Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Park

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The kids were off from school because of parent teacher conferences. So, we decided to make a long weekend of it and travel north to King Canyon/Sequoia National Park. We rent a "Rustic Cabin" through the National Park system. It was a cute one room cabin built in the 1920s. It was very cozy. We spent two night there.

The National park is huge and we needed several days to see it all. We will probably go back in the near future; there was so much to see.

We started out going to Grant's Grove, where the General Grant tree is. It was a short hike around and there were place markers along the way. It was interesting to read about the different trees and about what made for good habitat for Sequoia growth.

We went the first weekend in November and it was considered the off season. There were hardly any people there - which we liked. It wasn't as cold as it historically was. We were able to manage with just our fleece pullovers. I read in the guidebooks that the area is quite crowded in the summertime and to avoid it if at all possible.

We explored the northern part of the park up to almost what is quite literally the "End of the Road". The road stopped at a certain point and to go any further, you had to back pack in. Near the end was Boyden Cavern. Since it was the off season we ended up practically have a private tour. It was our family, an older couple and two twenty-something hikers. It was really interesting to learn how the caves formed and to see all the different formations. The kids enjoyed it and were pretty good on the 45 minute tour.

We also explored the Giant Forest and the learning centers. Seeing the big trees was truly amazing and to know that these tress have been about for at least a thousand years is mind blowing to me.

It was nice being out in the peace and quite of the forest. I'm sure this isn't our last trip there.