click to enlarge the pictures!
And just like yesterday we ran into snow. We started encountering it about 4500 feet, and it just got deeper the further up we went.
When we got to the Ranger Station at Grants Grove at almost 7000 feet, we really saw the snow in deep drifts.
There was a lot more snow here in Sequoia than in Yosemite yesterday.
After checking in at the Ranger Station and checking out the Gift Shop, we had to change our travel plans. We had planned to drive the big 60 mile loop thru the park and come out down south near Visalia. But we found that loop was closed due to the heavy snowfall and would not be open anytime soon. That meant we would not be able to see the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree in the world. Bummer!
But we would be able to see the 2nd largest tree, the General Grant tree, so we headed over to Grant’s Grove a couple of miles away to take a look.
This is the first big tree we saw right in front of our truck when we parked. It’s hard to convey how really big these trees are. The pictures really don’t do them justice.
And across the parking lot were these twins.
And here is the General Grant tree. It’s 267 feet tall and about 35 feet in diameter. It is estimated to be over 1600 years old.
And here is an internet picture of the General Sherman that we didn’t get to see. It’s about 275 feet tall and about 40 feet in diameter at the base. That’s bigger than our RV ! It’s between 2300 and 2700 years old. The spread of the branches at the top is almost 110 feet wide.
After viewing the trees, we went back to the lodge for a really good lunch at the restaurant, much better than the one at Yosemite yesterday.
Then after lunch, we drove out into the forest for about 10 miles just taking in all great scenery along the way.
Then it was time to head home. Coming back down thru the mountains, we went thru several cloud layers, but by the time we got down to the bottom, it was clear and sunny again. And going from almost 7000 feet to 300 feet really makes the ears pop.
We got back about 3:30 to a coach filled with wonderful smell of our dinner cooking away.
We ate about 6 pm and it was great. It’s the first time Jan’s fixed this Tuscan Chicken Spaghetti, but we’ll definitely have it again.
Tomorrow is a take-it-easy day. We’re going to get together with some friends, George and Sandy, who we’ve corresponded with for awhile, but didn’t actually meet until the Nick Russell’s GypsyJournal Rally in Yuma this past March. We discovered yesterday that we’re both in the same park here.
Thought for the Day:
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free" — Ronald Reagan
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