Bakersfield and Sequoia National Park

Since we had a couple of days in between arriving and having access to our apartment in Davis, we thought the best thing we could do was take a slow drive up from LA and stop to see some of the sights on the way. A kind of mini-holiday (not enough to compensate for missing out on the long summer holiday, but something!). There are many national parks to visit in California and one that was right on our way was Sequoia National Park so, after we picked up the car in LA, we drove a couple of hours to Bakersfield, which appeared to be the largest town close enough to visit the park and come back. We booked what we thought would be an airbnb apartment but turned out to be two rooms, a bathroom and a little corner with a table and two chairs and a fridge. Other than the lack of self-catering facilities, it was a nice place so we weren't too bothered. When we arrived, we made a short trip to the supermarket for some essentials (coffee, tissues,etc.) and to fulfill Anabel's request (she had "a visit to the supermarket" on her list of exciting things to do, so that she could find some of her favourite goodies from films and TV series!).

Because the park's web site was not too clear on what could be done in one day and, more pressingly, because there was the threat of a government shut down that might affect our visit, we thought it would be wise to go to the Tourist Information Office, Once there we had a brief Montana moment (those of you who read the Montana letters may also have a deja vu) when we realised that the young girl working there knew less about the situation than we did, e.g. she said she didn't know much about the park because she had never been. Nevertheless, she did point us in the direction of a Mexican restaurant that has won an award for the best tacos. That made us forget the lack of travel information and we headed for Nuestro Mexico, which did not disappoint. We had tacos, and quesadillas, and queso fundido until we could eat no more. And then we went home to our two rooms with a full belly and ready to get up early the following day to go and see some giant trees. Little did we know what awaited us!

We set off early because we had a couple of hours to get to the entrance of the park, so we told the kids they could sleep all the way. They didn't but they might as well have because there wasn't too much that was interesting to see along the way. We saw quite a few olive plantations and vines, which are linked to the olive oil and wine production in the state. There were also areas with solar panels and nodding donkeys, which are obviously devoted to the production of energy, but generate a fairly spooky landscape.

And then there was a spot we passed where there were what looked like thousands of cows crammed in a small area of land. The visuals were striking, possibly shocking, but the first thing that hit us was the stench that the area generated.

The only blessing about it was that we passed it quickly and were able to put it out of our minds. This was not a picture we took because (our cows were mostly black or brown) but it gives you an idea of the overcrowding that existed. Intensive farming indeed!

So on we drove towards the park and, as we were getting closer, we started going up the mountains and it started feeling a little chillier. Finally, we reached the entrance to the park only to see some friendly park rangers with a not-so-friendly message for us, i.e. due to the government shut-down, the park is closed and, although this is a road like any other, you cannot proceed along it towards the interesting sites. We were aware of this possibility, but had hoped that the shut-down would affect the park's Visitor Centers or toilets, but not the road. But we were wrong, we wouldn't be able to drive past the trees. Ray asked one of the friendly Rangers if there was anything that we could do instead while the rest of us were thinking about the small mountain lodge we'd passed with a sign that advertised cake and hot chocolate. The Ranger provided an alternative to refreshments: if we drove a couple of miles down to South Fork, we could turn left, drive a bit further and reach a place were we could find a campsite with a path that would take us a Sequoia Grove (not to be confused with the winery in Napa Valley!) where we would be able to see some of the famous trees. It would be a short ... 4 mile walk once we reached the path (insert panicking emoji). We were reassured that the walk wouldn't be too hard, and it didn't seem too bad at first,

but it was longer that it seemed and quite a bit of the path was uphill and, to top it up, as we were getting closer to the giant trees, there was snow and ice on the ground that made the path slippery, a big problem when there wasn't anything much to hold on to and there was a drop on one side.

Also, not all of us had appropriate shoes and, to compound it all, we were pressed for time because we wanted to get to the trees and back before it got dark (there was obviously no lighting of any kind and we didn't have torches). A couple of times we considered turning back (some or all of us), but we pushed on and we did make it. A bit cold and a bit worse for wear but with the satisfaction of having made it.

And these are the photos from the spot where the trees are. We were too cold or tired to take many photos and there was little light so this is as good as it gets!

With the satisfaction of achievement, we turned back, got into the car, and headed back for a Chinese supper in Barkersfield (did I mention we have a plan to sample all the ethnically diverse food we can come across during this trip?)