Sequioa

There really is a magnificence to these trees that it's difficult to capture with a camera. The tree behind me, in the picture above, is the General Sherman(a maniac made famous by legal war crimes in the south) The Sherman is the largest tree, "in the world" by volume. It's probably 2,000 years old! It has withstood countless fires! The truth is though that the largest trees were cut about a hundred years ago when the ravaging of this continent was at it's worst. That was the same period when Wisconsin and Michigan were deforested.

One of the things I've noticed about these forests is a striking lack of four-legged critters. With all of the conifer cones you would at least expect the park to be crawling with squirrels but there are very few animals about. Perhaps it's the beginning of winter? The rangers are constantly reminding people about bears but I was able to successfully convince a young mom at the hotel that she could take her two overly energetic children for a walk around Grant's Cove without fear of them being eaten! My intention was merely to see the little darlings burn off a little excess energy!

I did see a pretty interesting car accident. A vehicle rolled over and laying on it's side. One apparent injury but not serious from the look of it. Everyone was sitting up. The vehicle, of course, was an SUV, a giant Chevrolet Suburban. It was an unfortunate end to their day!

From here I'm off, over the mountains, and into Death Valley.