Sequoia National Park and Lemon Cove, California

On February 1, 2018 By LToddIn California, Photography, RV Travel, States, TravelLeave a comment

The next day we managed to get through the 10:00 a.m. traffic flow through the construction zone with no delays. The Giant Forest Museum in Sequoia National Park was our first stop where we listened to a ranger talk about the sequoias. Inside the museum, he had planted a couple of seeds, which had sprouted into tiny seedlings. It was difficult to imagine how those seedlings could grow to the size of The Sentinel that stood outside of the museum.

Capturing the Sentinel from base to crown was a challenge even though it ranked #42 in the Wikipedia list of the largest sequoia trees.

Our next stop was Moro Rock where we climbed up 350 steps to an overlook. I could have stayed there half a day gawking at the views of the High Sierras, the valley below, and the road leading to and from the Lemon Cove.

Generals Highway Twists and Turns. Line of Cars Waiting for Construction Pause.

Tunnel Tree was our next stop.

A short drive from Tunnel Tree was Crescent Meadow where there were plenty of picnic tables. Unfortunately, the insects were so fierce we ate in the cab of the truck. I braved the onslaught of flying pests long enough to fast walk to the meadow and grab a few shots.

A Little Buggy Wanted to Share our Lunch

Dried Out Ferns on Crescent Meadow Trail

Back on Generals Highway, we continued to the Sherman Tree trail. Parking close to the tree is only available for wheelchair accessible parking. Everyone else needs to follow the signs up the hill and then take the ½-mile downhill trail consisting of steps, ramps, and places to stop and rest.

General Sherman, considered the largest tree in the world, tops out at a height of 274.9 feet, has a circumference of 102.6 feet, a diameter of 32.7 feet, and bole (trunk) volume of 52.508 cubic feet.

Taking a selfie with the tree required a long wait while a group of six guys and gals took photo after photo of each other. They took close-ups, far away shots, this person, then that person, one couple and then another couple, turn to the left, turn to the right, and oh, don’t forget to stretch out your arms. Eventually, we had a chance to stand near the tree.

Finally, Our Selfie with General Sherman.

Sherman’s healing fire scar.

Don’t forget to look up once in a while. It’s a way to see the forest in a whole new light.

Walking up the trail back to our truck did us both in at the end of the day. We skipped the Big Tree Trail on our way out of the park and headed toward Lemon Cove for our last night of our 2017 Fall Tour.

As we waited in line for the construction crew to finish up for the day and release the traffic, we reminisced about all the places we had traveled and all that we had seen. Utah gave us the hoodoos in Bryce Canyon National Park, colorful cliffs in Kodachrome State Park, a rushing river, and steep cliffs in Zion National Park.

We walked where dinosaurs once roamed and gazed at Coral Pink Sand Dunes. The drive into Arizona to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon took us through meadows and gave us a glimpse of the Kachina Peaks Wilderness, including Humphreys’ Peak, from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and close up in Flagstaff from the observatory.

Prescott, Arizona, offered us trails to hike, rocks to climb, and introduced us to Sharlot Hall. California gave us trails among the Cholla, Joshua trees, and jumbo rocks in Joshua Tree National Monument and the Giant Sequoias in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park.

Moro Rock from the road

Here’s a Mystery Tree. Can anyone identify?

After our white-knuckle ride back to Lemon Grove, we stopped for gas and took photos of some of the old buildings in this tiny town.

These buildings could use some tender care to restore them to their previous beauty. The name Victor Allred is barely visible on the one building expressing pride to be the owner of the enterprise that once occupied the space. When did businesses cease to use the owner’s name? It seems now most businesses make up words or some kind of catchy acronym to name their businesses.

After 33 days, we were ready to head home on October 27, 2017. It was time to enjoy the holidays and recharge for our 2018 Winter Tour.

Our main destination for our next tour is Galveston, Texas, for our niece’s wedding. We haven’t quite worked out which route to take or what we will see along the way. Where will we go after the wedding? Who knows which direction the wind will blow us.

Safe Travels

Lemon Cove, California, and Kings Canyon National Park

On January 25, 2018January 31, 2018 By LToddIn California, Photography, RV Travel, States, Travel4 Comments

We selected Lemon Cove RV Park in Lemon Cove, California, on October 25, 2017, for our three-night stay 25 miles outside Sequoia National Park. Although close to the road, the campsites sit below street grade dampening the vehicle noise. After getting settled, we drove to the Sequoia National Park visitors’ center to pick up a map and newsletter and inquire about the signs we had seen about the construction delays.

Mountains Tower Above Kings Canyon Floor

I’ve heard stories about drivers ending up in precarious situations if they rely too much on their GPS. I have to admit our trusty GPS backup, a map, got the better of us. Having missed the traffic release window on Generals Highway through Sequoia, our map showed a straight shot north to the Kings Canyon entrance. Thinking it would be faster than waiting to get through the construction zone, we took the Highway 245 detour. It was a lovely drive through citrus, nut, and olive orchards, a few vineyards, and small farm towns. Then the road turned dicey when it became narrow and curvy and increased elevation with each hairpin turn. What happened to the straight line I saw on the map? Once committed, it made no sense to retrace our route. Onward we continued through forested areas and remote property until the road intersected with Highway 180, which took us to the Big Stump Entrance of Kings Canyon.

General Grant Tree Grove

Our first stop inside the park was at the General Grant Tree Grove, which contains a 1/3 mile paved loop trail to General Grant Tree, the Fallen Monarch, the Centennial Stump, and Gamlin Cabin.

General Grant through the Trees Doesn’t Look so Big Here

General Grant, believed to be 1,650 years old, was named in 1867 after Ulysses S. Grant, a Union Army General and the 18th president of the United States. The tree stands 267.4 feet tall, has a girth of 107.6 feet, and estimates peg it at 46,608 cubic feet of wood and bark. What I find impressive is that the tree continues to add board feet and bark, increasing in not only height but also girth.

All about Sequoias

Although Sequoias are the largest living individual thing on the planet, they are not the tallest, widest, or even the oldest. Their trunks, however, occupy more space than any other single organism.

Fallen Monarch Measures 124 Feet from Roots to Top. No One Knows When it Fell

The trees occur naturally in groves on the western slopes of the California Sierra Nevada Mountains within a 260-mile long by 15-mile wide strip between 5,000 and 7,500 feet above sea level.

Centennial Stump is Partially Seen Behind and to the Right of the Sign

The trees’ bark, containing very little pitch and an abundance of tannins, provides built-in protection from burrowing insects, fungi, and fire. In fact, fire is one of the ways the tree reproduces. It clears the undergrowth and low branches and allows the tiny (.16 – .20 inches long by .04 inches wide by .04 inches broad) seeds to open up and flourish. Squirrels and insects also can cause the seeds to release from the cones and sprinkle the forest floor. A cone holds on average 230 seeds, but a tree may only produce one offspring during its entire lifetime of thousands of years.

A sequoia can even heal itself, after it has been burned, by generating new bark around its blackened trunk. The sequoias are also self-pruning, shedding lower branches as it grows taller and reduces sunlight escaping through the leaves.

It is a good thing that the wood of the Sequoia is fibrous and brittle and not ideal for construction. Otherwise, the Gamlin Brothers may have destroyed all of them. They held a logging permit in the area. At one point, loggers did fell the ancient trees for shingles, fence posts, and even toothpicks. Imagine how many toothpicks one of the beautiful giants could produce.

Gamlin Cabin Built 1872 To House the Gamlin Brothers who Grazed Cattle Until 1878

Kings Canyon

A drive through Kings Canyon gives visitors a snapshot of some of the attractions that make California a favorite place to visit. Towering granite cliffs, a rushing river, golden grass, and yuccas captured our attention as we drove beside the Kings River. Most of the campgrounds had already been closed for the winter, and even gates prevented driving down some of the roads. We stopped at Canyon View expecting a spectacular landscape only to find the view blocked by overgrown trees. I think someone needs to rename the overlook.

Montecito-Sequoia Lodge

On our way toward Sequoia National Park, we stopped in at the Montecito-Sequoia Lodge, an all-inclusive rustic resort. The property reminded me of the setting in the Dirty Dancing movie. Open year round, room rates include lodging, meals, and activities. I wouldn’t mind staying there a night or two. It sure would be more convenient than driving in and out of the park each day.

As the sun fell lower in the sky, we continued out of the park, with no delays through the construction zone where the crews had finished up for the day. Low gear was required to avoid burning up the brakes while descending into the valley. With growling stomachs, we watched for the first restaurant to grab a bite to eat before we continued back to Lemon Cove.

Gateway Restaurant & Lodge in Three Rivers looked like a good bet, and we were not disappointed. We sat at a table overlooking the Kaweah River illuminated by outdoor lighting. The snapper, the best I had ever eaten, was accompanied by a fluffy baked potato, plenty of butter and chives scooped on top, and perfectly cooked squash. The memory of the meal makes my mouth water.

Join us next time for a peek at Sequoia National Park.

Safe Travels

Boron and Tehachapi, California

On January 18, 2018January 16, 2018 By LToddIn California, Photography, RV Travel, Travel6 Comments

After four nights in Twenty-nine Palms exploring Joshua Tree National Park, we were ready to find new places to explore. We had Boron, California, in our sights, on October 23, 2017. Not to stay overnight, just to check out the Borax Visitor Center, a place we had driven by for the past thirty or forty years going between northern and southern California. It was time to visit the company that once sponsored the Death Valley Days program on television.

The Borax Mine is located on State Route 58 about 12 miles west of Kramer Junction—where US Route 395 and State Route 58 intersect. We weren’t sure we were headed in the right direction. All we could see as we drove down the road were tall towers, steam rising in columns, and hills, nothing that looked like a visitor center.

When we came to the end of the road, signs directed us toward an unmanned booth along a dirt road. We trusted the billboard that advertised plenty of RV parking at the top of a hill and kept on driving. When we reached the top, the road turned left and sure enough, there was plenty of space to accommodate multiple fifth wheels and buses.

An original 20-Mule Team Wagon set complete with hitched up mule statues welcomed us at the visitor center. The teams carried borax out of Death Valley 165 miles to the nearest railroad junction in Mojave. The round trip took 20 days to deliver 20 tons of borax between 1883 and 1888.

Today the operation mines colemanite, ulexite, kernite, and borax, from a borate deposit, which has been mined since 1927. These minerals are used in agriculture, ceramics, detergents and personal care products, fiberglass and glass, and as a wood treatment to prevent fungal decay and damage from termites, ants, and roaches.

The visitor center is open 7 days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except holidays or during bad weather. Admission is free. Inside the building is a theater where a short movie and talks by docents provide information about the Rio Tinto Mining Company and the history of the pit. Displays show how borax is mined and processed, what products the minerals are used in, and the different types of minerals mined. Outside a ramp takes visitors to a platform where they can watch the giant dump trucks, which look like ants where we stood, maneuver atop the tiers.

Sample of Borate Ore (Kernite) Taken from Mine in 1997

The pit is almost like looking into the Grand Canyon. At 1 mile wide, 1½ miles long, and 650 feet deep, the heavy equipment is dwarfed by the vast landscape. A few pieces of equipment are barely identifiable in the mid-right gray area.

Even Zoomed in, the Equipment Appears Like a Toy Among the Towering Tiers

Back in Boron is the Twenty Mule Team Museum. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and had to get back on the road so we could arrive before dark in Tehachapi where we planned to spend the night.

We found a quiet spot away from the trains and freeway at Mountain Valley RV Park where they offer water, electricity, restrooms, showers, and laundry. There is a dump station but no sewer hookups. A short walk away is the Mountain Valley Airport that serves small aircraft and gliders and operates a café.

Looking South From Mountain Valley RV Park the Last Bits of Sun Paint the Hills

Little Birds Flitted About in the Dry Grass

Hills and Windmills Create a Backdrop for the Hidden Valley Airport

Coyotes woke us around 4:00 a.m. and as the sun rose, the wind grew stronger. Time to hit the road.

Safe Travels

Prescott, Arizona

On January 4, 2018January 3, 2018 By LToddIn Arizona, Photography, RV Travel, States, Travel10 Comments

We headed south on Highway 17 on Sunday, October 15, 2017, the 22nd day of our fall tour. We transitioned onto scenic Highway 89A through Sedona and on toward Prescott, Arizona. We wanted to stop in Sedona and see what the town had to offer, but there was too much traffic, vehicles and pedestrians, and no place to park.

Welcome to Sedona if You Can Find a Spot to Park

Along the way we saw signs advertising Montezuma Castle National Monument, so we detoured east on Highway 260 to Camp Verde, Arizona, to take a look.

Montezuma Castle National Monument

Montezuma Castle is one of three national monuments in the Verde Valley that protect and interpret the legacy of the Sinagua culture. Although it is a small monument, it contains well-preserved cliff-dwellings. A paved trail meanders through a forest of Arizona Sycamore and Walnut trees with an undergrowth of creosote bush, velvet mesquite, catclaw mimosa, and soaptree yucca, to name a few.

Along with Montezuma Castle, Montezuma Well—a natural oasis—and Tuzigoot—an excavated ancestral village—depicts a farming life in the valley some 1,000 years ago. Unfortunately, we were only able to see Montezuma Castle and had to add the well and Tuzigoot to our list of places to visit during a future trip.

Highway 17 would have taken us to Prescott, but we wanted to go through Jerome, Arizona. Jon remembered steep cliffs without safety railings along the road through Jerome, so I braced for a white-knuckle ride. I’ve seen cities built on hills before, but nothing to the degree of how Jerome is situated. Billboards mentioned RV parking, but with so many vehicles around, it was clear there was no spot for our truck and 30’ fifth wheel. We continued on along the narrow street, navigating hairpin turn after hairpin turn until we stopped at a vista point to calm our nerves.

Whew! This View was Our Reward for Making it Safely Through Jerome.

Point of Rocks RV Park and Watson Lake

As advertised, Point of Rocks RV Park in Prescott, Arizona, was a short walk to Watson Lake where we had our first views of the Granite Dells.

The lake, one of two, was created by the Chino Valley Irrigation District in the early 1900s. Today the City of Prescott owns the lake and has preserved it and the surrounding area for recreational purposes. Visitors enjoy fishing and kayaking at the lake and birding, hiking, and rock climbing along the 4.6-mile trail that surrounds the water.

Besides the available outdoor activities around Prescott, we found the preservation of historic buildings and the Sharlot Hall Museum of interest.

Historic Downtown Prescott and Whiskey Row

We stopped in at the Tourist Center and grabbed a pamphlet that detailed the location of the buildings built over 100 years ago.

Bandstand Predates the County Courthouse

The Yavapai County Courthouse Plaza is at the center of the historic district which encompasses a 17-acre area that includes 26 contributing buildings in its designation on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Whiskey Row, across from the courthouse, is where a total of 40 saloons once occupied the commercial space when the street was rebuilt after the 1900 fire destroyed four blocks of businesses.

Whiskey Row Across the Street From Courthouse Plaza

The Palace Restaurant and Saloon, originally established in 1877, is considered the oldest frontier saloon in Arizona. The Palace lists Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp, and Doc Holliday as patrons in the late 1870s. The 1880s Brunswick Bar is still in use, having been carried to safety across the street by patrons before the 1900 fire destroyed the building.

A gentleman costumed in old western attire greets customers as they enter the bar and escorts them to a dining table. After we enjoyed our meal and an Arizona Sunrise Margarita, we took time to walk around the restaurant to check out the memorabilia and photos that line the walls.

Here’s a sample of other buildings around the square.

Dedicated to Lilly Langtry, Jersey Lilly Saloon has a Balcony that Overlooks Courthouse Plaza Square for a Birdseye View of All the Activity

Several Businesses Occupy this Art Deco Building

Prescott National Bank Building on the Corner and the Masonic Temple Next Door

Sharlot Hall Museum

I never heard of Sharlot Hall before, but I’m glad I met her while visiting the Sharlot Hall Museum. She is truly a woman to admire.

Restored Arizona Territorial Governor’s Mansion Once Housed Sharlot’s Collections

Sharlot moved to the Prescott area with her parents and brother in 1882 at the age of 12. She saw the need to collect and protect Native American and pioneer artifacts early on and planned to develop a museum for her collections.

She lived at her father’s Orchard Ranch until 1927 when she moved her collection of artifacts and documents into the Old Governor’s Mansion. She opened the museum one year later. A journalist, poet, and essayist, she served as the territorial historian from September 1909 to February 1912 and lobbied against a bill that would have combined New Mexico and Arizona territories into one state.

1875 Fremont House Shows Period Construction and Furnishings. Used as Residence for 5th Territorial Governor John Charles Fremont

Working with the Civil Works Administration during the 1930s, the Sharlot Hall Museum building was built. After her death in 1943, the entire complex officially became The Sharlot Hall Museum. In 1981 she became one of the first women elected to the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame. Today the museum consists of ten exhibit buildings, four of which have been historically restored.

Constructed in 1934 This Building Houses Many of the Items Collected by Sharlot Hall

The museum operates daily from October through May, conducts four annual festivals, and offers living history events. We enjoyed our visit to the museum and highly recommend it for anyone interested in Native American and pioneer history of the old west.

Memorial Rose Garden Honors More Than 200 Territorial Women

Ranch House Built in the 1930s to Represent the Ranch Homes in the Area

Of all the places we have visited over the past two years, Prescott has to be one of my favorites. With plenty of outdoor activities, museums, and dedication to historical preservation, it is a place I would like to stay for more than three or four nights. I’m sure we will return soon.

Coming up next are a few stops in California.

Safe Travels

The Traveling Todds

Category: RV Travel

Sequoia National Park and Lemon Cove, California

Lemon Cove, California, and Kings Canyon National Park

Boron and Tehachapi, California

Prescott, Arizona

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