After our last night in Curry Village, we were up early again this morning, off to the coffee shop, followed by reading email in the reading room. Our plans were to have the breakfast buffet soon after the restaurant opened, but seemingly hundreds of middle schoolers beat us to the punch, overpowering the restaurant and its staff. The kids are here for a school outing and outdoor camp. During a lull in their arrival, we joined the que and had a pretty good breakfast while attempting to stay on our diet.

We returned to the “tent”, finished packing, checked out, and were on our way to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. Crossing the San Juaquin Valley, we stopped at a roadside market across the highway from one of many vineyards but found nothing we could live without.
Interestingly, a rose bush was planted at the end of most rows–we didn’t understand the rationale for this–maybe we should Google it.

Leaving the San Juaquin Valley at Fresno, California, we began gaining elevation, arriving at the entrance to Kings Canyon National Park about mid-afternoon.

At the Visitor’s Center, George pursued information on scenic drives and worthwhile hiking trails, given our time constraints.

We drove to the Grant Tree trailhead and hiked among the giant trees comprising this part of Grant Grove, including the Grant Tree, one of the two most famous trees in the park complex.

There were several other notable trees, but we did not have their names. We then drove an almost 4-wheel drive US Forest Service road to a turnout and hiked to the Chicago Stump, remaining after the tree was cut for exhibition at the Chicago World’s Fair.

By then we were all ready for a nice hotel room and a hot shower, so we drove the remaining 40 or 50 miles south to the Wuksachi Lodge at Sequoia National Park. After checking in and a hot shower, we ate dinner at the Lodge restaurant. It was just okay.

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