Our first main stop was Kings Canyon National Park. We arrived late afternoon on Monday and checked into our 'rustic' cabin within an area called "Grant Grove Village"
After unpacking it was time to do some exploring around the village:
The next day we ventured further into the national park:
We went to see some Giant Sequoias, they really are HUGE:
The plan was to go on a 7 mile hike, but about 1/4 mile off the beaten track I spotted a black bear. Following all the instructions and advice that is posted everywhere in the park I wanted to go back the way we came and return to a more populated area. Matt and Josh really missed out on a chance to be supportive gentlemen... instead they chose to ridicule and tease me. Not their proudest moment. But I got my way and we did indeed head back. We didn't get to do a large hike but we did get to see some other cool stuff.... we headed to Moro Rock Summit.
After climbing up stairs carved into the rock and passing through narrow passageways we made it to the top!
Here is a view of the rock from another vantage point.
After a busy day exploring we came back to the cabin and made a hearty dinner of baked potatoes (baked in our wood burning stove), baked beans and cheese. This is my favourite camping food!!! Josh said it was the best baked potato he'd ever had. He must have been hungry!!!
This morning we headed to "Grizzly Falls" to explore a waterfall. I used the chance to experiment with my new camera. The photo on the left is taken using the automatic mode. The photo on the right is manual control playing with shutter speed etc. I was attempting to soften the falling of the water. The photo on the right is overexposed
As I was practising, Matt and Josh climbed up beside the waterfall.
Kings Canyon has some breathtaking scenery, the scale of which I have not seen any place else. I have travelled through the Rockies and the Appalacians which both have impressive scenery, but the size and scope of the Kings Canyon is so much bigger. It's amazing!!! Photos really don't do it any justice whatsoever.
Take this photo from my iphone, this was at a stop along a massive canyon. You really can't get an idea of the size of the place, how deep the canyon was or how far away the mountains in the background are.
For lunch we stopped for a picnic at Hume Lake:
While Josh went for a post-prandial swim, I lay down and enjoyed the view...
Thus ended our time in Kings Canyon National Park. By 1pm we were heading further west towards San Francisco.
We are spending the night in a city called Pleasanton, about 40 miles from San Francisco. We walked around the downtown area looking for some place to eat for dinner. We decided on a place called Stacey's where I chose a chipotle prawn dish served on a bed of mashed potatoes with a corn relish. It was DELICIOUS!!! The chipotle sauce was out of this world.
Matt opted for fettuccine puttanesca while Josh had the crab-crusted halibut. Clean plates all around, so Josh and I were allowed to split a creme brulee.
We're now back at our hotel for the evening. Matt is up early tomorrow to take the Tahoe into a windshield repair place. He spotted a ding in the windshield as we were approaching our hotel.
Our aim is to be in San Francisco for lunch tomorrow. We will be spending 2 nights at Fishermans Wharf. Josh is looking forward to touring Alcatraz, I'm looking forward to touring Starfleet headquarters!
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