Kings Canyon to Sequoia (and back)

After the back country hiking for 3 days, we went to Grant Grove Village. It's a little area with camping, a restaurant, a store, a visitor center, and showers!! It felt like pure luxury.

We got a campsite and drove around to see some of the main sites in the parks. Kings Canyon National Park and Sequoia National Park are right next to each other, almost like one big park. A lot of the most popular sites are within an hour or so of each other and are easy 1-2 mile distances, some even handicap accessible).

We saw the General Grant tree in the Grant Grove. The General Grant tree is the third largest sequoia tree in the world and is estimated to be around 2,000 years old. Located in Grant Grove, the General Grant tree was nicknamed the Nation's Christmas Tree by President Calvin Coolidge, and remains one of the most popular attractions in Kings Canyon National Park. It is 267.4 ft, and 107.6 ft circumference at the ground.




And other big trees in the Grant grove of sequoia trees:



We went to Panoramic Point in Kings, which is one of the best places to see the southern portion of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It's one of the best places to view the mountains at an altitude of 7520 feet.



One of the things that I HAD to do while we were there was drive through the tree. What I found out, was that the standing tree that you drive through is in a different location. But we did drive through a fallen tree that is called the "Tunnel Log."



Then we drove down to Sequoia National Park to see the General Sherman Tree.



The General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park is the largest (by volume) tree in the world! It is 274.9 feet tall, 102.6 ft circumference at ground, and around 2,500 years old!!

We went up all the stairs to Moro Rock, an awesome view almost 360 degrees of the canyons and Sierra Nevada mountain range:




That night we went to the little restaurant in Grant Grove for dinner and then took showers. Being out in the wilderness makes a fountain drink taste incredible, a salad taste heavenly, and a warm shower seem too good to be true. Bryce was hesitant for the showers since it was 4 quarters for 3 minutes!! But afterwards, we decided it was the best $4 we had spent thus far. :) It felt awesome to be clean and cozy. We slept well that night.