- Coming “Home” And Doing a Long US National Parks Road Trip
- Western USA Road Trip Journal
- Western USA Road Trip: Planning
- Western USA Road Trip: Sequoia National Park
- Western USA Road Trip: Kings Canyon National Park
- Western USA Road Trip: Yosemite National Park
- Western USA Road Trip: San Francisco & Napa Valley
- Western USA Road Trip: Redwood National and State Parks
- Western USA Road Trip: Lassen Volcanic National Park
- Western USA Road Trip: Crater Lake National Park
- Western USA Road Trip: Waterfalls in Oregon
- Western USA Road Trip: Olympic National Park
- Western USA Road Trip: Mount Rainier National Park
- Western USA Road Trip: Seattle
- Western USA Road Trip: North Cascades National Park
- Western USA Road Trip: Yellowstone National Park
- Western USA Road Trip: Grand Teton National Park
- Western USA Road Trip: Great Basin National Park
- Western USA Road Trip: Zion National Park
Journal entry for August 7-8, 2017
After climbing Moro Rock in Sequoia National Park, we made our way to Kings Canyon National Park. It’s a beautiful road through forests,waterfalls, and canyons. On the way there we saw a bunch of police and National Parks Service cars next to a very high and steep cliff. It turns out that a car had driven off the road and into a river a couple of days before. It’d be months before they were able to pull the car out.
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There were plenty of available camping spots when we arrived at Sentinel Campground. It’s a first-come-first-serve campground, and the rate was $18 a night. There was a notice though stating that they were about to switch to a reservation system. You self register by putting your payment (or credit card info) in an envelope, which you drop into a box. I found this campground spacious and peaceful, and liked it more than Dorst Creek at Sequoia. There’s also paid showers at a nearby lodge within walking distance.
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We stayed here for two nights and had as neighbors a very industrious family that had the most efficient division of labor. I was very impressed at how while one person was cooking dinner, another was starting a fire while two others were out gathering firewood. We also had a group of guys who had met through couchsurfing just a few days ago and decided to do a road trip together.
This is an area I had not been before, so I was excited to explore it. We hiked the Hotel Creek Trail. The switchbacks going up to the overlook were very exposed and we sweated like crazy on this hot afternoon.
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The next day we hiked to Mist Falls and continued on to Paradise Valley. Jenni loved this hike and was one of her favorites on the entire road trip.
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One the way out of the park, we stopped at Grant Grove to see the General Grant Tree, before spending a night in Fresno.
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