Left Coast Camping: Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks

After a nice visit to the Grand Canyon and some amazing views we head farther west - making a lunch stop in Kingman, Arizona and to also refill a prescription (the nearest CVS store). We have managed to stay in some pretty comfortable temperatures (by design) so far but as we leave the Grand Canyon for a two day drive to Sequoia National Park in California it calls for a layover near Barstow, California. Kathy and I are pretty familiar with Barstow from our days of working for the Marine Corps so we opted to stay at the family campground on the Logistic Base there and we know it will be warm.

As we left Arizona and entered California the terrain began to look more like a desert - the Mojave Desert and the temperatures began to rise. I think the highest we saw on the truck thermometer was 110 degrees. 🌞 Yes, it is a dry heat but still too hot for me. And to go along with the heat the wind was blowing at 15-20 MPH so it really felt like a hot fan blowing in your face. As we pulled into Barstow the temp had dropped to a cool (not) 102 degrees....electric hook ups (for A/C) were a must have for this camping spot. Overnight the temperature dropped to a comfortable 67 degrees so a morning walk felt good before departure.

Marine Base Barstow Campground

A Ride through the desert - Snow Capped Mountains in the background

The drive from Barstow into Sequoia was pretty interesting as we saw the terrain change from dessert to some hills (still very dry) and then into the San Joaquin Valley through Bakersfield. As we entered the valley it was still pretty dry but using irrigation they manage to grow some pretty amazing looking crops there. We were guessing what was growing in the rows and rows of fields beside the highway...some was obviously orange groves but plenty of other trees that we were not familiar with (yet).

Fuel stop in the small town of Mojave, California

The first big billboard for a roadside fruit stand also advertised some "Okie Pies" and after seeing several of their signs they had our interest as we tried to figure out what an Okie Pie was but wouldn't you know it, I (in the lead truck) wasn't paying close enough attention and we missed the exit. So, from there we looked for the next fruit stand and it was the California Fruit Company and they advertised free samples....doesn't take much to hook us. It was a fairly small place (the building) amidst huge fields of crops. They had fruit, juice, nuts and candies - the samples WERE free and very good so we stocked up. The lady running the place was very nice and told us that in that particular region of the valley they produce mostly citrus and nuts - in fact the huge number of trees that we could not identify we learned were Almond trees. She said that all nuts grow on trees except peanuts.
BTW - we are still wondering about those Okie pies.

California Fruit Company

In this area the huge snow covered mountains of the Sierra Nevada range are in view to our right and the temperature in the valley is heating up but we take comfort in knowing that we will be camping at an elevation of nearly 6000 feet and expecting cool nights and comfortable days (much like our Grand Canyon experience). After driving north of Bakersfield by about 50-75 miles we turn right and head up the mountain.

Pretty easy going at first through more citrus & almond groves and then we start climbing. The views are spectacular and the drop off of the right side of our vehicle is getting deeper and deeper along with the very curvy road that has little or no guard rails. I am getting a little worried about Don & Deb behind us because he is afraid of heights. After some pretty nervous driving I pulled over into a pull out on the right side of the road - he said "Man, you don't know how hard it was for me to turn right!" We laughed, took a couple photos and moved on into the park - he was doing okay, we'll call it nervously fine :-)

Our campground (Stoney Creek) was a really nice place to camp amidst some pretty large trees and a couple of nice sounding creeks gushing water through them - a couple of mule deer wandered through each evening. The campsites were mostly pretty small with no hook-ups at all but water available in the campground. Our sites were tight but once we were in it was a beautiful place to spend four nights.

Stoney Creek Campground

This is the first stop on this trip with absolutely no cell or internet service so Don and Deb's daily chat with the grandchildren in Morehead City North Carolina was in jeopardy. After a day or so here we learned where some WiFi was available and the best place in the park to get a phone signal so we all survived. These stops (without cell) allow much more time for reading our books.

Face Time with Grandkids

The first full day in Sequoia National Park we headed to the Lodgepole visitor center and gathered information about making the most of our day. We decided to take a shuttle from there to the Sherman tree area and hike from there through the Giant Forest to the Giant Forest museum (about 4 miles). It was a great walk with a picnic lunch on the way where we were able to see and get close to some of the most amazing trees on earth - including the largest tree on earth (Sherman tree).

Sequoia Stump near park entrance

Giant Trees

On the hiking trail in the giant forest - people in the picture add perspective to the trees enormous size

There are warnings about bears (Black Bears, not grizzly's) posted everywhere and bear boxes for food so we always had out eyes peeled hoping to spot one or two. Fortunately while riding the shuttle to the Sherman tree we saw a very cute little cub (blond in color) scamper across the road in front of us - no photos because he was really in a hurry. 🐻

After a brief visit to the Giant Forest museum we took another shuttle to Moro rock where we had 385 steps up to the top. The views were amazing there but Don and I didn't make it to the top - he was nervous and I was tired. But our girls pushed on and said it was amazing at the very top. After a selfie at the top we met them back on the ground floor for a couple shuttle rides back to our vehicle and on to camp.

Moro Rock View

Don & Deb headed up Moro Rock

The Climb

Taken at the top of Moro Rock

A Culinary experiment - Back in Texas we met a neighbor named Joe (from Tyler Texas) who bragged about a dutch oven cobbler recipe that was to die for so I think it was at the Grand Canyon where we tried his recipe one evening - we were not impressed. Since we had to buy a 5lb bag of self rising flour (takes up alot of room) to try it, we were now committed to continue trying and improving on what I'll call the cobbler experiment. Over the campfire we all agreed that Grandma Waters' cobbler recipe would do well in the dutch oven - WOW, it was great and we fully intend to do some more of that.

When we signed up to make a stop at Sequoia I knew Kings Canyon National Park was fairly close but I didn't really know they were actually adjoining. The two parks take up a significant amount of mountainous acreage so alot of driving. We spent the entire next day driving the kings canyon portions of the park checking out the views and roadside pull outs with stops at visitors centers. It was a beautiful drive.

Kings River - very rapid water

Viewing Roaring River Falls - short hike from the road

Driving into Kings Canyon

We had made contact earlier with some old friends from GTMO, Don and Martha Munroe and Bill and Norma Smith who live in the Lemoore area of California. We told them that we would make every effort to visit during our trip. As we looked at options it seemed logical to get down the mountain to see them on the next day while camped in Sequoia - we had a wonderful visit, a nice meal together and sharing photos and stories of the past.

Enjoying a meal (Mexican) in Hanford, California

Back at camp that evening (our last here) we began to break down the camping operation in preparation for the move on over to the California coast.

Some additional photos from this leg posted below: