Kings Canyon is Spectacular

 

Monday morning we drove down into Kings Canyon. We weren’t sure what to expect so we were excite to see how beautiful it is.  Incredible scenery around every turn but much of it is hard to capture in a photo.  You had to be there!

Also, the weather was perfect!  Blue skies and almost 70 degrees.  All the wild flowers are blooming an all of the waterfalls were rushing.

Most all of these photos are like a convex mirror.  Objects are larger than they appear (except for Connie and me).

I think I could spend days there and keep finding great stuff to photography.  You know what, make that weeks. This really is a great time to see it and there is hardly anybody there.

This was a rock wall just above the road. Pretty crazy, huh.

It’s amazing where wild flowers will grow, isn’t it?

In the afternoon we drove into Sequoia National park to see the largest tree in the world.  It was about 30 miles one way and pretty but nothing like Kings Canyon.  Well here he is, General Sherman.

General Sherman is not the tallest, not the oldest and doesn’t  have the larges trunk but for sheer volume it is the largest tree in the world.

• 52,500 cubic feet in volume.
• 1,385 tons.
• Diameter at base = 36.5’
• Diameter at 180’ up = 13.7’
• Diameter of largest branch = 6.8’
• Height = 275’

Southern California and the Sequoias

 

Yes, I know we just got back from a trip but life’s to short to sit at home.  We are headed to Redondo Beach for a visit with my niece, Monaka and her husband, Cash.  I always figure when your going anyway you might as well see all you can and here is the good part of living in California.  After spending the first night in Sacramento next to Steve and Bernice’s house with all the roses in bloom…..

…we just drive a few hours and here is where we will be spending the next night or two before heading over to the southern California coast.  This is Kings Canyon National Park, home of the giant sequoia trees.  Just about a week ago we were in the redwoods and here we are in the even bigger sequoias.

It was hard to image trees larger than the redwoods but here they are.  This is not at all the biggest one but it is the only one I got with people in the photo to give you a size perspective.

This is General Grant. Yes that’s it’s name.  Here are some facts:

• It is the third-largest tree in the world by volume.
• It’s trunk is 40’ across at ground level.
• It’s the worlds widest know sequoia but not nearly the oldest.
• It’s 1700 years old and 268’ tall.
• It’s 107’ in circumference and it’s first branch is up 129’.

The world’s largest tree by volume, General Sherman, is just 27 miles from here, so hopefully we’ll get some pictures of that before we leave the area.  Mean while here is a double tree that was partially burned out in the past but both sides are still alive.

This is a fallen tree that is hollow and you can walk through it like a tunnel.

Not sure about posting while here, internet connections are iffy at best.

Finishing Touches

OK, now that  I’ve put the finishing touches on the photos from this  wonderful trip to Oregon I will  post  some of my favorites  to finish off the bog of it.  This one is of a trail through the redwoods in California.

The rest of my favorites came during a photo hike that Steve and I took on Saturday.  Did I already say that  just like our friends, the weather could not have been any better.

I just love all the colors and textures that you get from the water and the jagged coast line in this area.  The water here always has this stunning blue color.

All the color is not in the water though.  Walking through all of this incredible beauty and grandeur just makes me ever conscious of Gods presence and power.

Steve posted a picture of me on Facebook out on a point taking some shots.  Well this was the result of those shots.  It’s 4 photos combined into one.

 

On Sunday we only drove half way home and spent a night along the Trinity river.  And that was the finishing touch.

Mean While Back at the Coast

 

Saturday finds Steve and me hiking and taking photos on one of the most beautiful coast lines around.

 

The ruggedness of the coast here makes for some great scenery and there are numerous trails to explore.

Connie and Alice spent the morning enjoying the beach at Harris Beach State Park were we are camped.

Before we got here the weather forecast was for rain the entire 4 days.  We’ve have had nothing but blue skies and sunshine since we’ve been here.

Fun Times and the Redwoods

 

Steve arrived in Brookings on Thursday afternoon.  We had a nice visit and then they went to their hotel.  Later they returned to our trailer for an incredible dinner prepared by Connie in celebration of Steve and Alice’s 39 anniversary and Alice’s birthday.

Friday morning we headed down to the California redwoods just a half hour away.  Steve and I decided to get back into logging but when we figure out that no skidder on earth could pull this one we gave up on the idea.

To me, the giant redwoods are just such an incredible awe inspiring sight.  However, I find them one of the hardest to capture in photos.  If you ever get to go there, do it.

We wandered the trails for several hours and a good time was had by all.

Then Alice and Connie decided they had had enough of this logging thing and were ready to head back to the beach.

Northwestern California & Oregon Coast

Click on any photo for a larger view.

 

Ok, we’re off to meet up with Steve and Alice in Brookings, Oregon for a few days.  I’m a day late on this post since we left home yesterday morning.  We drove north to Redding and then west towards Eureka, CA and the highway follows the Trinity river for a ways.  Everything is starting to bloom in this part of the world right now and there was lots of beautiful Red Bud along the river.

There are lots of Bald Eagles in California but I never seem to be able to find them, until yesterday.  I stopped to take the following picture and this guy was just hanging out there for a bonus picture.

The moss along the river bank was so pretty with every shade of green represented.  I spotted this little waterfall to help complete the scene but the trees in the front almost hide it.

According to all the weather forecasts it was supposed to rain on our entire trip.  Fortunately for us they aren’t always right and this morning we awoke to clearing skies.  This is the view of the Crescent City lighthouse take not 50 feet from our trailer in our beachfront campsite.

Since we had the time today and it’s such a short distance out of the way we had to make a side trip into the redwoods this morning.  They are so incredible we are in awe every time we see them.

There is my sweet wife standing amongst the giants.

And here she is peeking through a knot hole.

For all my friends that are past and present ax men, this is what we call a tree in California. This is the bottom of a fallen redwood tree.  Hopefully tomorrow will bring some photos from the Oregon coast.  We arrived in Brookings this afternoon.

More Table Mountain

Today was the first chance I had to get back to Table mountain.  We have had rain on and off for the last week and I thought there would be a lot more flowers.

There were a few more flowers but not what I was expecting.  I don’t  know if this will be the bumper crop year I was hoping for but if it is it will take a little more time.

Obviously there are some nice pockets of flowers in various spots but on a really good year they will be everywhere.

I just check the dates of my photos form past years and the flowers were about as good as they would get by this time.

So if it turns out that we get a lot more this year then I would say it would be late compared to normal.  Otherwise it just going to be average this year.