camping once more

Ahoy,

Camping again! I was really excited and also anxious to go camping again in Sequoia. I just feel like the RRS hasn't had the best record for not getting sick on trips. And it would be really nice if he were to just not get sick every time we go somewhere fun. Also, H came on this trip with us. I was thinking she was going to bail right up until the morning we left. But I was so happy she came. The weather was absolutely perfect. The skies were clear and sunny, it wasn't too hot during the day, and then the evening temperatures were just so very, very perfect. I loved it.

We entered from the northern end of the park driving though King's Canyon first to see General Grant and the forest by there. Our campsite was at Upper Stony Creek, which is in between King's Canyon & Sequoia. We were also able to squeeze in General Sherman before starting up the fire for dinner. The RRS got a stone cold, rock solid frozen cut of pork from the main market in the park. He sous-vied it in a way by boiling water to bathe it and thaw it for a bit, before putting it in the fire. And, ladies and gentlemen, it was THE best pork of my and H's life. All other porks will hereby be compared to the camping frozen to sous-vied pork he cooked that night.

I hung up the hammock on these perfect trees for hammocking and stared up at the stars. Surprisingly, we were probably the last in the campsite to go to bed. I can usually still hear adults and children screaming well beyond midnight at other places in the past. Also, surprisingly, the toilet seat and cover were ripped off the toilet in the outhouse.

We called the trip short because the RRS had a work trip to leave for on Sunday. We cleared out of there Saturday morning to embark on a full day's worth of activities. Glad to have arrived early at the visitor center to secure a parking spot, we started off with a waterfall hike that followed the river and gave opportunities to dip our toes in the ice cold water. It was really refreshing because the day had started to heat up in the sun. After a sleepy lunch at the visitor center, we rode the shuttle to the Giants' Forest and museum. We saw a juvenile bear and a ton of marmots. The bear crossed the paved hiking path right in front of the people ahead of us. A was oblivious and wondering why we were all stopped. He continued to linger, as H and I beelined out of there.

After one last potty break, we began the drive down the mountain into the desert and back to LA. We stopped for some terrible Italian food in the Valley and got home right around 10. Another stellar Sequoia trip in the bag. And A didn't even get sick this time!

voraciously looming,
jt