California

Well, it has been quite some time since my last blog, but we have been busy. We spent a month in San Francisco with our son, Mark, his wife and our newest granddaughter, Cassidy. She is now three months old and doing great. We then drove to Idaho and wanted to go to The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone, but the day before we were supposed to leave Idaho, Yellowstone got 18" of snow and closed the south gates. Apparently, Sept. 20th is when winter starts in Yellowstone. We changed our minds and headed south for a week in Denver and then on to Santa Fe.  We are now back in Clearwater for a month to be with my mom. Leaving on the 15th for Thanksgiving in Texas.

I last blogged as we left Arizona for California. Our first stop along the way was Joshua Tree National Park.  It is 792,500 acres of preserved Mohave and Colorado Desert.  The drive from the north visitor's center to the Cottonwood Springs visitor center at the south entrance takes you through a variety of environments and geology. And, of course, thousands of Joshua Trees. The tree is twisted and spiky and looks like something out of Dr. Seuss. The Joshua tree is a monocot, in the subgroup of flowering plants that also includes grasses and orchids. Whatever it is makes for an interesting plant.

Next stop was a couple of days in Indio, CA to rest up and enjoy the California sunshine.

 We then drove to Fresno, using it as a central point to visit some of the big National Parks. Fresno is about an hour from Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon. We took several days to explore these parks where some of the most iconic landmarks have been photographed. 

We visited Yosemite on an overcast day that allowed us to avoid the giant crowds normally associated with the park.  Parts of the park were first protected in 1864 but the park was really created when John Muir convinced Theodore Roosevelt to set aside the land now known as Yosemite. Known for Half Dome and El Capitan, the park is much more.

This was really our first major park and it impressed us the way we expected. Simply amazing.

Next, we returned to the Yosemite area but visited Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The two parks are connected so it is a pretty easy day visiting both. Sequoia is the second oldest national park and seeing the world's largest trees makes you understand why. Although Redwoods are taller, Sequoias have the largest volume of wood.  One of the most famous trees is  the General Sherman. The tree is estimated to be 2,200 years old, seven feet in diameter and each year grows enough new wood to produce a 60' tall tree of usual size. Little hurts them; insects, lightning,  fire just are a bump in the road for these giants. Breathtaking just doesn't cut it.

Our last stop in the Fresno, was a visit to the Fresno Chaffee Park Zoo. We had a private tour conducted by a friend that I worked with at the Palm Beach Zoo who is now the Curator of reptiles and amphibians.  The zoo was simply surprising for Fresno, or anywhere else actually. They have an amazing collection of animals with outstanding exhibits.

The city of Fresno isn't much to write home about and has seen better days, but the attractions nearby can't be beat.