We spent the night in Oxnard, California in a large house we found on Air BnB.  It was a huge house in a residential area.  The houses were literally four to five feet apart.  There were six bedrooms and this was the first place we stayed where there was a communal bathroom.  Strange, but comfortable.

We were up before sunrise.  Our destination was over three hours drive-time away and we wanted to get an early start.  We stopped at a McDonalds for a cup of coffee and hopped back on Highway 101 headed north, then getting on Interstate 5.  

The car was pointed east.  We drove past many acres of orchards.  We could see oranges weighing heavy on the branches.  We drove through miles and miles of vineyards.  We passed through a small mountain range.  I was amazed that despite the climb up and down the mountains, we were still on four lanes of an eight-lane highway.  Amazing.  On the other side of the mountains?  More orchards and vineyards.

I read a report online that California produces almost half of all of the fruits, nuts, and vegetables grown in this country, as well as a huge share of the livestock and dairy.  

We passed through miles of active oil or gas fields.  The wells were pumping in and out of the ground.  They looked like robots on an alien planet… something from an old science fiction movie.  

We drove into the Sierra Mountains once again winding our way through granite giants.  The road into the park is winding. The village of Three Rivers sits nestled in the base of the mountains on Highway 198.  There were plenty of small motels and cabins for rent.  We both commented it would be a good place to set up camp sometime for a longer stay at this park.

We were excited to be seeing Sequoia National Park as our last national park on this trip.  

Once we got our “sign selfie” and checked in at the entrance gate, we started our ascent up the mountains.

The road is very windy and vehicles over 22 feet long are cautioned or restricted from passing.  We could see why.  There are many tight, blind curves on the way up… and we were sure the same on the way down.  It took us about 30 minutes to get to our first stop in the park…

The Giant Forest.

As we approached that area, the “wow” factor kicked in…big time.  We had not even gotten to the heart of the forest and already we were stopping the car to get out and sere these giants up close.  The Giant Sequoias are a majestic pine tree… and the ones we were seeing at the edge of the forest were the little ones.

When we got to the heart of the forest, there was a museum and several walking paths in and out to visit the trees.  Walking near the trees is discouraged.  The roots of these giants are shallow and sprawling.  The ground around them is loamy and light… sponge-like.  We understood why when we got close enough to be able to touch one.  The bark that is low to the ground is soft like suede.  

The park has done an excellent job at providing educational signs along the walking trails.  We learned about how the forest regenerates itself.  We saw trees with dark black burned areas, and new growth growing around damage.  We learned that many forest fires do not burn hot enough to kill the tree, yet burn the surrounding smaller trees to open up more sunlit area for the the taller trees to continue their growth.  

This is a long process.  Sequoias can take 3,000 years to mature.

We left the museum area and drove on to find one of the most famous trees in the forest… General Sherman.  

General Sherman Tree stands 28 stories tall and 103 feet in circumference. It weighs 1,385 tons.  That is a big tree.  It is not the tallest tree, but the mass of that tree still standing makes it the largest tree in the world. 

We walked the one-half mile trip down to the tree, and noted the markers along the way.  The markers told us how far up the length of the tree we were standing.  When we got to the base of the tree were were in awe.  There is no way to describe how very small you feel standing in close proximity to it.  We both took photos, including ourselves in the frame, to give some sort of reference for just how big it is.  Indescribable.

As we were walking around the base of the tree, I heard some bird noises in the smaller pine trees off the edge of the trail.  I took a look, and found a brown creeper hopping up the side of a pine tree.  After it got so far up, it flew back to the base and started up again.  Katie Q and I both had the opportunity to watch him scavenge along the bark of the tree.  

We left the General Sherman Tree and ventured onward.  We continued driving north, winding our way up.  We wanted to do a shorter hike, and visit another well-known tree in the forest, General Grant Tree.  We were looking for a place to stop and hike, and found Buena Vista Point trail.

We were both getting hungry, and a bit tired, and Katie Q was looking forward to an early afternoon caffeine fix.  We made a decision to do the trail given it was only a mile long.

Buena Vista Trail took us up to Buena Vista Peak.  The peak is 7,605 feet up.  We only had to climb 420 feet in the one mile hike.  No problem.

We were both hungry.

We were both a bit grumpy… not towards each other… but our mutual silence as we hiked was sign enough to know.

We got to the summit and looked out at the 360 degree view and all of the other feelings washed away.  Katie Q found a boulder.  I went off to find mine.  We could not see each other and were at our own place for at least 20 minutes.

As I wandered around the peak of the mountain, taking pictures, and enjoying the spectacular view, I found a big, flat-topped boulder and sat down.  Then, I laid back and looked up at the sky.  As I laid there, I turned my head a bit from side to side to see all around me… the tops of pine trees, blue skies, a few wispy white clouds.  A pair of ravens soared close by.  I could hear them.  I could feel the granite under my back and head.  As I allowed all of the sensations of being present at that place, an eagle soared overhead… 

Thoughts of my dad rushed in and I was flooded with more emotion on that moment.  

I was at peace.

When we rejoined and started our descent, Katie Q and I shared our experiences on the summit of that mountain.  She too had a quiet meditative experience and felt any sense of fatigue or hunger leave her.  She felt refreshed.

We walked the rest of the trail in silence. When we got to the car, we decided to leave the park and allow that precious experience to be the end of our trip to Sequoia National Park.  

In the car we reflected on how we actually FELT nature on this day, with this experience.  We felt the trees, we felt the soft soil under our feet, we felt the hard granite.  As we breathed, the fresh mountain air filled our lungs, and the mingling of pine and eucalyptus left us feeling invigorated.  

It was once again a spiritual experience.

When we got out of the mountains, we were once again pointed back to civilization.  We drove to Fresno, in search of pizza and beer.  We found great pizza at a place called Blaze Pizza.  Great food, great atmosphere.  Yes, they had beer.

After dinner we did a quick shopping run at Whole Foods Market and headed to our last Air BnB host, also in Fresno.  Although we have hit all of the national parks on our list, our journey is not yet over. 
Bellies full… relaxing for the night… we are eternally grateful that life is good.