(Gabi) Today was our first National Park day. Super exciting for me because I’ve never been to an American national park before. And Thomie had very fond memories from a childhood visit to Sequoia national park.

Cool entrance sign.

And today’s theme: Awesome gigantic trees. The Sequoia tree really is something else and to be in its presence  is rather humbling.

Gorgeous view of the valley.

We took a stroll around this lovely meadow which is surrounded by beautiful big Sequoias.

On the way around the meadow a group of friends asked us to take their photo wedged between two Sequoias. There was a lot a squealing and laughter and they seemed to be having a great time.

Thomie in front of a Sequoia with a burn scar. They have an amazingly thick (1 foot, around 30 cms), multi-layered outer bark, which protects them from fires and parasites. It’s almost impossible to kill a Sequoia tree and they only ever die when their shallow roots lose their grip and they fall over. That’s how they get thousands of years old. Apparently we haven’t been around long enough to establish what Sequoia life expectancy is. Insane. Sequoia trees heal and I think you can see how this tree is slowly closing its scar with new bark growing around it. All that will be left of the fire damage after a while is a dark segment in the trees rings.

Enchanting landscape.

A fallen tree. Fallen Sequoias often provide a good climate for new trees to grow.

Thomie and Gabi and the General Sherman Tree:

The General Sherman tree is the biggest tree on the planet. It’s around 2700 years old and just unbelievably enormous. It doesn’t grow anymore (they stop growing after a while).

Moro rock looked cool from the distance so Thomas just wanted to go up the stairs for a quick peek at the view.

10 minutes later.

Climbing Moro Rock:

Of course we couldn’t skip driving through the famous tunnel log!

More Sequoia action with Thomie.

Perversely good dinner from Arby’s. I had a French Dip sandwich (roast beef sandwich with a cup of gravy to dip it into – incredibly yummy) and Thomie enjoyed a brisket sandwich.

Our hotel had a freezer with ready meals (most American hotel rooms have microwaves) and ice cream! So we had some ice cream bars for dessert.