Among Giants in Sequoia (Plus a Quick Dip)

It's not that easy to get to Sequoia National Park (only two roads in, both from the west), but it's well worth a visit. Only a few hours from Yosemite, but far less crowded, it boasts scores of magnificent Giant Sequoia trees, some of the biggest trees on Earth. General Sherman, while not the widest or tallest, is the largest living tree (by volume) in the world.

General Sherman, largest tree in the world (giant sequoia)

Their bark is fibrous, thick and fire-resistant. And their pinecones are amazing. According to the internet, a mature giant sequoia has about 11,000 cones at any given time, and can disperse 300,000–400,000 seeds per year!

Giant Sequoia Pinecone

Camping at Dorst Creek Campground was absolutely perfect. The spot in which we chose to settle down happened to start a trail leading down into the forest. At the end of the 5-minute hike was a magical oasis: a peaceful creek consisting of waterfalls trickling over smooth rock and a large wading pool.

Sequoia - Dorst Creek

The next morning, we awoke early and ate a quick breakfast before heading back to paradise for a bath (it had been 3 days without a shower!). It was bitter cold but wonderfully refreshing!

P.S. Can you name the only tree that has all five vowels?

Two Nights Camping in Yosemite

On our way back to New Mexico from a Palo Alto wedding in July, we decided to stop off and see one of the most epic national parks in the states: Yosemite. Known the world over as a superb destination for climbers, the vast valley surrounded with mountains is home to the granite giants Half Dome and El Capitan, two of the most famous rock climbing challenges.

During the summer months, the campsites down in the valley are mostly reserved ahead of time, so we camped one night at Tamarack Flat, on the north side, and then one night at Bridalveil Creek, south of the valley. The first morning, at Tamarack Flat, we spotted two chipmunks kissing on a boulder just behind our tent.

We got moving pretty early so we could stake out our second campsite before spending the day down in the valley. We were happy to find a sprawling site equipped with boulders and much-needed shady trees, where we were even able to set up our camping hammock! Since we knew we had a campsite to come back to, we headed to the valley.

For us, a highlight of the valley was Yosemite Falls. We followed a path to a viewing area, then scrambled our way through the woods and over boulders, ending at the place where the tallest waterfall in North America pounds the boulders and creates a gorgeous (swimmable) pool.

While driving back to our campsite, somewhat dazed from the awesomeness of nature, a confident coyote trotted up right next to our car for a brief photo op! I grabbed my iPhone and Kristen grabbed the Canon 7D, but neither of us were quick enough to get a crisp shot.

The next morning, we packed up our campsite with the intention of getting to our next destination, Sequoia, as soon as possible. We'd only driven 15 minutes from our campsite before we couldn't resist the urge anymore and to stopped off at a serene and colorful meadow. We spent a half hour exploring the native insects and flowers, but easily could have stayed all day.

Next time, we're bringing our climbing gear!

Video: 7-Week Roadtrip

We quit our jobs and went on a roadtrip in the summer of 2012. Unfortunately, we forgot to film most of the trip because we were focused on taking photos, so the video is lacking a lot of what we did. But it's a fun video nonetheless. 

Grand Tetons, Wyoming

The Grand Tetons, french for the big tits (no joke), are so picturesque, so memorable... at least, that’s what we’ve heard. We didn’t have much time to spend wandering and hiking around these stunning mountains, so we had to defer to the guide books on this one. It’s true, the mountain range is indeed spectacular from almost any vantage point, as they abruptly rise out of the fairly flat Wyoming prairie, allowing onlookers to gaze at the mountains in their full glory. But we’re sure it would have been even better close up, on a long hike or a nice boat ride on Jenny Lake. This park is going on the list of places to revisit for longer than a couple of hours.

Binoculartown, USA

From Bozeman, our next official stop was Colorado, and fortuitously our route took us through possibly the most awesome national park, Yellowstone. We’d both spent time here in this amazing place, but few things are as exciting as entering through the Roosevelt Arch and preparing for some inevitable wildlife encounters. Our plan was to enter through the north entrance, wind down the eastern route, and exit out the south gate, stopping along the way to gaze at animals and natural wonders. First stop was at Mammoth Springs visitor center to get the obligatory national park stamp in our dorky passport. As an added plus, the area around the visitors center was surrounded with elk grazing in the grass. The taxidermy wildlife exhibit there is fascinating, and another room held beautiful old black-and-white photos of early Yellowstone explorers. After the short visit, we moved on.

We anxiously peered out the car windows as we drove through the wilderness to our next big stop, Yellowstone Falls, seeing a few lone bison, but not much else. We parked and walked out to Artist Point, one of the best vistas to peep the tremendous waterfall, but it was getting late in the day, and the sun was lowering on the horizon just beyond the falls, obscuring the view in shadow. That was fine by us, because it made for a stunning photo anyway! Looking the opposite direction (with, rather than into, the sunlight) we marveled at the canyon walls’ dozens of layers of colorful sediments.

Yellowstone Falls

Back on the road, we saw a swarm of people with telescopic cameras and high-powered binoculars all looking in one direction. Our first thought: grizzly! We swung the car around and double-parked, eager to catch a glimpse. Loren asked a guy nearby, “What’s everybody looking at?” to which we learned, “Apparently there’s a wolf over there.” We took aim by lining up our telephoto lens and binoculars with somebody else’s equipment, and eventually identified a tiny black blob, laying in the grass just outside the forest, about 3/4 mile away. The usual wildlife-obsessed nerds were at full force, and we overheard one of them say, “Shh! I think it’s howling!”

“There’s a wolf out there?”

Just a few minutes further down the road, we noticed one or two cars pulling over to the shoulder, so we acted fast and followed suit. We jumped out and stood watching a beautiful, calm coyote walking slowly through the tall grass, no more than 50 yards away. Wildlife... can’t beat it.

Coyote

This Yellowstone drive didn’t include any bear sightings, but we managed to see several herds of buffalo, some very close up, before it was all over.

Bison / Buffalo

At this point, it was getting late, and we didn’t think we could get much further towards Colorado, so we decided to camp in Yellowstone for the night. We easily found a site at the southernmost campground, Lewis Lake, enjoyed an enchanting campfire, and turned in for what would be the coldest tent-camping night of the whole trip (bottoming out around 30 degrees Fahrenheit!).

Campfire at Yellowstone

The next morning, we made our way out of the park, winding through the southern stretches which were coated in thick fog. Like nowhere else.

Glacier National Park

Of all the national parks in this beautiful country, we had been itching to get to Glacier for years. This entire road trip formed around our visit to Glacier, because we had to budget enough time to be able to get a good feel for the park and its fast-disappearing namesake glaciers. (It is estimated that by 2020, all of the thirty or so remaining glaciers will be gone. See them while you can.)

Before we arrived, though, it was time to get the car checked, so we’d have peace of mind that we wouldn’t breakdown in the mountains! We landed in Kalispell, Montana, which is really at the foot of the mountains and a sort of gateway into western Glacier. Luckily, Kalispell is a big enough town that we could get the oil changed and all the major fluids topped off in the car, and the stop seemed quicker than ever (we had only enough time to post one blog using Valvoline’s free wifi). Then we headed into the Park, flashing our National Parks annual pass at Glacier’s southwestern entrance.

Lake McDonald

Since we arrived a little too late in the day to venture into the wilds of the park, we went straight to the first campground, near Apgar Village. After setting up the tent, we drove up the road a bit to check out Lake McDonald, exploring the shores just before sunset. Beautiful rugged mountains reflected in the pristine lake, and we were in disbelief that we’d finally arrived at this pinnacle of a National Park. Thankful for the warm, mild late summer evening, we returned to camp ready to cook up a storm.

Apgar Campground

We made a quick barbecue sauce again (sriracha, bacon fat, tomato paste, lemon juice, Mrs. Dash, and honey, to name a few ingredients), but we’d stepped out of our chicken comfort zone and opted instead to try our hands at campfire-grilled pork. As an accompaniment, we roasted foil-wrapped diced apple, onion and celery. It was our first time campfire-cooking real pork (this was no Spam), and it turned out alright, if a little dry from a bit of overly-thorough cooking. The cooked apples, which we nabbed from the hotel in Idaho, were tasty and complemented the meat nicely, but it wasn’t quite a slam-dunk. There’s always room for improvement! We stayed up later than usual, relishing the mild temps, which was a surprise given how far north we were!

Pork dinner

At some point, the temperatures must’ve plummeted, because we awoke to a chilly but sunny morning. Makes sense. Eager to see the park, we quickly ate some yogurt and a banana (again, courtesy of the Idaho hotel), and then set out onto Going-To-The-Sun Road, which famously winds its way through the park. At the middle point, we crossed over the Continental Divide at Logan’s Pass, which offers some outstanding views of the vast wilderness. Continuing on to the eastern side of the park, we set up our tent at Rising Sun Campground, and then hopped back in the car to go back to Logan’s Pass.

Glacier National Park - The faint line on the mountain to the right is the Going-To-The-Sun road!

Our first hike was the Highline Trail, which in its entirety amounts to about 15 miles, but instead we chose to do an out-and-back for about an hour. It was a little freaky in the beginning, because there was a group of people coming from the opposite direction, speaking of a grizzly cub that’d been following behind them on the trail, just seconds before we arrived. That could’ve been pretty amazing to see, but everyone was a bit on edge because the grizzly mother was nowhere to be found. After a few minutes of wavering (Should we? Should we not?), we continued down the trail. Highline Trail is pretty cool because you stay at around the same elevation as Logan’s Pass but cutting a high line (get it?) across the mid section of the mountain. At one point, the trail got pretty narrow, beckoning hikers to hold on to the wire lines at the inside edge of a cliff that dropped down at least a hundred feet to the road. We wondered how often someone accidentally kicks loose rocks that fall and damage windshields...

Highline Trail was also great for wildlife watching. We picked out several mountain goats, an easy thing thanks to their stark white coats, and we were surprised with how sturdy they looked. Much harder to see because they absolutely disappear into their brown rocky surroundings were a few huge and intimidating bighorn sheep. Just off the trail we briefly saw a pika, an adorable high-mountain member of the rabbit family that looks like a cross between a rabbit and a mouse, whose numbers are beginning to dwindle due to climate change (they are suffering from declining habitats, and have to head higher and higher into the mountains, chasing their native high rocky zones). We also saw a chipmunk, always captivated by their short, quick movements and beautiful little coats. There was also an abundance of wildflowers and amazing views down the valley.

Bighorn Sheep

Pika

Mountain Goats

One of many Ground Squirrels

After that short jaunt, we walked across Logan’s Pass and up onto another trail to Hidden Lake, again about a mile long. The first half of the trail is an elevated wooden boardwalk, with some stairs built in, to make it “easy” for people. It’s funny though, because we think it’s actually harder on your feet to walk on those planks rather than plain old dirt and rocks. At the end of the trail we stopped to snack on some jerky, taking in the amazing surroundings and always half-wondering what wildlife was out there hidden by the distance.

Overlooking Hidden Lake, Glacier National Park

Then we started back, and about halfway down the trail we experienced the most entertaining wildlife sighting ever. We were walking on the elevated boardwalk of a trail when we spotted a hairy animal about the size of a woodchuck. Unsure of what the creature was, Kristen started to ask and just before Loren could answer, a passerby said “Marmot” without breaking pace. This marmot was adorable and apparently not afraid of humans, eating the yellow wildflowers and their leaves, which cracked us up. See, he was not only the first marmot Kristen had ever seen, he reminded us so much of one of our cats back home, Wally. We’ve always said that he’s part dog, part walrus, part otter... Now we know he’s also part marmot! This little guy was so goofy and clumsy, we spent about 10 minutes watching him and giggling, until he was out of sight.

Determined to get in at least one more hike before the sun went down, we drove a few miles east, back toward our awaiting tent, and stopped off to do the 1 mile hike to the beautiful but not gigantic Mary’s Falls. We sat for a few minutes to take in its mesmerizing constant flow, then explored a bit more off the trail before heading back to the car.

Marys Falls, Glacier National Park

Back at camp, the drizzle that was picking up started to come down a little heavier, making it harder and harder to make dinner and keep up the campfire. We roasted one foil-wrapped yam and when it was ready, we split the package in half and each used a bit of butter for taste. Easy and delicious! A new camping tradition, perhaps. Next, we ate sardines in the car, right out of the can, to avoid the falling rain and also make sure the fish-smell stayed in the car and not near our tent (it is bear-country after all!).

Glacier National Park, Rising Sun Campground

Campfire sweet potatoes with butter

Lucky for us, the heaviest downfall didn’t start until we were safely inside our tent for the night. Great timing. Believe it or not, this was the first rain we’d received in over three weeks, even though we’d been traveling through Northern California, Oregon and Washington.

Welcome to Oregon

With the prospects of exploring a new state, we crossed our first state line in 15 days and were filled with excitement as we made it into Oregon. First up on our agenda was a stop at Crater Lake.

The deep, rich blue colors that emanate out of Crater Lake seem otherworldly, and it’s pretty mind-boggling that the beautiful lake was born out of a catastrophic geological turn of events. What is now calm, placid lake water was once a mountaintop that exploded in a volcanic eruption, creating a caldera that is as deep as the sheer cliffs surrounding the lake are high. It’s America’s deepest lake, and it seems as though the underwater ecosystem remains rather mysterious even to this day, with few expeditions into the deep blue lake to chart the strange creatures at the bottom.

We explored a few overlooks and hiked up to a few vistas, and it was beautiful. From one spot, there were so many grasshoppers out that it sounded like the tic-tic-tic-tic-trrrrrrrr of sprinklers. At another spot, neon chartreuse-colored moss balls clung to dead trees and rolled around on the ground, seemingly looking for another home. The tiny pinecones were also rather endearing. After a few different vantage points, we kept on trucking further into unknown territory, a city we've been planning to visit for a long time...

Bend, Oregon, is a charming little outdoorsy town that could definitely end up being a relocation destination. This part of Oregon is sheltered from the coastal rainy weather by the mountains, so it therefore enjoys better weather (which has been a drawback to a few of the places on our relocation list) than much of the state. It’s also very close to skiing (Mount Baker), and a couple of hours from Eugene and Portland. We stocked up at REI - Loren replacing some age-old khaki pants that were at least 3 sizes too big for him with some better camping pants which he may have found in the boy’s department (it’s not easy finding 28x28s or men’s XS).

While driving to the downtown area, we passed the cyclepub and kicked ourselves for not having the camera ready. It’s exactly as it sounds: a pub that’s on wheels, with patrons all facing in on each other pedaling to move the pub from one spot to the next. Drunk cyclists? not really - the contraption appeared to be commandered by a sober coxwain-type, facing forward at the back of the thing.

So we parked and mosied our way around the historic downtown parts, window shopping at a few closed stores (it was after normal business hours), before sitting down for dinner at a cute restaurant called Zydeco Cafe. True to Oregon style, this restaurant focuses on high-quality, organic, sustainable, local foods, and the food was a treat from our couple of nights in a row of campfire meals.

Bend, Oregon - Zydeco

Loren’s dish was wild boar! Absolutely delicious. Kristen’s dish was a safe steak, which was also mouth-wateringly yummy. What made both dishes even more memorable was the roasted veggies side - butternut squash, green beans, peppers, and pearl onions - we couldn’t have done it better!

We drove through a couple of sleepy neighborhoods after dinner, even though it was dark, which confirmed our suspicion that we could see ourselves living in this quaint town. Then we headed for the hills, where we found a campsite at a National Wilderness area. We set everything up in the dark and quickly retreated to our sleeping bags.

Camping outside of Bend

Redwoods (Last Hurrah in California)

About 4 hours or so from San Francisco, we retreated into the quiet, fragrant woods of northern California. We opted to drive the Avenue of the Giants, a scenic byway within Humboldt Redwoods State Park that basically parallels the main road and offers a free glimpse at these huge trees. If you’re in the area and passing through, absolutely do the Ave of Giants; it’s worth the extra time (and, again, it’s free). We explored a grove near a turnout, then went straight to the campground, with fingers crossed that we didn’t need a reservation. Our timing couldn’t have been better, because the campground would be closed for the season in just a few more days. We lucked out yet again, finding a great campsite that was tucked away, a short walk into the woods from the parking spot. It was almost like backcountry camping, a bit different than the normal tent/RV city. Also, we had the feeling that we were actually surrounded by nature. Yep, we awarded Humboldt the title of best state park.

The next morning, we stopped at the visitors center, which was surprisingly informative and entertaining. One draw was the incredible taxidermy exhibit, showcasing the variety of animals to be found in the area. Also, the eager-to-help volunteers gave us some great tips on what to do in the park with only a couple of hours to spare. Humboldt houses a bunch of the world’s tallest trees, and the trees exist in their natural glory (with the exception of Giant Tree, which had a bit of a walkway around it). It is incredibly humbling to stand next to a living thing so large, and with such a vast history.

Coyote taxidermy at Humboldt Visitor Center

Frog at Humboldt

Hugging Giant Tree (Humboldt)

Kristen and Loren are both lovers of trees, and Redwoods especially, after having read the fantastic book “The Wild Trees.” If you’re at all interested in climbing, trees, and/or biology, you should definitely read this book. The book details the recent attempts at finding and measuring the world’s tallest trees, and the ecosystems that exist at all levels of the tree - especially in the sky-high canopy. We both wished we had the book on hand to turn to pages mentioning the specific trees we were admiring. Unfortunately, the State Park has trouble keeping the book on its shelves, it sells out so quickly; it’s been backordered for months now (though the National Park had it...).

Not too much further north lies the Redwood National Park. Since we spent a bit longer than expected in the state park, our timing was a bit off: we arrived too late to grab a backcountry camping permit, which basically meant we needed to make it out of the park for camping. So, with limited time, we tried to explore what we could of the park in and not too far from the car. That left us a few options, and we did a couple of short hikes that gave us a taste of the park. Circle trail and Cathedral Tree trail were two favorites.

We couldn't resist stopping to take a photo of the giant statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe, at the Trees of Mystery tourist trap, just off 101 near the National Park.

Paul Bunyan and Babe (Loren in front for scale)

We also paid a visit to a small grocery inside the park and bought a few essential items, including veggies, eggs, avocados, sausages (for that night), and the best camping food choice yet: yams (more on that in a later post). A bit sad we were already leaving the park, we kept moving and arrived at Patrick Creek Campground, about 45 minutes north of the National Park.

Despite having beautifully mild weather, we had to bundle up because the campground was home to thousands of mosquitos, and we were being eaten alive. Every 10 seconds or so, one of us would say “hold still... got one.” Overcoming that slight annoyance, we made a delicious dinner of grilled sausages and fire-roasted veggies (red bell peppers, onion, and zucchini). We also made friends with our campground neighbor’s dog, a small little black dog (keeping in line with the all-black small animal theme) which we were told was a Chihuahua - Papillon mix. We almost stole her she was so cute.

Sausage, veggies and sriracha

That was our last night in the great State of California. We’d stayed a whopping 15 nights, and it was time to move on. Thanks, California! It’s been great. We can’t wait to come back.

The Grand Canyon: National [Amusement] Park

Located a couple of hours from Sedona, the Grand Canyon’s south rim has been turned into an amusement park of sorts. With parking lots full and people clogging the sidewalks and vistas, it’s a little overwhelming. We stopped in a few spots to snap photos, and while the immense canyon was incredible, we were a bit more focused on getting to the campground.

Kristen at the edge

Grand Canyon campsite

Luckily, we arrived in time to grab one of three campsites that hadn’t yet been claimed. By the time we set up everything and started on dinner, the sun was setting and there was a steady stream of cars looking for open campsites. The weather was cool enough to require long sleeves and pants, a first for us so far, so we cozied up next to our first fire on the trip, staying up in the dark hoping for another chance at the Perseids meteor shower before turning in for the night.

Fire starting

Camp dinner

We woke up after a fairly restful night and headed to the Desert View Overlook, which is normally choked with people but we arrived early enough to have a few minutes to get some good photos. Taking mental note that the next time we visit the Canyon, we want to a). see the less-traveled North Rim, and b). hike in and around the Canyon. Then we moved on.

Surprising Sedona

We left Albuquerque in a whirlwind with our sights set on Sedona, Arizona. We made two notable stops along the way. First was Gallup, NM, a small town near the NM/AZ border which Hollywood put on the map thanks to the many westerns which were filmed near there. The town is famous for the El Rancho Hotel (and motel), located on historic route 66 and built in the 1930s specifically for traveling film crews and silver screen stars. The main lobby area of the hotel is beautiful and unique, with an enormous stone fireplace flanked on either side by twisting staircases to the overlooking second floor. Rooms are named for the stars who frequented them. And the food smelled delicious, though we opted for our own cheaper fare.

El Rancho

The second stop we made was Petrified Forest National Park. Highlights of the park were the vistas overlooking the Painted Desert, and learning about how the fallen logs turned to stone over the years. The park is one of those over-managed places, where you can’t walk anywhere off the path (at least in the parts we saw). It was sort of disappointing in that way because you couldn’t get a good look at the majority of the petrified wood. But after 30 minutes of walking around and stopping at as many pieces as possible, we were ready to move on.

Crows at Painted Desert

Petrified wood

Petrified wood detail

We could feel a repeat of the Carlsbad experience creeping up on us as we drove past Flagstaff and into the forest that leads to Sedona. As the sun was setting, we passed three campgrounds with no vacancy (it was Saturday night...), and the only RV park in Sedona did not allow tent camping. Outlook not so good.

After driving the resort-style main strip of Sedona, we landed at a motel called the King’s Ransom. The room was more expensive than we’d wanted but in the spirit of preventing another Carslbad bad motel experience, we bit the bullet and took their last room. Loren was quick to check out the attached restaurant, Elote Cafe, on Yelp and as it happened we’d landed at one of the best places to eat in Sedona! After a long wait which included sampling some of the leftover wine from ABQ and some of Elote Cafe's fresh margs, we soothed our growling stomachs around 10pm mountain time/9pm Arizona time. [Q: Why doesn’t Arizona follow Daylight Savings?]

Elote Cafe

We were also fortunate that our room had a walk out patio from which we could wander into the courtyard-ish area to watch the Perseids meteor shower. It wasn’t the best stargazing we’d seen (thanks, West Texas, for spoiling us!), but we each saw at least 5 shooting stars. We passed out after fighting to stay up to see the rumored hundreds per hour, which never delivered.

King’s Ransom Hotel

The next morning, filling up our bags with continental breakfast fruit and having a couple of boiled eggs, we set off again to see more of beautiful Sedona. We made a mental note that this place could be a candidate city for retiring: beautiful red rock mountain vistas, nearby Slippery Rock State Park (which we didn’t have time to see), a nearby National Forest, emphasis on outdoorsy activities, and a ton of spa resorts. Kristen revised her take once she realized she’d gotten heat rash after only spending about 5 minutes outside to take some mountain photos. That place gets HOT! All in all, though, Sedona is a place we plan to at least visit again.