Sequoia National Park- Day 5 (Sept 11th)

So we got the chance to sleep in until about 7ish (me and mom) and 8ish for Derek. I must say Derek gets the most sleep on the trip. He is the first to fall asleep and last to wake up. Mom is always the first to wake up and I am the last to fall asleep.

Today we headed up into the Sequoia National Park. We only traveled into the Park about 25 miles, but took two off roads to get to some other sites. We decided to head to the farthest point and make out way back. On the way in we got a great look at Moro Rock.

Our first stop was General Sherman's Tree.

It used to be the largest living thing in the world; it is now just the largest living tree in the world. It stands at roughly 275ft tall (with 1/3 of the tree missing from toppling). Its trunk is 36.5 feet in diameter and it weighs close to 2.7 million lbs. They say General Sherman grows enough bark each year that is equal to that of a full 60 ft usual tree. CRAZY! It branches are on average 7ft in diameter and it is over 2000 yrs old. It is amazing. The unfortunate part is that pictures just cannot justify the massive-ness of this tree. Sequoias are amazing.

We then headed for a picnic where the number one warning- A Fed Bear is a Dead Bear. When bears are feed people food they become so aggressive trying to locate more that they have to be killed. They become a problem for people and other bears. I was hoping to see a bear... and we did. A little baby bear while on our way to the next stop. No momma bear was in sight, but the rangers say they are always within 100 or so feet.

Moro Rock was the next stop. You can see the Great Western Divide. This is a very steep hike up the side of the rock (it was created back in the 1930s) and has step carved out of the granite or ramp-like walk ways that have little foot holes for grip. Mom made it about 1/3 of the way up before the height got to be too much. Probably a good thing, because not only was it HIGH it had VERY thin air. By the time Derek and I got up to the top the temp dropped about 10 degrees and we needed to catch whatever breathe we could.

However, the view was spectacular. You could see the Valley, Castle Rock Spire (that are the little rock structures), and the Great Western Divide.

On the way back down I took a picture of mom to resemble the one she took back in the late 70s.

We finally headed to our last major stop. It was Crystal Cave. To get to the cave we had to take this 25 minute road (that did not even have lane divides) to the parking lot. We were required to put anything other then water in the bear boxes. It seems they have some issues with bears breaking into cars for anything with a scent. We took the 1/2 mile hike down to the cave (avoiding poison oak) where we got to see some pretty waterfalls.

Once we got down to the cave opening we put on our jackets (it keeps a constant year round temperature of 50 degrees) and waited for the rest of the people to make their way down. We did come across a California Mountain King Snake. It is not poisonous to people; however it is the major predator to rattle snakes because they are immune to their poisons and attack them.

Elizabeth was our guide into the cave. This was the gate to keep people and animals out. They have a lighting system, but it is minimal. Elizabeth and Lewis (he volunteered to be the last in the line) carried flashlights. At the moment the lights are being run by a pinto engine. They are in the process of developing a solar light system, but with better lights. This years project has been trying to figure out what type of lighting will produce the least about of moss and un-natural vegetation.

This picture shows one of the 10 light set ups (right of image) they have for testing.

As we walked through we saw many forms of cave formations. This cave does not have limestone like the caverns in VA. It is actually marble! Marble is the white and blue you can see in the water. Crazy I know, but its true.

Through the cracks in the surface and throughout the rocks a variety of formations develop. There are stalactites, stalagmites, soda straws (they have a hole in the middle and the water comes through the hole and deposits calcium on the outside/this was right above our head and at about 1 inch long it has taken 70 yrs to get to that length), and a large mound call The Capital (named after the US Capital building even though we thought it looked more like Jabba The Hutt).

We also saw the Organ- named for the organ like appearance of folded stalactites.

On the last stop we entered a dark area. A very dark area where the flashlights and camera could not show the true wonder of this "room." Elizabeth asked that we all turn off anything that gives off light. It was so dark you could not even see your hand in front of your face. This happens because there is no light (not even 1 bit of light) to allow your eyes to adjust. The great thing about this room is the original individuals who discovered this cave were unable to see what really was in this "room."

We also had a very special treat- the Phillipine International Choir was with us and in complete darkness the 7 or 8, who went on this tour, sang the National Anthem. They did it in honor of 9/11. It was absoultely beautiful. To be honest it gave us goose bumps. It sounded as if there were 100s of them.

After taking the 1/2 mile hike back UP hill we headed back to the hotel. Man was it an experience. The roads are super narrow and hairpin turns every mile or so. Mom was not a fan, but I did enjoy taking pictures of the signs to warn her to tell Derek to slow down!