It was a usual Sunday evening and we (Anu, Ranga and family, Priya, myself and Ramesh) had just returned from Livermore temple and were talking what we would do the next week. The following week was indeed Valentine's day and a long weekend for some of us for the President's day. We all thought why not visit the Giant Sequoias and the Kings Canyon NP (SEKI). Priya had not seen snow at all and I had not seen it too for a while now. It was decided that we would go to SEKI and make it a day's trip. We would return the following evening.
The group was to leave in 2 cars - Anu, Ranga, Radhika and Anu's mom in their car & Priya, Ramesh, Venkat (Ramesh's friend and colleague) and myself in my car. The Itinerary was all set and the plans were drawn. We would leave San Jose at 5:30 am and leave SEKI by 6 pm.
On the whole the trip was a memorable one. For some it was the best Valentine they had. The pictures we took were amazing and here they are. Enjoy and looking forward to more such trips and merriment.
Date(s): February 14, 2004. Album by Karthik Nagaraj. Photos by Anu and Karthik. 1 - 31 of 31 Total. 1945 Visits.
enlarge 63KB, 800x600 1 Kings Canyon and Sequoias, HERE WE COME!! Early morning sky @ 6:45 am. Amazing orange color - feels as though the sky is on fire.
enlarge 59KB, 800x600 2 Another shot at the sky. This was taken on 101 while we were driving.
enlarge 77KB, 800x600 3 152E scenic drive. The best part of this drive was that we were driving very close to the mountains.The mountains in central California are not very high and look very timid but check out the ranges in the Eastern part and the coastal part - they are menacing!
enlarge 70KB, 800x600 4 152E Scenic drive - San Luis Water Reservoir. San Luis Reservoir was constructed as a storage reservoir for the federal Central Valley Project and the California State Water Project. It stores runoff water from the Delta that would otherwise flow into the ocean. The water arrives through the California Aqueduct and the Delta-Mendota Canal, and is pumped from the ONeil Forebay into the main reservoir during the winter and spring. The Los Banos Creek Reservoir was built to prevent storm runoff from flooding the canals. (www.parks.ca.gov)
enlarge 86KB, 800x600 5 San Luis Reservoir - a shot against the sun. Cant help it if the sun rises in the east and we were driving on the east...
enlarge 91KB, 800x513 6 Another shot while driving. Anu took these pictures and it would be unfair on my part not to give her credit for taking such awesome pictures. Infact, i am proudly presenting these pictures because Anu took them.We have wonderful shots of the sunrise and San Luis reservoir...so come on...lets all put hands together and say... Thanks Anu, Great Job!!
enlarge 57KB, 799x486 7 Back to the road scenary...:)
enlarge 87KB, 800x600 8 I think this is on 180E. A beautiful landscape.
enlarge 84KB, 800x600 9 Yet another shot at the ranges.
enlarge 122KB, 800x600 10 This is a nice one. I wonder what these mountain ranges are called?? The drive along 180E is a lot more picturesque than what we could capture. Great pic Anu!!
enlarge 123KB, 800x600 11 WOW - Wish I could just dump the car somewhere and walk on these mountains and embrace the strikingly beautiful nature. The day was beautiful - Sunny but a little chilly and windy with the temperature running as low as 49F. I think by this time we had already started climbing the mountains on Kings Canyon Road. The altitude was about 1000ft.
enlarge 95KB, 800x600 12 Doesn't that rock look like a frog waiting to leap at it prey? This is the last pic on the drive. We will be shortly hitting Kings Canyon. Hope you guys have fastened your seat belts. So, how are you guys enjoying so far?
enlarge 115KB, 800x600 13 A shot at the snow covered trees and land... @ SEKI "beautiful" View Comments...
enlarge 85KB, 800x213 14 Panaromic #1: Grant tree scenic spot. The General Grant is the third largest tree in the world and the Nation's Christmas Tree. It has been designated a National Shrine, the only living memorial to Americans who died in war. Signs describe many of the features along this 1/3 mile, paved trail, including the historic Gamlin Cabin and the Fallen Monarch. The trail begins 1 mile northwest of the visitor center. (www.nps.gov)
enlarge 229KB, 800x600 15 Grant Grove trees.
enlarge 231KB, 800x600 16 Look at the height of the trees. Anyone wants to play monkey - monkey?
enlarge 116KB, 800x253 17 Panaromic #2: Grant tree view. It was fun shooting these panaromic views.
enlarge 230KB, 800x600 18 Yet another shot...
enlarge 228KB, 600x800 19 General Grant Tree - The General Grant is the third largest tree in the world and the Nation's Christmas Tree. It has been designated a National Shrine, the only living memorial to Americans who died in war. Signs describe many of the features along this 1/3 mile, paved trail, including the historic Gamlin Cabin and the Fallen Monarch. The trail begins 1 mile northwest of the visitor center.
enlarge 235KB, 600x800 20 The twin tower brothers - Look how tall the 2 of them are? The name, "Twin Tower Brothers," was officially coined on February 14, 2004 by Ramesh T and Venkat :)
enlarge 210KB, 600x800 21 The California Tree - In August 1967, this giant sequoia was struck by lightning. The top 25' of the tree shattered and caught on fire. Although lightning-caused fires are a natural part of the sequoia forest, the California Tree is right next to a trail which hundreds of visitors walk every day. The Park Service decided that the smoke, burning embers and possible falling branches were a safety hazard, and that the fire needed to be put out. Park forester Charlie Castro climbed a fir tree adjacent to the giant sequoia, then traversed a rope stretched between the two trees and ascended to a place where he could extinguish the fire with a hose!
Believe me all the Sequoias look the same. I dont know how one can recognize one tree from another.
enlarge 181KB, 800x600 22 An amazing landscape! I wonder how Switzerland and the Alps would look at this point of time. Although, this is no less than Switzerland for the time being...what do you think guys? "ummmmmmmmmmm" View Comments...
enlarge 151KB, 800x600 23 I love this picture. Mainly because this picture is a true representation of the amount of snow on the road while we were driving. Can you imagine, this narrow road had 2 way traffic? Both sides had almost 3 to 4 feet of snow. This was on the way to Lake Hume.
enlarge 143KB, 800x600 24 This part of the road is slightly better than the rest. You can see that the road in this pic is wider than the road in the previous pic.Also the double yellow line is visible. The amount of snow is also not that much as compared to the previous ones...
enlarge 129KB, 799x368 25 Panaromic #3: Kings Canyon overlooking the mountains. This is an amazing piece of work by nature. Wish we could just fly and reach out to these mountains. Too bad this is the best we could get.
enlarge 128KB, 799x295 26 Panaromic #4: Continuing the previous shot. Not much of the mountains visible as the tree branches are covering them. Still a scenery worth admiring.
enlarge 175KB, 800x600 27 Yet again ! Look at the height of the snow on the road. Isn't it unbelievable that there can be so much snow and we are still able to drive.
enlarge 119KB, 800x600 28 The view of the mountains from Lake Hume. This would make an amazing wallpaper. All around you can see the short growing Sequoias. These are not as big as the ones we saw in Grant Grove. I dont know if someday they would become that big.
enlarge 103KB, 800x261 29 Panaromic #5: The Sherman tree. The General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park is the largest (by volume) tree in the world.
Computing the volume of a standing tree is the practical equivalent of calculating the volume of an irregular cone. For purposes of volume comparison, only the trunk of a giant sequoia is measured, including the restored volume of basal fire scars. Using these accepted standards and actual field measurements taken in 1975, the volume of the Sherman Tree was calculated to be slightly over 52.500 cubic feet (1486.6 meters).
I wonder why all these trees are named after Generals. I guess to pay tribute to them and all the Americans in the war. I dont know for sure.
enlarge 76KB, 800x530 30 W O W I E - I have to thank Ramesh for taking this awesome snap. This is the best picture of the day. Not only does it show the NP from a 9000 ft elevation but it also shows nature's beauty at its best.
enlarge 104KB, 800x600 31 Oh boy Ramesh - Thanks again for this wonderful pic. You can see ahead of us is Ranga's car pulling through the last few drops of fuel.
This is the last picture folks. Hope you all enjoyed it. It will be great if you can fill in my guestbook and leave your comments either for the picture or for the whole album. Thank you for bearing with me all along.
I would also like to thank Anu-Ranga for planning this whole thing and also to Ramesh and Venkat for joining us and making the day joyful and to Radhika for throwing snow at us and making us feel a part of her play and finally to my pretty wife for making the whole Valentines day lovely for me.
