Watch us grow!
What a fun camping trip! We spent the morning packing up all our gear and took one last family photo at the campsite.
On our drive out of the foreset, we stopped for one last look at the view. That’s King’s Canyon National Forest across the way!
he kids passed out on the drive down the mountain and did a great job on the ride back.
On our second full day, we took the shutter bus to the Giant Forest Museum.
We learned the life cycle of a tree and then went for a walk to the meadow nearby.
It was lined with giant sequoias and there were little streams here and there.
Here is Peanut at the base of a fallen tree. It’s so big!!
After lunch, Janie turned her book into the Park Ranger, took an oath, and then received her Junior Park Ranger badge!
We also purchased a National Park passport and went around collecting a few stamps to commemorate our visit.
Back at the campground, Peanut took a nap and Janie hung out in the hammock with Dada.
Later it was snack time and then the kids went exploring. It’s great to watch them find new things to play and do.
The kids tried to make a teeter-totter. It was fun until Peanut got catapulted off. It looks worse than it actually was. He was just fine when it happened and got back on.
Peanut also found a stump that made a perfect drum.
They also had fun playing in the tent. The flashlights were a big hit.
After dinner, we had another round of s’mores.
This was an extra gooey one but so yummy!
Turns out it gets REALLY cold at night in Sequoia. Everyone slept with their heads covered and it was very painful getting up to go pee in the morning.
Mama and Janie were up first so we got a little snuggle time in before Peanut popped his head out and eventually woke up.
It was still pretty cold during breakfast. Peanut and Mama had their matching puffy jackets on today.
Janie convinced Dada to build a fire to help her warm her hands so the kids sat by the smokey fire sharing blueberries while the bacon and eggs were cooking.
After breakfast, we headed out to one of the Visitor Centers (Lodgepole) for a look around. We learned about all the different creatures that live in this National Park and watched a short video about bears and safety.
We also picked up a Junior Park Ranger workbook for Janie. It included a bunch of activities that she is supposed to complete and return later in order to become a Junior Park Ranger.
What’s great about this park is that there’s a bus that goes around to the different sites. So, we hopped on and got dropped off at Giant Forest where we walked down almost a mile to the main attraction.
The kids did great on the walk down and we stopped for a few photos on the way down.
Here is the General Sherman Tree, which is the world’s largest tree.
At the next bus stop, there was a fallen tree with a tunnel carved out.
For lunch, we ate our packed picnic back at Lodgepole.
Then on the way back to the campsite, both kids fell asleep and finished their naps in the minivan once we arrived.
For dinner, we picked up a pizza at Stony Creek Lodge and brought it back to the campsite.
The kids had a blast being silly with each other, which is an endearing thing to watch as they giggled together.
Of course, the evening ended with more s’mores and the kids were really getting the hang of it.
Once little brother went to sleep in the tent, Janie had a few giggles with Dada too.
We headed out to Sequoia National Park this morning with a minivan full of gear and food.
It took about 4 hours to get there and the kids did great.
At the bottom of the mountain, we stopped at a local fruit stand to buy peaches, cherries, and dried apricots.
When we arrived at our campsite (Stony Creek Campground), we had plenty of daylight left and got started with setting up our home for the next 3 nights. Dada pitched the tent while Peanut got started with playing with his trucks.
He also took a snack break while he supervised Dada’s work.
We visited the General Store to pick up firewood and other supplies. The kids both scored ice cream for being so good on the drive up.
For dinner, Dada cooked up some hamburgers on our new camping stove.
The kids seemed to enjoy their first evening in the forest.
Before bed, we roasted marshmallows by the fire. We were lucky to have no casualties this evening with the exception for a few burnt marshmallows.
It was expected to be pretty cold at night so we made sure everyone was bundled up.