LEAVING THE TREES – GOING EAST AGAIN TOWARDS DEATH VALLEY

After three nights camping in the big trees and canyons of Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks it was time to move on toward the East again, our next destination being Death Valley and then onto Las Vegas where we were a week ago.

We wake fairly early, as the sun lightens the sky over the mountains, to the shenanigans of deer, doe and buck. It is like she is saying “if you really love me you will follow me anywhere”. She seems to want to skittishly visit every sight, weaving her way around and he following along looking like he thing she has lost her marbles. Really funny to watch.

We have to finish our drive down off the mountain along the very windy switchback road and love seeing the early morning colours down through the valley. The road finally straightens as we hit back into the flats again. After a little highway driving through a very fertile farming/orchard area we stop to shop for food and treat ourselves to another corn dog. They are delicious and this time cost only $1.50, bargain. Onward we travel over dead flat land obviously very good for producing.

We lunched overlooking a very depleted but beautiful Isabella Lake, south of Wofford Heights then heading on we started into a very different climate zone. We have crossed over the High Sierra and down the Eastern side and the land is very arid. We are now in a desert conservation area. These are large hills of rocky outcrops and pasture at first and then the hills begin to look like papier mache as they are like piles of granite doted with a cactus type plant/shrub that we have never seen before. There is also a huge Naval Air Weaponry Base here, sounds a bit scary but guess they have to try things out somewhere.

Soon we are passing through huge basins surrounded by these wild hills into the Trojan area, home of Searles mining. This company uses eco friendly solution mining to produce borax, sodium carbonate and sodium sulfate. These are used to create so many things we use every day such as your windscreen, your flat screen TV, dyes and detergents and many more things. I actually swear by Borax to solve any ant problems at home, mix a teaspoon of honey and borax and put in ants pathway on a flat tray. It will turn black with ants but by morning they will be gone, having delivered the borax back to the nest, very effective.

We are just discussing that the hills remind us a little of the Scottish Highlands although the hills are further apart. This is the most remote we have felt in USA. There are a few cars crossing paths with us but for long lengths of road there is nothing. This feels much more remote than the Prairies or the Plains. We turn a corner up and over the top of a hill and the view is jaw dropping amazing, we all exclaim WOW at once and pull over to see this fantastic sight. We are at the top of a mountain overlooking a massive basin, the Panamint Valley and Range. The valley is huge with mountains surrounding, it actually was a 30 mile drive down and through to the other end, spectacular, and we are not yet in the Death Valley National Park, rather gazing at the outskirts to the West.

By now the sun is nearly down and the colour of the mountains just gorgeous, purples, greys, pinks, orange and white, breathtaking. We arrive in Death Valley and search for a free campsite we have looked up in advance. On finding it we are setting up in the dark, wondering what the morning will bring. We have just climbed up to 5000ft and descended to 4000ft in only a mile along a road like a roller coaster, so think we are in for something special.

KINGS CANYON AND SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARKS

Our next destination is Kings Canyon National Park and we pull in after dark again to set up camp. Tonight is a little different at dinner time though, Mikayla is suddenly making a strange noise of distress when she realizes a raccoon is pulling on our plastic bag right next to her. She was in shock as she had just turned to look straight into two very large bright eyes that just shouldn’t have been there. Our fellow campers must have been having a good laugh as they listened to us as we chased off 3 raccoons and then tried to keep them at bay whilst eating our wraps, very cute persistent little fellows. Good fun and I guess we were lucky it wasn’t the bears.

The morning reveals we are once again in the forest with a pine needle carpet softening our steps but this time we are under some of the largest trees in the world. This is what this area has to offer us. We pop into the Visitors Centre and are helped by a couple of lovely ladies to plan our time here and in Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, and also take in a movie about the area. It is describing the wonder of the trees and apparently I exclaim a very loud WOW at one point that sends the girls into a fit of laughter, (a bit like the NO over the potatoes at Christmas lunch last year for those who remember haha). We also discover that the road to the High Sierra had been closed only a week before our arrival, rather sad but lucky to have seen a glimpse of this true wilderness during the movie.

We start off on this road to see as far as we can and near to the end we encounter a young fox who we think has been hit by a car and, on initial inspection, seems to have damage to it’s hind leg. He otherwise seems in good health with a very shiny and healthy coat and clear eyes, no mangy appearance or saliva issues. Dilemma. Can’t leave the poor creature just dragging itself along so decide to wrap it in a towel and pop it into a plastic bag, for obvious fluid loss problems, and take it back to the Visitors Centre, hoping they have some sort of rehabilitation centre in the park. It is a hairy ride holding the small creature, being sure to have a secure hold behind its neck so no biting can occur, though he now seems to be in some shock and mostly quite relaxed though still conscious. On our arrival we are greeted by surprised staff and even more surprised fellow visitors. The poor creature is secured in a box and it is decided to take it to a sanctuary just outside the park for a diagnosis. We try to explain that on the initial look that there did seem to be an injury as the ranger is suspicious that he is just sick with rabies, eek. Our decision was based on the fact that if repair is not possible that at least he could be humanely destroyed. In hindsight, a wonderful thing, we were probably mad to have interfered with nature at all, but is being hit by a car a natural thing? At no point did we actually touch the creature and had him quite securely contained with wrapping and gloves so feel we are all quite safe. What would we do if we encounter another injured creature? Probably the same thing. If he had been snarling and seemingly dangerous we would have had to let him struggle on but all we can say is that it seemed the right action to take at the moment.

We are off again to explore the park and our next stop is to see the General Grant Tree, this being the second largest tree in the world. The Sequoia is not the tallest, that honour being claimed by the Redwoods, but because of their width they do take up the largest area, hence the largest in the world. They start from a seed the size of your porridge oats and spend their first years of life striving to gain height and light. Once they are approximately 250 to 300 feet tall they stop growing up and start putting on some weight, a lot like humans really. They just keep on growing outwards though, no see-sawing diets for them. If the conditions are right they become absolutely massive and the conditions here seem to be perfect.

It has been discovered that fire is the Sequoias’ best friend, cleaning out the undergrowth and providing perfect growing conditions. For this reason these massive trunks are scared by fire adding to their beauty. It is a humbling experience, as it was in the Redwoods, to walk between these majestic giants. We move on to the Sequoia National Park and the Crescent Meadow area to meet the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree in the world. WOW again. As we have said before the East may have the leaves, and they are out of this world, but the West has the trees, also some of the most majestic moments of our journey.

We add in a hike up the 400 odd steps to the top of Moro rock, an extraordinary geological specimen that was formed millions of years ago and continues to shed its layers into the valley below. Pictures show it over some 150 years and it is an ever-changing shape. We are inspired by the stupendous views and the actual size of the rock jutting out from the forest floor. The steps have made it easy for us to experience this splendid area. On to the Crescent Meadow for a late afternoon wander hoping to spot a bear or two, very common in this area, to finish off our wildlife experience but we are only able to spot the deer. Perhaps that is for the best but would love to see another bear. Not to be this time as we end our time here and head for campground number three in this fantastic region. It is a long and winding road to head down and takes us about an hour to get to our destination, once again setting up in the dark.

Photos can be found on our Facebook page in the album YOSEMITE, KINGS CANYON AND SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARKS.