Sequoia & Yosemite

Since it had been several years since visiting Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite National Park, in September we spent 6-days visiting the parks. Because wifi was spotty, we did not create a travel blog at that time  Below are a few pictures of our wonderful trip.

We enjoyed staying at Wuksachi Lodge near Lodgepole.

A wonderful dinner at the Lodge with a beautiful view.

In the morning we were sitting on a bench outside our room enjoying a lite breakfast, and these girls joined us!

You feel very small driving through and walking around the Giant Forest.

General Sherman is the World's largest tree - over 275-ft tall and 36-ft in diameter at the base.

After a 1/2 mile walk down a steep trail, we arrived at Crystal Cave.

The 45-min tour was beautiful and the hike out, well that was another story.

As we headed back, we stopped several times to enjoy beautiful water falls and to rest.

It was a very steep climb back to the car (yes, that's Karen), but the tour was worth it..

More spectacular Sequoia trees in the 'Giant Forest'.

So beautiful!

Before heading to Kings Canyon, we had to drive though one of the fallen Sequoia's.

Such beauty everywhere you look.

The General Grant tree is the 2nd largest tree in the World. Measuring 29-ft in diameter at the base, it stands 267-ft high.

Even the trees surrounding General Grant - her soldiers - are gigantic.

A walk through a fallen giant Sequoia in Grants Grove - wow these trees are cavernous!

Lunch in Kings Canyon alongside the river.

After lunch, we we hiked along the river.

Our next hike took us through the wilderness to a beautiful meadow. We crossed a foot bridge near the parking lot and began our afternoon trek.

We didn't know we would be traversing over rocky trails 1/2 the time. Rough but fun.

What a trail!

A stop along the way to enjoy a beautiful waterfall in the rocks and shade.

Once we reached the meadow, we discovered the bridge at the end had washed out during the heavy rains. Instead of a 2 1/2-mile hike, it was now a 5-mile hike...

 ...and we'd have to go back the way we came - over and around all those rocks. What an adventure.

Still smiling and enjoying the scenery. Tomorrow, we head to Yosemite.

We were unable to secure a room inside Yosemite but, found Evergreen Lodge nestled in the woods bordering Yosemite. In fact, Fromer's call it The Classic Yosemite experience", where you can escape to your very own comfy cabin in the woods.

There are 88 cabins scattered throughout 20-acres of towering pines, each with its own balcony or porch (Karen is enjoying ours). From our cabin, it's a short walk to the camp store (breakfast rolls, ice cream, etc), the tavern, restaurant and recreation areas to include a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, etc. For the next 3-days we enjoyed staying here just 7-miles off Highway 120 and adjacent to the park entrance. Very secluded and we loved it!

Pool, pool house with refreshment bar and Jacuzzi.

Excellent dinner in their restaurant with inside or outside dining.

Approaching Yosemite National Park - what a beautiful site.

First stop - Glacier Point with Half Dome across the valley.

The majesty of Half Dome from high above at Glacier Point.

After hiking around Glacier Point, off we went to the Valley. Guess what hike we took?

Vernal Falls - not much water at this time of year (Yosemite falls was dry), but we enjoyed our 2 mile hike.

The next day our adventure would include hiking to Bridalveil Falls. Like Vernal, the trail was a steep 2-mile round trip hike (that's Bill waving). With the steepness, 1-mile each way seemed like 2 each way!

Plenty of rest stops along the uphill hike.

Beautiful views everywhere we look.

Beautiful vistas.

Karen at the Bridge with view of the river and falls above. Bill went another 1,000-ft. up the trail.

View of the falls in the distance. Like Vernal Falls, not much water this time of year.

After lunch, our last hike was to Mirror Lake.  You can no longer drive to the lake and park as we did years ago. Although it's not a difficult hike, it's still 4-miles round trip at 4,000-ft altitude.

Like most water in Yosemite in September, Mirror Lake was merely a pond, but the hike - be it long - was pleasant.

Evergreen Lodge recreation room.

Other amenities at Evergreen include pool tables, basketball courts, ping pong, hammocks, bocce ball, frisbee golf, zip line, play yard for kids, etc. A wonderful place to stay just outside the gate off Highway 120.

We were so blessed to see Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Yosemite National Parks once again.