This is our last full day at Sequoia. The boys and girls did their own thing for most of the morning. Noah and Tim drove over to Crystal Cave to see the cave here in the park. The girls and I swore off caves last summer so we were out. Tim drove to the cave and then they had a little hike down to the cave…on the way a snake jumped out in front of them and Tim said "snake!" and he turned around and Noah had run away. I'm glad I didn't make that trip…snakes and caves are not for me! They had fun though and said it was pretty neat. The girls and I spent the morning at the campground visitors center and market doing laundry and taking showers. I didn't realize how far it was from our site until I was carrying 4 days' worth of laundry for 5 people and then I realized why they have a shuttle from our campground to the visitor's center. But we made it and while we waited for laundry we shopped, the girls got their ranger badges and we took in a ranger program with a table full of fur skins to touch. The ranger doing it was the bear expert from the program last night so Megan explained to her about the bear phobia and she helped a bit. Then it was back to camp for lunch and the boys came home soon after. Tim and I went for a trail run in the afternoon and then took the kids to the river for a little dip. The kids found some big sticks and made up a pretend game of Moses and Pharaoh which was really cute. Then we went back to the visitor's center to get some information on how to drive to Yosemite and for Noah to get his ranger badge. While there we saw a cute little fawn in the bushes. We had some more ice cream (yes, I know we have had ice cream every day!) and then headed back for some playing games at the camp site and just hanging out. Toward dusk there was a bear spotted in the campground so Noah, Tim and Leah went to check out the bear. And yet again, we had one last bear siting before bed...we took an evening walk around the campsite and I saw in the shadows of the river a bear... I called it and sure enough it was a mother and 2 cubs...they were crossing the river over a log. Tim and Noah got closer but Megan started into her panic attack this time with full out screaming (guess her little therapy session with the ranger didn't help) so I stayed back with her and Leah. No camera so no photos of that but it was so amazing to see the cute little cubs crossing the river! What a way to end our trip! Tomorrow morning we leave for Yosemite!
Another great day here in the Sierra's. We spent the morning riding the park shuttle and seeing the sights. We first went to see the main event which is the General Sherman tree…it is the largest tree in the world. Not the tallest or even the fattest but the biggest in volume. And my is it big! We are tiny compared to these giant sequoias! After seeing the tree we went walking in the groves doing the Congress Trail. They had another huge tree named the President and then some trees that were the Senate and House. It was a beautiful nature walk in the groves with tons of huge trees, a couple of small waterfalls and beautiful fern meadows. After that we had our picnic lunch and then it was back on the shuttle to the Giant Forest Museum. That was a lot of fun and the kids learned some things about trees. Back on the shuttle again to visit Moro Rock. This is a huge rock where you climb stairs all the way to the top, about ¼ mile worth of stairs. The view is so worth it as we saw beautiful views of the Sierra Nevada and even saw snow on the mountains. One last trip after this to visit Crescent Meadow. The kids were fighting me about this one as they felt they had hiked enough but I love meadows and didn't want to miss it. So we bribed and promised ice cream after and got back on the shuttle to the meadow. I'm glad we did because we saw a bear! Right when we started the trail a lady told us there was a bear up ahead on the side of the trail. Megan immediately went into panic mode (she is deathly afraid of bears!) so I stayed back with her and Leah. Tim and Noah checked it out and then when Tim came back I went to take a peek and there he was. About 30 feet off the trail he was foraging…we got some good pictures and then went back to assess Megan. It was a full panic attack in effect with crying, shaking, everything. So the rest of the hike was not going to happen. So I didn't get to see my meadow but the bear was worth it! Even though we didn't finish the hike we had our ice cream and it was good! Then it was back to camp to hang out and relax…we even got a nap in. We have some lovely neighbors that we have been spending time with too. Leah took in a bike ride and Noah and I played Battleship. Then it was off to the nightly ranger program…about bears. So guess who didn't go? Megan! Anyone know of a good therapist specializing in bear phobias?
What a difference a day makes! Today was a much better day for us that did not involve any cars. We got to know our campground a lot better today and get oriented to the park. We slept in this morning and then got up and had a big breakfast. After that we went over to the visitor's center in our campground. We checked on a few things we were interested in doing and then we saw a movie about bears in the park. We also went to the market next door and of course there was ice cream that we had to partake in…why not have ice cream at 10am, we are on vacation! Then we headed back to camp. All in all the campground is nice…a little older and more run down than I expected (the park is the second oldest in the US, established in 1890) and the campsites are close together but the scenery makes up for it. We are surrounded by giant trees and granite mountains and our campsite is near a roaring river that I can hear gushing right now as I type. So after our trip to the visitor's center we came back to camp for a small lunch and then it was off to our first hike. This hike was right off of our campground which made it so nice and convenient. The hike is to Tokopah falls and it starts with a walk right along the river. The hike continues with mostly forests and of course the occasional meadow (my favorite). The kids took some dips in the river on the way up and we made lots of stops just to gaze at the smaller falls. Then you come to these giant granite boulders you have to walk through and right beyond those is the Tokopah Fall which is huge and gorgeous. It provided a great mist for us to cool off with and have a snack. We saw a marmot up there which is an animal that looks almost like a beaver, it was really cute. Then we came back down and back to camp for dinner. Then it was a campfire, some chats with our new neighbors and some smores. We then headed over to the amphitheater for the nightly ranger talk which was about fires. The ranger was fun, he made us sing a campfire song in the beginning that got louder and louder to the point we were all shouting and making crazy hand motions! The talk was interesting and the kids found it fascinating that forest fires can be good for the forest. On our way back to camp in the dark we practically walked into a deer which thrilled my deer lover Leah. Then it was off to bed. Can't wait for tomorrow, we get to see the biggest tree in the world!
Well that was the longest drive ever! It took us over 13 hours to get here when we only expected 10 hours. There were a few traffic delays through LA and other areas including a little fire in the brush in the median of the freeway. We also had to go off the map and GPS the last 2 hours because we had to take an alternate route because the normal and closer road is too curvy and narrow for trailers. So that added way more time and made the trip much more anxiety provoking. I am the navigator and Tim the driver and it is so scary to take us off the GPS when you "think" this is the right way. I had just about lost it at one point thinking we were definitely going the wrong way when all of a sudden the sign came up for the last freeway we needed to take. I breathed a sigh of relief and not 1 minute later, we were finally gaining elevation and the forest appeared before our eyes. At this time of anxiety I reached over to turn down the radio (noise makes me more anxious in high stress times) and I actually turned the radio tuner which changed the channel to KLOVE and my favorite band Casting Crowns was singing their song "Glorious Day"! It was so amazing! All within a minute the sign appeared, the song came on and the scenery totally changed. I was praising God over that one! I don't think Tim and I have ever sung that song so loud! The next song after that was "Take Me to the Beautiful" by Third Day which was great to listen to as we drove among these huge trees, lush forest and gorgeous scenery. We finally made it to the park! We gave them our entrance card and got the maps… Tim asked the ranger how much longer to drive to our campsite and he said one hour and I literally gasped! We had already done 12 and that was enough! Well, we made it to our campsite and then the worries began or I guess continued. The site seemed so tight for us. And of course it is dinner time, well past… it is 8:30 and everyone is sitting around their campsites watching us, shaking their heads. I gave Tim the rah, rah, we've done this before, even worse, you can do it speech but it was not working. I think he drove around the campsite 4 times to change his angle or the way he was coming in. He was about to give up (I guess we sleep in the parking lot of the visitors center?) when he gave it one last try and he did it! The neighbors around us were cheering and we were all happy to just be in our little spot! Then we unloaded, had a quick dinner, and off to bed. Tomorrow will be for exploring our campground and hiking…NO driving!
Well, the weather took a turn last night. There was a lot of rain and hail and we woke up to snow flurries, more hail and totally cold! So we decided it was good to leave right away. We packed up quickly and off we went! We had a great time and really enjoyed this campground. It was a great mix of family time, nature, and relaxation… just what camping should be! We look forward to one day coming back and hiking the entire way down into the canyon!
