MY WEEK IN THE SEQUIOAS

~ be warned it's a super long post~

Ok so maybe the title to my last post was a little dramatic, but it WAS a really hard and frustrating week for many reasons, all of which I will spare you the gory details. But in general, with no relief or break to regroup, I felt chaotic inside most of the trip. I am sure my expectations for a peaceful, quiet, restful vacation (why I had these expectations in the first place, I don't know), but it did not help my state of mind, when there was little of this to be found in our small neck of the woods. But, like I said in my last post, I did have some very sweet moments with the kids. Here are some of the good moments we had.

Lodge Pole Campground became our home base for the past week. (Notice our bear box, we had to store all food items and toiletries immediately, or a bear could enter your campsite to snag your food or toothpaste) I talked to one woman who heard a bear outside her tent one night trying to get into the bear box.

Each evening, deer (or as Audrey called them Camels) walk through our campsites. Sunday a doe nursed her baby under a tree not even 20 feet from our tent. It was an amazing site.


The first morning we awoke we gobbled down some hearty pancakes and then we were off to explore. We hiked up the rocky river that trickled by our campsite. This is where the Zane and his friend Lucas found a clear, cold pool which of course prompted them to immediately take off their shirts and go for a dip. It became a daily ritual to splash and play in the mountain pool. Audrey and I enjoyed basking in the sun on rocks while the boys played.




While hiking up the stream balancing on rocks and helping Audrey up over the boulders, I fell while Audrey was in my arms. Protecting our heads, my leg took the fall and I gouged out my calf on a rock, but thank goodness for my handy dandy First Aid Kit. I got a little over ambitious in prepping before the trip and I totally pimped out our First Aid kit. Boy was I glad I did. In addition to my leg injury, I sliced off half the nail on my index finger later in the week, Zane gashed open his elbow, and then one night he squirted the glowing liquid from a glow stick into his eyes. But thanks to my kit I was well prepared for almost anything that came our way.


After a difficult, sleepless and cold first night we got up with the morning sun and filled the backpack. We were ready to go to the Crystal Cave. This cave was absolutely amazing. Stalactites ominously hung over our heads as we entered the dark winding narrow cave. I love geology, so it was right up my alley. Zane was a little scared and later told me he thought we were never going to make it out of the cave. Audrey said she got drips on her head.



On our hike back up the mountain, We found a three tiered water fall. It was one of my favorite places. I wish I had more time to spend in that spot. I tried to soak up as much as possible in that small moment of time that we were there.

We also visited Sherman Tree which is the largest living thing in the world. Audrey fell asleep on my lap as we arrived, so I lounged at the trail head in the shade while Zane hiked to the tree with the family we were traveling with. I wish I could have seen the tree, but I had a rested baby girl... and in that moment, it was more important. Here is Zane's buddy, Lucas before the hike down the mountain.


That same day the kids and I went off by ourselves and hiked the trails around Crescent Meadow. According to another hiker there was a bear and her cub sunning themselves in the meadow just before we got there. This was one of the most peaceful and enjoyable moments of the trip for me.
The kids and I bonded as we explored the wilderness by the meadow. I was surprised at how well Audrey hiked up and down those steep mountain sides. I started calling her my little mountain girl. That was one of the first things she told Scott as she walked in the door when we got home. "I'm now a mountain girl daddy!"


Audrey found a bunch of pine cones that she named Wheezy, Wandi, Wasu and Lindsey. This arm full of pine cones soon became the so called Wheezy family. At one point, one of the pine cones fell down a small hill. Audrey became quite panicked as she belted out. "The daddy pine cone fell, the daddy pine cone is GONE!" I stooped down to get the daddy pine cone for her. As I turned back around to continue down the path, I heard her deep little three year old voice eek out, "OH THANK YOU FOR RESCUING ME" I turned back to see a big grin and an out stretched hand holding the "daddy" pine cone front and center" talking to me".

Now about the bears. Well, I was driving through the Giant Forest one afternoon when I saw a black bear run across the road. I got closer just in time to see three cubs following her. All I got was this blurry photo from my driver's seat. I am so, extremely glad I got to see a bear... from INSIDE MY CAR!

Terry, Lucas's dad, however went for a morning hike up the mountain from our campsite and came face to face with a huge brown bear. The bear was eating foliage about 7 feet from Terry. The bear looked up and stared at Terry. Terry stared back and told the bear he needed to walk by him. The bear looked down. He ate on as Terry walked passed.

Uh... can I say that I am glad it was Terry and not me with the kids! Yikes! Zane would have booked it down the trail in flight mode, Audrey would have froze in her tracks and screamed (actually what you are supposed to do) and I would have been caught in the middle between my separated kids mad doggin' a confused, unpredictable bear!

Well, with bears lurking in the hills and tired kids plopped in chairs around our campsite, we managed to have a great night around the fire one evening. We ate some delicious Japanese Curry that Lily made. And if Japanese Curry is not enough to make a night great, add sitting around the campfire eating s'mores and laughing as the dusk sky turns into a dark sparkling wonderland. Now that night... was a good night.





All in all, the Sequoias are just beautiful! There are so many places that I wanted to see or to hike to. Believe it or not I am planning on going back to the Sequoias or to Kings Canyon WITH SCOTT this time for a little family get away in the fall. I think this time around, it will be significantly different and much more enjoyable.

Am I just an eternal optimist or a glutton for punishment? We shall see I guess. We shall see.