July 14th – Kings Canyon
Today we drove along the Generals Highway into both parts of Kings Canyon National Park. We made a stop at Grants Grove Village (just inside the eastern gate) to pick up supplies and do the short, paved loop displaying a stand of ‘famous’ trees – these trees were named for Civil War Leaders and states during the latter half of the 19th Century. These sequoias were certainly impressive in size! One fallen log, named the Monarch, had been used for a temporary shelter by Native Americans and early pioneers, and as a saloon and inn and to stable US Cavalry horses 100 years ago!
It was another hot day, and a picnic by Grizzly Falls was a welcomed respite. Unfortunately, the natural beauty was marred by a giant American flag planted over top of the falls – we weren’t aware that these falls were part of a territorial dispute.
We did a short meadow walk in the western part of the park, spotting pretty flowers and fun squirrels. Pretty mottled California ground squirrels have a light V-shaped patch at the back of their neck and shoulders, and the one western grey squirrel we saw was sitting in the middle of the trail munching on an acorn. Other hikers also pointed out a garter snake hiding in amongst dry leaves! (We did see another patch of dry leaves and twigs moving, but it turned out to be a rather long and creepy worm!) We also saw this huge wasp leaving and then returning to its hole-in-the-ground home, which also seemed creepy. The parks are full of large black bees with just a patch of yellow in their heads and sometimes at their bases too. They would have been cute had one not decided that my skirt was a flower!
Kings Canyon has the same geological history as Yosemite valley, with granite valleys sculpted by the passage of glaciers and rivers. The resultant valleys have huge smooth rock walls in parts, as well as rough talus slopes. Our meadow walk wound around under the face of a huge cliff rising hundreds and hundreds of feet over our heads. At our final stop in the eastern section of the park we startled a mule deer doe with two fawns as we pulled up in the car. The fawns were so tiny and spotted that they looked like someone’s pet dogs. But boy could they bounce/run when startled!
To avoid the mosquito onslaught, we had supper in a picnic site far away from our campsite. It certainly helped, although we made a stop to look at roadside flowers on our way back to the tent and were attacked by these pesky bloodsuckers! We’re now wishing for a pet bat to take with us camping.
It was another hot day, and a picnic by Grizzly Falls was a welcomed respite. Unfortunately, the natural beauty was marred by a giant American flag planted over top of the falls – we weren’t aware that these falls were part of a territorial dispute.
We did a short meadow walk in the western part of the park, spotting pretty flowers and fun squirrels. Pretty mottled California ground squirrels have a light V-shaped patch at the back of their neck and shoulders, and the one western grey squirrel we saw was sitting in the middle of the trail munching on an acorn. Other hikers also pointed out a garter snake hiding in amongst dry leaves! (We did see another patch of dry leaves and twigs moving, but it turned out to be a rather long and creepy worm!) We also saw this huge wasp leaving and then returning to its hole-in-the-ground home, which also seemed creepy. The parks are full of large black bees with just a patch of yellow in their heads and sometimes at their bases too. They would have been cute had one not decided that my skirt was a flower!
Kings Canyon has the same geological history as Yosemite valley, with granite valleys sculpted by the passage of glaciers and rivers. The resultant valleys have huge smooth rock walls in parts, as well as rough talus slopes. Our meadow walk wound around under the face of a huge cliff rising hundreds and hundreds of feet over our heads. At our final stop in the eastern section of the park we startled a mule deer doe with two fawns as we pulled up in the car. The fawns were so tiny and spotted that they looked like someone’s pet dogs. But boy could they bounce/run when startled!
To avoid the mosquito onslaught, we had supper in a picnic site far away from our campsite. It certainly helped, although we made a stop to look at roadside flowers on our way back to the tent and were attacked by these pesky bloodsuckers! We’re now wishing for a pet bat to take with us camping.
posted by blumaroo at 9:45 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home