Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are, combined, about twice the size of Yosemite and half the size of Death Valley National parks. The parks' common entrance is about 50 miles east of Fresno, California.
Dave and I had spent the morning getting our bikes serviced. Me, I needed my second scheduled service on the new Harley, and Dave had broken a bolt on his saddlebags. We left the girls to lounge by the pool while I went off to the Harley dealer and Dave headed to the Honda shop.
As soon as we were out of sight, on went their bathing suits and out came the Smirnoff Ice. They were pleasantly relaxed and in no hurry when we returned.
The drive into the park was nothing to write home about. Just another National Park entrance. Stopped at the "Ranger Station" which was more like a trinket shop, then headed into the park to see the sights.
The park itself was amazing. It was a bright sunny day, perfect temperature with the sun beaming down through the trees. The road was in great shape with nice low speed touring twisties.
If you haven't been there, or don't know, these are Giant Sequoia trees. They are bigger than the Giant Redwoods in California. Not because they are taller, but because of the larger diameter.
We were in no hurry and stopped several times to take pics. Here's one of a tree. It reminds me of something but I can't quite put my finger on it.
Brenda really seemed to like this tree for some reason... kept going back and hugging it.
Here's a picture of Bamby.
Anyway, the park was great. At the southern edge of the park, the road turns southwest and you begin a descent from the mountains. Thus begins this Legendary Ride. Except for the traffic and the "under construction" of the last part of it, it was spectacular.
The road winds back and forth between the hills as it descends. At that time of the day, the sun was starting to head down over the west and making shadows in the valleys. We'd come around a corner from a shadow and find the valley in brilliant sunshine. It was starting to cool off and we had our jackets on. Words can't describe, so here's some pics.
Here's the construction, and some guy in a Mustang chasing my ass.
And coming down into the valley... a desert.
And the reward!
Ok, here's the fun part. This is a Google Earth video of the run down the mountain.
Hint: Click the CENTRE of the screen below, THEN click the play arrow. It will take a minute to buffer before it starts playing, so be patient.
