Our first week in California was mainly spent looking for housing. However, as we waited for approval on the application for the place we wanted, we took a break and went to Yosemite with Patrick's parents to see the giant Sequoia trees. They're only an approximate 1.5-2 hour drive away (depending on how slow the car in front of you takes the curves).
It was a beautiful day to visit a beautiful forest. The temperature is a bit cooler there due to the higher elevation, which was such a relief compared to the 90-100 degrees in town that week. Mild weather + potent fragrant pine trees + open window = a pleasant, sensory drive to the shuttle bus parking lot.
The squirrels here had tails longer than their bodies and fur with a pattern that almost looked like scales. Not so visible here, but I thought this photo was the best of him.
This clump was called The Bachelor and Three Graces. Two of the 3 "graces" are growing especially close, and may one day fuse. My presence gives the photo some scale.
In the prior photo, I was taking a picture too, of a lovely little visitor. :)
This one is named the Grizzly Giant. The huge limb on its right side (curving upward) is larger than any of the other "regular" trees in this forest, at nearly 7 ft in diameter. Those are people near the base.
An information plate near the Grizzly Giant provided some points of reference for the tree's height. The other items you see it being compared to are a 19-story building, a Boeing 747 aircraft, and the Statue of Liberty.
Back in the day, a tunnel was carved out of this one so cars could get through! Isn't it crazy this is just the base of the tree? You can't even see any of its limbs yet at the top of this photo!
I think this must just be a piece of bark or a leaf or something, caught by a line of spider web dangling from a tree branch. But it caught my eye since it looks like a little sea horse just sailing around in mid-air. :)
Standing near the roots of a fallen one. I believe there was actually a wake held once for a Sequoia in this park.A few interesting details:
-We just so happened to be there on Yosemite's 120th birthday.
-We rushed to catch the last shuttle before the park was closed down for several hours. Rumor had it that a dignitary or widely known person was visiting the park. The news revealed the next day it was Oprah, embarking on her first ever camping trip! She had been at the REI in a town near Merced buying gear only hours before!
-Aside from Disneyland, this is the most popularly visited site in CA.
-I think the majority of the tourists in the park must have been European! Tour buses of people speaking foreign languages sounding like Portuguese, French, German, etc. unloaded in the lot, and we actually had a few groups staying at our hotel.
Our time was limited, so we didn't get to explore the entire trail. But we are glad we had the chance to see a good portion of it, since settling in has kept us from gallivanting since. FYI, the upcoming blog entry will have pictures of our rental house!
5 comments:
Looks like an awesome time, I really want to see those some day.
an armor-plated squirrel perhaps. bullet-resistant scales. half squirrel, half armadillo. squirdillo. atalie's sister's worst nightmare.
and just a quick follow-up to jake's comment: you do Not really want to see those [squirdilloes] some day --- terrible creatures! i am horrified my seemingly irresponsible son-in-law would let my precious baby girl ( a greenhorn city girl ) get so precariously close to one. shameful. i hope his parents don't find out; of course, i am calling them right now.
you look short.
Well, Jake- you know where you can stay for free if you get the chance! :)
Dad- my sisters scare me much more than squirdillo, so no worries. I escaped Mariposa Grove with no harm or threat, which is less than I can usually say for family gatherings. :)
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