Trip to Sequoia National Park

After becoming an American Citizen, we took off to the Sierra Nevada Mountain range to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. We wanted to get there as soon as possible to save our camp site for us and the two families that were going camping with us. We were expecting for the campsites to be full, since it was Memorial Day weekend.

The trip there went really well. But as we climbed higher altitudes, it started to get cloudy. We had checked the forecast and it was going to be cool, with a chance of showers in the evening. It was cold. It was cloudy and after setting camp, it started hailing. We had a great time, just the four of us. Our campsite was great. We were on top of a small hill, it had boulders for Arden to climb, a small stream at the bottom of the hill, and plenty of wood to pick for the fire ring.

After dinner, we sat by the campfire for a while and then went to bed early...we knew, it was going to be a long day, the following day. Arden gets very excited when we go camping. He loves it.

The following morning it was cold and cloudy. After breakfast we decided to go the other side of the park, to the visitor center and check out the attractions. As we were driving to that side of the park, the weather worsened. It became very foggy.

The ranger suggested we drive through the Tunnel Log, and hike Crescent Meadow. It was a really neat place. As you can see the trees are HUGE. They are beautiful, too.

This is Arden and Newel walking on top of a fallen tree.

I was impressed at how sturdy these trees are. Some of them are believed to be over a couple of thousand years old. We saw some trees that had fallen almost a hundred years ago, and they didn't even seem like they were starting to rot.

This is Chimney tree. It's hollow inside and well, it looks like a chimney. All four of us fit in it very comfortably. I laid inside the tree, and there was still room for Arden and Newel to walk around.

From inside the tree looking out.

Another hollow tree. When there are fires, the trees can burn, a bit. It gets hollow, but it survives.

After our hike, we headed back to the visitor center, ate lunch and washed some laundry (pee pee accident at night). Afterwards we went back to our campsite. It started to rain, and was still very foggy.

Our friends arrived a couple of hours later. I was inside our tent, helping Maya fall asleep, when I got out of the tent, our campsite was completely foggy, and everything was wet. It was a real bummer.

We decided instead of standing in the cold, we went to see the General Grant Grove to see the General Grant tree...the fifth biggest tree in the world. It was big...oh, and we also walked though a tunnel tree. It was pretty cool.
We went back to our campsite, ate dinner...Newel, prepared dinner, and it was yummy and warm. Afterwards, we perfected the way to make a smore...yum.

The following day, the weather got increasingly worse (it started to snow). It was so wet from the fog, we didn't even attempt to make a fire for breakfast. We got dressed, packed our uncooked breakfast, and went to a small cafeteria, where we used their microwave to make breakfast. It's amazing how good oatmeal tastes, when you've been so cold. We decided to visit a couple of places, including the cave, and then go home.
It was my first time in a cave and Crystal Cave was awesome. It was so neat. Arden's favorite part was helping the ranger open the spider web gate into the cave.

When we got back to our campsite, our tent had a heavy layer of snow on top. As we were packing our stuff, the tent started to cave it on me. All three families pack all of their belongings, have the kids use the restrooms before leaving, within 45 minutes. Talk about fast!

Overall it was a really fun trip. Arden loved playing with his friends and we had a chance to get to bond with our friends...if only the weather could have been better, it would have been a super great trip.