Visit to Sequoia National Park California

Sequoia National Park is only a short drive from the township of Three Rivers and it is all uphill through magnificent countryside.Unlike the rugged and stark beauty of the canyons, the visage is very gentle on the eyes with gorgeous flowering trees, carpets of yellow flowers adorn the General Highway and all up the mountain side. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get to the entrance of Sequoia NP and another 40 minutes up the road to the Visitor Centre.  There is currently roadworks in progress and traffic is being let through on the top of every hour.  Beware..the road is very winding and there are quite a few nail baiting hairpin bends.We got our tickets for a tour of the Crystal Caves at the Visitor Centre-quite a reasonable $13 per person. It is another 30 mins drive to reach the Caves,from there it is a 1/2 mile hike down from the ticket entrance. We were rewarded with stunning waterfalls and beautiful vegetation. Tom and I thought the walk downhill was easy peasy but boy, was it a different story on the trip back up!  I'll let the many pictures tell the story however pictures cannot portray the beautous magnitude of this wonder of nature.

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On the way to Sequoia NP

Fast Flowing White Water

Amazingly beautiful fast flowing water

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Betty contemplating is it a big rock or a extra big potato.

One of the many friendly Park Rangers

This is Marble Ridge

Tom on the downward trek to Crystal Cave

Entry to the caves which had bats flying in and out.

The caves had a very fast flowing river running through them making them cool and damp.

4 Deg Celsius, 7,000 feet -Wuksachi Lodge at an altitude of 7,000 feet. Weather from clear to misty with the clouds rolling past the restaurant window during lunch. Tom and I had burgers which were unfortunately not very well cooked...lunch left the building 20 minutes later!!

Snow was still quite abundant.

Entry to the Sequoia Forrest is through this old dead Sequoia.

Betty very appreciative of sheepskin mittens from sister in law, Agnes.

The pictures cannot convey the true size of these majestic trees.

30 persons (or 45 Chinese)can go around the circumference of the Gen. Sherman Tree

General Sherman Tree is the one in the middle and is the largest living thing on the planet.

The root of a dead Sequoia tree.

Great pic of these beautiful giants.

Tom in front of cut out of a Sequoia.

Truly wonderful sight.

Check out the winding roads below-you ascend from approx. 1500ft to 7000 ft

The road into the park is under construction and these workers are working right on the edge of a cliff wearing safety harnesses. All traffic is stopped both ways and then on the top of the hour as they say the flow goes north until it clears and then they allow the traffice coming down to flow. It seemed to work well and the construction is going on 24 hours a day. Cold but what a view for these guys.

Rather tight road in many places with a shear drop down for thousands of feet.

We captured some of the many flora and fauna in the park, being spring everything is in bloom so it has been wonderful.

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This gorgeous flowering cactus is dotted all over the mountainside, they resemble "candles" standing sentinel on the mountains.

Deer cropping at vegetation.

This simply beautiful cream coloured flowering tree is found in abundance in Sequoia.