Day-32: Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Parks

Sunday, October 27, 2013

So if you’re interested in cold showers, the Best Western at Coalinga is the place for you.

Our plan was to be away from Coalinga by 8:30 and we were all ready. Greg reported that his shower was devoid of hot water, not so in our room though the shower water temp did vary throughout my shower. So other than the water problem and no Internet, the place was pretty nice. Breakfast was the usual “free” stuff, suitable and filling, but probably not marked for a high-star rating.

We made a gas and grocery stop in Visalia and along the way passed by the Lemoore NAS. This would be a rugged place to live but the navy housing did look new. Continuing toward the parks we traveled again through the farm, ranch, grove and orchard lands of California. We passed through the town of Orange Grove, two guesses what the main source of business might be there.

Thanks to great California highways (gas tax dollars at work) we entered Kings Canyon National Park around 11:30 and proceeded to the visitor center. Here as usual we stamped our passports and purchased a variety of park collectibles.


Our first sight to be seen was the General Grant Sequoia, not the largest in the park but impressive just the same. The Grant Tree is reported to be the 3^rd largest living organism in the world. Actually the General Sherman Sequoia in Sequoia National Park is the largest tree in the world; odd that the subordinate general gets the biggest tree. The ½ mile hike to the General Grant Sequoia was an easy stroll.

We headed south from the Grant Grove and entered the Sequoia National Park. There isn’t a noticeable delineation between the parks thus they are often considered as one entity. En-route we came upon the Wuksachi Lodge. We stopped for a travel break and quickly decided that we were staying for the night; the price was right and it was centrally located in our area of interest. Being too early to get room keys, we set out for other giant tree sites. Along the way we stopped for another picnic lunch including the usual fruit, cheese & crackers but this time with chicken tenders.

After lunch we arrived at the Giant Forest Museum, a visitor center of sorts. We were just in time for a ranger program describing the likely life of the Sentinel Tree, a giant Sequoia estimated to be 2,000 years old. The Sentinel isn’t the biggest but it does have a history of standing at the park entrance and visitor center for the early years of the park’s history and thereby being perhaps the most photographed and noteworthy giant tree. In this area we again took a walk through the Giant Forest, a one mile loop through a forested area serving as home to a large number of sequoias, some small, mere seedlings and other giants, towering hundreds of feet high. Some of the tree combinations were of interest, in that so many very large living things can grow up within a relatively small footprint.

Our last stop was to be the General Sherman Sequoia, reported to be the largest (by mass) living organism in the world. The tree stands 275 feet tall and a diameter of 25 feet. The hike to the
Sherman tree was somewhat of a challenge. The parking lot is actually above the tree, obviously not literally above but higher in elevation though laterally displaced by about ½ mile. So what does that mean?  It means to see the tree one must take a ½ mile walk descending 250 feet or so to reach the base of the tree, a 10% grade. It also means that if you hope to see your car again, you must reverse the process and trek back up the ½ mile and 250 feet of elevation. The path is well laid out with paved sidewalks and rest benches generously spaced along the trail. In any case we did reach the tree and for Sheila and me, pretty much confirmed that yes we had been to the Sequoia National Park some 25 years ago.

By now the sun was setting and we were ready to call it a day. Arriving back at the hotel we checked in, received keys and proceeded to our rooms.

Without too much delay, we headed to the lodge for our 6:45 dinner reservations. As would be, the Red Sox vs. Cardinals game was on and we had good Internet service. As such, dinner included a significant amount of iPhone time to catch-up on email, Facebook and of course the game. The dinner itself was okay but the service was extraordinarily slow. Seems like the park services are somewhat understaffed, perhaps with the three-week layoff, some seasonal employees didn’t return.

After dinner we watched an inning of the game in the lodge but moved to our rooms for the final inning and what turned out to be another weird World series game ending.

With limited Internet service I did some catch-up work but for the most part the night ended early.