Kathy & Scott’s USA Tour in California

Environs of Yosemite

As we entered California on July 17, we were intrigued by the old town of Benton Hot Springs.

Our first glimpse of snowy mountains, to be our theme for the next month and longer, appeared soon as we continued west. This is the Sierra Nevada, which fittingly means “snowy, saw-toothed mountain range”.

Our route took us by Mono Lake, where the falling level of the lake has exposed chemically-formed tufa pillars of calcium carbonate.

Note the California Gull in one of the above photos. A new species on Scott’s and Kathy’s life lists.

We had already seen snow in the mountain ranges. After camping by June Lake on the east side of the Sierra Nevada, we headed up to Tioga Pass, the eastern gateway to Yosemite Park.

Having crossed Tioga Pass, we entered Yosemite National Park.

Upon learning that even busy Yosemite had primitive camp sites available, we headed off the beaten path on a bumpy, twisty 5 mile road to the Yosemite Creek Campground. There we found a camp site near a dozen other car campers and a deer.

Some mosquitoes found Kathy so she donned protective gear.

The next day we descended, bypassing the famous Yosemite Valley with its crowds. We contented ourselves with a more distant view of El Capitan and Half Dome.

Then we visited the Wawona area, including the studio of landscape painter Thomas Hill, and the Mariposa Grove of sequoias, where Kathy and Scott took separate walks at their preferred paces.

That night we slept just outside the park, staying at a motel to catch up on email and business.

Sequoia & King’s Canyon National Parks

From there, we went south to Sequoia National Park, for more big trees.

The Giant Forest area has many excellent walking/hiking trails. Our lovely walk together included crossing an area still smoldering from a prescribed burn started about 3 weeks earlier.

It was Saturday, and we scrambled for a place to stay. After cruising around a couple of first come, first served campgrounds and finding them long past becoming full, we inquired about lodging at the visitor center. They said there was one vacancy left in the park, and we took it. Price was no object, since the alternative would mean driving 25 miles down a twisty road in the dark, and then needing to take refuge from the hundred degree heat of the Central Valley.

Our room turned out to be in an old fashioned lodge named Montecito. This was the view to the rear of our cabin. In the other direction, there were ranges of hills and high mountains.

The next day we visited the Grant Grove area of Kings Canyon National Park. Men lived in this hollow, fallen tree for several seasons.

The General Grant tree is awesome. A photo cannot capture what it is like to stand near these vertical behemoths.

Here, Kathy is standing near a "young" sequoia, looking at the really big one.

It’s easy to miss Scott in this photo of a root stock.

As it was now Sunday, it was easy to secure a camp site in Kings Canyon National Park for our next two nights.

On Monday the 23rd, Scott hiked to the ridge, a couple of miles away. While he paused at the crest of the ridge, a steady stream of dragonflies passed over to the valley in the east.

Scott’s shoes let the trail’s dust right in to his toes.

At the end of the day, we played our favorite game in a new setting. The trees near our camp site were big, but were not sequoias.

Sunset lingered on the tops of tall trees.

The next day we descended from the Sierras. After crossing most of California’s central valley, we were rewarded with views of Mt. Shasta.

We found a place to spend the night in Mt. Shasta City, then celebrated Scott’s birthday at a nice restaurant.