GWE - Day 10

Wednesday, June 17, 2009 (Day 10)

“Joyful, joyful, we adore YOU,

GOD of Glory, LORD of Love,

Hearts unfold like flowers before YOU,

Opening to the light of day.”

It is dawning a glorious and beautiful day in Three Rivers, CA. I am still processing what I saw and felt yesterday at Sequoia National Park. The Giant Sequoias are another reminder – more evidence – of the glory, majesty, and love of GOD. I am so privileged to be here.

We are headed back to Sequoia today. Kathy didn’t get to see the General Sherman Tree yesterday due to rain. We will pick up the trail there and then continue on northward toward Kings Canyon National Park.

(Evening Reflection)

Wow! Awesome! Magnificent! LORD, how great YOU are! These are a few of the words/phrases that we uttered throughout the day. Kathy continues to say that each vista we are greeted with is the best. At that rate, I can’t imagine what she will say about Zion, Arches, and Yellowstone (which are still to come).

We saw the General Sherman tree and had our obligatory picture taken with him. This tree is massive! It is the largest living thing on the planet. It would take more than twenty adults linked arm in arm to reach around this tree. Its extended family is scattered all around and there are no slouches in these trees either.

Pinewood picnic area, beyond the General Sherman, was our stop for lunch. Kathy kept hoping to see a black bear, but (thankfully) none showed up for lunch! We were serenaded by numerous birds and surrounded by Sequoias, firs, and pines. (This forest is a conifer forest – no hardwoods here.)

After leaving Sequoia National Park and entering Sequoia National Forest, Sequoia National Monument, and then Kings Canyon National Park we were greeted with fantastic vistas of the width and depth of Kings Canyon and the power of the Kings River. You will have to trust me on this… the views here are stunning.

We continued our drive, descending all the way to the canyon floor and the banks of the roaring Kings River. This river is not as wide as the Alabama, the Coosa, or the Tallapoosa, but what it lacks in width and depth it more than makes up for in force and presence. The water rages and cascades over granite rocks and small falls as it races down Kings Canyon. The signs warning you to stay out of the water are really unnecessary. The river is froth with the white of moving water and a light turquoise green color. The water looks freezing.

We took in all of the Sequoia groves from Sequoia National Park through Road’s End in Kings Canyon National Park, along with the stunning canyon-up views and cliff-down views of Kings Canyon.

It was dark by the time we got back to camp. After a supper of hotdogs (thank you Kathy), I was ready for bed. I believe I was asleep by the time my head hit the pillow. (Note: the popup camper does, in fact, sleep comfortably.)

Thursday, June 18, 2009 (Day 11)

¹⁸ I will open rivers in desolate heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water. ¹⁹ I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, The myrtle and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine And the box tree together, ²⁰ That they may see and know, And consider and understand together, That the hand of the Lord has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it. -- Isaiah 41:18-20 (NKJV)

Today is a special day for me. Kathy wants to give her feet and ankles a rest today. I am taking the Visalia Sequoia Shuttle into Sequoia National Park to spend an entire day hiking among the Giant Forest. The shuttle picks me up at 9:00am and drops me back about 8pm (PDT).