November 2021: Thanksgiving among the Giant Sequoias

     Some posts languish unfinished. This is one such from Thanksgiving 2021.  

    All agreed: It was absolutely the best Thanksgiving ever! 

General Grant Tree, Kings Canyon National Park.

    Marilyn's older son, Andrew, wanted to show his kids the Giant Sequoias. We'd all been to Armstrong Redwoods in Guerneville CA a couple of years before. "No way!" was Leah and Hudson's response when their dad told them the Giant Sequoias are even bigger than the Redwoods.

Giant Sequoias.

    Doug had a brilliant idea: a Thanksgiving picnic at Grant Grove in nearby Kings Canyon National Park.  
    "What if it snows?" Marilyn asked. "If the roads are clear, we'll play and picnic in the snow." "What if it rains?" Marilyn worried. "Probably picnic at home." In other words, no problem  
    We got home from a 5-1/2 week road trip on November 13. 

Valley of Fire, Las Vegas, October 2021.

    We unloaded the van, did laundry and dishes, stored equipment, and were ready to kick into gear for Thanksgiving. 12 days to get ready... Marilyn kept thinking...

 

Clean house...but 1st fix the vacuum.

 

Finish crocheting rainbow quilt for Leah's recent birthday.

Finish crocheting airplane for Hudson.

Clean up the garden & make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Get the grandkids' sleeping quarters ready.

Fill the Art Tower.

Get groceries and return for forgotten items...wait for AT&T and wait for them again...praise effusively the young man who got the job done, smiled, and said, "You know, AT&T really means 'Another Technician Tomorrow'"...prepare the Thanksgiving picnic... 
    At 2:00 the day before Thanksgiving, Emily texted the kids would soon burst through the door running for the bathrooms. They came through the door laughing—what more could grandparents want? 
    Then they each snacked on a bowl of my cranberries...

...which gave them energy for planking with Grandpa Doug.

    Thanksgiving morning, Doug left early to make sure we could get parking. Marilyn's sons, Andrew and Stephen, commented he'd probably read two books while waiting for us.

    Since I rode with Andrew, Emily, Leah, and Hudson in their new Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Hudson got the whole 3rd row to himself— but he didn't think that was so cool. 

    Arrived at Columbine Picnic area under 2 hours later, they saw a nearly empty parking lot—and Doug sitting on a rock reading. The Fresno crew—Jessie and Stephen had overnighted with John and Andrea, the boys' dad and bonus mom—soon joined us.
 

The adults needed more coffee. 

Hudson finally yelled, "It's TIME to GO-O-O-O!!!" & led the way up the hill...

...through the forest, down the hill, across the road,...

...down the hill to the Grant Grove parking lot.

Emily, Leah, & Jessie.

 

We walked right through the center of a Giant Sequoia called the Fallen Monarch, which fell 300 years ago! 

Marilyn's sons.

We stopped to look in the rebuilt Gamlin  Cabin. The Gamlin Brothers had a timber claim in Grant Grove before it became part of the national park. 

From the Gamlin Cabin we weren't sure which way to go, so we went that way. 

We ended up off the main trail...

...going up a steep hill...

but it didn't matter—all the trees were amazing.

Uncle Steve & Hudson found a good log for planking.

Hudson, Stephen, Jessie,& Leah found a good boulder for a dance party.

A good rock log for a guy pose.

   Then we saw the Grant Tree!

General Grant Tree.

You could put 159,000 basketballs or 37,000,000 pingpong ball inside it! It would take 20 people holding hands to surround its base!

 It's a long ways up there, about 24 stories!

Another Giant Sequoia, the General Sherman, is in Sequoia National Park next to Kings Canyon National Park. It's larger by volume, taller, & older than the General Grant, but there are trees in the world that are much older than these 2 giants.

    

Methuselah, a Bristlecone pine in Eastern California.

Milenario, an Alerce in Chile.

Tree Comparison

	Sherman	Grant	Methuselah	Milenario
Type	Giant Sequoia	Giant Sequoia	Bristlecone Pine	Alerce-Patagonian Cypress
Location	Sequoia Natl Park, CA	Kings Cyn Natl Park, CA	Inyo Natl Forest, CA	Alerce Costero National Park, Chile
Fame	Largest tree in world by volume.	2nd largest by volume.	Oldest?	Oldest? Largest by volume?
Volume	52,500 cu ft	46,408 cu ft	32,897 cu ft	52,513 cu ft
Circum-ference at base	103'	108'	96'	113'
Height	275'	268'	231'	275'
Age	2,300-2,700 yrs	1,650 yrs	4,853 yrs	>5,000 yrs

The Milenario is a bit of a newcomer on the tree "competition" scene. There is debate whether it surpasses Methuselah in age. Also note it appears to have a larger volume than the General Sherman.

    Back to our walk...after two hours, we were famished—but we had to hike back to Columbine to get to the food! 

Leah, Marilyn, aka Grandma Moo, & Hudson lead the way uphill to our picnic.

Stephen had remembered to move his camp stove to his dad's car but not the propane bottle! He & Doug MacGyvered a way for Andrea to reheat her delicious soup with 2 JetBoil propane canisters.

Father & son chow down. We devoured soup; turkey ham, & cheese sandwiches; chips & veggies; apples & pickles; water, soda, beer— & the whiskey Doug had just given John.

Leah warming while she munches.

Logs are for climbing on & jumping off of...

...walking on...

...sitting on...

...standing on with family: 3 generations of McDaniels men...

...counting rings to see how old the tree was...

...chatting & looking for insects...

...& family photos.

Rocks are for doing planks on...

...& leaping across.

    It was getting cold, but John thought we should go to Panoramic Point. We piled into the cars & drove up the 2-mile, 1-lane, twisty, steep, dusty road then did the short walk up the trail.

It was a beautiful clear day. We had wide vistas of the amazing Sierras: Spanish Mountain, the Obelisk, Mount McGee, Hume Lake, Buck Rock Fire Lookout.

Grandpa Doug pointed out Buck Rock Fire Lookout on top of a giant granite dome in neighboring Sequoia National Park.

It's 172 open backed steps up to the fire lookout.

In 2019, Doug helped with repairs to the fire lookout.

Our friend Kathy on the narrow catwalk the crew stood on to make repairs. Kathy was head lookout for many years.

    On the way home, we did a passenger exchange at Clingan's Junction. Grandpa John and Zafta went home to Fresno while the rest of us returned to Visalia, where leftovers and pie awaited.  
    Leah & Hudson were soon asleep, and the rest of us weren't far behind.

Andrew made pancakes for breakfast...

...& we headed to the playground.

    All too soon our house was quiet again...but still warm. 

Thanksgiving 2021 day trip to Kings Canyon National Park.

    A final note: Doug looks for chances to visit Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks. Give him a call and as he says, "If I am home I’ll be happy to give you a tour in the VW Bus."