While traveling throughout Sequoia National Park, we used an app called Just Ahead.  We used their free tour of Big Bend National Park a few years ago and thought it was excellent.

I purchased the Sequoia and Kings Canyon tour and downloaded it onto my phone so it would work whether we had cell service or not.   The tour ran in the background and provided interesting commentary as we arrived at a specific gps point.  We recommend it!

We left our lodging and traveled to the mostly adjacent Kings Canyon National Park.    The elevation range within the two parks goes from a low of 1360 feet to a high of 14,494.  Crystal Cave is below ground in Sequoia but tours have not resumed after the extensive fires.  There are 36 sequoia groves within the two parks.

This area is one of the largest wilderness areas in the lower 48 and includes both national park and national forests.

We did not see a sign indicating that we had transitioned into Kings Canyon but knew we had when we came upon signage for the Mountain Grove. This is the largest stand of sequoia in the world.  In five square miles, there are more than 2,100 giant sequoias measuring more than 10 feet in diameter.

This area was once General Grant National Park, established in 1890, a similar timeframe as Sequoia. Our hike to General Grant, the most famous tree in this park, was much shorter and easier than the hike to General Sherman.

Along the way we saw a few things of interest.   This is the root end of a tree called the Fallen Monarch.

We could walk through and stand in the tree that workers once used as shelter.

Israel and Thomas Gamlin lived in the Fallen Monarch prior to building the cabin below in 1872.  They filed a claim for 160 acres and grazed cattle here until 1878.  

When the lands became part of General Grant National Park, in 1890, the building was used for storage by the cavalry who patrolled and protected the park.  In 1913, it was home for the first resident park ranger, Lewis L. Davis.  He patrolled the park and learned about the tree-fire relationship. He also grew sequoia seedlings.

We also saw the remains of the Centennial Stump.  

A 24 foot diameter tree was cut down to display a section in the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition.  Easterners couldn’t believe it was from one tree!

A short while later, we arrived at the General Grant tree.

General Grant is the second or third largest tree in the world when considering height, diameter and volume. 

We saw, and heard, conflicting information about whether General Grant, or the President’s Tree in Sequoia, is the second and third largest.  (We did not see the President’s Tree.)

What is certain is that the General Grant tree was also named The Nation’s Christmas Tree. 1924, a visiting government dignitary heard a little girl exclaim, “what a wonderful Christmas tree it would be!” Later, President Dwight D. Eisenhower designated it a national shrine in memorial to those who give their lives for our country.

We enjoyed our time in Sequoia National Park and the General Grant area of Kings Canyon National Park. We just didn’t have the time to see any more of Kings Canyon.

 It took another 50 years, until 1940, for the canyon in the eastern part of the park to be protected.  The lands that were once General Grant National Park were included within the boundaries of the new Kings Canyon National Park.

If we visit this part of California again, we will prioritize seeing the canyon and touring the Crystal Cave.

Our national parks visit successfully accomplished, we proceeded north through central California.  All was fine until we had air conditioner problems in 115 degree heat.  I started looking ahead for service at about 3:00 pm.  Rich, a very accommodating owner of an independent, certified Mercedes repair shop in Redding agreed to try and diagnose our problem. That was very kind because we wouldn’t arrive at his shop until about 20 minutes before closing.  He even went the extra mile, calling the Mercedes dealership in Chico to see if they had the part he thought we might need.  

At that point, we were assuming we’d be spending the night in either Chico or Redding.  The independent shop could fit us in the next day for repair but we might have to shuttle the part from Chico.  Of course, that was all depending on whether or not Rich could diagnose the problem.

We found the repair shop and went inside the cool lobby to wait.  When Rich went out to get our car, the AC began cooling.  He hooked it up to his computers and ran the diagnostics.  Nothing definitive was found to be wrong except a thermostat was too hot and out of specs.  Typical computer, turn it off and turn it on again!  We had been going for hours in 115 degree heat. He apologized for not telling us to pull over, turn off the car, and restart it again as that is sometimes the only “fix” needed! No worries. By then, he was our hero!

Rich gave us a few suggestions, notably use “recirculate” when running the AC in extreme situations so the system doesn’t have to work so hard!   Duh…. We happily paid our fee, plus tip, and went on our way.   Even though we had kept him beyond closing time, Rich called us a few minutes later with a suggestion for when we got back to our home Mercedes Benz dealership in Phoenix.  If you have a Mercedes and happen to need service in Redding, California, Rich at North Star Motors is the guy! The AC has been working perfectly ever since.

We stopped for dinner at the original Black Bear Diner in Mount Shasta, California. 

We sat at the counter and listened to the banter between the kitchen staff and waitstaff.  We heard the lead cook say to a server,  “Emily, we haven’t had pepper jack for three years.”  (How do you not have pepper jack? ) They were also running low on bacon… It was an easygoing ending to a hot, somewhat stressful, afternoon.

We were at Kings Canyon in the heat of July 2024

Next:  We arrive at our destination – the Oregon Coast!