King's Canyon & Sequoia National Park

Mary with General Sherman, one of the oldest living
things on Earth (Mary is the one in the green shirt).

Since we were up early, we left the Days Inn Fresno around 7 am and drove east into the King’s Canyon/Sequoia National Park.  We arrived at the park entrance a little after 8 am and drove around the King’s Canyon area looking at the attractions there.  We took a half mile hike up the Panorama Point area that gives views of the Sierra Nevada range and the King’s Canyon.  A couple of nosey deer came over to investigate us and since we appeared harmless, wandered off.  An area of the park was a grove of giant sequoias called Grant’s Grove that includes a huge tree called General Grant.  We saw far fewer tourists than yesterday, probably because these parks do not have the name recognition of Yosemite.  Almost all the visitors we saw were from outside the US.  Many were from Eastern Europe but a fair number were from England.  We saw a lot of people from Poland, Germany and Holland.

We always laugh at the way Americans dress for a visit to a park.  To take a one mile walk to an overlook, they are wearing REI shorts, Columbia shirt, high end Merrell hiking shoes, a Camelbak hydration system and carbon fiber walking sticks.  There we are in shorts that we used to paint a room last week, an old T-shirt and worn out sneakers.  Oddly enough, we seemed to navigate the trail just as well.

Our rental Passat going through a tunnel in a fallen giant sequoia.

In the afternoon, we crossed over into the Sequoia National Park section.  We walked out to see the largest sequoia tree called General Sherman.  While there were a number of huge old trees there, General Sherman was a real giant.  The trunk diameter at the base was nearly 40 feet and the tree is estimated at over 2500 years old.  The tree is believed to be among the top five largest trees in the world.

We drove an overlook called Mora Rock that is a rigorous hike up a granite slab where a 360 degree view of the area is possible.  The path was narrow and steep but the view was spectacular.  We chatted with a family from near Frankfurt along the walk then took a number of photos up on the overlook.

We started back a little after 2 pm and drove into Fresno then north of Highway 99 through the towns of Madera, Merced, Modesto and Stockton.  We stopped for dinner in Merced at a place called Mi Casa.  We picked the place because we were tired and hungry and the restaurant was nearby.  Turns out it was a great choice.  Mary had the Chicken Mole and I had the tamales.  The mole sauce, tamales and the tortillas were all homemade and excellent.  The portions were huge and delicious.  The service was very pleasant and the price was low.  We are often fortunate to stumble onto great places to eat.  There was a tremendous change in temperature from the mountain areas in the National Parks to the Fresno area.  When we were up in the mountains at over 7000 feet above sea level, the temperatures were in the 60s at mid-day.  By the time we drove down to Fresno at about 600 feet above sea level the temperature was 97 degrees.

View Larger Map