Hail to John Muir

After leaving the Cow Palace, we headed to the mountains for some rest and relaxation. Of course, travelling in the winter, one must be prepared for cold weather and lack of open campgrounds! We ended up in Kings Canyon National Park. It is just below Yosemite and shares borders with Sequoia National Park. We drove into the snow and an incredible fog, always wondering what was just below the edge of the road. At 7000 ft we came upon the Park visitor center. They told us only one campground was open and of course it was up in the snow and fog. We traveled 9 more miles to Hume to get fuel for our generator and came upon the Hume Christian camp. They were very hospitable and told us we could park next to the creek and the fish cleaning station. We enjoyed 2 cold, crisp and clear days there. Hiked around Hume lake, drove to Road's End where we encountered our first bear of the trip who was quite the poser. Then off to the enormous Sequoia grove. John Muir first started coming to this area in 1873. Thanks to him attention was brought to this area. Unfortunately, many of these Sequoia behemoths were cut down, some taking 2 men 9 days to bring down. However, there is quite a grove left to behold. Words or photos could never describe what we saw.