Our first destination was in California only a few hours from our starting place. We arrived Monday, April 18th and departed Thursday, April 21, 2016. Week one of our adventure and embracing being unemployed, “homeless”, RV living and happy.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon
We stayed in Three Rivers, CA at the Sequoia RV Ranch in a river front spot. It was one of the best campgrounds we have stayed in California. There is plenty of space between the spots and lots of trees. Those of you local or visiting the area check it out.
Visiting Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks was the perfect start of our trip. They have lots of beautiful hikes. The parks are side by side in the Sierra Nevada mountains. In between the parks is national forest land which is called Giant Sequoia National Monument.
What we enjoyed about these parks was the beauty of the giant trees and rugged mountains. The best way to explore the parks is to head out on some of the trails. There are many different options from paved trails perfect for families or people in wheelchairs to more rugged trails. For us since dogs are not allowed on the national park trails we did our hiking in national forest land where dogs are allowed.
We spent only a day between both parks as we were limited on the areas we could explore with Sierra. What was nice since it was our first National Park visit it enabled us to get a feel for what was to come. We knew starting out on this trip we would be limited on what we could do with Sierra in tow. So our goal was to explore different areas and experiences that we wouldn’t normally see if we had gone without Sierra.
Sierra doesn’t really like to get wet, but she didn’t mind walking on the snow. The area was so fresh and clean that you could breath in nature. Walking in the trees and viewing the canyons in the distance I could feel the stress of moving and getting started on this journey begin to melt away. Seeing the strength of the giant Sequoias with the green branches moving slowly in the breeze was calming.
Since we needed some supplies for the trailer, the second full day we headed into Visalia, CA. There we went to Walmart to get the parts we needed.
We had lunch at a local restaurant Casa Mendoza in Three Rivers, we chose it because they had a patio area where we could enjoy the weather and because we had Sierra with us. Plus it was a mexican restaurant, one of my favorite cuisines. I gave them a positive review on Trip Advisor link to review. They don’t seem to have a website but they do have a Facebook page. They gave us water for Sierra and a dog biscuit. It was a beautiful spring day and wonderful to be sitting out and enjoying the weather mid-week. The food was delicious and satisfied my craving for tacos.
The campsite was so beautiful; besides exploring the area; taking care of housekeeping items we enjoyed just hanging out and observing the river. We didn’t know at that time that we would be getting into colder weather further along the trip. But then this trip was about embracing the moments and taking our time to experience the journey. It was a perfect start to our trip and a good way to easy out of working, packing and preparing for the trip.
Have you visited these parks? What were the types of things you did?
Embracing the Journey.
Tiffany
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