This last weekend Sarah and I drove from San Diego to Sequoia National Park. We drove from white sand beaches to feet of snow in a matter of hours. We drove from summer vacation to winter vacation and back again over the course of autumn’s biggest holiday (that’s Thanksgiving, not Halloween).
When I was in the eighth grade, my family and I went to California on vacation. During that vacation we went to Sequoia National Park. We saw the big trees, we stood inside a big stump, and we took pictures with the tree you can drive your car thru. So, I knew exactly what to expect when Sarah and I went to Sequoia this last weekend.
Turns out I have never been to Sequoia National Park (as my mom indicated on the phone the first night – we went to Redwood National Park)… And I have definitely never been to Sequoia National Park during winter.
When we made it to the park entrance, the park ranger informed us that we wouldn’t be allowed in the park without snow chains. This was surprising to us since the entrance to Sequoia looked like this:
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| A little bit chilly, but otherwise a very nice day |
So, we rented those unnecessary snow chains (twice, actually, but that’s another story). When we reached The Giant Forest, 3000 vertical-feet later, we were glad we had the unnecessary snow chains.
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| That is our Xterra at the Four Guardsmen in Sequoia NP |
Sequoia National Park is like no place else. Certainly, everybody knows that there are big trees there, but words cannot do justice to how big these trees actually are. I think perhaps the figure below, does better than most in showing their ginormity.
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| Sarah and a Sequoia height comparison |
