Parks 41 & 42: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks: Day 2

11/29/13. Catherine and I got up early and headed to the main room in the lodge and got a fire going in the huge fireplace. We started a very difficult round puzzle and got help from a charming little 7-year old boy named Thomas. He kept us company until we had breakfast at the lodge restaurant.

We learned from the Park Ranger that Ponderosa Pine bark smells like butterscotch!!

After breakfast, we headed north in the car on the Generals Highway to the Junction View. We stopped at various pull outs along the way, awe struck at the amazing views of the mountains. We left Kings Canyon and entered the Sequoia National Forest area along the way. Because we were outside of the park, we stopped to get some huge and beautiful Jeffrey pine cones.

Collecting pine cones (outside the park, of course!)

We also stopped at one pull-out and hiked down to a rock out-cropping where we were surrounded by unobstructed mountain views. We enjoyed sitting quietly amid the splendor. (I pretended I was John Muir seeing this for the first time!) We also discovered we could take panoramic photos with our phone cameras.

Hume Lake

We continued south towards Hume Lake where there is a dam and man-made lake. There is also a large campground in the area. We got out here and walked around the lake area.




As we continued south we passed other viewing spots and entered the Sequoia National Park. We completed a full loop, heading back to the Grant Grove area of Kings Canyon.

When we returned to the lodge, we had a late lunch and then hung out at the common room for the afternoon, working on our puzzle, getting some school work done, and playing card games. It was a relaxing end to our day.

Working on our puzzle

Catherine and Brad walking towards the restaurant from the Lodge