We ended up not going to mass last night due to the rain. We went to Lower Pines Campground and waited but no one showed up. We went back to the campground but had to wait 15 minutes as the road crew was clearing away debris from the mudslide that had taken place earlier in the day. We drove by El Capitan and got out and could see the headlamps of the climbers. I think they were going to have to spend the night on the rock. Got the tent/SUV situated in a little bit of rain and as we were at the bottom of a small incline, we also had a little mudslide – it didn't hurt the tent, just the tarp outside. Went to the Valley for mass and spoke to the priest, who was standing outside the theater. I told him we went to the campground last night and he said he was there and left about 5:50. We just missed him. All three of us would have been wet if he decided to say mass in the rain.
Left Yosemite and drove from state highway 41 to Fresno, CA and to route 180 to King's Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.
Dave here – what a great day. It didn't start off so great. It rained most of the night and I periodically awoke thinking about the climbers on El Capitan in the hail, lightening and thunder. I hope they made it. When I finally decided to get up, I was reminded of Nam. We learned you could do anything in the rain that you can do in the dry. Unfortunately, the tent was at the bottom of a hill and a lot of water had flooded us but none had gotten into our tent. It rained constantly during the upload process. Lisa, the smart one, remained in flip-flops. We emptied the tent into the car, collapsed the tent into the stuff bag, stowed it topside and then included all the foodstores. Before mass, we found warm bathrooms and I changed into dry socks and dry boots. I flashed backed to Nam in the monsoon where I had no dry clothes for two months and the luxury of those dry socks will never leave me.
I fulfilled a life-long dream today. We are sitting on the rustic porch of the John Muir Lodge in King's Canyon National Park. I am holding a pine cone which extends from the tip of my middle finger to my elbow. It is the largest one I have ever seen. We are in Giant Sequoia country. We visited the General Grant Grove today. For me it was a spiritual experience to be in the presence of the giant trees, the largest living things on the planet. I understand tree-huggers now. These creatures are thousands of years old and project their life force when you stand close to them. The trees in the General Grant Grove are all fenced off from the public. You can get within 10 feet or so but can't have contact with then. So we found a side trail which led up and toward the back of the grove and there was one of the Sequoias right on the trail. We had the privilege of touching this giant. This is something that I have wanted to do since I was a little boy and saw pictures of the Giant Sequoias in an encyclopedia. I wish Edd could see these trees. We saw and photographed the General Grant, which is the third largest tree in the world and the nations Christmas Tree. Tomorrow, we are going to Sequoia National Park, right next to King's Canyon to visit the General Sherman, the largest tree in the world.
That's all for now.
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