Spring Break - Day Four: Yosemite, Wawona, Kings Canyon

Day Four: April 15, 2018 (Sunday)

This morning we repacked the car for a three-hour drive south and east to King’s Canyon National Park. On our drive, we spotted the turn for Glacier Point road, but it was closed for the winter. Apparently some of the best views overlooking the valley from the southern rim are off of that road, but alas, the timing didn’t work out for us this time. We did stop at a pioneer museum in Wawona, in the southwestern part of the park. They have moved cabins from all over Yosemite to this one location and it was really neat to see them up close and learn of the early settlers’ lives.

 From Fresno, we headed due east into the foothills and then the mountains – winding up and up until we were at 7100’ elevation again. We ate a picnic lunch and hiked the Big Stump Loop trail that was full of impressive remains of sequoias who were felled 150 years ago as well as some remaining trees.

 We drove a little bit of the General’s Highway to a few viewpoints overlooking King’s Canyon to the north (deepest canyon in the US at 8200’ from top to bottom) and Redwood Canyon to the south (home of 15,000 sequoias and one of the largest of their groves in the world). We hiked a little ways up Buena Vista Trail to catch an even better view of the surrounding area, including a fine view of Mount Whitney. 

 

Finally, we hiked a small loop trail to view the 27-story tall, General Grant tree, “The Nation’s Christmas Tree” and the 2^nd largest (by volume) tree in the world and widest sequoia (base at 40’ wide). The kids liked walking through the Fallen Monarch sequoia which is a hollowed out log that fell hundreds of years ago. It is so big inside, it has been used as a cabin and horse stables in the past. Finally, we checked into the John Muir hotel in Grant Grove Village, had a delicious dinner out, and topped it all off with a few hands of spades with the kids.

 

 

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