My daughter Liên wants to take her daughter Max (whom I call Mochi) to at least one National Park each year. They went to her first national park in Hawaii last year. They asked me to help choose a national park in the West coast for Max’s second year. Together we decided on Kings Canyon and Sequoia. We picked the destination a little more than a year in advance. We decided to fly into Fresno. By chance, I stumbled upon Montecito Lodge when searching for a place to stay within the parks. I made a reservation for three nights. Liên and Bill booked a rental car and a Bed & Breakfast in between Fresno and the parks. I made the final reservation for a hotel near the airport in Fresno for our last night in California. Bill and Liên chose to fly on United and change flights in San Francisco. I did the same and picked the same flights from/to San Francisco. It was a team effort and we were ready to go way before the final departure time.
Travel Day – Branded Calf B&B
I made myself a protein shake before leaving at 11:30am for the airport with Tom and my mom. For the third time in recent history, something went wrong at security. My luggage was pulled aside and it was taken away from sight. No one spoke to me about it. When I finally asked a security person for help, she brushed me aside. Then without explanation, my suitcase reappeared on the conveyor belt.
I got to SF airport on time. I walked to our gate and didn’t find Bill and Liên and Mochi. As I walked around looking for them, I saw Liên coming before she saw me. Bill and Mochi came a little later. When Mochi saw me, she didn’t come to me at first, but she accepted the mountain goat stuff animal I got for her at Glacier National Park. Bill and Liên had decided to buy a seat for Mochi on the airplane. The small aircraft has only two seats per row. I was able to switch my seat to be next to Mochi’s. Liên took my seat and sat with Mochi. I sat with Bill. It was a short flight.
After we got the rental car, Bill drove to a convenience store. We bought Indian food to go for dinner. We drove to the Branded Calf Bed and Breakfast where we met Connie, the B&B owner, and her two dogs who came out to greet us. The four of us ate dinner in the kitchen. We went to sleep at 9pm shortly after dinner.
Day One – General Grant Tree, Kings Canyon Scenic Byway, Hume Lake
Liên and I sat on the patio and watched the hummingbirds before breakfast. There must be a dozen hummingbird feeders around the house. The hummingbirds were all over the place. Connie said she has eight different species of hummingbirds and they are there all year long. Connie made us a great homemade breakfast of egg casserole, biscuits, nectarines and peaches, orange juice, and coffee. There was a couple who used Connie’s place as a base and drove into the parks each day. Today was their last day and they were leaving. They were in search for bears but didn’t have any luck. There was another couple from Europe at the beginning of their national park trip as we were.
Right before we left, Connie showed us the map with highlights she made of not-to-miss places. Liên took a picture of the map. Connie made a suggestion for the day’s itinerary and we pretty much followed it to a tee. We stopped at the Kings Canyon Visitor Center in hope of picking up a junior badge booklet for Mochi but did not get it because the line was too long. We went to Panoramic Point and didn’t see much but faint outlines of the mountains and Hume Lake because of the smoke. We could smell the smoke, too. We read that the view stretches across most of Kings Canyon National Park and sweeps upward nearly two vertical miles from Hume Lake to some of the tallest Sierran peaks.
We then went to the General Grant Grove to see giant sequoias and the General Grant Tree, which is one of the world’s largest living trees and the one thing Connie said we had to see, if we were to see only one thing today. It is 268 feet tall and 40 feet wide, at about 1,700 years old. It was designated the Nation's Christmas Tree by President Coolidge in 1926. President Eisenhower declared it to be a National Shrine in 1956, "in memory of the men and women of the Armed Forces who have served and fought and died to keep this Nation free..."
We continued east on 180, also known as the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway, to its end. It was such a beautiful drive. We were in awe of the cliff on the right side of the road. I especially love the section of the road when we were close to Boyden Caverns. The cliff hit me by surprise. The rocks seemed to hang right above the vehicles traveling underneath. I wish I had been able to capture the beauty of the scenery on my phone camera. We stopped at Boyden Caverns which is on Kings River. Very picturesque.
Liên wanted to take the cavern tour. We decided to wait and see about Mochi’s nap schedule. We ended up not taking the tour because Mochi was asleep when we drove back through there. The staff at the Caverns advised us to drive to the end of the road because we already went that far and the scenery would change to provide different kind of scenery from what we had seen. We drove on and saw Grizzly Falls and Roaring River Falls. Liên and I took a walk to Zumwalt Meadow while Bill stayed in the car with a sleeping Mochi.
We came back the way we went but took a turn to Hume Lake. Mochi was up at that point. She loved seeing the ducks.
We bought gas on the way to Montecito Sequoia Lodge. We got there around 4:30pm and had time to rest before dinner at 5:30pm. It was a very nice meal. All the meals throughout our stay were very good, especially the desserts. We kept saying we were lucky to find this place for our stay. Today I had coconut curry soup, asparagus, potatoes, meat ball, ratatouille, pear crisp, chocolate cake, watermelon water, and lemon ginger tea.
Liên and Bill and Mochi sat in the hot tub for a while. Mochi learned to love the hot tub even though Liên thought the water was a bit too hot for Mochi.
We attended a campfire with s’mores in the evening.
We were told Montecito Lodge has not been operating in the winter for the last three years because the bridge on the main road to the lodge from the Generals Highway was down. We had to take a detour on dirt roads for over a mile to get to the lodge. We were not sure if that was the reason the lodge was not crowded. Bill, Liên, and Mochi basically had the whole hot tub by themselves every day. Today we were in bed by 8:30pm.
Day Two – Moro Rock, Crescent Meadow, General Sherman Tree
I woke up at 5am. I came down to the dining room for coffee at 6:40am while Bill, Liên, and Mochi were still sleeping. We had breakfast around 8-8:30am and were on the road at 9:30am. Mochi slept for 12 hours and ate a big breakfast. Liên was happy that Mochi loved the yogurt until she realized the yogurt was very sweet.
We decided to start the day hiking up Moro Rock which is a granite dome 300 feet high at an elevation of 6,725 feet. We took the 350 steps to the summit where we got a 360-degree view. The first stairs of wood were built in 1917 and were replaced with concrete steps in 1931. We all thought it would be a tougher hike, but it turned out to be steep but short. I was surprised when it ended. The views at the top were clear. I was glad we got the steep trail out of the way.
Liên was on the fence about taking the Crescent Meadow Trail because she really wanted to go on the General Sherman Tree Trail and wasn’t sure we had time and energy for both. However, we wanted to see the Tunnel Log and it is on the way to the meadow. The tunnel was cut through a fallen giant sequoia by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937. It is 275 feet long and 21 feet of diameter at the base. Bill and Liên took Mochi and climbed up the log. People loved to park their car under the log and pose. I just took pictures.
After seeing the Tunnel Log, we continued on to Crescent Meadow. At the beginning of the trail, someone told us there was a bear cub sleeping on our right 150 yards away. We kept our eyes glued to the green grasses on our right but didn’t see the cub. We stopped at a giant tree on our right. As I was taking pictures of Bill and Liên and Mochi at the base of the tree, Liên excitedly pointed her fingers. I turned around and saw an adult bear! It was so exciting to see a bear so clearly and not fleetingly. The bear made me nervous because it didn’t leave the area, even though it kept its distance. At some point, it looked as though it was ambling towards us. I suggested we should leave, but Bill and Liên did not think we needed to. The bear lingered for quite a while, so we got several pictures of it. It did eventually leave and we went on our way to see the Tharp’s Log and the Chimney Tree.
Tharp's Log is a log cabin built from a fallen sequoia in 1861 by Hale Tharp. His arrival marked the earliest documented settlement of European Americans in the area. He lived in this tiny rustic cabin until 1890 when Sequoia National Park was created.
The Chimney Tree was a burned sequoia in 1914. It hollowed trunk remains in remarkably good condition.
Our last hike of the day was the half-mile General Sherman Tree Trail and the 2-mile Congress Trail Loop. The Sherman Tree is a popular destination. It is the largest tree on Earth by volume, at 52,000 cubic feet. There was a line of people waiting to have their pictures taken in front of the tree behind the General Sherman Tree sign. Bill carefully set up his camera to a wide angle setting that would capture the whole tree and gave it to someone who agreed to take our pictures. Despite his setting, she took close-up pictures of the four of us. Bill wasn’t happy at all. Liên and I laughed about it.
The Congress Trail gave us trees or groups of trees that have been named. We did not see all of them. We saw The Senate, The House, The President, and McKinley. Liên thinks her dad would love this trail because he loves both nature and history.
After the Congress Trail Loop, we had to take the General Sherman Tree Trail back to our car. That was a steady half-mile uphill which tested my endurance and strength. I was so glad when we reached our destination of the parking lot. On the way back to our lodge, I took a picture of the 2mph sign when we were about to enter the parking lot, where we unexpectedly saw several cows.
Bill, Liên, and Mochi went to the hot tub after dinner. I was going to join them but started talking with Tom on the phone. I did walk to the hot tub to talk to them before calling it the night. Bill and Liên took Mochi for a walk after the hot tub and they went to the camp fire. They talked to Cloud who suggested Big Baldy Trail over Tokopah Falls for the next day. We had read that Tokopah Falls would not have the water cascade as in the spring and summer. Bill wanted to do Big Baldy Trail because the trail head is near our lodge and we would not have to drive.
Day Three – Tokopah Falls and Big Baldy Sunset Hike
I woke up early again and couldn’t get back to sleep. I got up an hour later and came downstairs for a cup of tea at 6am. I realized I had not seen my Glacier neck gaiter since talking to Bill and Liên at the hot tub the day before. I retraced my steps from the dining room to the hot tub. It was still dark. I saw something on the ground of the hot tub and figured it was my gaiter, but the hot tub was not opened until 9am. I waited until 7:30am and asked the front desk person for help. She opened the hot tub gate for me, but what I saw earlier was a permanent feature of the ground. My gaiter wasn’t there. The front desk person went to open the gate of the pool as I was going to go back to our room. I turned around to tell her what my gaiter looks like in case someone found it later. That's when I saw my gaiter hanging on the gate! I was already there before with the front desk person as she had tried to open the pool gate first, but I did not see it then. I silently said thanks to Cô. I figured she had helped me get it back even though I didn’t pray to her this time.
Liên wanted an easy day with just one hike so we would be able to explore everything the lodge had to offer such as boating. Although Cloud had recommended Big Baldy over Tokopah Falls, Liên talked to another staff member who convinced her the other way around. He said Big Baldy is exposed and is a steep uphill the whole way with not much of a view until the end, whereas Tokopah is a beautiful trail, even if the falls is dry. He said people usually hike Big Baldy for either sunrise or sunset, not during the heat of the day.
So we took the 1.7-mile Tokopah Falls Trail. It was indeed a beautiful trail. We didn’t see a family of marmots at the falls as we had read, and the falls had only a trickle of water, but Liên exclaimed she understood why it was a favorite trail for many.
The energetic Liên started to talk about hiking Big Baldy for sunset. It would be dark so she didn’t think we could take Mochi. She offered to take care of Mochi while Bill and I hiked because Bill had wanted to hike Big Baldy. I countered that I would not walk fast uphill and offered to take care of Mochi. I wanted a chance to bond with her anyway. Bill probably just wanted to relax. He asked what happened to a relaxing day with just one hike. He remarked that the Kratzke blood is too much of a type A personality. He cited Tom who decided to take up rowing and competing at the age of eighty-six (Ha ha, a gross exaggeration) and Liên who suddenly got interested in puzzle making and went out to buy a $650 saw. We laughed about it and did not resolve who would take the sunset hike. I forgot about all about it by the time we got back to the lodge.
After lunch, we went to the lake and took out a paddle boat. While on the boat, Liên and I got excited about a bear sighting, which turned out to be a cow. That happened to Tom and me at Glacier. We had a big laugh about it.
Afterwards, I went back to our room to nap while Bill and Liên and Mochi stayed at the lake where there is a playground for Mochi.
When it was time for Mochi’s nap, Liên wanted Bill and me to leave the room so she could put Mochi to sleep. I went down to the dining room and read for an hour and a half. Mochi must not have slept too long. While I was still in the dining room, Bill and Liên took Mochi to the hot tub.
I went back to the room at 5:30pm when dinner was served. Lien was already dressed for hiking. She told me Bill was going to take care of Mochi and she and I will go hike right after dinner. I got dressed for hiking. I only took my phone, a water bottle, and a flashlight with me. Lien carried my water bottle and flashlight in her backpack.
We ate dinner and sat out for hiking at 6pm. Liên said she wanted to walk fast because she wanted to be back to put Mochi to bed. I wasn’t sure if I could keep up if she walked fast, but I went anyway, figuring I could turn around if I could not. It was indeed uphill the whole way but the grade wasn’t too bad for me. When we were at a section that might be challenging to recognize on the way back, Liên took a picture of me pointing the way so we would remember where to turn.
It took us one hour to get to the top. It was so beautiful up there with the sun on one side and the moon on the other side. Liên and I marveled at the scenery and took lots of pictures. The sunset was incredible. The sun was a giant red ball staying round as it descended below the horizon. There was no cloud to cut into its shape. We had never seen the sunset like that before. And amazingly, we had the place all to ourselves at over 8,000 feet in elevation.
We spent about twenty minutes at the top and started to hike back at 7:18pm. It took us forty minutes to hike downhill. When we were almost back to the lodge, Liên was startled by encountering some cows on the road. She jumped and brushed against me and I thought it was an animal. I never saw the cows but the thought of being attacked by a bear crossed my mind. So that was the second time of the day when we were fooled by cows.
The campfire was still on. We met with Bill and Mochi there. Liên and I shared the story of the hike and showed Cloud the pictures of the beautiful sunset.
Day Four – Big Stump Loop Trail
We ate breakfast and checked out of the lodge today. We took pictures of the lake and of the marmots that we often saw on a wooden plank near the lodge.
We drove eight miles out of the way to stop at the Sequoia Park sign to take pictures with Mochi.
On the way out of the parks, we stopped at Big Stump for our last hike. We passed the picnic area where the Big Stump trailhead is. It was so close to the entrance station that we had to drive out and turn back in. I got another national park map out of this, which we asked for and did not get when we entered the park on Day One. We also wanted to take pictures of Mochi at the Kings Canyon sign, but were told we’d have to drive another hour for the sign. Instead, we took a picture of Bill carrying Mochi at the entrance station that has the words Kings Canyon displayed.
The large stumps in this area were evidenced of logging of giant sequoia in the late 19th century.
We hiked to the Mark Twain Stump, the remain of a sequoia that was cut down in 1891 to be transported to the American Museum of National History in New York for display. It was 331 feet high and 16 feet in diameter at the base.
We took a side trail to see the Feather Bed where the ground was lined up with soft branches to lessen the impact of the sequoia tree falling after being cut.
We took another side trail to see the Sawed Tree, which survived a cut back in the 19th century.
We left the park around 11:30am and headed towards Fresno. We stopped by the Sunflower Farm to get fresh fruits and for Mochi to feed the goats. We got to Ramada Hotel at 12:45pm but couldn’t check in because their system was down. They let us leave our luggage there. We went to a local brewery and bratwurst place for lunch. We checked in after lunch. I took a nap while Bill and Liên took Mochi to an indoor playground
We went to a Vietnamese restaurant across the street from the hotel for dinner. Bill and Liên shared a vermicelli bowl and I had a mini seafood phở. We came back to the hotel and spent some time at the hot tub before going to bed. Liên took Mochi to the pool because the hot tub was very hot. But Mochi won at the end when she said “No Pool.” Liên brought her back to the hot tub.
Travel Day - Fresno Discovery Center
Mochi woke up around 7am and that’s when all of us got up. We packed up and went for breakfast. After breakfast, we checked out and went to the Fresno Discovery Center.
We visited Tiny Tim and Bowser, two Sulcatta tortoises, in the tortoise habitat of the Discovery Center. We were not sure if the tortoises were switched because they behaved the exact opposite of their descriptions. Tiny Tim was supposed to be shy, but the tortoise in his habitat was very active and came towards us. Bowser was supposed to be very active and social, but the tortoise in his habitat stayed quiet and still the whole time we were there.
We visited the Deutsch Cactus Garden, part of the Discovery Center, and also the Garden of the Sun run by the University of California. The Garden of the Sun was a delight with a children’s area and whimsical decorations.
We we went to Phở 76, a Vietnamese place nearby, for lunch before going to the airport. Liên and I split a vermicelli bowl. Bill tried the fried pork intestine. I tasted one and it tasted like “tóp mỡ,” pieces of fried fats that the Vietnamese people often put in soup.
We took the same flight to San Francisco and sat on the same row in the back. Mochi did not have hẻr own seat this time. She loved to look out the window. She played nicely between Bill and Liên. We said goodbye at the San Francisco airport. I walked with Bill, Liên, and Mochi to their gate and watched them board.
It was such a wonderful trip. Every day was a delight. I couldn’t pick my favorite day or favorite hike, but I guess I’d pick the sunset hike for the beautiful pictures we took. The time we spent together was a treasure. The moments are etched in my heart. Always.
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