Our first day driving into the north entrance of Kings Canyon National Park was a wild weather day. Our campground was situated in the middle of citrus groves in Lemon Cove, a few miles from the base of the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range. When we left the RV that morning the temperature was right around 65 after a rain shower passed through the area.
The weather radar showed the clouds moving south-easterly and we headed on our way, about an hour drive to the Big Stump park entrance. By the time we arrived, the sky was mostly blue. We parked and walked through the grove around the General Grant Tree.
Tour buses were dropping people off and we all followed the paved path to see the huge trees. Wood fences were built beside the path to keep everyone away from the largest trees. There were not many trails to go exploring off the beaten path. It makes sense because this park was created to save the remaining giant trees from logging.
I was happy that I caught the blue sky in my first pictures, but the situation changed very quickly. We crossed the border into the Sequoia National Park and the temperature dropped as we climbed in altitude. Sleet was lightly hitting our windshield and bouncing on the hood.
It was an hour drive between the two General trees with not a lot to do in between. By this time we each pulled out a second jacket that we keep on hand in the truck. I’m so glad we had them, because we saw people walking around in shorts. And it was only 34 degrees! I know they were freezing!
It was a good half mile walk back to the truck from the General Sherman Tree. The sleet got bigger and started to cover the ground. I was worried that the road would be slick as we were headed downhill on the Generals Highway.
Heading south on the highway inside the park, we passed the road to Crystal Cave but it was closed. We also drove through a giant sequoia grove that you could only see from the car since there were no places to stop or hike.
Since we were freezing and there wasn’t much to see, we called it a day and went back to the campground. Of course, it was sunny and beautiful there!
The next morning we drove to the Foothills entrance which was only 17 miles away. It was a perfect weather day and we had planned to stop at some of the things we passed up the day before. It’s amazing what a difference a day makes!
First up was Tunnel Rock. The current road goes around it with plenty of parking spaces to have a look. This rock has been perched here for a long, long time! Thank goodness an earthquake hasn’t moved it.
A large picnic area is across the road from Hospital Rock. Warning signs for bears and rattlesnakes were posted. An actual Indian village was located here many years ago and it was an archeological site in the 60’s.
We hiked on a trail down to the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River. The water flowed around large boulders and several small waterfalls created a soothing sound. The Indians prepared their food on the riverside here.
Without the clouds, we could see a lot more of the mountain range. Darin complained that the driver was not able to look around while winding up and down the steeply graded road. Speaking of winding roads, we tried to drive the 25 mile park road to Mineral King and turned around after five miles. It was mostly one lane with no guard rails. Our nerves could not take it!
On our way back to camp, we stopped at the Kaweah Reservoir, which is fed by the river of the same name. We were shocked at how low the water level appeared. I read that it is 100 feet lower than capacity.
As we approached the opposite end, we spotted a marina with a bunch of rental pontoon boats and some other type of houseboats. The only people we saw were some fisherman on the shore and a couple of smaller boats on the water.
I bet the lake is busy in the heat of the summer. Especially when it has more water surface after the spring snow melt. There were a couple campgrounds right on the water, too.
I soon learned that the reservoir was created for the farmers to use to water their crops. It is the main source for irrigating the hundreds of groves that are home to the san juaquin valley. I can live with that.
Overall, the giant sequoias compared to the giant Redwoods in size except for the General trees. I enjoyed having more trail options in the Redwoods. With Kings Canyon NP and Sequoia NP being right beside each other, it was a bonus to visit two parks for the price of one. If we had stayed on the north side of Kings Canyon NP, we could have easily visited the actual Kings Canyon. I am sorry that we missed it. Now we are off to another interesting place…