On our way up to Sequoia NP from LA were surprised to again see so many Oil Pumpjacks littering the horizon, its something you just don’t see in New Zealand. To top the American cliche off we pulled in at a truck stop and found the biggest drink we had ever seen at 64oz (1.9L). It made the Super sized version from McDonald’s look tiny, Will just had to get one and for $1.85 it didn’t even break the bank. We completed the junk fest by buying some cheesy deep fired stick things and then hit the road for the fresh air of Sequoia NP.
We arrived at the National Park in the dark and were told that we would need chains to travel beyond the first campground which at the time we didn’t have. Not to worry we only wanted to go to the campground anyway we lied to the Ranger. At the Potwhisa campground it was only us and two other girls in a tent; we asked them about the bear situation as this was our first encounter with bear territory and all the signs said not to leave food in your car. Instead they said to use the bear lockers at each camp site. We wondered how this would work for us as we were sleeping in the car but we figured we could always start the car or something if we had any encounters and left the food inside with us while we slept. Almost sadly we had no bear problems and left the campground early the next morning.
I was worried we would get in trouble with no chains but Will as usual was unfazed so we continued on to the visitors centre. It wasn’t the best visitors centre but we had a look around and asked about what we should do with the food in the car while we camped. The Ranger advised that we put it in the bear locker but it all sounded too much like hard work for us I don’t think they realised how much food we carry in the Dodge. We wondered what the big RV’s did but didn’t end up asking.
From the visitors centre we drove further into the park and stopped at the giant tree museum where we learnt about the way the Sequoia trees can survive fires and how this is part of the natural cycle that makes way for new trees to grow. The park now conducts routine burns to continue this cycle in a controlled manner. The road to the Moro Rock lookout was closed which apparently makes the road a trail and guess what, while you can take dogs on roads you can’t take them on trails. So we left Scout in the car and walked down the lightly snow covered road and then up the few hundred stairs to the lookout. As you can see from the photo the view across the valley was pretty magical. Afterwards we walked to Tunnel Tree before driving over to the big daddy Sequoia tree called General Sherman; it’s the worlds largest tree by volume. We walked around the tree and admired it’s huge fire scars then queued up with the others tourists to get a our tree photo which had its difficulties given its size and it was entertaining watching everyone use different techniques to get their shot.
I was worried we would get in trouble with no chains but Will as usual was unfazed so we continued on to the visitors centre. It wasn’t the best visitors centre but we had a look around and asked about what we should do with the food in the car while we camped. The Ranger advised that we put it in the bear locker but it all sounded too much like hard work for us I don’t think they realised how much food we carry in the Dodge. We wondered what the big RV’s did but didn’t end up asking.
From the visitors centre we drove further into the park and stopped at the giant tree museum where we learnt about the way the Sequoia trees can survive fires and how this is part of the natural cycle that makes way for new trees to grow. The park now conducts routine burns to continue this cycle in a controlled manner. The road to the Moro Rock lookout was closed which apparently makes the road a trail and guess what, while you can take dogs on roads you can’t take them on trails. So we left Scout in the car and walked down the lightly snow covered road and then up the few hundred stairs to the lookout. As you can see from the photo the view across the valley was pretty magical. Afterwards we walked to Tunnel Tree before driving over to the big daddy Sequoia tree called General Sherman; it’s the worlds largest tree by volume. We walked around the tree and admired it’s huge fire scars then queued up with the others tourists to get a our tree photo which had its difficulties given its size and it was entertaining watching everyone use different techniques to get their shot.
We stopped in to see a few other spots in the afternoon before making our way over to camp Azalea. The road was crazy with such huge trees so close on either side you could see how the attitude towards conservation had changed over time. From the days when they cut down a 2000 year old tree to make way for a new lodge to today where they won’t remove a single Sequoia tree making the road super narrow in places. That evening we again ignored the bear warnings and kept the food in the car and yet again we didn’t see any bears just some tracks in the snow. We got all excited when Scout growled and barked for the first time ever and we really hoped to see a bear as we shined our torch into the darkness but all we found was some people walking by. The next morning we went for a quick walk around the General Grant Grove then attempted to head out of the park. I may have given Will some wrong directions and we drove a while in the wrong direction before I realised; ops my bad.
Our next stop was in the central valley town of Turlock where we would be spending Christmas and New Years with the Riedinger family. On our way there we decided we were starving so took the opportunity to stop in at an IHOP (International House of Pancakes). We both ordered a portion of pancakes with a side of bacon and eggs it sounded good in theory but we both struggled to finish it. Near the IHOP was an auto store where we fitted a new break light bulb in the car park and finally bought some heavy duty chains for the Dodge. Afterwards we made our way to what became know as "Camp Turlock"
Hope my blogs haven’t been too much about all the bad food we’ve been eating.
Rochelle & Will
Hope my blogs haven’t been too much about all the bad food we’ve been eating.
Rochelle & Will