After San Simeon we drove about 150 miles east to the western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Map.
We stayed two nights in the John Muir Lodge in Kings Canyon National Park. Map.
Another step down in luxury but another great location. What a pleasant aroma among the conifers.
Unfortunately the forest is hard to photograph. Especially because all the pictures tend to look alike. These trees are over 200 feet tall.
We learned that the most common cause of death of these trees is by toppling, by wind directly or by the weight of another toppling tree. They have a rather shallow root system. It couldn't very well be otherwise since there is only a little soil on top of the solid granite mountains. I don't remember how this one got hollowed out from tip to tip.
The General Sherman is thought to be the largest tree by volume in the world. Marty asked a local waitress if she knew who General Sherman was. The girl cheerfully admitted she hadn't a clue. Since Don was born in Lancaster and we have visited the Sherman birthplace, we tend to forget that he is not as well known to others. But isn't this core American History? Wasn't he the chief villain in Gone With The Wind?
There is also a General Grant tree, a bit smaller by volume than this one, but larger at the base. It was named in 1867 before the General became President or I suppose it would have been named the President Grant tree. The waitress didn't know who General Grant was either.