Kent drove the host’s pickup and pulled the trailer out then we hooked up and headed out. Probably the most convoluted in and out so far but ultimately uneventful and we got to get to know some really nice people and their uber friendly dog, Chase.

Looks like we will be heading toward Yosemite tomorrow. That’s if we can get out of the campground! The loop we are in has a very tight turn if we try to pull out. Kent will either have to back the whole rig about ¾ of a mile or take the host up on the offer to pull the trailer out and we will re-hook once we are out in the open. Our total wheelbase is just too long. One way or the other, we ought to be able to work it out

I got to gawk and Kent got to drive the twisty roads again today. We took the car into Kings Canyon National Park. The drive actually through the canyon is still closed. Not for snow though, just waiting for Caltrans apparently. They have say over that last 20 miles or so of road into the canyon. Bummer. Still, we saw the General Grant tree and surrounding grove, walked through a fallen Sequoia trunk, checked out what fire scars look like and saw lots of other great scenery. Hiking is definitely not possible over there either because of icy snow. We checked out some of the other campgrounds and it looks like we will need to tent camp or stay outside the park and day trip in when we come again. Tent camping is the way to go here. We definitely need to return. So much of the park is wilderness and accessible only on foot. Been watching for the bears. None today either.

We visited the Giant Forest in Sequoia today. The General Sherman tree is the world’s largest tree (by volume of timber). Just amazing. We didn’t get to walk much around the trees since there is snow. About 6 feet of it and icy slick. It was a bright sunny morning though and we spent the morning craning our necks to look up at trees and gazing at waterfalls. The snow is steadily melting so creeks are ever swelling. Most years the whole park would be open but unluckily for us, it will be a couple weeks later this year as they wait for the last of their 452 inches to melt. Guess it just means we will have to come back!
The in-park road construction made for a few tight curly miles but no problem for the car. Even when it is all done it isn’t really the place for the motor home. Buckeye Flats campground is here close and looks like a great tent camper place. Secluded and right along the river. Lodgepole campground probably is too, once the snow is off. They claim it is open. We even walked through it but you have to hike in all your gear and camp on deep snow. Doesn’t sound very open to me!

Must be lucky. I just have to look at poison ivy and I get a rash and we tromped right through the poison oak yesterday, several times.

We are in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. All the creeks are flowing as the high elevation snow begins to melt. This time of year is looks much like rugged areas of the Appalachians. We hiked up the canyon of the Marble fork of the Kaweah River. It was beautiful! The falls thunder across huge boulders of white marble. Along the hike, whenever the sun broke through the thick tree canopy, there were wide beds of wildflowers. The redbud trees are in full bloom too so there was a lot of color to accent the thick green trees and undergrowth. They have had heavy snow. There is still 6 feet on the ground at the higher elevations in this park. We plan to check out what we can get to starting tomorrow.

The Ranger warned us to watch for poison oak along the trail. He said there is lots of it but it is easy to recognize since it is shiny green this time of year. Well, just about everything is shiny green here right now! I didn’t see any poison oak but I am not sure if that is because there wasn’t any or whether I didn’t know it when I saw it. I will let you know in a couple days.

He was meandering along the edge of the campground. He didn’t seem bothered by people much so Kent got a pretty good picture before he disappeared back into the undergrowth. Pretty cool.

Just a short walk from camp is a suspension bridge over a wonderful stretch of rough water. It looks a little too wild for kayaking, at least if I am in the kayak. The water is all snow melt so really pretty cold. It is great to look at though