We mostly drove through the park since we were running out of daylight towards the end, but we did stop to walk the Trail of a Hundred Giants. These giants are truly awe inspiring. If you have a bucket list, and the sequoias/redwoods are not on it, you're doing it wrong.
Mandy taking a picture of me, taking a picture of her. Yep, we're corny like that.
Once off the trail, it was pavement through the mountains until we hit National Forest. Forget getting into a campground in National Parks this time of year: they're packed and pricey.
We set up camp, temperatures dropped and bits of pink and orange peaked through the clouds.
We woke, had a small breakfast and rushed to pack up camp. Storm clouds were rolling in....
Once on the road, it quickly started to drizzle. Then sleet. Then snow....
That's right folks, it snowed on us. In July. In a state heavy with drought. Go figure. We crested the mountain and began our descent. We could see clear skies in the distance. But first, the dogs made friends.
The back side of the mountain gave way to completely different views. Gone were the tall trees. Rocks and scrub brush became prevalent as we hit the valley floor.
We were surprised to find a river at the bottom. Rommel was thrilled to find a river at the bottom.
Elly also enjoyed the water, but was less than cooperative during photo time.
Oh yeah, we had two human children with us too...
We found evidence of the giants we would be seeing later on. These cones were enormous.
Its that time again, time for our annual camping trip. This year, Mike has his heart set on California. More specifically, Sequoia National Park, Yosemite, and Big Sur.
We left very early (6:00AM) because we wanted to get high into CA in one day. And it was a long day. We drove through a lot of NOTHING. You hear so many people swoon over southern Cali, but wow, there was a lot of nothing along our route.
We finally made it to the southern tip of the Sequoia National Forest by mid/late afternoon and climbed into the mountains. We found a wide camping spot along the (paved??) forest road, nestled in some pines and called it home for the night.
While the kids were lounging, I explored and stumbled upon a left, random sign.
We enjoyed a nice relaxing night. Considering all the driving we did today, and all the driving we would be doing for the next few days, relaxing is what we needed.
Friday was our fifth wedding anniversary. This weekend is the Overland Expo. We decided that a 3 day weekend was in order. Last year we camped on site. It was packed. At the end of the weekend last year, we scouted off site camping spots. So we had a spot in mind.
I knew ahead of time that this weekend would be cold, wet and possibly snowy. I wasn't prepared to see snow as soon as we hit dirt.
I'm not impressed with how Youtube makes my otherwise nice videos seem crappy. But incase the embedding doesn't work here's a link.
I was worried that there would be a lot of competition for camping. This area was packed last year. And with the expo raising their prices, I was sure there would be a ton of people out here. Nope. The weather forecast scared everyone but us away.
We made it to the S Tree camp site without any issue. While we travelled here alone, Mandy, Pete and their kids, plus Mandy's brother and friend were coming. We knew we would need a decent sized site. The snow stopped to allow us to set up. How polite.
We got the basics set up then due to the cold and weather, made our way to the Mormon Lake lodge for pizza.
Back to camp, and a bit of play was in order.
We laid down for a rest; the rest of the gang arrived after 3PM. While the weather was polite enough to wait until we set up camp, that went out the window. They set up in sleet, then finally snow.
The forecast only called for 1 inch of snow. We had an inch before bed. Mike woke at 3AM to find it actively snowing and piling up. By morning, we had about 3-4 inches. The dogs had a blast.
Elly played with Rommel. Rommel played with the kids. Kids two legged and four legged enjoyed the snow.
The flora wasn't impressed with this odd, out of place May snowstorm.
By the end of breakfast the snow was starting to melt. Our campsite would get soggy.
We made our way to the Overland Expo and were sorely disappointed. As its hosted on a lake bed it was muddy and wet. It was crowded and the vendors were disappointing. Collectively, we decided that this year would probably be our last year attending. That and the weatherman lied to us. Nothing but cloudy skies was forecast. It rained off and on all day.
The most exciting thing at the Expo was a field mouse that Elly tried to eat. It was a brave little dude and came close to its end several times.
Back to camp, more crappy weather. Lots of relaxing was in order. And bundling up. And fire in a can. Mandy made dinner, it rained some more. A rainbow briefly appeared behind camp.
We all turned in early due to the weather and cold. By morning, the sun was shining, and the temperatures were rising. Elly enjoyed the sun.
While we all packed up, Rommel was allowed to play again (he hurt his shoulder on Saturday), and Elly recharged her solar batteries.
We drove out to blue skies and a red, muddy road. Several hours and 30 degrees later, we arrived home. From the mid 50's to the mid 80's is a leap, but at least it was warm for the dogs to have a bath. Mike spent lots of time power washing the red mud off the trailer and Jeep.
Another weekend gone. The first weekend camping in months. And our first time camping in the snow. Despite the weather, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and feel relaxed.
