Spring is Sprung

Well as usual - we are behind on getting the blog up to date, so we will now fill you in on last weekend's touring of the national parks.  When last we left you - we had just arrived in Visalia after a very long drive.  So, after a night in a room that sounded like we were in the middle of the freeway; we woke up to find that the window had been left open.  Neither of us had slept much so it was up, grab a Danish and a coffee from the Continental Breakfast Buffet and get off on an early start so that we don't miss anything!
On the way to Visalia - we had underestimated...
1) how long of a trip it was going to be  
2) what our avg MPG would be on the rental Jeep  and
3) how hard it would be to find any gas - let alone reasonably priced gas. 

It was a shame but we had to give the scenic trip around Isabella Lake up to Visalia a miss because we were short on petrol and time so we decided that we weren't going to miss out on anything today.The trip to our next stop Oakhurst was about 2 hours by freeway but we had decided to go via the Sequoia National Park ... a round about route but far more beautiful.

When we first started we could see the white mountains in the distance but in the valley around the Fresno/Visalia area there were dozens of orange groves and vineyards and it was lovely and warm. The trees were the green you first see in spring , before they pick up any pollution ... bright green.

Lei and I had a conversation about pinching a bag of oranges... she said it wouldn't matter but I couldn't see myself doing it!!! Anyway we paid $3 in Walmart for a big bag.   I feel better for it - even though I would imagine that freshly picked oranges would be amazing.                               

The scenery in the valley was amazing.  The flowers are beautiful, orange and lemon grove trees fully laden with fruit and the water is beginning to flow down from the mountains, swelling the river so I decided to get out of the Jeep every 5 minutes and take yet another photo. This did cause a load of hassle so we developed a system... I would say, "Stop" and Lei would then slow down as much as she could, I would heave the window open and snap what I could. However, inevitably, by the time all that had occurred the vista was gone!  We then started another cunning plan... stopping at every turn in. I would fall out of the jeep, take my life in my hands on the narrow road and then Lei would haul me back in to lessen the effects of my weaker left side, which just was not fast enough to get back in.

 It was really weird going from the valley right up to the Sequoia Park; firstly the farms and then the wild flowers and then the scrub and shrubs and finally the Conifers and Sequoias. Meanwhile the scenery was getting more and more magnificent and the snow was getting deeper.However it was not getting colder. When we reached the south entrance visitor centre, we were told that there were roadworks halfway up to the top which would mean a long delay... actually the delay was long enough to have a power nap we discovered.  So, we got a rest going both to the top and back down and that was a bonus after our previous nights sleeplessness.

So, onwards and upwards snapping shot after shot and enjoying the vistas with mountains, gorges, streams trees but nothing could have prepared us for what we were about to see. I will leave you with a series of photos as we travelled from the Orange Groves to the top. 

Our destination



Spring blues



Spring River water

















Up the mountain...





Spot Ms Howell amongst the trees



Me and General Sherman









Finally we reached as far as we could go, still in awe of these mighty trees  to another visitors centre high up in the park. The biggest tree in the world is called the General Sherman tree and it is a resident of this park.  It is 2400 yrs old and weighs around 1300 tons. While not the tallest, widest or oldest tree in the world - it is the largest when you take into account volume of wood.  The oldest tree is about 3200 years - also a resident of this park - but we weren't able to get to it. When we reached the visitors centre at the top , the walls were pure snow! We watched a video about the bears there. I have included an excerpt for your entertainment.  

The rest of the day was just slowly going back down the mountain - and going on to our final destination for the day in Oakhurst, Ca.  Our next blog will cover Yosemite - and our day 'in the mist'.