We had an amazing trip to the Grand Canyon! We left on a Thursday and returned on a Sunday. We camped in Mather Campground and had a wonderful time. We cooked a number of wonderful meals over hot coals from our campfire, even a burridillia (a combo burrito/quesadilla). The canyon is absolutely breathtaking. Next time, we will definitely want to take a mule to the bottom (or hike if we get in REALLY good shape!).
Our most recent jaunt was to the Sequoia National Park. We drove up to within an hour of the park and stayed at Melissa’s Grandmother’s house for the evening. After visiting with her and having brunch we headed North-East towards the Sierras. Upon entering the park we learned that their was a bit of construction under way on the main road through the park. Luckily the National Park Service had coordinated a simple and well executed plan for getting the visitors through the park. Our plan was to stay at the Lodgepole campground, but it was full so we had to press on to Grant Grove. The temperatures in the park were a very welcome 70°F during the day and down to 40°F at night. After this summer’s 100°F+ temperatures it was a bit of a relief to actually be cold! To see a map of where we stayed and the main attractions of this park, click here.
Our primary goal for this trip was, of course, to see the Giant Sequoias. These trees are absolutely phenomenal. While visiting the various groves of trees in the park we saw the most massive organism on the face of the earth. The tree known as General Sherman is awe inspiring. One of the most amazing features of the tree is a branch, some 100+ feet off the ground, that is larger than most of the other regular pine trees in the park! Absolutely amazing.
After visiting this park and spending a couple of nights there, we have decided to try and visit all of our country’s National Parks. These are amazing resources to be treasured and enjoyed. One of the things that we noticed was that the majority of the park’s visitors were foreigners. While we think it is great that these treasures are shared with people from other countries, we are a little saddened that the rest of us don’t take a few moments out of our busy lives to enjoy these phenomenal places.
