Sequoia National Park

Sunday May 5, 2019

We left Bakersfield this morning and headed north towards Sequoia National Park.

The landscape changes so much as we drove through California.

Desert and oilfields.

 

We saw grape vineyards and oil wells.

 

 

Hay fields

 

 

 

This orchard was covered in netting.

 

 

Orange groves

 

Almond groves

 

Cattle

 

Olive groves

A new orchard going in at the base of a mountain.

 

Beautiful scenery.

 

 

We arrived at Sequoia and drove up a bunch of switchback and hairpin curves going up the mountains to the forest. The Sequoias live at an elevation of 5,000-7,000 feet.

 

 

 

We finally arrived at the forest of the giants. There are no words to describe these massive trees.

 

 

 

 

Here we are walking through a tunnel of a fallen tree.

 

The size of these trees is amazing.

 

There was still snow on the ground.

 

 

 

Throwing snowballs

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking up into the tree

 

The size is best shown in comparison to a human.

 

This one was neat, it had a creek running through it.

 

These trees are massive. Their bark is soft and is full of tannins which helps keep them from burning when a forest fire comes through. Most of these trees have been damaged by fire but their bark grows and heals the tree. This one is actually overtaking a boulder next to it.

 

 

 

 

Jeremiah is standing in the roots of one that has fallen and the roots are standing vertically.

 

 

A friendly reminder while hiking the trail.

 

 

Some of the upper branches in these trees are larger than many regular tree trunks!

 

The General Grant tree is the largest giant sequoia in the General Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon National Park in California and the 2nd largest tree in the world.

 

Many of the giant trees are so old that the tops of the trees have died and they aren’t really pretty sequoias. Here is a picture of younger ones that are actually pretty but not huge or as old as the massive ones.

 

Can you guess which cone goes with the Giant Sequoia Tree?

 

It’s NOT the giant cone!!