Growing Roots

 Our time spent at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks was marked by the fact that we were finally able to stay in the same campsite for 4 nights in a row. Although this may not seem like a big streak, with all of the running around to and from different parks, it was a very nice break from constantly putting up and taking down our tent. Our first night at Sequoia was also very exciting since we had just gone grocery shopping and could finally roast hot dogs and s'mores! Due to fire restrictions, we couldn't have a camp fire to do this, but our newly working camp stove sufficed! 

After studying some maps, we were quick to notice that there were laundry services at Lodgepole within the park, so with dreams of freshly clean clothes we went to bed. As we drove through the park we were amazed by the gentle sunlight streaming in between the huge trees. After doing our laundry we hopped around the shuttle visiting some of the more iconic views within Sequoia. We saw the General Sherman tree and did some trails in the Giant Forest before stopping for lunch at the museum. After another shuttle, we hiked up the 400 steps to Moro Rock, which gave us a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains and valleys. After that, we hung out at the Lodgepole village for a little bit catching up on our correspondence before heading back to home base. 

We decided to visit Kings Canyon the next day to get a taste of the other park. We got up earlier to prepare for theong drive, but not early enough! It was a three hour drive following the rushing river until we got to the Kings Canyon visitor center. After getting some directions from a ranger (and getting lost along the way) we found ourselves on a short and steep hike to Sheep Rock falls. We also visited Grizzly Falls as a scenic lunch location before continuing on the road to General Grant Grove. After eating some ice cream, we returned to our campsite for another delicious hot dog and s'more as we went to bed. 

On our third day in the parks we hit a couple more water falls and hiked to a meadow to finish off our time here. As we reflected on these parks we considered all that we saw and figured that everything is bigger in ... California? Walking between some of the worlds largest trees, seeing the tallest peak in the lower 48, and the quickly rushing water down around severe cliffs throughout these two parks really showed us the scale of nature's possibilities. Its really sad to leave these parks, and are looking forward to scheming up ways to come back. We loved the opportunity to really stick around, grow some roots, and see some of the most unique sights America has to offer.