california road trippin' ~ day 4

from sequoia, most people who have more time would probably go to yosemite. unfortunately, we didn't, so we headed straight to the redwood coast. that meant a very long winding drive. 10 hours, to be exact. from sequoia, we took the 198 west (about 80 miles) to the 5 north (about 110 miles) to the 580 west towards san francisco (80 miles) and then to the 101 north (for about 254 miles). the 101 was the longest and toughest drive. it was filled with curves and steep slopes after we passed eureka. the thick fog, combined with the curves, dips, night driving, and speeding cars made me it a harrowing drive. maybe im just a wimp, but i was nervous and sick. at one point, the fog was so thick we could only see about fifteen to twenty feet in front of the car. on a positive note, i did enjoy the occasional small (and i mean small) towns we would drive through. the 101 would suddenly become 'main street.' and then in no time, it would turn back into a freeway again. but despite the cold, motion sickness, and lack of use of our feet, we did see some interesting things. most of what you see below are photos i took before the evening set in, except for the last one which was our last chance to get a bite before we headed into the fog.

california road trippin' ~ day 3

on our second day in sequoia, a ranger recommended we take the country road to enter kings canyon, which is on the national park on the northern side of sequoia. we took the 216 and somewhere along the way, the road forks and i took the wrong path. we ended up an hour away from where we needed to be, in a farming town. we only realized we had gone in the wrong direction when i stopped to get gas and to asked where we were.

although we lost some time getting to kings canyon, the drive down the country road was so worth it. there was so much to see and i couldnt help but stop often to snap some shots. these are definitely things we wouldnt see from the side of a road around here (in l.a., that is).






it was pretty late in the afternoon when we arrived at the entrance of kings canyon. we only had time to see the sequoias of grant grove, which was the first stop in the park. a tree, called general grant is also known as the nation's christmas tree. the impressive tree, which is over 247 feet tall and 40 feet wide, was dedicated as the nation's christmas tree in april 1926. after our short walk through grants grove, we headed back for town, taking a different route. we went back via sequoia and not the country road we entered through. we caught a glimpse of the moon while the sun was still up. very cool.

california road trippin' ~ day 2

got a late start this morning...we made sure we rested up for the next few days. from tiny town of three rivers, we entered sequoia national park. along the way, we stopped at numerous scenic spots. some of the attractions were closed for the season, but it didnt dampen our spirits, however. some of the following were the highlights of our day.







the most amazing sights were towards late afternoon, where we were able to see the sunset over the spectacular skies and forest. moro rock is the spot to catch the best view of the sunset. i didnt make the complete climb all the way to the top, but pramin did. he got a hair raising view ~ not a recommended climb if you have a fear of heights (that would be me). i did manage, however, to catch some sunset shots from the halfway point before the sun completely set. the first two are pramin's shots. i get chills just from looking at the photos, let alone climbing to the top!





our day come to a hungry end as we drove the long windy road back into town and had dinner at the only pizza place in town. i was actually hoping to find some soup to warm me up, but ended up settling for spaghetti in meat sauce, and pramin had a pepperoni and mushroom personal pizza. pretty good food for a tiny town of only 2500 people (actually, it seemed more like 50).