Big Trees

When we were planning this trip two things I wanted to do was visit Yosemite and Sequoia. Yosemite has always fascinated me and I also wanted to see some big trees. Well I did. They do grow them big around here and as we rode in the shuttle bus to the General Sherman tree we were awed by all the other large sequoias we saw. It is hard to get an idea of how large these trees are when you are underneath them and harder still to relay that immensity through a photo.

We planned to be at the General Sherman tree at 3:30 for a Ranger-led talk but in the meantime we took a short and easy trail through another grove of trees around a little meadow. As we came to the halfway point we saw another bear! Two days, two bears! We are starting to catch up.

This one was in the meadow inside the paved trail that loops it. We watched it graze its way through the meadow towards the trail. It crossed about 20 yards in front of us and kept on grazing up the hill. Now, I must mention, that these bears are not that big. They were about three feet tall from shoulder to floor and weighed only around 150 pounds. Kind of like a big fat dog. These were young bears and very unimpressed with people. We never really felt in danger and were, in fact, more worried about disturbing them than with our safety.

After a light lunch watching a bear we finished the hike and went to see the General Sherman, the largest living thing on earth. As we started down the trail to the tree, another bear appeared! This is getting good! This black bear had quite a crowd and walked along a ridge parallel to the trail. We all got a good look at him and he posed a few times on a log or stump as he foraged his way along.

We finally made it to the Gen. Sherman with a few minutes to spare before the talk. As the ranger spoke to us about the history of the tree someone pointed out another bear up on the ridge. This had the effect of reducing the previously attentive audience down to older tourists and ourselves who where actually tiring of these damned things. I was surprised to watch our kids quickly glance at the bear, that only days ago they would have died to see, and return to the ranger talk. ABOUT A TREE!

We grabbed the shuttle back home and prepared our last true dinner in a National Park. We ate it outside on a massive boulder Samantha chose and had a campfire with s'mores. It was a fitting end to a lifetime of experiences.

Tomorrow we head out to Barstow then Vegas.