Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park

We had the National Park Pass & we'd visited all the National Parks nearby (some even twice) & so he convinced me that the 10 hours of loop drive was worth it....and it indeed was! 😊

The Doting Daddy

Now the company DH works for gives these extra long weekends; and of course the only way my husband can think of spending those is to travel to someplace. So a day's leave from work for me, club with the Juneteenth long weekend - it became a 4 days long long weekend - hooray! Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks had long been on DH's wish list. However, I'm always a tad weary of long drives with 'little babies'. Little do I realize now they are absolutely not little babies anymore; but, big kids of 7 & 6 years. So venturing on longer drives was certainly back on the cards. With a promise to see the giants of the tree world, drive thru one maybe and the best part of the trip...meet some friends; we set forth on yet another road trip. 😊

Day 1: Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, Bakersfield! 

It was yet another Thursday when we sat in front of laptops trying to wrap up work as fast as we could. A mild thrill hung in the air. Parts coz of the forthcoming road trip & part as this was the first time we hadn't booked a place for the night. It's always a risk with kids. Period. We hoped to drive as much as we possibly could towards Sequoia & make a stop only when we were tired enough. So, yet one more time, bags in the boot, kids in the car seats and hearts filled with excitement, we started our drive. 

What Awaited Us

Our first halt was a grub grab in LA at a place called The Dune on Glendale Blvd. In word it's unique. A few road side tables to eat at, this place is a fusion twist on Mediterranean food. Like I ordered a fried chicken shawarma sandwich for the kids (how can you possibly go wrong with friend chicken & bread & kids 😁) & DH and I shared the hummus & lamb plate. The Glendale Blvd has a great relaxed vibe with good foot traffic. Tummies full, the happy mommy awarded 5 heavenly stars to food at Dune. Little gems that make the journey worth remembering. 

My kids slept most of the way & at around 10 pm-ish we were closing in at Bakersfield, probably the last big city before Sequoia. We quickly booked a La Quinta with breakfast for the night. Little sleepy feet quickly shuffled from the car to the hotel room and with one look around were promptly sleeping again. Expecting them to wake up early, DH and I too called it a night. 

Day 2: The Brown Bodied, Green Haired Giants! 

If you happen to ask my 6 yo Abesh what his favorite part of a trip is, he would gleefully tell you it's the hotel breakfast 😀 So after spending a good part of the hour doing Abesh's favorite thing, we piled back our bags into the car and zoomed straight towards the Sequoia National Park. Being day minus one of a long weekend the crowds hadn't really started coming in. Parking remained plenty everywhere. 

Sierra Subs & Salads

Oh let me step back a few. The tiny village of Three Sisters are the gates of Sequoia National Park. We stopped at at sub & sandwich place for brunch-some-carry-some grub, Sierra Subs & Salads. The kids sandwiches were just $4, hearty & leaving some for the kids to munch on later. I'd ordered the veggie burger with bean patty - strongly recommend this one. Yes, you meat lovers take it from a meat lover. 😋 They also have beautiful outdoor seating area behind the shop, which overlooks the gurgling river and green mountains - let the seeker in you stop here awhile. 

Where the Braves Dare

Once inside the park, our first stop was at the Tunnel Rock. It is as the name suggests a sliver of a tunnel formed by a massive rock balancing like an arch. It's a 2 mins climb to the top of it & a spot for a must have picture. The kids especially had lots of fun as they scrambled up once with their father & then again with me. Our next stop was the Hospital Rock. Not entirely sure why it's named so, this area has quite a few things to offer. Petroglyphs, ancient Indian history, river, waterfall & the cherry-on-the-cake a tad of rock climbing. An interesting learning were these deep holes that were made by native Indian women into rocks to make & bake with acorn flour. You can well imagine the different foods the kids pretend played to cook in them. Now, most people enjoyed that & the Petroglyphs & drove off. The kids coaxed us to explore beyond & soon we were rock scrambling. Once behind the rock, it actually takes you to cold waters in the Kings Wild River (or at least it was cold in mid June). With just us & nature around, it was a moment that will be remembered for long. 

Next, we stopped at the Vista Point. Amongst all the view points, this one was the most rewarding. Debating whether or not to brave the 300 steps at the Morro Rock, we drove deeper into the National Park. Abesh dozed off into this usual car slumber & I decided to keep the Morro for the 'morrow. Rupkatha & DH did the climb in a quick hour & came back red cheeked in their thick coats. It offers a bird eye view of the entire park stretching out in front of you. That done, we drove to the drive thru tree. What was once upon a time tree, now lay befallen yet providing joy to humans. 

As Rupkatha guessed...Black tailed Deer

Next, we drove towards the Crescent Meadow. This place has a high chance of bear sighting. 🐻 No bears popped, but, we did see a small herd of black tailed deer with males carrying mighty antlers. 🦌 They were tame enough to not scuttle away with a young one even braving a closer look at us humans. The meadow itself was a bed of tiny pink flowers. 🌸 The late spring-early summer fairies had sprinkled their fairy dust & it was beautiful all around. We hiked a little thru a trail with ginormous Sequoias all around. A strange feature in their trunks were these hollow spaces which are a hide-n-seek heaven. In one word, it was all - beautiful! 

With the Maestro

Finally, the last lap as we drove to say Salut to the General Sherman, the largest tree in the world when measured by volume. We drove thru the Big Grove before we parked at the big parking lot for General Sherman. It's a quarter mile hike to the tree itself; but, with quite a few steps to cover one has to wait to catch their breath more often than not. We hiked thru the Congress Trail where you can walk thru two siamese Sequoias. There was a small line in front of General Sherman as everyone waited for their insta worthy click. So did we! 

That done we decided to call it a day & started our drive back to Three Rivers where we stopped at Casa Mendoza for dinner. They had plenty of outdoor seating & it's good ol' Mexican food. The kids meals are huge & one Burrito was more than enough for two kids. DH & I shared the enchiladas in mole sauce & the spicy tang at the end of the day was refreshing. The food to write home about was their flan, if you happen to stop here, you won't want to miss on those for sure. 

Finally we made to our hotel Western Holiday Lodge. It came with a little kids' park complete with a slide, swing and little what nots. What more could the kids have asked for. DH went to explore the river nearby, each unravelling from their day in their own way. 

Day 3: Friends & Fun! 

It was a lazy Saturday morning for us. Our friends from Bay Area were driving to join us for the trip & we were supposed to meet them no sooner than mid day. We let the kids out to play in the hotel park as we lazily ambled around checking out. We stopped at the little store to grab some lunchables & cold sandwiches, our usual go to foods. We drove back into the National Park & stopped at the Visitor Center to pick some magnets. 

Suspension Bridge

Taking the suggestion from the ranger at the visitor center, we visited the Potwisha-Middle Fork Trail. It's a 0.3 miles hike one way. Still at lower altitude, we didn't see any sequoias. There's a suspension bridge overlooking a small waterfall and my oh my, this bridge can swing when there are people crossing quick from both ends. A little rock scrambling can get you to concrete slab that steeps into the river. Bear sighting chances are high here again, but, luck wasn't with us (or was it 😉). With time to kill, we spend quite some time here exploring the area. 

Back at Three Rivers, we met with our friends & hopped over to the Casa Mendoza for lunch as everyone talked at the same time trying to catch up. Today being the first day of the Juneteenth long weekend, it was crowded at Sequoia with about a 20 mins wait time to just enter the park. We took the role of tour guides for our friends & stopped at all the places we had yesterday. Finally, back at the General Sherman, this time we chose to skip the hike & take the shuttle to a shorter trail head instead. It was fun with 9 of us chatting & laughing in a bus full of people. A few more clicks with the maestro, we decided to call it a day there. 

We'd a booked a airbnb in Visalia which was about an hour something drive away from inside the National Park (& about 45 mins from the entrance gate). To honor the kids' side of the deal, they dozed all the way home & to honor our side of the deal, we let them stay up late & simply play play play. Dinner was Chinese food from a nearby eatery - very usual & tummy filling. 

Day 3: Bow to the King

In a house with early birds for kids, even when you're slowly leaving, you leave at 9 am. 😀 Subways packed for the day, we were soon speeding towards the Kings Canyon National Park. Now, one thing I must mention is that the drive to both the national parks is thru the California countryside with nut plantations, fruit orchards and an occasional vineyard flanked on either side. Certainly an added bonus in the day time drive hours. 

Our first stop was at the General Grant Trail. This is packed with fun stuff. You can actually walk thru the hollow trunk of a befallen Sequoia, starting from the roots coming out at the top of the trunk. Justly named the Fallen Monarch, it's such a strange & interesting experience. Trudge along to say hello to the General Grant itself, famous to be the Nation's Christmas Tree. Now Kings Canyon is not as popular or populated as its twin, Sequoia and gives much more space for exploring around. The 3 kids jumped on rocks, ran around & laughed as we did the 0.8 miles hike loop back to the parking lot. 

A very favorite click of mine!

Next we took a detour & decided to check out the Panoramic Point. These roads don't hear the tires as much and the beauty around was a stunning pristine, green & wild flowers freckled the face of the earth. At the point itself, it's kind of park where you can and a small uphill hike from the parking lot. The view is nothing short of breathtaking. Valleys & mountains winking back at you with the  glistening blue Hume Lake like the twinkle in the eye. The grandparents sat, the parents stood & the kids jumped on rocks absorbing the beauty that has been, is & will be there in times to come. Soon, we made it back to the parking lot & the subway sandwiches made it to our tummies, refueling us for the quite some more time.

My little Abesh was a tad under the weather and dozed off at the back as we made our way back to civilization. We stopped at two waterfalls: the Grizzly Falls and Roaring River Falls. I almost missed the Grizzly Falls as Abesh slept but, opened his eyes right in time. Carrying the baby as quick as I could, we were soon at the cascading waters. Coming from a very dry So-Cal, it's just plain pleasure to see so much natural water around one. Next, was the Roaring River and it's a very easy 3 - 4 mins of walk to the the lookout point. For reasons best known to us, we had initially decided to walk thru the overgrowth & jump over rocks, won't really suggest it. Just stick to the paved trail. This one is torrential with water raging down to the calm pond beneath it. 

Rivers & Waterfalls

Tired but, yet not ready to call it a day; we started a detour to the Hume Lake. Being more on the tired side I remained vocally sceptic about this detour but, I kind of had to eat my words later as it would have been a bad miss otherwise. We visited on a Sunday when lots (and I seriously mean lots) of teenagers were on a summer camp there and it was absolutely wonderful to see all the young energy buzzing around. A few moments & clicks next to the Hume Lake, we decided to have dinner at the Pondy Pizza & Pizzookie there over looking the lake and the mountains. Our friend quickly grabbed some much needed coffees & teas from the Hume & Beans. But, nothing compared to the spotlessly marvelous time the 3 children were having - running around, playing the silliest games, eating pizza, devouring pizzookies & you know just being children. 

With that, we started our journey home to the last night of the trip. The kids honored & honored very seriously their part of the deal as they dozed off only to wake up the next day morning. Bless them little ones! 💙💜

Information: the Hume Lake area is actually a privately owned land and dedicated to Christianity. However, one can visit it with the same pass as the National Park. It has a few restaurants, gift stores, loop trail around the lake & field next to the lake.

Hume Lake

Day 5: Curtain Fall 

With zero plans for the day apart from just getting home at the end of the day, it was a morning of lazy packing & chatter. Having slept early enough & for long enough, all 3 kids woke up early & played till the very last goodbye. Close to noon we started our 5 hours long journey home. The kids stormed thru book after book & our car mile after mile. We stopped at our good ol' LA's Glendale Blvd again, this time for supper. DH craving for some pho led us to the Indochine Vien - a laidback little Vietnamese getaway. We shared a Pho Ga (pho with steamed chicken) & the kids shared a Ga Nuong (Grilled chicken with rice) - it was all very delicious & cooked to perfection. 

With the wish that if only we could stay out one more night, loose ourselves on one more hike, find a local eatery just more time - we reached home to find it what we travel the world to find.