Family Trip to Sequoia

Our first family trip in 3 years (since we moved Les out to Penn State in 2004) was last weekend in the Sequoias and in my opinion, was one of my favorites.

Although I missed the decency of showering without a timer and flip flops, I loved the absence of technology. No TV, no disruptive phone calls, no computers, and no privacy. All meals were enjoyed together either around the campfire or the picnic table, and if we weren't spending time together talking, cooking or playing some random game we made up, we were quietly and individually enjoying and admiring God's glorious nature - the stars, the forest, the fresh air.

We learned a lot about eachother on this trip and probably a lot about ourselves, too, with the help of The Book of Questions. We hiked, played paddle ball, ate, hiked some more, ate some more, entertained ourselves with our masterful puppetshow, and all the weird things that we usually come up together as a family.

Day 1. We started our trip at 4:30 a.m. and entered Sequoia National Park sometime around 10 a.m. We hiked down to Cystal Cave to explore its immense darkness and mysterious soda straws. After a quick lunch around the car, we stopped to see the General Herman and General Sherman Tree. There, we learned that you can actually take a shuttle from the parking lot to the tree to avoid the 0.4 mile hike! We also witnessed a 40-something year old woman carving her name into a beautifully crafted seqioua bench. Horrified. After the choo choo train up to the car, we finally arrived at Lodgepole where we set up camp and gorged on fajitas, roasted marshmallows, and s'mores.

Day 2. We started the day with percolated coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and leftovers. A chief Indian, err maybe it was Totoro, made a surprise visit to our camp. Around noon we headed out to hike the Tokopah Falls Trail and made it back 4 hours later thanks to our dependable hiking sticks. There were some points on the trail where I didn't think we'd make it to the top, but we did with lots of trail mix, water, a gazillion stops including those to watch the yellow-shirted rock climbers, and singing Father Abraham. Because of the lack of rainfall this year, the waterfall was nothing more than a dripping faucet, so there isn't much to comment on that waterfall. The best part was definitely the spot we picked for lunch. The "slippy" rocks, tiny fish, and log o' fun are definitely must-sees. After our hike, we took a quick drive to see the Wuksachi Lodge and ended our day with hot dogs, jiffy popcorn, s'more s'mores, shooting stars (yes, we waited until Mom saw one), and the famous puppet show.

Day 3. Our surprise visitor this morning was Bambi! After a few cups of coffee and toasted bagels, we packed up the site and headed for the showers. We did a drive-by of Moro Rock to scope out the stairs and after Mom saw a grandmother hiking up the steps with a small child, we were practically running after Mom who was determined to make it to the top. And she did! On our way back down the mountain, we stopped off at Crescent Meadows for lunch. After an hour or so of looking for black bears, and finding none, we headed for home stopping by Happy Wok (thanks Les!). Melvin's perfect ending to any trip.

The best souvenir: Mom saying that she feels like she can do anything after what she accomplished that weekend. Priceless.