The entrance into the park is up a very steep grade with lots of switchbacks. The road is not recommended for vehicles over 22 feet. Turns out, Great White is 22 feet 6 inches, so he didn't make the cut. We ended up renting this nice nimble Toyota Corolla.
Here is our first look at Moro Rock. We didn't know it at the time, but there is a hiking trail up to the top of that rock. We are so going there!
But first, we had to make a stop at the Giant Forest Museum where we were introduced to Sequoiadendron Giganteum, otherwise known as the Giant Sequoia. Giant Sequoias are the world's largest single trees by volume. Giant Sequoias grow to an average height of 160–279 ft and 20–26 ft in diameter. Record trees have been measured to be 311 ft in height and over 56 ft in diameter. The oldest known giant sequoia based on ring count is 3,500 years old. Sequoia bark is fibrous, furrowed, and may be 3 ft thick at the base of the columnar trunk. Kathy can attest from personal experience that the bark is rather soft and very huggable. David, on the other hand, prefers to keep the trees at arms length.
Giant Sequoias don't die from old age or disease, but they can fall. When this happens, it's lights out. Here is Dave standing next to an upturned tree.
Sequoias live through their roots and their bark. Many of the trees are hollow inside. We got a chance to travel through a section of tree. Here is Dave standing at the entrance.
These trees don't let anything stand in their way. Here is one that decided to just grow up and around a giant boulder.
The only way we could really take a picture of one of these giants was to lay on the ground and shoot straight up.
The other option was to take a short video, so you could see from bottom to top: Tree Video.
Many of the biggest and baddest trees in the park are named. The General Sherman Tree is the world's largest living tree. It may not be the tallest, but it is definitely the heaviest. The base of the tree is 103 feet around. If you look really closely at this photo, you can see Dave standing to the left.
After getting up close and personal with a few trees, we decided it was time to head up to Moro Rock and get the big picture. A stairway, designed by the National Park Service and built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, is cut into and poured onto the rock, so that visitors can hike to the top. The view from the rock encompasses much of the Park, including the Great Western Divide. Here we get a glimpse of the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. More than 100 million years ago, granite formed deep underground. The range started to uplift 4 million years ago as a SINGLE block of granite, and erosion by glaciers exposed the granite and formed the light-colored mountains and cliffs that make up the range.
We stopped at one of the markers along the trail to the top of Moro Rock, when we heard strange sounds coming up from below. We looked over the railing and saw a woman climbing up the side of the cliff.
Because of the air pollution coming from San Francisco, you really can't see down into the valley, but if you look closely, you can see the Kaweah River winding its way down.
Next, we made a quick trip up to the trailhead for Crescent Meadow. We hope to be able to do a longer hike tomorrow through the Giant Forest Sequoia Grove.
As we left the park and headed back down to Visalia, we encountered a bear jam. Mr. Black Bear decided he wanted to use the same road as the tourists. It took almost a mile before he headed off the road.
Sometime, no matter how close you are to the wildlife, if the camera doesn't respond, no one will believe you.
THE END!
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