Giant Sequoias!

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This morning, we drove from our Oakhurst hotel back to the south gate of Yosemite to see the Mariposa Grove of Sequoia trees. We took the tram tour (rather than hiking a couple miles up and back)--we found out that this will be the last year the tram will run because they want to take out the roads to restore the grove to its natural state. After we left Yosemite, we got some fresh Califonia fruits and nuts from a roadside stand to enjoy as Steve drove us back to our San Francisco airport hotel. Oh, and we found an IN & OUT BURGER drive-through in Merced--one of Laura's favorites, seems to be unique to California. Steve & Dana took the rental car back and got a taxi ride from the airport auto rental place back to our hotel--somehow the driver didn't know how to get to a hotel on Airport Blvd. and we had to tell him with our own GPS. Have to get to bed early tonight to catch the taxi at 4 a.m. for our 6 a.m. flights. Hope to see you all soon!

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Photos

Faithful Couple--two Sequoia trees fused together at their bases
Many of the Sequoias have black charred spots from forest fires--for young sequoias to grow to maturity the forest rangers have to do regular controlled burns so more shade tolerant seedlings don't take over and suppress their growth by blocking the sun.

Betty & Dana--Grizzly Giant?
Grizzly Giant is one of the largest sequoias in the grove--estimated at 1800 years old. One of its limbs has a diameter of 7 feet. Sequoias can be 30 feet in diameter at their base and up to 290 feet tall.