When I had just turned five, I went on a weekend trip to Sequoia National Park with my paternal grandparents. It was summer and baking hot. I remember eating orange flavored popsicles and feeding peanuts to the friendly squirrels that visited our cabin in the woods. For a souvinier, my grandparents bought me a wooden jewelry box that I still own. I also lost my first tooth on that trip, and much to my mom’s dismay, the “tooth-fairy” left twenty-dollars under my pillow.
Other than pictures, I don’t actually remember seeing the massive redwood trees, especially the impressive “General Sherman",” which has the distinction of being the largest single-stem tree on earth.
Dan had not visited Sequoia, and my memories of it were hazy, so we added a quick visit to our 2019 road trip itinerary.
The drive up into the mountains took us through beautiful farmland and winding curves.
We arrived at the entrance gate for park opening and paid our 35.00 car fee. The park was not crowded during our visit, which was on a Monday in early September.
Sequoia National Park has several warning signs to remind visitors to be respectful of plants and wildlife. We did not see any bears, but we did see deer!
We stopped at the Foothills Visitor’s Center to get our bearings and to make a plan for visiting the park, before heading off on the road to see General Sherman. Minutes into our drive we were surrounded by a canopy of enormous trees.
The walk to General Sherman was relatively short, taking us about fifteen minutes at a leisurely pace. There were many warnings, because the climb down is at a steep grade and the altitude is high. We had already spent a few years living at a high altitude in Big Bear Lake and did not feel affected by it, but we did see other visitors that were clearly struggling. There are many beautiful spots to rest and the path is wide, not intimidating at all, but I’d recommend bringing water and sturdy shoes.
That’s a tall tree!
and a massive trunk!
But not bigger than the star of Sequoia: General Sherman.
Here are my less than spectacular Sequoia pictures from the early 80’s, where I rock the Dorothy Hamill cut and my grandparents cut the tree out of the picture.
We briefly stopped at the Giant Forest Museum to see another enormous redwood named Sentinel, admire the cute stuffed animals for sale, and have a pee-break before driving back to Big Bear Lake.
I wish we had been able to spend more time at Sequoia National Park. I wish we had brought hiking shoes and had been better prepared to explore. I also wish that we had been able to see the tree with a hole that you can drive through the middle. How cool is that? I mostly wish that I had taken advantage of our proximity when we lived in California to visit this enchanting land of giants. Sequoia National Park is truly a magical place.