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.
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.
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 |
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'.
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