Okay. So, Sequoia National Park. We stayed in Lindsay, CA in a Super 8 as said before. That was as close as we could get in the time that we had to make a reservation. That meant about an hour drive to the entrance of the park, which is only about $6 to get into. Also, the Sequoia trees (The Giant Forest) was about 17 miles inside the park. That means another hour drive through the park. The roads are extremely steep, very narrow, and absolutely gorgeous. You will probably average about 10 mph while driving to The Giant Forest. The colors of the leaves vary between gold, orange, red, and green. I wish I took more pictures. However, entering the Giant Forest is definitely when the real show starts. You really do feel like you re in the land of the giants. There are different parts of the park, such as Kings Canyon, which holds the Redwoods, but the Sequoias were enough to blow my mind, thoroughly. The forest is damp and a little foggy, which makes it seem like a fairytale. We took some short hikes and felt miles from the real world. I would love to go back and experience more of the park. We even managed to see some deer while hiking through the park. But, if bear is what interests you, then be sure to check out Yosemite.
Yosemite National Park. This is where shit goes down, as some would say. As I’m typing this, I am actually looking in the thesaurus for the proper words to describe this experience. Hiking through Yosemite is stunning, sumptuous, superb, dazzling; it’s a dream. The lakes are like mirrors-mirrors with fish beneath the surface. The mountains make you feel like you were barely born-they’re enormous. Waterfalls, rainbows, horseshoes and blue moons…Not to mention, we ran into a few bears. The first time, we were hiking in a group of about 15 people. They looked like dark blurs running through the trees. I took off running at first sight. They were only cubs though, so we pointed our cameras and clicked. The next encounter was when we were alone. I didn’t even notice it within ten feet of us. We were hiking around dusk and my friend said “Shit! Matt, what should we do?” I said, “About what?” Then he pointed. There was a fatter cub, ten feet away, eating out of a trunk. We snapped a few pictures, then left quickly fearing th presence of a mother. The cub didn’t even notice us. I can’t say whether these were Grizzly or Black bears, but I would guess Black because they didn’t look too big. I am not guarantying that Yosemite will bring bears, but it is still a worthy place to visit. There are many great hikes in the area, so be sure to give yourself more than a day. And don’t worry about walking everywhere because there is a shuttle system that runs all throughout the park. Check out the pictures.
Quick tip. While driving through Arizona, be wary of random thunderstorms and sandstorms. They can mess with your paint job.
