Day 13: Monday 13th September

More desert and some mighty big trees

I was surprised that there was so much desert in Southern California - but we didn't mind it at all - it was all so surreal!! We stopped at Pyramid Lake and then at a garage (somewhere).

The scenery then changed somewhat, past Bakersfield - and everything was flatter and fruity with olives and raisins (they leave the grapes on the vine, to dry, before harvesting).

click for bigger; nice arty shot!

We stopped off at a food outlet, near Tulare, for a few provisions and then, in Fresno, very briefly at a Target supermarket (their toilets were CLOSED!)

Then we entered the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and all became fabulous! Soon, we were entering into Sequoia National Park. There were lots of twists and turns in (surprisingly) very high mountains.

tunnel rock

We stopped several times at viewpoints and then at the Giant Forest. Amazing trees!! The General Sherman is thought to be the largest living thing in the world!!

General Sherman bottom


General Sherman top

Next we stopped at the Lodgepole Visitors Center for more supplies and a then, only a little further along the road, we arrived at Wuksachi Lodge, which was where we were staying overnight. Our lodge was called "Silliman" after the mountain it faced.

We had to park a fair way away, so had to use trollies to transport our (not unsubstantial) luggage to our room. We had to empty out the car completely, because of bears!

Our room was on the ground floor and was very comfortable; consisting of a bedroom with 2 double beds and a sitting-room off, where there was a sofa bed, TV and fridge.

It was wonderful - all this fresh air and wilderness! There were squirrels and chipmunks and many birds. We relaxed! (Although it was a bit creepy, standing out in the dark, for a smoke. WHAT IF a bear trundled along - what would we do??). Well, we relaxed To A Point. We somehow managed to lock the bathroom door from the outside, so (of course) couldn't use it! We called front desk and (very quickly) a man came along to fix it for us. It was the first time this had happened, apparently!

sunset over Mt Silliman

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[ Introduction ] [ Day 1 ] [ Day 2 ] [ Day 3 ] [ Day 4 ] [ Day 5 ] [ Day 6 ] [ Day 7 ] [ Day 8 ]
[ Day 9 ] [ Day 10 ] [ Day 11 ] [ Day 12 ] [ Day 14 ] [ Day 15 ] [ Day 16 ] [ Day 17 ]
[ Days 18, 19 and 20 ]

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