Falls, Mountains, and Giant Trees

During our last California visit, we have chosen to go and visit places we have not been before.

We did not go to Disneyland, nor Universal Studios, nor Sea World, nor Hollywood Sunset Strip, nor Santa Monica Beach, nor drive from LA to San Francisco via scenic route Highway 1 or also known as Pacific Coast Highway (passing Hearst Castle, Carmel by the sea, Monterey Bay, and Big Sur), nor walk Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco, nor Napa Valley and the wine country. Been there, done that.

This time we visited Yosemite National Park, as well as Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.

From Los Angeles, we drove to Mariposa, California, a small town at the foothill of Sierra Nevada. The original town site was founded as a mining camp during the “gold rush” period. We stayed there for 2 nights and made it our home base as we explore Yosemite.

Yosemite National Park is a 45 minutes drive from Mariposa, and the travel was a scenic route through mountains, canyons, and rivers.

Yosemite is a breathtakingly beautiful place. It is one of the first wilderness parks in the US and covers 1,200 square miles. It is best known for its waterfalls, which is best seen during spring and early summer.

Yosemite National Park also has magnificent granite mountains, glaciers, and valleys.

Driving back home to Los Angeles, we drove through Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. The drive was through steep, winding and narrow roads over cliffs and canyons that will humble the Kennon Road to Baguio (summer capital of the Philippines). The landscape includes layers upon layers of mountains, deep canyons, and the world’s largest trees.

It was a memorable and wonderful trip indeed.