Sequoia & Yosemite

(Not having access to cell and data has been difficult and I am getting behind on documenting our adventure because it seems like it will be such a tiresome task to upload these posts and pics after the fact. written 5/28/18)

After Sister’s ordeal we took it easy for a day and then visited the Trail of 100 Giants a second time.  We took the wagon and she rode through the grove.  She probably could have walked, but we wanted her to rest as much as possible.  I think the hospital visit really helped her – especially the fluids they pumped into her all night – she made a good recovery after that.  The trees are so enormous.  It is very hard to capture the scope, but here are some pics of one of the largest trees in that forest with a picture of the kids running through the tunnels at the base of the tree.

We left the Sequoia National Forest and headed north to the Sequoia National Park - Lodgepole Campground for three nights.  Lesson learned during that drive – DON’T trust Google maps for a good route with a trailer.  We took the worst possible road – it was too narrow and full of switchbacks.  I could not stay in my lane at all.  Our saving grace was we were the only ones stupid enough to take it, so there was little traffic.  When I saw another car I had to stop and let them pass.  We drove 15-20 mph or less for at least an hour – it was terrible.  That was the CA 245 if you are interested…a beautiful and scenic route for a car – never drive it with a rig.  Once we got to the CA 180 life was a lot better.  We had to enter the park from the North due to the length of our rig and road restrictions, something I didn’t know when I had originally planned the trip, so our day of driving was very long.  We arrived just before sunset and had time to fill our water and set the rig before dark.  The campground is quite large and the spaces are tight.  We took up every foot of our space with the truck parked perpendicular to the rig once set, but the forest view from the windows was amazing.

We saw many really amazing Sequoia groves and did a couple of nice hikes, but there were two very notable highlights.  First at the Big Meadow Trail, we saw a black bear grazing!  He was quite content with all the onlookers.  We all stopped along the path to take pictures with many other visitors.  It was actually a little unnerving to be taking our kids towards a bear in the wild like it was a zoo…but he was not interested in us in the slightest.  It was a bright beautiful day and the scene was picture perfect in every way.  The kids earned their Junior Ranger pins and patches for Sequoia National Park and we added them to their hats and vests.

The second amazing experience was visiting the Crystal Cave.  We booked these tickets in advance as it is a guided tour.  The weather had turned cold and foggy in the mountain.  We got a trickle of solar power, but it was not enough to charge our battery on the second full day we were there.  Driving on the winding mountain roads was difficult in the mist, but it transformed the whole place into an enchanted fantasy land in my mind.

The trail to the Crystal Cave descends 320 feet and the trail is dangerous in that there are rock slides fairly regularly and they have designated “no stop” zones when hiking down to minimize the chance of visitors being hit by falling rocks.  There is also poison oak growing along the path and they recommend not touching anything green while hiking.  The whole path is along a cliff with a stunning view of a waterfall and mountain stream.  But anytime you are walking along a drop-off with a three-year old you are going to be nervous. 

But finally we arrived at the cave and the tour was jaw-dropping.  I was only able to take a few pics, I am sure there are many more online that do it justice.

In each room of the cave there were Protectors - Here is the dragon Protector of the cave.

Then we began our slow ascent.  The facilities are located at the top – they do warn you about that prior to the hike…but inevitably Sister started complaining near the bottom and it was long walk up.  In the end she walked 90% of it and rode on our backs for 10% just to get her to the toilet more quickly.  Both she and Brother were able to complete a bonus Junior Ranger Cave Scientist activity and they earned pins and patches for the Crystal Cave as a bonus.  

We then headed North to Yosemite which is where we are now.  I could not book a campsite inside the park, instead we are staying at Indian Flat RV Park about 8 miles away from the Tunnel View entrance on the CA 140.  The trip here was also a nail biter.  The 140 has signs posted stating that there is a restriction for vehicles over 45 feet and that violators will be fined.  Given that there is literally no other way to get to our campground we proceeded though we are at a total length of 48 feet, but we were worried the whole way.  In retrospect there was nothing we couldn’t handle, but we didn’t know that as we drove.  We kept expecting some crazy hairpin turn or a clear reason for the 45 foot restriction.  The road does narrow to one lane for a time (with a light) and during that point there are two single lane bridges that must be crossed.  However, we were able to make all the turns safely and in our lane.  I think having the experience of driving the 245 taught me what we could and could not handle.  When we arrived and I was able to speak to the staff here, I learned that vehicles over 45 feet drive the road all the time with no incident – apparently the restriction is not well enforced.  Having been disconnected from the world for a couple of weeks I also didn’t realize this is Memorial Day weekend.  The crowds in Yosemite were unreal yesterday.  But we still were able to see some awesome sites from the car and we obtained the park information and Junior Ranger booklets.  We learned that we have to arrive early to get a parking spot and we were better prepared today when we took the Bridalveil Fall hike.  We have two more days to explore this wondrous place and are hoping the crowds are a bit less tomorrow and Wednesday.