2018 Road Trip - Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park with its forests and mountains was more of a park we're accustomed too. What we didn't expect was the black bear population. We spotted our first bear near the entrance and at Lodgepole Campground there was a full page of instructions on how to deal with the bears at camp. We had to take foods and lotions out of the car and lock them away in a bear locker. Even Vivian's car seat had to be left outside to prevent bears from breaking into the car. Lily loves bears so this was her kind of park.

We first went to the park's main draw, the giant sequoias. Though not as tall as California's northern coastal redwoods they could grow much wider thus making them bigger trees. Among one grove of sequoias we found General Sherman which was the largest tree in the world. The trees were impressive, but not as much as the redwoods as the taller trees made up full forests, while the sequoias usually sat in smaller groves.

We also hiked from our campground to Tokapah falls. The falls were but a trickle, but there were beautiful meadows and steep cliffs to view along the way. We also spotted a mama bear and three cubs which was a new experience for us all. Lily was very excited.