Traveling Team Fischer

Our plan was to make the journey home to repair the camper while visiting as many parks as we safely could along the way.  In addition to our own challenges, we needed to negotiate around many wildfires raging in California.  There was a bit of a haze in the air, and the smell of smoke was unmistakable.

Our first stop in Sequoia National Park was the visitor’s center, where we met ranger Charlie, who told us about some of the dangerous wildlife in the park, specifically the snakes, or “nope ropes” as he calls them.  He was awfully cheerful for someone holding a rattlesnake in a jar.

In addition to Charlie’s advice, there were plenty of signs warning of wildlife on or near roads and campgrounds.  We were eager to see something other than squirrels and deer, so we were always listening and watching for signs of bears.

 

The park has a great shuttle bus system that takes you around the park to various trails, groves, and other great scenic vistas.  The main bus stop was a short walk from our campsite in the lodge pole campground, so as soon as we were settled in, we caught the next shuttle. Our first stop was the General Sherman Tree.

At 275 feet tall, and 109 feet around at the base, it is said to be the largest tree in the world measured by the amount of wood in it.  The top of the tree is dead, so instead of growing up, if just grows wider.

To better illustrate the size of this tree, there is a mosaic in the ground representing the size, and we got a shot of hubby standing in the center of it (blue shirt).  We caught another shuttle and got to see the Sentinel Tree, which stands guard over a museum in the park.

From there, we enjoyed some easy trails that meandered through more giants.  It was an incredibly beautiful, if not dizzying, stroll.

 

On the next shuttle, we were told of a hike that lead to an incredible view.  It was ‘a bit’ more strenuous than what we had been doing thus far, but everyone agreed it would be worth the effort.  So away we went to see Moro Rock.

 

While it was indeed a breath taking trek, the smoke from nearby Yosemite obscured the vista from the top.  After a resting a bit, we made our way back down to the shuttle bus.

We wrapped up our shuttle tour at the Tunnel Log, which is near Crescent Meadow.

Finally, on our way out of the park, we spied a group of large animals near the road.  We were excited to be seeing what we hoped were our first bears of this journey!

The joke was on us.  What we saw wee a few free-roaming cattle.  Since we weren’t there for the wildlife, we just laughed it off and kept moving on to our next destination.