Finally made it out to a national park!
I read that Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks had opened but with no services or camping...just restrooms and some permits for wilderness camping.
I thought, let's do it.
Maybe it will be calm and empty?
But maybe not...it's California.
Then I heard no international travel was happening.
I coordinated with Clay being in Fresno and we took the opportunity to get OUT!
So glad we did.
It turned out better than I had hoped for.
Hardly anyone there!
We needed the fresh air and the freedom to be out.
lookout point
sooo many switchbacks on this road
I got myself carsick
haha
The General Sherman Tree
The world's largest tree measured by volume!
These trees are unreal.
I kept saying...this looks fake.
We learned so much about sequoias.
The seedling for this tree is dated between 700-300 B.C.
Insane.
tree pose :)
giant tree huggers :)
Audrey has more mountain in her than she thinks :)
she just blends right into nature
Chester tries to throw off the sister affection but never wins.
haha
Walking through the forest I thought...
now here are some trees that make my kids look tiny :)
my bookends have a special bond
tried to get the pine trees in the foreground to contrast the size
This meadow offers the perfect environment for these giant sequoias to thrive
the meadow also is a place where wildlife thrives
Typical in National Parks, you might have one or two families that end up in the same spots as you do :)
Our first round with this was a group of older couples...
they dubbed us the "red head gang"...
(while Audrey looked hopelessly at me as the outcast. It's okay, me too, I say.)
Anyway, the second meetup with our new friends was right after we walked halfway through the loop. They told us...you missed the show!
We asked what happened.
He said, right as you passed that tree (above) a Golden Bear came down the hill and out in the meadow.
:)
looking up at God's creations
We watched the top of the golden bear's head bob up and down as it ate these leaves.
We saw his little tag on it's ear too.
I thought, is this good luck in California?
haha
staring at a sequoia grown over a granite boulder
We hit the Morro Rock trail which is a steep incline carved into the granite with steps leading up to the top of the a sheer drop off where
death lay below :0
yikes!
but the view was breathtaking and worth it all!
looking toward the Sierra Nevada Range with Mt. Whitney tucked behind one of the other mountain peaks
Believe it or not Chester was not a fan of the height and
Lucy has an all out fear of heights.
Her legs were trembling combined with sweaty palms.
I felt bad about that. She really did want to enjoy it.
So, I scared half of my children to death on this popular hike.
Whoops.
wildflowers growing out of the granite
life can bloom where you think it doesn't have a chance :)
looking out west
Audrey loved it and thought it was cool :)
check Lucy in the background gripping to the side of the rock :(
more wildflowers popping
We drove through Tunnel Log :)
The smell of these woods is so sweet and pungent ,
it enhanced the experience to heavenly.
Chester was so emotional about being in the woods and playing again.
He said, "well, I guess I just have to be a ranger or something so I can live here all the time"
I feel bad, he repeatedly asks me to go to the snow or the mountains...
cannot take the Colorado out of him.
And that's okay!
(I have missed the mountains too and breathing in a slower pace of life)
It was just good to get away.
I know Clay would like to be with us on these adventures.
But he works and has always worked so much.
In 2012 I took my first real trip alone with the kids and have enjoyed doing so each year. We didn't get our #springbreakmom trip so...this was nice to do.
It helps me with my self confidence even when I am lost or anxious about where everything is.
haha
Ask the kids one day about me missing signs all the time.
I have my inept moments :)
Taken on our way out to Clovis for the night to meet Clay.
Lemon Cove was the name of the town of 190 people.
🍋
All lemon groves.
Along with this old gas station.
I'd like to turn this around into a cool shop:)
books and art and fabric and baked lemon goods
(like a script from a Hallmark movie)
Ideas on the road.
Someday, one of my ideas will come to fruition.
Until then, we'll keep exploring.
Kings Canyon up next!
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