Although our RV park was only 8 miles from the entrance to Sequoia National Park, it took about an hour of driving to get to our first stop. I knew the road would be windy, but no idea how intense it would be. Thankfully, this product proved to be useful for these two days at Sequoia/Kings Canyon as one kid used up many bags on these drives.
Our first stop was the General Sherman Tree – the largest tree in the world in terms of volume in its trunk – and it was the beginning of a day of impressive, impossible to describe massive trees. No matter how much our necks ached, we couldn’t resist staring straight up over and over again. I loved learning about the Sequoia groves and reading about the conditions needed for the giants to grow and thrive…God’s created and natural order for these trees is truly magnificent- there is a necessity for fires in order for them to thrive- even for some trees to die and fall in order to clear the canopy for others to grow. After reading a quote from John Muir (pictured below), Nick pointed out the passage in Romans 8 we recently walked through at our church, and how scripture says creation groans with eager longing, and from death comes new life. Incredible.
We started most of our days, like this one, with the most popular site, since crowds would fill up parking lots the later in the day it grew. Since the General Sherman Tree is near the Congress Trail, we did it next and it was maybe my favorite trail in this park. Mainly shaded, walking near little brooks and trails of running water, surrounded by both standing and fallen Sequoias, it was a quiet walk since we started it so early in the day. The Senate and Congress groups of trees were also impressive, and the kids enjoyed climbing through the caves in the hollows of the trees. We ate our picnic lunch once we returned to the car.
We then drove back the way we came to Beetle Rock, which allows for a panoramic view of the valleys, mountains, and cliffs. It’s a quick walk from the parking lot and I definitely recommend it. We walked down and past a museum to the Big Trees Trail, another wonderful walk, and returned to the museum to learn a bit more about Sequoias and the history of the park, and to grab a few souvenirs from the gift shop.
We then drove by Moro Rock, and I begged Nick to stop so I could run up the 325 stairs to the top- no one else wanted to do it, and I had actually removed it from our list because of the danger of it for small kids, but Nick needed to rest his eyes from driving for a bit and I wanted to climb it, so I did! If you have a fear of heights, this is definitely not the hike to do- it was shocking how near the edge of the cliff it was. There were railings most of the way for protection, but the trek up required more mental concentration than physical effort, especially after reading the sign near the bottom warning about the danger of lightning if a storm were to approach quickly, stating people have died on Moro Rock.
But I loved it. I made myself not look down until the very top and although my stomach did flips once I did, it was well worth the 10 minute trek up and then 10 back down.
Although I also had Crescent Meadows trail on our list, we opted out of it since everyone seemed to be at their limit for the day. Our last adventure was to drive through Tunnel Log, before heading back to the RV park. Thankfully the kids who used the vomit bags was asleep for the ride home. 😉
We finished the day with more play in the sand and river, and hobo meals on the grill again.
jami lee gainey 