The Lamp Liter Inn Visalia

... therefore missing out on mash potato. Arrived at Sierra Lodge
around 8pm to find a nice little lodge in the middle of nowhere.

Up
at 9 and headed off to Sequoia. Got 10 mins into the beautiful park and
saw a MASSIVE tarantula crossing the road in front of us, Charlotte
wanted to go home. We spotted the tunnel rock just as Charlotte read
there were no gas stations in the park and we'd forgotten to fill up
Three Rivers, California, United States rich_charlotte

... close proximity whilst he tore apart a few pinecones. I got some fantastic shots of him and it was good to see a proper wild bear!

The sun was rapidly disappearing so we headed for Moro Rock where we were told by the chap in the hotel was the best place to see the sunset – oh how he was not wrong! This turned out to be the first of two consecutive days where we have now called ourselves ‘The Sunset Chasers’! I drove ...

Yesterday we spent most of the day in the hotel because it was too hot. We did look at the museum though and at sunset we went to Zabriskie Point where there was amazing views.

Today we drove 6 hours through amazing mountain scenery to Visalia where we're staying at the Marriott Hotel. The book describes Visalia as charming and presentable but it’s more like dated and dull. Everything here is shut by 4pm on a Saturday!

... Marmots & a Coyote). Kings Canyon is Massive! It takes ages to drive around. We had to fill-up in a 1928 petrol pump; It was really interesting to see how it worked. At the Ranger Office we inquired about the trails and the kids picked up the young Ranger program. We did Meadow trail collecting sugar cones along the way and hoping to see ...

... always some who will try to take their 39 footer in. I'm sure they were wishing they had not done so. The speed limit went from 25 mph to 20 then to 10 so you knew the curves were sharp. Again we were travelling along the edge of a narrow mountain road with sometimes guardrails, sometimes not. Going up was worrisome, coming down was hair raising...but enough said, it was worth the trip.
The sequoias are the largest trees on earth. The redwoods which we saw last week ...

We drove from Midpines to Visalia today and have camped at the KOA campground. We again passed through the central valley with its many huge vineyards, orchards and herds of cattle. We managed to find a fruit stand on a side road where the fruit was set out and a sign with the price. There was a locked box to put in your money and a security camera. Judging by the houses on these farms I would conclude the farmers are not making much more than a subsistance living ...

... of whom knew where anywhere was. We eventually found our resort and realized we had driven past it about 4 times, checked in and hit the sack. We awoke the next day to lovely sunshine and warm weather and decided that the best way to spend the day would be to take Maud to the outlet mall for some retail therapy followed by a good curry. After a couple of nights in Palm Springs we were then ready to hit the road again and carry on the tour of California....

... views through the Sequoia National Park. General Sherman sits within the aptly named Giant Forest with 3 other mighty giants, all with similar patriotic names: Washington, President and Lincoln. Standing at a shocking 275ft it holds the title of one of the largest trees in the world and is between 2,300 and 2,700 years old. It almost looks fake. The roots are incredibly fragile and are surprisingly close to the surface so people are ...

... National Park. The route Chatsworth - Bakersfield - Hamford - Visalia was pretty simple because it was all about changing from a coach to a train, from the train to a coach etc. After arriving to Visalia, the harder part had began, but my life can never be too easy. I found out that the shuttle bus going from Visalia to the Sequoia National Park had stopped running a few days before due to end of the season. It was time to think of a plan B. Firstly I had to ...