Kings of the Woods

We enjoyed a wonderful weekend of camping in the Calaveras Big Trees State Park. A little bit of hiking, throwing rocks, playing, and plenty of eating. We hiked both the North and South Groves during our two night camping experience. The North Grove was any easy 1.6 mile loop that displayed many of the majestic giants. The kids especially enjoyed this loop because there were a lot of fallen giants that made perfect tunnels for them to explore. The South loop was a little more difficult at 5 miles, but we had to see the Agassiz Tree- the largest tree in the park. It was well worth the work; all the trees in both groves truly invoked the reverence and awe that so many speak of.



just to "try" to give you a little perspective this and the next two pictures are of the same tree. This is obviously the top



middle section


and finally the bottom- Greg and the kids are stretching out as far as they can to show just how BIG these sequoias really are



another perspective shot- reach for the sky



The cone on the left is from a Sugar Pine, the cone on the right belongs to the giant sequoia- it seems like it would be the other way around. It gave us a good laugh














The birthing tree- we took the liberty of naming it



making our way into the birthing tree


deep inside the birthing tree- Greg went in first to make sure it was safe and then the rest of the brave soles followed. It was about an 8-9 foot drop from the entrance



slowly emerging from the birthing tree- After RJ got out she said that the tree had given birth to us- thus the name








KJ and RJ exploring one of the many tunnles











Anton marveling at the big tree


The mother of the forest- Her bark was stripped and sent on tour in the eastern United States. It was sad to see this spectacular tree in such a condition. Later the grove of trees was eventually protected and became a state park


Greg was very popular with the kids- he had the backpack full of snacks