Sequoia National Park Sign

     Well, we finally finished chores we did not do because we were on a trip. Now it is time to add to the traveling story, with plenty of pictures. I have to say there is a reason national parks have been made national parks, and we are always amazed at the grandeur and beauty of every park we visit. You could spend years exploring each one, without finding, or seeing, all of the special things each has to offer. The other part of the fun of our trips is doing it on a budget of $100 per day, and we were able to come in about $10 per day under budget. Pictures and stories cannot replace actually visiting these places, but I will share ours in the hope that it plants that travel seed in your lives.

     We made our basecamp at the Visalia, California Kampgrounds Of America (KOA), which is located in an industrial area on the west side of town. It is within 3 miles of a Save Mart grocery store, less than a mile to a convenience store/gas station, 42 miles to the entrance to Sequoia National Park, and you can get some basics at the KOA store that you might not want to carry on a motorcycle (firewood by the bundle is one example). We have a KOA membership which saves us 10% for each night we stay, and we earn points to redeem for later stays. On our summer trip, the points paid for a Kamp Kabin when we did not feel like setting up the tent after a long day on the road. Our camping tent site had power and water, which is nice to have for charging devices like our portable speakers, phones, iPads, and my computer and close water is very handy. The power and water sites were only $8-10 more per day than the simple tent sites, so I sprung for the convenience. Some other great things about staying at a KOA are showers, usually a small store, washers, dryers, and most have swimming pools (seasonal, but essential for cooling off after a long hot day). Staying at state or national campgrounds would be less expensive and much more rustic. We find that camping at KOA makes a fine balance of cost versus amenities, and it is essential to maintaining our travel budget.

Home Sweet Home Away from Home at the Visalia KOA

     

     We left one day early for our trip, on Sunday, October 2nd, because of a potential snowstorm over Donner Summit. Fortunately this gave us the time to ride highway 49 through the west foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Definitely a motorcycle riding road. We arrived in Visalia on Monday afternoon, picked up our groceries, made camp, and had some steak cooked over the campfire and salad for dinner. Tuesday we made our way into Sequoia National Park.

 Entering the park

Moro Rock from the Hospital Rock pullout

   
     Initially entering Sequoia National Park is an adventure in itself. After traveling through fruit tree farms for miles, we hit the foothills. Speed drops as the road gets more curvy, and once we entered the park, the road becomes very twisty with a steady grade increase of 8-10 percent. There are multiple 10 and 15 mile per hour turns for miles. Visalia is about 600 feet above sea level, and by the time we were near the first of the main attractions, we were above 6,000 feet. One of the first landmarks is Moro Rock, a very large granite dome. A right turn at the Giant Forest Museum put us on the road to the trail to the top of Moro Rock. The hike was mildly strenuous, but not very long. The view was spectacular, and we could see some of the road we rode up while looking at the rock from below.

 View East from Moro Rock

 View South from Moro Rock

Part of the Road into Sequoia National Park from Moro Rock

     We also visited the Auto Log, which is a sequoia tree that fell over in 1917 and was carved so people could park their cars on it to take a picture. It is more than 20 feet in diameter at the base, the scale of which can only be imagined with something, or someone, next to it for scale. We also got to ride through the tunnel log, with the top of the opening at eight feet tall.

 Josh Standing on the Roots of the Auto Log

Looking at the Auto Log from the Roots

Riding the Twins through the Tunnel Log

     Our next stop was the General Sherman Tree. Another half mile hike brought us to General Sherman, A sequoia tree with a diameter of nearly 36 feet and a height of 275 feet. Our first impression was that the sequoia trees were not that tall, but the girth of the trees is so large that it makes them look shorter than they are. Once again, something, or someone, next to the trees shows their scale. Sequoia trees are the largest trees in the world.

 More Motorcyclists that came to see General Sherman

The People at the Base of the Tree are Standing 20 Feet away from it

General Sherman from a Different Angle; the One in the Center of the Picture. Look Carefully to the Left of Sherman to see the Person for scale.

     We rode a little further into the park that day, but turned back toward camp as it was getting late. We stopped at the grocery store for our evening meal, bratwurst for me and salmon for Lissy (supplemented with boil in the bag rice), and we also picked up our usual beer and lunch for the next two days. A baguette, one small salami, Baby Bell cheese, and two huge Golden Delicious apples (given to us by a couple in Placerville that had recently traveled to Washington state) were enough to get us through the next two days of lunch. We went a little over budget for the day, however we did not have to buy food the next day. We rode 120 miles and hiked 4 miles, not a bad day at all.

     Wednesday we got an earlier start towards King's Canyon, with a longer ride planned for the day. Our ride followed the same initial route, but with a left and a quick right turn just East of Lemon Cove, CA. Headed North, we stayed west of both parks with the intent of entering through the King's Canyon gate. The GPS took us through some great 1 1/2 lane twisty roads, where we had to take our time to ensure no head-on accidents. We learned that when the lines aren't painted on the road, two lane traffic is expected but we must be gracious with oncoming traffic. There was literally one or two cars for 20-30 miles, and the weather was beautiful for riding a motorcycle. We hit two road construction/tree clearing stops, but the delays were minor and the smell of cut cedar was amazing. By the time we got to the entrance to King's Canyon, we were in a great mood.

     Once in the park, it is a steady 35 mile per hour drive to the end of King's Canyon, for 35-40 miles. A beautiful, breathtaking, not many places to stop for pictures, 35-40 miles. Once again a steady (mostly) grade of 8-10%, the elevation change was constant, yet we were going downhill into the park at this point. The canyon walls, which were not actually in the park at this point, were so sheer that there was barely room for the South fork of the King's River and the road we were riding on. There was more small rockfall than any other stretch of road I can remember, probably because of the sheer walls of the canyon. We managed to avoid the rocks and make our way back into King's Canyon National Park for a nice picnic on the river in Cedar Grove. After our lunch, we rode to the east end of the canyon and turned around for home (camp). We rode back to the Hume Lake Road, and headed south through the Sequoia Park entrance on the way back. We enjoyed 250 miles, and after beer and liquor shopping, we arrived back at camp after sundown.

 Josh by the South Fork of the King's River at Cedar Grove

 Lissy and Josh at the King's Canyon Sign

Panoramic View of the South Fork of the King's River at Cedar Grove

     We spent Thursday at camp. I started reading a book my godmother got for me (Shop Class as Soulcraft, by Matthew B. Crawford; thank you Jeanne), and Lissy was content to knit all day. We ordered a pizza and wings from Mountain Mike's for dinner, with the intent of having cold pizza for breakfast to save time for traveling home on Friday. Friday, by the way, was a day of nice riding weather for 350 miles up Highway 99 and over 80 back to home sweet home. It is always great to travel, but it is always nice to get back to your own bed.

     Cooking our own food is also essential to traveling inexpensively. Over the years we have acquired mess kits, a Whisperlite International backpacking stove, the assorted fuel bottles, sleeping bags, folding camp chairs, a cooler, and so on. We plan a stop at the local grocery store each day to get supplies for making dinner and those end of the day beers that wash away the road grime in a way that only beer can. One of our easy staple recipes is ramen with fresh vegetables and some sort of protein (we have used everything from lunchmeat to shrimp). On our first night we used some leftover steak we brought from home, some fresh vegetables, and one package of ramen. The whole meal cost about $3. We also regularly make re-hydrated hash browns, bacon or sausage, eggs over easy, and some type of juice for breakfast, also about $3 per meal for both of us. We also pack a coffee press and grind the beans at home before we leave, which makes for great tasting coffee for very little money. Packing a picnic lunch is also essential for ease and saving on the cost. Getting food in a national park is expensive, and you have to deal with the throngs of humanity. We used almost one liter of white gas/Coleman fuel for the whole six day trip (about $8 worth). You can eat well for very little.

Ingredients for Dinner in Placerville, CA

Breakfast Cooking in Visalia on Tuesday Morning

     I am going to save the cost breakdown for another day, but I can say for a six day trip, at a goal of under $100 per day, we came in about $40 under budget. There were certainly some liberties taken buying expensive meats and cheeses, and we still spent a little less than we had planned. I know I can sing the song "One Hell of a Life" by Katell Keineg in earnest, and we are ready to start our next adventure as soon as possible. "Camp costs" and "camp kitchen" are rambling around in my head, and hopefully will be spilling out soon. See you on the road...