I decided I had better see a little more of California before my job at Point Reyes National Seashore ends. So, I took three vacation days along with Thanksgiving day and my regularly scheduled Friday-off and set out to see Sequoia, King’s Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks, in this order.
Sequoia NP is famous for the largest tree on earth, the General Sherman Tree. Some trees grow taller and some grow bigger around, but no tree has greater mass than this one! Its upward growth has stopped at 275’. I was challenged at getting a good picture that really demonstrates the height. Therefore, the images below are of other Sequoia Trees in the park.
What happens when a mammoth Sequoia Tree falls across a road? Well, you cut a tunnel thru it. Such was the case after a tree fell across the Crescent Meadow Road in late 1937. The following summer, a tunnel was cut through the fallen log as a visitor attraction. Before it fell, the tree stood 275 feet high and was 21 feet in diameter at the base.
When building the road in the Sequoia forest, the road builders got a little creative and split the road to allow single lanes between the trees.
I spent most of one day in King’s Canyon and only about 4 hours in Yosemite. The weather forecast was calling for “feet” of snow and high winds. The snowfall was supposed to last from Tuesday mid-afternoon thru Sunday. Photographing any three of these parks with a fresh snowfall would have been so fun. But I had no idea when I would be able to get out of the area. So, I played it safe and cut my vacation short.