Gophers And Big Trees . . .
Today, work was just work, with nothing much going on. My new water valve came in, so I’ll probably try to get it installed tomorrow, as well as the hose splitter.
So I thought I’d just repost an oldie but goodie from 11 years ago, our 4th year on the road.
May 23, 2011
King’s Canyon and Sequoia Too . . .
We had to get early this morning at 7:30, but it was for a good cause: Our trip down south to King’s Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.
But before we left, Jan put some food out for the birds and squirrels. And it turns out we have a another visitor to the food, a resident gopher.
Jan didn’t realize she was dumping the food almost on top of his hole, but he was happy.
We finally headed out about 9 for the 100 mile trip down to the two National Parks.
Our first stop was at a convenience store in Squaw Valley, the same place we stopped last year, for a bathroom stop and a cappuccino.
Then we started the long climb up into the parks, from about 300 ft. in the valley to almost 8000 ft. At about 6000 ft. we started seeing snow again, although not near as much as last year.
The big problem was the fog. It steadily got worse the higher we went. In some places we could only see 20-30 ft. in front of the truck, so it made for really slow going.
We took a bathroom break at the Lodgepole Visitor’s Center and got our National Park Passports stamped for Sequoia, and then head down the road a couple of miles to the General Sherman Tree, by volume the biggest tree in the world
It’s about a half mile walk down the hill to the tree itself
At 275 ft. high, it’s about 2500 years old, and it’s a monster. We didn’t get see the General Sherman last year because the road was snowed in, so we felt lucky this time.
Coming back up to the parking lot we found the fog had really rolled in. And it made the drive back to the King’s Canyon area really dicey. The 26 mile trip took over an hour and fifteen minutes.
We got to the King’s Canyon area about 10 til 3, just in time to get lunch at the café before it closed at 3 pm.
Then after lunch, and getting our Passports stamped for King’s Canyon, we headed a couple of miles down the road to see the General Grant Tree, the second biggest tree in the world.
What’s unusual is that, although the General Grant is second in volume to the General Sherman, at 40 ft. in diameter, it has the biggest base. 40 ft. is the length of our American Eagle coach.
The Gamlin Cabin, shown here, and built in 1872, has served as everything from living quarters for the Gamlin brothers who built it, to a US Calvary storehouse, and then the home of the first park ranger stationed here. And it looks as strong as the day it was built.
Finally leaving the park and heading home, we did see some deer along the way. We had also seen a bear earlier disappearing into the fog, but otherwise it wasn’t a good day for animals.
Except for the gopher, of course.
We finally got home about 7:30 after stopping for cappuccinos.
Thought for the Day:
‘Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd’ – Voltaire
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