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Jean and I left the Bay Area around 2pm, and started to do battle
with the Memorial Day weekend outgoing traffic. For the most part,
it wasn't bad, though it was slow going as usual near Gilroy on
101. We passed through the Diablo Range on Highway 152, headed
south on 99 to Fresno, and then continued on Kings Canyon Road
across the San Joaquin Valley. Miles and miles of flat farmland
including grapes and orange trees gave way to the Sierra foothills.
Slowly we climbed, winding our way past golden hills dotted with
oak trees.
We entered the park and continued on toward Cedar Grove in Kings
Canyon. We made a brief stop at the Grant Grove visitor center,
then continued down into the canyon. People say that half the
fun of Cedar Grove is the drive there. While I might not go that
far, the drive definitely does not disappoint. As you wind your
way down into the canyon, the ooh- and ah-factor increases to
the point where you have to stop at a turnoff and soak in the
view. It was late afternoon by this time, and the sun was shining
on beautiful snow-capped granite peaks to the east. After a relatively
boring drive through flat lands and small hills, the peaks are
an amazing sight.
View descending Kings Canyon Road
But that's not all. After passing the Kings Canyon Lodge, you
drive through a canyon with steep granite walls all around. There,
near Horseshoe Bend Overlook (which we would stop at on the drive
back), you are just a few miles upstream from the deepest canyon
in North America. Yes, deeper than the Grand Canyon -- 8200 feet
from the Kings River up to Spanish Mountain.
From there, the road snakes its way alongside the South Fork of
the Kings River to Cedar Lodge. We drove through a couple relatively
full campgrounds before settling on a site at Moraine campground(4600
feet elevation). By this time it was 7:30pm. Jean started setting
up the tent while I ran back and forth to the camp entrance to
pay the $14 camping fee. Note: make sure you have exact change
(you leave the money in an envelope one day at a time, not all
at once).
As we ate dinner in the growing darkness, we listened to the sound
of the Kings River rushing by behind the trees. The temperature
was pleasant, and mosquitoes were not a major problem. While the
campground is large (120 sites), it is fairly spread out and we
didn't hear most of our neighbors, save for the boys across from
us who talked into the night (30-somethings with big SUVs playing
CD's from their cars).
We slept with the rainfly off the tent. It was incredibly bright
outside; a full moon bore down on our tent. But the temperature
was bearable and soon we were asleep...
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