Hot hot hot!
8 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 38 °C
Not sure the kids have ever felt heat like this - 102!
Pit stop at 4000' - still HOT
8 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C
Arrival in Dinuba, CA
8 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ⛅ 39 °C
Kids missed a lot of olive trees and corn - which is to say they didn't miss much! The Best Western has a pool with our names on it though.
P.S. Who's the old guy who photo-bombed my shot here?
Breakfast at Grant's Grove
9 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Snagged a sweet camping spot at Azalea campground. Nice ranger helped us out. Now cooking a quick breakfast in the Grant Grove parking lot.
Grant Grove
9 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Walked among the giants. We loved climbing through the old, fallen trunks. We named the branches dragon-eating tree (left) and person raising tree hands high (right). Fun fact - General Grant tree isLeggi altro
Setting up Camp
9 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Kids and I are setting up a bit. I taught Franklin how to wave me back into a spot. Samantha is just relaxing.
Big Stump Loop Trail
9 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
We went for a four mile hike through an area that had been logged a long time ago before the national park had been set up.
More stumps and bugs
9 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
We stood on the Mark Twain stump. People in New York didn't believe the slice of tree brought out in pieces and reassembled was real. They called it a hoax. We also saw a dying tree shedding its barkLeggi altro
Quick dip at Hume Lake
9 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
A beautiful drive over to Hume Lake for a quick dip. Saw the remains of a forest fire from 1955! And - in the distance - snow!!
Dinner and relax
9 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Sloppy Joes!
Hot night in van!
10 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
We did NOT do very well last night - van was much hotter than air outside! We've talked about strategies and will try some new techniques tonight. Also we all started with our heads at one end with meLeggi altro
Drive down to King's Canyon
10 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Amazing drive down 22 miles - took about an hour. So many great vistas. We could hear the river roaring from way up high.
Zumwalt meadows P1
10 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
We stopped at the end of the road and checked in with the rangers. They advised us to take the river loop as the hike up to the misty falls was muddy. Then, as we were getting our packs ready, a groupLeggi altro
Lunch by Roaring River waterfall
10 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
We drove just a few miles and made some freeze dried pasta - not bad. The waterfall was awesome - and loud!
Zumwalt Meadows - getting wet!
10 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
We took a turn on the loop that got closer to the river - thinking there would be more shade - but we ended up bush whacking across a very wet meadow and got our shoes soaked. The skies were darkeningLeggi altro
Relaxing back at camp
10 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
First an almost nap in hammock - now we're going to play Boss Monster.
Dinner and entertainments
10 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
Nice dinner of mac 'n' cheese 'n' hot dogs. Then a little pyro training.
Up and at 'em!
11 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Well - not exactly..we slept very well - much better than the night before. I think we got about 11 hours of sleep!
One thing I mention only for posterity- Kha seemed to have packed for home ourLeggi altro
Climbing Moro Rock
11 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
What a fun climb! The kids were a bit nervous - but they soldiered on. Right away the views were amazing and only got better as we went up.
We even found a little friend at the very top of theLeggi altro
Atop Moro Rock
11 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
Amazing! The ranger told us it was the best viewing day in many months! So beautiful! I kept switching from the long view of the snow covered mountains to the slope just below - where I was hoping toLeggi altro
Tree Fun & Housekeeping
11 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
While mom may have had the kids shower every day in San Diego, let's just say that Daddy Camp plays by slightly different rules. We went and did laundry at a little general store - but we didn'tLeggi altro
A change of plans
11 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
We stopped at LodgePole and saw a very nice little documentary about bears. WE LOVE THE BEARSIES!! We just want to hug them and squeeze them and kiss their little black nosies!
Sorry - anyway - weLeggi altro
A quick hike to a waterfall
11 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
1.7 miles. That's what the guy told us - and every other sucker we met on the trail who all said (in one way or another) "1.7 miles my ass!" Still - the start of the hike was very pretty andLeggi altro
Bearsies!!!
11 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
And then it happened! We'd seen several bears from the car last summer in Shenandoah - including a baby bear eating a deer by the side of the road. And we saw fresh scat on the trail when we wereLeggi altro
The rest of the walk up
11 luglio 2017, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
The rest of the walk was great - so many nice views and the roaring river often near by.
















































































































































That's the Central Valley for you. Had been a huge lake there 100 years agp. On to the Sequoias!