Sequoia National Park - General Sherman: Aug 1, 2011

     It's hard, really, to appreciate how massive these trees are when you just look at them in pictures. Even now, looking at my own pictures, I have trouble appreciating how exceptionally big these trees are. I don't think it was until we were driving through Colorado and Wyoming, looking at all the beautiful trees there, that I realized how small most trees really are. We're spoiled, living so close to the giant sequoias of Sequoia National Park or the amazingly tall redwood trees of northern California, and I often forget that this is not the norm.
     On this trip, we visited the famous General Sherman and all the surrounding giants. Some of these massive trees stand on their own, such as General Sherman or The President, but others stand in awe inspiring rings, like The Senate and The House. It's really a trip worth making.

Running for Senate?

Topanga State Park: July 30, 2011

This was a surprise trip. Erinn is very good at things like that. Planning things out, organizing them, surprises... Erinn's got that down. I get lost in the details, but she pulls it all together and it's always great. This time she just told me to be at her house nice and early so we could hit the road before the sun came up. I had no idea where we were going except that we were headed south.
A little after sunrise, we pulled into the parking lot of Topanga State Park, which is right in the middle of a very nice neighborhood near Santa Monica, CA. We pulled on our hiking shoes and headed for the peak. It was a beautiful hike. I'm sure true hikers wouldn't say it was very strenuous, but for novices like us it definitely tested our resolve. We made it halfway, myself drenched from sweat, and we sat for a few minutes before continuing for the top of the mountain. It's a good thing we came as early as we did, because not only did it get quite warm as the day wore on, but the trail got very busy.
After the hike we took it easy down in Santa Monica. It was a great day and a wonderful surprise trip.

Trail of 100 Giants - Sequoia National Forest: May 20 - 21, 2011

    This trip came about spontaneously. We both had Saturday off so we decided to find a place up in the mountains to camp. We drove to Lake Isabella, CA and headed north, looking for a decent campground to stay at. The Kern River runs from the north down into Lake Isabella and we were following it upstream. There are countless little campgrounds to stay at along this route, but we weren't impressed by any of them so we just kept driving. After a long drive we got a bit lost and came across a bulletin board on the side of the road with a map of the area on it. We used that to get our bearings and headed north again.
     I honestly couldn't tell you how we got there, but eventually we came to Redwood Meadow Campground, which is a lot higher and a lot colder than we had planned for, but it was perfect. It was located right across the street from a little hike called The Trail of 100 Giants. It's an easy hike among some of the biggest trees in the world. That night we set up our tent, cooked up some hotdogs, and hit the hay. The next morning we roamed around an adjacent meadow and then walked the Trail of 100 Giants. They are truly impressive. After the hike we still had a lot of time, so we drove lazily through Sequoia National Forest, zig-zagging our way through the beautiful trees, eventually driving highway 190 down to Porterville and then home. Highway 190 is a beautiful route and I definitely recommend it. Porterville and Lake Success are brown and boring and I definitely recommend driving right past those.
     Also, I just remembered that this was the weekend the world was supposed to end, according to Harold Camping. I remember seeing at least one sign inviting everyone to expect the end of days come May 21st, 2011. Good thing it didn't end. I've still got lots of places to see!