Sierra Vacation

California Sierra Vacation - August 4-9, 2003

Cathleen at Sequoia National Park, Moro Rock

The first week of August, 2003, I went on a little camping trip to the Sierras. The last couple of trips I had taken had been out of state, and it was high time I stayed a little closer to home and experienced what my home state (California) had to offer. I am glad I did.

The itinerary was pretty simple: visit and stay 3 nights in Kings Canyon National Park, then drive north thru Yosemite to the eastern side of the Sierras for 2 more nights in Mammoth Lakes. I enjoyed almost every minute of the trip, the exception being the drive up to and thru Yosemite Valley. Once I got out of the valley and on the road to take me to Tioga Pass (if you don't know where all of this is, you need to get a map and look it up!), I was feeling great.

The real find for me on this trip was the Mammoth Lakes area and the Toulumne Meadows part of Yosemite National Park. Just loved it, LOVED IT! Definitely will be spending more time in those places. Both are up there in the clouds - Mammoth checks in around 8,000 feet, while Tioga Pass (the eastern most part of what I am calling Toulumne Meadows) is just under 10,000 feet. Not a lot of trees up there. But it sure was pretty.

So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the pictures from my trip!

Kings Canyon National Park - located on the west side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains about an hour east of Fresno, California. Immediate neighbor of...
Sequoia National Park - also located on the west side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, adjacent to Kings Canyon National Park (a little to the south and east)
Yosemite National Park - specifically the Toulumne Meadows, or eastern part, of the Park
Bodie - a ghost town located northeast of Tioga Pass off of highway US395
Devils Postpile National Monument - in the John Muir Wilderness immediately west of Mammoth Lakes, California.
Rainbow Falls - part of the Devils Post Pile National Monument, but too pretty and too different to be included on that page
Crystal Lake - one of the many "lakes" to be found in Mammoth Lakes