Yosemite was just one of the parks on my itinerary for this trip. Right next door are Sequoia and Kings Canyon parks, which feature great scenery and giant redwoods.
Two of the largest trees in the world are in these parks, by volume and by height. General Grant (left) is in Kings Canyon and General Sherman (right) is in Sequoia.
To walk among these groves of redwoods (many scarred by recent fires) is truly to walk among giants.
You can walk through a tree lengthwise…
You can walk through the width of a tree.
You can even drive through a tree.
You can convert a tree into a cabin to live in, as the Tharp cabin illustrates.
The Moro Rock in Sequoia National Park is worth the climb. Lots of steps and squeezes.
I had thought I read that Mt. Whitney could be seen from the top of Moro Rock. Not the case. But still a good view of the Sierra Nevada range.
You can see great distances at the Grand Canyon.
I took a nice hike along the canyon rim, and took lots of photos!
Occasionally there were glimpses of the Colorado River, miles below.
Hermits Rest, at the west end of the canyon, and some thoughtful reflection.
The next morning, as I got back on the road, a side trip through Sedona, just to see what it was like.
And then one more national park before leaving Arizona.
One last forest to walk through.
All the trees are down.
Petroglyphs at Newspaper Rock, more messages from the ancients.
At the north end of the Petrified Forest park is the Painted Desert.
Lots of references to Route 66 as I traveled this route. Petrified Forest park is the only national park that was actually connected to Route 66. It is remembered here with the remnants of an old car and the telegraph poles that ran along the highway. A story in our family relates that when dad was young, he traveled west with his parents and took aim at telegraph poles with his sling shot to pass the time as they drove along.
There were lots of miles of featureless landscape to cross. I was very thankful for Michael Heiser’s podcast, The Naked Bible, to keep me company. I listened to dozens of episodes.
It was good to see some friendly faces along the way. Mike & Barb Moore are Madison friends now living in New Mexico.
The last stop was in New Mexico with my sister’s family. She passed away last year. A visit to her grave on top of the ridge, one of her favorite places.
It would be nice to end with the photo of a sunset but I don’t have a sunset. This is the sun coming up one morning along I-40 in California.
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