The Sequoia Tree Circus

Sunday, February 17, 2013

We awoke to birds singing in the trees around us, and a rooster crowing. Even the rooster was delightful after the quiet of the desert. Today was “eat breakfast out” day! Got to keep Greg happy with his occasional big restaurant breakfast. But, first we had to post all the blogposts from our week without connections in Death Valley. By the time we selected photos and got the posts up it was 10:30! Greg unhooked the RV and off we went to Perko's in Porterville. We filled up afterwards with pricey California diesel and headed for King's Canyon National Park which adjoins Sequoia National Park. This time of year the only part that is accessible is a small section of King's Canyon which is tacked onto the other park. The General's Grove of sequoias is just inside the park entrance.

We looked at the map and found the route that took us north in the valley and then east into the mountains. The only other route would have us go way out to Fresno and then into the park. We drove past orange groves, almond and peach orchards, vineyards, and possibly olive groves. We had difficulty identifying them, as the only groves bearing anything this time of year are the citrus groves. No matter where we live in this country, we have all eaten much of our produce from the Central Valley. The groves and orchards go off to the horizon. Factory farming in all its glory.

We drove through the foothills and started to climb again. The map gave no indication of how twisty the road would be. Pretty soon we realized that we had committed to many more miles of hairpin turns and steep drop offs. When we checked we found out that we were headed for 7,000' again! Greg would turn the wheel all the way in one direction and then all the way in the other. Back and forth. Back and forth. Later he asked if I had enjoyed the view, because he didn't get to see any of it. Driving took his full attention. We once again found the snow line, and eventually reached the park. Yay!!!

We drove the short way to the visitors center past sun filled snow covered forests, and a few sequoias mixed in with the ponderosa pines. When we turned into the parking lot we were greeted by a circus! Families everywhere and no parking. Almost everyone was there to experience the snow, not the trees. Children were sledding in amongst the trees behind the yellow danger tape. Families were picnicking in the snow. Teens were running everywhere. When we reached Generals Grove to walk on the trail through the trees more chaos reigned. More sledding and crawling under the clearly marked “Do not pass” fences to climb around the trees. We were in shock after our desert solitude experience in Death Valley. We walked the trail and looked at General Grant, the largest tree in that grove. We would have loved to reverently gaze upon the trees and appreciate their beauty and age. We forgot that snow is a novelty in southern California and a very large population lives near here. We took photos and decided to head back down the mountain before Greg was too tired to tackle a twisty road.

This time we took the route west toward Fresno which is 50 miles away. It was wider, a bit straighter, and constantly descending. Once again, because of the slow progress of our travels, we were facing dusk and needed a place to camp. We drove south past acres and acres of groves and turned on the road that went past the Sunmaid raisin plant. Now we knew where all those grapes were going that we saw growing! It even smelled like raisins. I'll bet that anyone who has ever eaten a raisin had one grown nearby. We found the Viking RV Park in Kingsburg. (Viking? Here?) We pulled into our space and were so close to the other two RVs that we could look in the window and see what they were having for dinner! I don't think we could have easily opened a slider on the side of our RV if we had one! But, at $20 a night with our Good Sam Club discount, it is a steal for California. We signed up for two nights. Greg needed a rest from his driving over the last two days. AND, we got to watch the finale of Downton Abbey! Thank you Valley PBS!