Over the past year, I heard that Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks are as pretty as Yosemite, but without the crowds. Before returning to Texas, I thought I would see about that and drove 50 miles east from Fresno to the Northwest entrance of Kings Canyon National Park.
My first stop was to see the General Grant Tree, a giant sequoia. In fact, it is the widest known sequoia, forty feet across, and the third largest tree in the world in terms of volume. It stands 268 feet high, weighs 1,254 tons, and its circumference is 107 feet around. Its largest branch is 4.5 feet in diameter and its first branch is 129 feet from the ground. A few interesting facts about the tree:
- If itstrunk were a gas tank on a car that got 25 mpg, you could drive around theearth 350 times without refueling.
- It would take 20 people holding hands to circle its base.
- If its trunk were filled with basketballs, it would hold 159,000; and 37 million ping pong balls.
- President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the General Grant Tree to be the Nation’s Christmas Tree in 1926. In 1956, Dwight D. Eisenhower designated it a National Shrine; a living memorial to those who have given their lives for our country.
After taking the half-mile walk through the sequoia grove, I steered VANilla along what seemed like an endless road…up, down, sideways, left, right, snaking, winding, curving. It wound thirty miles through the forest and skirts the canyon’s edge all the way down to the river. The best way to describe the road is to post a picture of the signs attached to water troughs that say “Do Not Drink…For Radiators Only”.
The cliffs reflecting a myriad of shades; browns, greens, greys, were dotted with trees and towered above the river below. I followed the river all the way to Roaring
River Falls where I took a short walk along a paved trail through the trees to a waterfall that surged between granite walls.
After visiting this waterfall, we retraced our steps toward the entrance and stopped at handful of overlooks on our way. Many of the overlooks are actually in the Sequoia National Forest as the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway passes through forest land to reach the park. One of the stops in the forest land was Grizzly Falls. Because it was in the national forest and not the national park, Petey got to take the short fifty foot walk to see the water bounce and spray over the rocky ledge.
From this waterfall, we briefly stopped at a cave, but it required guided tours which left on the hour for $13. I’ve seen enough caves over the last year, so I opted out of waiting half an hour. At the gift shop; however, a sign stating “You Break It, You Buy It” caught my eye. At first, I thought REALLY. They have posted a sign like that for junky souvenirs?!? Then I saw geodes and a vice. People who want a geode can pick a rock and break it open…and of course buy it. I thought it was clever. It seems like signs entertained me today. I found another that said, “Caution Ice”. The one beneath it said, “Cream Ahead”. The sign was in the shape of a double dip
cone.
While the park was lovely, I wouldn’t compare it to Yosemite. Kings Canyon’s peaks are jagged, while Yosemite’s are smooth, polished, and very unique. I’ll be curious to see Sequoia National Park tomorrow. I have found a campground close to the border of both parks. It is an ideal location except for the fact two forest fires are burning within the park…one very close to the campground. I’m not too excited over the smoke! Oh well, it’s my last few, fulltime days in nature…I’ll make the most of it. ETB
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