Day 12: Sequoias!

Today we set out on a mission to find giant trees. Our first stop was Sequoia National Forest.  We drove up the very twisty, foggy road to the find the groves recommended by the ranger that were accessible by road this time of year.  Well turns out when you drive to where the road ends you still have to hike some to find all the big trees.  And guess what...the trails are covered in snow.  So we ended up stopping at a nearby campground in the forest which was quite scenic and had some Sequoias so the trip was not a total waste.  The mountains were dreary and drizzly today so lots of my photos need "help" and I'll try and post more later when I get home and have photoshop.

 Oh look, a log for Legend to pose on!

So then we drove back down the winding, foggy mountain road and headed up north a few hours to Sequoia National Park.  Once there we drove up another winding, foggy mountain road.  As an added bonus there were road construction delays on this one.  Here is Legend waiting for us to take our turn through the construction zone.

But finally!  The road through the Giant Forest...

This is General Sherman, the largest tree in the world.  It's 36 feet in diameter at the base.

 More big tree photos.  It's hard to take a good picture of them.  If you are far enough away to get the whole tree in the shot, they don't seem as big.  But if you are up close it's hard to get enough of the tree to show anything worthwhile  You really have to see them for yourself but I did my best.  The fog adds an interesting element to some of the pictures.

And we saw a few friends along the way

Now, I'm not usually one to disrespect the dead, but this was just a little too funny to pass up...looks like he partied too hard...RIP Squirrel.

On a lighter note, some California wildflowers.

And lastly we stopped at a roadside park on our way back to the hotel.

 She was more interested in the water than posing.