Still Finishing Up . . .
On the taxes so I can eFile them before midnight. So you get another of our Out West adventures in 2010, this time to the Sequoia National Park.
April 30, 2010
Some Really Big Trees…
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:
Diplomacy is warfare by other means. And Warfare is just diplomacy by other means.
hdgdhg
