Parks 41 & 42: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks: Day 3

Top of the walkway to the General Sherman Tree

11/30/13. Today, our last day in the parks, was busy and full of amazing sights. We had breakfast and checked out of the John Muir Lodge - which we loved, by the way. It was clean, quiet, and had a wonderful big community room, all nestled into the trees. Having no TV did not bother us, but it was a bit tough that the wifi didn't work. We could get cell phone service at the lodge and visitor's center area, but nowhere else in the park.

Frost on the railing at Lodgepole Visitor's Center

We headed south on the Generals Highway into Sequoia National Park. We tried to stop at the Lodgepole Visitor's Center but it was already closed for the winter. The temperature was just under freezing and the frost made everything sparkle.

Frost on a pine tree at Lodgepole Visitor's Center

We continue to work our way through miles of tremendously tall pine and cedar trees wondering where the Sequoias were. All of sudden we entered a grove of tremendous sequoia trees and from there on we were amazed at the amount and size of the trees.

We stopped first at the General Sherman tree which is the largest tree on earth and a big tourist spot. There were quite a few people, but it wasn't crowded. The walk downhill was very steep with terrific views of the Giant Forest. We took lots of touristy photos and enjoyed walking among the giants.

General Sherman Tree

Top of General Sherman Tree

We left this area and continued south to the Giant Forest Museum. We got our passports stamped and looked at the exhibits. We learned more about how important fire is for helping sequoias reseed and how the parks have been preserving the area - including removing many of the buildings and asphalt that had been built up through the 1970's.

Brad on the start to the Moro Rock trail

We left the museum and drove to Moro rock which is a granite dome rock formation with a 400 step staircase winding up the side. The staircase, like other projects in this park, was completed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. We headed up the steps and got most of the way before deciding that we'd gone high enough. We got incredible views of the mountains from the way up:

Panorama of Moro Rock

Climbing Moro Rock Staircase

View from Moro Rock

The Parker Grove of Trees

We next headed to the Tunnel Tree and waited in line to drive through the tree tunnel with the other tourists. It was fun because we helped each others' families take pictures and there was a great sense of silly fun.

We also stopped by the "auto tree" where people years ago had filled a fallen tree with concrete and drove a car on it. Brad and Catherine had fun pretending they were driving on it too.

We left that area and headed south on an extremely winding road down the mountains. Brad drove with the car in first or second gear the whole way. We stopped frequently at the turn outs to admiring the changing ecosystem as we got into lower altitudes.

We finally arrived at the Foothills Visitors Center at the southern most point of the park. We got our stamps and looked at the exhibits. We were very glad that we decided to start our trip up north at Kings Canyon and work our way down through Sequoia. It seemed a natural progression and worked well logistically. We were sorry that many roads and attractions such as the crystal cave, were closed for the winter but it gives us a reason to come back again!

We left the park and since there was nowhere to get food south of Wuksachi Village we were really hungry. We stopped at Case Mendoza in Three Rivers and had terrific Mexican food. Big portions and great flavor. We'd definitely go back if we were visiting the park again. From there we made the 5 hour ride back to LA. Thankfully the traffic was good and we got home tired and happy.