Welcome to Sequoia National Park. It is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains east of Fresno, California. It was the third national park to be established in the USA in 1890 (the first is Yellowstone, the second is Mackinac National Park). We orginally planned to camp out here at the park but I am really glad that we did not because of the threat of falling trees and of course the 2 feet of snow on the ground !.
This park is well known for the massive trees called Giant Sequoia's (
Sequoiadendron giganteum). These trees are in the same family as the Redwood trees (
Sequoia sempervirens) we saw on the coast close to Crescent city (See Crater Lake Blog). These trees are usually shorter and fatter than the redwoods on the coast. When these trees fall down due to natural causes, they obviously leave gigantic carcasses. Often, the national park service will simply put the path rought through the dead tree like you see above.
This is General Sherman. This is the largest (by volume) living thing on the planet. Yes, some trees are taller, and yes, some trees have a larger base but this tree is the largest by volume. This tree grows in the Giant Forest which contains 5 out of the 10 largest trees in the world. Another notable tree in the Grant Grove is the General Grant which stands 268 feet tall. President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed this tree the "Nation's Christmas Tree" in 1926. It is also the only living object to be declared a "National Shrine", a memorial to those who died in war, so proclaimed on March 29, 1956 by president Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Here is Michelle and I and the General Sherman. Check out the facts about General Sherman in the picture below. This is one of the places Michelle and I visited when she came.
As we left the part, we were stuck with an excelent view. I didn't know whe had traveled to heights greater than 6,000 feet as we entered the park. As we were driving out, I put my car in neutral and cruised down the mountain. I didn't use the gas at all for about 25 minutes total. we dropped back down to almost seal level.
This was an excellent adventure. I am very happy I got to see this park.
Welcome to Sequoia National Park. It is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains east of Fresno, California. It was the third national park to be established in the USA in 1890 (the first is Yellowstone, the second is Mackinac National Park). We orginally planned to camp out here at the park but I am really glad that we did not because of the threat of falling trees and of course the 2 feet of snow on the ground !.
This park is well known for the massive trees called Giant Sequoia's (Sequoiadendron giganteum). These trees are in the same family as the Redwood trees (Sequoia sempervirens) we saw on the coast close to Crescent city (See Crater Lake Blog). These trees are usually shorter and fatter than the redwoods on the coast. When these trees fall down due to natural causes, they obviously leave gigantic carcasses. Often, the national park service will simply put the path rought through the dead tree like you see above.
This is General Sherman. This is the largest (by volume) living thing on the planet. Yes, some trees are taller, and yes, some trees have a larger base but this tree is the largest by volume. This tree grows in the Giant Forest which contains 5 out of the 10 largest trees in the world. Another notable tree in the Grant Grove is the General Grant which stands 268 feet tall. President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed this tree the "Nation's Christmas Tree" in 1926. It is also the only living object to be declared a "National Shrine", a memorial to those who died in war, so proclaimed on March 29, 1956 by president Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Here is Michelle and I and the General Sherman. Check out the facts about General Sherman in the picture below. This is one of the places Michelle and I visited when she came.
As we left the part, we were stuck with an excelent view. I didn't know whe had traveled to heights greater than 6,000 feet as we entered the park. As we were driving out, I put my car in neutral and cruised down the mountain. I didn't use the gas at all for about 25 minutes total. we dropped back down to almost seal level.
This was an excellent adventure. I am very happy I got to see this park.
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