Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

When I first decided to come out to California to work for a few months (that extended to an over 10 month stay!) I made a list of places that I wanted to see before I left.  Near the top of my list were both the Channel Islands National Park and Sequoia National Park.  I went to the Channel Islands very quickly after getting here and as my time is winding down, I knew I had to get to Sequoia as well.  When I learned that Sequoia became a national park on September 25th, which happens to be my birthday, I knew that a great way to celebrate turning another year older would be at the park with my birthday buddy.

Sequoia National Park is a little hike from Sacramento, about a 3.5 hour drive to the closest city to the park, so immediately after work the destination was set for Visalia.  Saturday morning the drive to the park was a bit over an hour and as we got closer the trees started to get bigger.  There are always the really big trees that are named but what amazes me the most are the ones that you can walk right up to and feel how tiny we are in comparison.  I love that the trees can burn from the inside out so that they are hollow but still have this massive presence.  It is amazing to think of how many people have passed by and admired those trees simply by how long they have survived.  I walked through tree trunks, wandered through huge groves of trees and walked up to amazing view points.

On Sunday, I headed into Kings Canyon National Park.  It is adjacent to Sequoia and is also home to some of the massive trees but is also home to a great canyon that splits through the park and is awe inspiring on its own.  Unfortunately, time was a bit limited on Sunday as I still had to make the drive home and be ready for work on Monday.  After waiting to see this park and building it up in my mind, it did not disappoint. There was something spiritual and majestic about the parks.  I kept whispering while I was there and I couldn't figure out why.  It just seemed like such a peaceful place and talking at normal volume would disturb the peace some how. Sometimes it is good to feel small and peaceful and this park definitely did that for me.