With the enormity of this state in mind, we extended our time in California to 3 weeks and still didn't get to visit all the areas we had hoped to see! Such a diverse state... and so many pictures! So we've divided CA into two blogs... northern & southern. We were warned about the different rules of California. Agriculture stations placed at entry points & signs posted for 55mph speed limit for all with tow vehicles (this one was not easy for Jim!) were just a couple we hadn't seen in other states.
Our 5 hour drive from Black Canyon City, AZ toward San Diego, CA was rough. We had hours of strong winds again, jerking our home from side to side. We watched more dust storms crossing the highway and at one point were nearly blinded for about 60 seconds while being pelted by sand. By the time we reached our new 'hood in Escondido, we were wiped out.
But it was a sweet (though tiny) home, nestled in the greenery & Bird of Paradise.
We were all anxious for our visit to nearby Poway, where Jim's Aunt Bernadette & Uncle Pete live. They invited their kids & grandkids over- many of whom we've only met one other time- for the day and we had the most wonderful time connecting with them.
Rarely ever seeing familiar faces this year, we could hardly contain the excitement of getting to see TWO sides of the family in one week! My step sister & her family live in the area too, so we joined up with them at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. So much better than a zoo, our favorite features at this beautiful park were the butterfly garden, Lorikeet Landing, Cheetah Run, and the rolling hills of roaming animals- seen via the African Tram.
The butterfly room was filled with the fluttering creatures... and our little cousins were lucky enough to "hold" some!
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| Elias learned that making this face would cause the girls to laugh... little ham! |
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| Vivian & Natalie |
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| We'd never seen this animal before... Not much larger than a Robin, these Western Burrowing Owls nest & roost in burrows, like those excavated by prairie dogs. So cute! |
All the kids had fun holding lorikeets, which drank from little cups of bird food in our hands.
One of the highlights of the day was watching the speed of a cheetah as it chased the motorized stuffed toy. It can reach 60mph in only 3 seconds making it the fastest land animal.
Such a fun day with Mike, Jenise, Elias & Vivian!
We were lucky to get a third visit with our Michigan friends who were temporarily renting a home in Laguna Beach. Our kids have become more like family than friends, instantly bonding when we get together. The independent teenagers, Natalie & Katy, are rarely seen and Alayna & Lily Grace are inseparable.
We had hours of fun exploring the tide pools right out their front door... muscles, sea anemone, starfish, urchins, crabs...
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| While the kids explored, Jim & Tim talked business... always inspiring eachother |
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| Max, Alayna, Lily & Christian |
On to the beach! Skim-boarding,
jumping chilly waves,
chasing each other with kelp leaves...
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| Like-minded girls enjoying beauty in the little things:) |
We enjoyed shopping,
and gorgeous sunsets.
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| Natalie & Katy |
But best of all, the kids got to ALL take surfing lessons together!
They suited up at the mobile "Black Pearl" surf shop,
learned the rules of surfing... "be one with the board...",
practiced paddling and standing while still on solid ground,
and ventured out to give it a whirl!
And before they knew it, they were riding the waves!
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| Alayna |
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| Natalie |
Cold & tired... big day!
Our goodbyes were sad, but we know they're never for long:)
Our next home was our landing spot for excursions into Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Park. Their claim of being only 40 minutes from the park lured us in, but driving time ended up being 1 1/2 hours each way! Oh, the miles we're putting on our vehicles this year! We hated the long drive each morning, but loved the view we'd come home to. Our home was steps away from sandy beach and the picturesque Kings River and had a most perfect view of gorgeous sunsets.
One of the things we most enjoy this year is sitting around a campfire surrounded by nature.
Day 1 in this area held a visit to Kings Canyon. Our long drive comprised of miles & miles of agriculture- blooming cherry trees, orange trees, pistachio trees, and plum trees- before coming to the hills. Of course the main attraction in the park was the largest of trees, the giant sequoia; though sugar and ponderosa pine, white and red fir and cedar trees also beautified the forest. We felt so tiny walking among these giants, many of which are over 200 feet high and some having trunks over 30 feet in diameter! A park ranger put it into perspective as he made a comparison: the giant sequoia towers over us as we do to a mouse:)
One of our hikes led us along the Big Stump Trail. From 1883 to 1890, loggers cut down countless sequoias to use as fence posts, shingles, grape stakes, and as timber to build houses. Before long, conservationists like John Muir rallied to preserve these trees and in 1890, Congress set aside Sequoia and General Grant (later named Kings Canyon) National Parks to protect them for future generations to enjoy.
The 73 degree forecast left us ill-prepared for hiking in SNOW! A bit chilly!
The tree below was named after author Mark Twain but unlike the other trees being cut down in the area, this sequoia received world fame. In 1891, as it was hard for people to travel to the big trees, the New York Museum of Natural History decided to cut down this tree to take a cross section to the people! It took 13 days of chopping and sawing to bring the tree down that stood nearly 300 feet and had a 91 foot circumference at the base.
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| Can you find Jim amidst the towering trees??? |
Of course our tour also led us by the trail's highlight... The General Grant Tree, also known as "The Nation's Christmas Tree".
Over 1,700 years old, this tree stands 267 feet high and 40 feet in diameter- it is the world's widest-known sequoia.
It was so beautiful, and as the light shone on it's reddish bark it gave off a special, shimmery glow that had it standing out amidst the other trees. People couldn't help but just sit and stare in the appropriately placed benches nearby.
Sequoias are not only amazing because of their size, but because of their ability to survive harsh conditions. John Muir once said, "Most of the Sierra trees die of disease, fungi, etc., but nothing hurts the Big Tree. Barring accidents, it seems to be immortal."
Chemicals in the sequoia's wood and bark make it resistant to insects and fungi, while the thickness of the bark (which can be up to 3 feet!) insulates them from most fire. Because of their shallow root system, the main cause of sequoia deaths is toppling.
In sequoia groves, fires start naturally and as frequently as every 5-15 years. Years ago, the Forest Service tried banishing these natural fires (remember the Smokey the Bear campaign???) and over time they found that the sequoia's were no longer reproducing. Why? #1- Fires leave behind a seedbed fertilized with ash and fires open up the forest canopy, allowing sunlight to reach the seedlings. #2- Natural fires burn away dead wood and dense growth of small white-fir trees. When left to build up on the forest floor, these fuels feed bigger, hotter blazes that are more dangerous for people, plants, and wildlife than the naturally controlled fires. Sequoia's NEED fire! The Forest Service still has its hand in protecting these majestic giants, but is learning to let "nature" do its thing:) In fact they said, "Excluding this important natural agent of change only hurts what we are trying to protect." God's hand once again seen in the minute details of the earth He created!
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| A Giant Sequoia cone... only the size of a chicken egg. Its seeds are the size of a grain of oatmeal! |
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| Hume Lake with a backdrop of the Sierra Nevada Mountains |
Day #2 (which happened to be Easter Sunday) contained a visit to a nearby church, then an afternoon in Sequoia National Park, which is our nation's 2nd national park. Once near the parks, the drive went from acres of flat orchards to spectacular scenery with mountainous, winding, narrow roads... sometimes even a bit frightening...
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| A view of our road ahead |
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| This rock jutting out of the hillside was so cool, a destination was made of it and a name given to it. Tunnel Rock demanded a stop for photos! |
Hospital Rock was another cool stop with a look at American Indian pictographs on the boulder marking an old village site once occupied by the Potwisha tribe.
Once Congress committed to protecting this park in 1890, it was guarded by the U.S. Calvary until in 1916, the National Park Service came into existence. The General Sherman Tree (below) was most certainly guarded, as it is said to be the largest tree (by volume of its trunk) in the world. It was named in 1879 by pioneer, cattleman, and former soldier James Wolverton after the leader he served under during the Civil War.
Its impressive stats:
~275 feet tall
~trunk circumference 109 feet, 36 1/2 foot diameter
~volume of trunk is 52,500 cubic feet and weighs 1,385 tons
~2,200 years old
~largest branch is almost 7 feet in diameter
~every year it grows enough new wood to make a 60-foot-tall tree of usual proportions!
The trick was trying to capture the scale of these enormous giants. For example- in the photo below, the evergreen at the base of the tree on the right looks to be a small seedling, but was at least 20 feet itself!
We hiked along the Congress Trail, so named to honor that all national parks have been established by our Congress.
Fallen sequoias are not removed from the park and are rarely even moved. Instead, the park service provides opportunities to walk over or through them.
The girls climbed on the shallow root system of a fallen sequoia.
Home in time to enjoy an over-the-campfire shrimp boil and easter egg hunt:) We sure miss our family holiday traditions, but will never forget how we spent the celebrations this year.
Alayna even created a fun scavenger hunt for us! So cute!
Moving on, we had a two hour drive to our next home near Yosemite National Park. Our camp host assured me the route was nothing to worry about, but we learned that it's all a matter of perspective. An "easy" drive to a Californian is much, much different than the same to a Kansan! As our route continued climbing and more hills came into view, our driver (I won't mention any names) became increasingly nervous. The mind can do crazy things at moments like this as thoughts of sheer cliffs looming ahead dominate all rational thinking. We pulled over, called the campground for reassurance for the millionth time, and finally decided we had no other option now than to continue on. Though a bit shaken, we arrived to our KOA without incident:)
It was a beautiful 70ish degree day, and with a couple rainy days ahead, we decided to set our worn nerves aside, hook up our home, and head right out to the park for the remainder of our day. Our new home was about 30 minutes away from the Yosemite Park entrance and then another 15 or so to the Valley and visitor center. But this time we didn't mind the drive as it was some of the most beautiful scenery we had ever witnessed...
I was the one braving this unknown drive and it was now my turn for a freak-out moment. It happened as we approached a stop along the only-way-in road which, for about 1/2 mile, turned into a one lane path due to a rock slide several years back. Impossible to clear through the rubble, they've made due with the permanent stop light and bridges that lead traffic -wide enough for only one direction at a time- around the rock-drenched road. An overwhelming sight and thought imagining that event happening... or happening again. I switched my thoughts to the magnificent beauty that surrounded us and drove on...
Despite the drive, this National Park almost immediately became one of our favorites. The first non-Indian to visit this area was likely made by the Joseph Walker expedition in 1833. But it wasn't until 1851 that the existence of this magnificent valley became well-known. It was during that year that conflicts arose between gold miners seeking their fortune and the resident American Indians. The Mariposa Battalion was sent to extinguish the conflict and word quickly spread of the land's unbelievable beauty. Abraham Lincoln -in the midst of the Civil War- set aside the Mariposa grove of giant sequoias in the Yosemite Valley as the nation's first state park in 1864. Because of John Muir's (one of America's earliest and foremost naturalists & conservationists) tireless advocacy, Yosemite Valley became America's 3rd national park 26 years later in 1890.
Bridalveil Falls is one of the first sights seen when exploring the Yosemite Valley. Its 620-foot tall waterfall is breathtaking.
El Capitan rises nearly 3,000 feet above the valley floor and is popular with experienced (or crazy if you ask me) rock climbers. Because the climb is more than a day's journey, climbers sleep in slings bolted to the cliff! Gulp.
Towering at 2,425 feet, Yosemite Falls is the highest North American waterfall and is actually made up of three separate falls. We took a short but beautiful hike to the lower falls.
We loved the look and texture of the Ponderosa Pine seen throughout the Valley. It squishes like cork board!
One of our favorite things about this area was the bike friendly paths. We were able to visit so much of the park this way, stopping for hikes throughout the day.
The views were magnificent at the appropriately named Mirror Lake...
We've ventured through 36 states so far and haven't seen a single bear. Jim got his hopes up when he saw this sign along one of our hikes... but, no such luck:(
We completed our tour at Inspiration Point- "the most photographed vista in the world". Not sure if that's true, but the view was indescribable, and definitely worth capturing. A bird's-eye view of all we'd seen up close... El Capitan on the left, Half Dome in the center, Cathedral Rocks & Bridalveil Falls to the right... truly amazing.
“I have seen persons of emotional temperament stand with tearful eyes, spellbound and dumb with awe, as they got their first view of the Valley from Inspiration Point, overwhelmed in the sudden presence of the unspeakable, stupendous grandeur.”
– Galen Clark, first official guardian of the Yosemite Grant- 1866
While returning to our car, we were able to observe an emergency life flight evacuation... Helicopters provide the only quick way out of this deep valley.
And though not a bear, we enjoyed a close-up of a wild coyote while exiting Yosemite.
But before exploring the northern half of the state, we'll be parking our home in storage at our new abode in Petaluma and flying out of San Francisco for 2 weeks in Hawaii!
Aloha!
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A) Escondido: Home base #1 & San Diego Wild Animal Park
B) Poway: Visit with Gonzales family
C) Laguna Beach: Visit with friends
D) Kingsburg: Home base #2 for Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Park
E) Midpines: Home base #3 for Yosemite National Park
