 More 2011 Adventures |
 Next Day |
A 275-foot hello to everyone!
Today, I set out on my quest to see the national parks of America, this fine nation’s most beautiful places! After a full day of hitchhiking, I have just set foot within the boundaries of my first national park, and I am in love! “What, Bill?” you ask. “You’ve met your Wilhelmina?” No, no, her name is Sequoia, and she’s lovelier than I imagined!
 |
The trip started on a misty morning gliding over verdant, rolling hills into the San Joaquin Valley, where everything was in bloom! Pinks and whites exploded across the vast peach and apricot orchards, stretching out of sight… I wanted to pull over and take pictures, but they were all fenced off! (Spoilsports.)
The lushness continued all the way into Sequoia National Park until the snow started at 4,000 feet. Snow! I was so excited! I haven’t seen a lot of snow in recent years, living in southern California! It took a while to really get to it, though, on account of road construction, which had shut down the entire highway to one lane of traffic. I was so bored that I got out to build a snowbeaver, but the second I added the eyes, the cars started moving again! I leapt back in the car just as the door was closing! Close call!
 |
 |
It wasn’t until the chain-installation station that I first saw the sequoias, little fellows, maybe fifty feet tall. They formed a very distinct line, marking the end of the oaks, after which I understood just how well the park came to earn its name. The Giant Forest was extraordinary! Those big, beautiful, red trunks mixed with the white snow to create a candy cane of arboreal delight! And what a big candy cane! I wanted to go around and hug each and every one of these giant trees, but the snow was about eight feet deep on all sides of the road, and I don’t have snowshoes.
 |
 |
Next stop: Lodgepole Visitor Center. Here, I caught a shuttle to see General Sherman. No, I don’t mean the Civil War general who ravaged the South on his march to the sea. I mean the world’s largest tree and formerly the largest living thing on Earth! The general lives in a grove of giants accessible by a walking loop of maybe 0.2 miles. I walked through a stump without ducking and met a nice Italian couple who took my picture with the general. Che simpatichi!
 |
Due to a number of road closures and darkness approaching, I started back down the mountain, passing some spectacular vistas along the way. The whole downhill trip took about two hours to go 17 miles! It was wild, but there is no place I would rather be delayed. That much is certain.
 |
I am lodging in a cabin called Hummingbird at the Sequoia Village Inn. It is a gorgeous little place with more amenities than I’m used to getting in a hotel room (e.g. dishes and dish soap, a soap and shampoo dispenser in the shower, and a fold-out flat-screen TV). It has a deck and a barbecue, and it overlooks the pool, though the jury is still out on swimming this trip. The only downside is that the room is heated by what may as well be a Bunsen burner for how efficiently it heats and how much it smells like propane. We’ll see how sleep goes. I had dinner at the River View Restaurant, which not only has a lovely view of the river (as its name rightly suggests) but also a truly scrumptious chocolate cake, so moist and velvety and delicious. There really is nothing like a moonlit river to aid the digestion!
 |
Today was just a sampler. I still have all day tomorrow to have adventures in the snow among the giant trees! Stay tuned for more adventures in Sequoia starting bright and early!
Sequoi-ya later!
More 2011 Adventures |
Next Day |