On my morning walk before breakfast, I came across this museum which had both interesting sculpture and exhibits outside.
It was a four hour drive from Ridgecrest to the entrance to the park, and when we got there, the line to get in was long and slow moving - it took a good fifteen minutes to get into the park on a sunny, warm Saturday.
Once through the gate, we started to climb. Our first stop was the Visitors Center and then on to Hospital Rock. Again, the photos do not do justice to the scenery.
There was a narrow side road by Hospital Rock and we checked it out.
We continued up in elevation on the very twisty road, and once we got up to about 5000 feet elevation, we got into the giant sequoia trees.
To give some perspective on the size of the Sequoias, here are some charts for comparison.
We continued climbing and got to what is now the museum but once was a tourist site with hotels and other facilities.
And since there was still some snow, we had to play with the snow.
We continued onward and upward, finally arriving at Wuksachi Lodge where we would have dinner and spend the night.
We arrived a little after 5:00 and had not been told of the need to make reservations for dinner, so the only time we could was 5:30. So we hustled our gear into the room, leaving nothing in the van that might attract bears - this was the only time I had to take the ice chest and my coffee mug out of the van. Of course, the 5:30 seating at the restaurant meant it was filled with families with kids. We still managed to enjoy a bottle of wine with dinner. After dinner, we sat in the lobby and Patty played with the bear, which got several kids interested.
We enjoyed an early to bed evening that night in one of the three buildings that have rooms for guests - all are only a couple hundred yards from the main lodge where we ate. Both the lodge and our room were very nice considering how difficult it is to get there.
Once through the gate, we started to climb. Our first stop was the Visitors Center and then on to Hospital Rock. Again, the photos do not do justice to the scenery.
 |
| Nurse Patty holding up Hospital Rock |
There was a narrow side road by Hospital Rock and we checked it out.
We continued on to a beautiful vista that had nearly 360 degree views, including of Moro Rock.
We continued up in elevation on the very twisty road, and once we got up to about 5000 feet elevation, we got into the giant sequoia trees.
To give some perspective on the size of the Sequoias, here are some charts for comparison.
We continued climbing and got to what is now the museum but once was a tourist site with hotels and other facilities.
And since there was still some snow, we had to play with the snow.
We continued onward and upward, finally arriving at Wuksachi Lodge where we would have dinner and spend the night.
We arrived a little after 5:00 and had not been told of the need to make reservations for dinner, so the only time we could was 5:30. So we hustled our gear into the room, leaving nothing in the van that might attract bears - this was the only time I had to take the ice chest and my coffee mug out of the van. Of course, the 5:30 seating at the restaurant meant it was filled with families with kids. We still managed to enjoy a bottle of wine with dinner. After dinner, we sat in the lobby and Patty played with the bear, which got several kids interested.
We enjoyed an early to bed evening that night in one of the three buildings that have rooms for guests - all are only a couple hundred yards from the main lodge where we ate. Both the lodge and our room were very nice considering how difficult it is to get there.
No comments:
Post a Comment