day five, sequoia national park

after a continental breakfast of champions we head to the sequoia national park. we make a quick stop at the welcome center where one of the rangers gives us an overwhelming summary of all the “must sees.” the first is Hospital Rock and an old native american watering hole. here the Indians took care of the first white man who lived out there. or something.



we meander through the mountains by car and right in front of us a black bear crosses the road. it was awesome. unfortunately, we have no visual to show you of the actual event. so instead, please watch the following video for reference



the next stop is the sequoia museum. we learn some valuable information. the difference between sequoias and redwoods is that sequoias grow larger in circumference of the trunk and redwoods grow taller and are more native to northern california. sequoias are conifers and grow from really small seeds that are released from their cones mainly when there’s a forest fire.

we drive on to moro rock. the lady at the welcome center said this was the initiation to the park and after we climb all the stairs to the top we realize why. but it’s a beautiful view of the river basin and the surrounding mountain ranges.







lunchtime at the lodge is welcome and then it’s on to see the General Sherman. this is the largest living thing in the world by density. it’s not the widest, tallest or oldest sequoia but by volume and weight it is the world record holder. it’s 36 feet in diameter and 2,200 years old. incredible.



we hike through the woods for a little while and see various other sequoias including the general lee and the grove called ‘the senate.’







night falls and we drive on to san francisco. at dinner we realize we forgot to mapquest directions. all seemed lost until i remembered that i can read a map and i navigated us into the city superbly. we find our hotel to be a little cramped and on the border of china town but it is acceptable.