September camping

Once the school year starts, we don't typically plan weekend getaways. But months ago Randy had put a half-marathon on the calendar, and when he decided not to run we thought, "We were planning to go out of town for the weekend already. Why not go camping?" The weather here in Fresno was in the high 90s, so the mountains were a welcome respite! We packed up Friday morning and left as soon as Randy got home from work Friday night. We had to set up the tent by headlamp, but it was all part of the adventure! It allowed us to be up with the sun on Saturday morning and get a full day in the mountain air!



Saturday morning we walked the North Grove loop of Giant Sequoias (about a mile and a half). Unlike the Big Tree loop, you can get right up next to the trees! We enjoyed the easy walk, identifying trees, pinecones, and flowers (notice the snow flower almost as tall as Randy)!





The rest of the day was spent relaxing. Isaac practiced his whittling on a walking stick he found. We played board games, catch, and read books. We walked to the Ranger Station, which also included a stop into the store for firewood and ice cream, and a stop by the bulletin board to post this...



Dinner was successfully cooked all over the campfire (foil packets of potatoes, bell peppers and onions, okra in a pan with olive oil and salt, and German sausages straight on the grill)! YUM!



Sunday morning called for more relaxing! Around noon we packed up lunch and our campsite and headed off for a hike around the Big Stump trail before heading home.



















You would think that we would get tired of coming up here. But we always manage to see or learn something new!

“In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.” ― John Muir