Since our drive wasn't too far today, we met up around 10:30 to say goodbye to Yosemite.
(Michele never got tired at looking up at Yosemite falls and saying "We hiked up that!")
After a quick gas stop up the mountain we back tracked and turned onto Hwy 41 south to Wawona.
It felt a bit strange to be back on the road again going to a new destination since Yosemite had been our home for five days, but we were looking forward to seeing the big trees.
Rob scheduled a lunch stop for us at Big Trees Lodge, which was actually still in Yosemite.
The scenery and historic resort atmosphere was completely opposite the bustling valley we just departed. Lunch was really good in a sunny dining room with authentic wavy glass windows.
Afterwards, we looked at the old black and white photos of the early employees and travelers in the area.
After lunch we continued on Hwy 41 out of the park. We continually dropped elevation until we approached the Fresno area.
We took a back road to skirt to the east of Fresno and avoid the city. We started to see agriculture and much less green. Julie confirmed that the trees were peach trees.
The temperatures reached 91 at its highest as we were outside Fresno. We also hit our lowest elevation since the first day of our trip, back to 370. We stopped to put on our chilly pads and cool off. It wasn't long before we started to gain in elevation as we made our way up the mountains to Sequoia.
We arrived at our lodge and navigated the parking area and separate building situation. A huge tour bus of younger seniors was staying at the lodge and arrived at the same time we did. We met up for dinner in the dining room and toasted our new adventure for the next few days.
As we finished dinner, a lady was recruiting people to attend her free stargazing event at 9pm. Michele couldn't resist and stayed behind. The hostess was exceptionally knowledgeable, cheerful and a native of the area. She led us along the path lit by small tea lights to a back parking lot. Once past the hotel's lights Michele couldn't believe it--the Milky Way! She had never seen it in person nor has ever seen a shooting star (the result of being a city/suburb gal and not a camper). Everyone settled on their blankets on the ground and the hostess talked about the starts in depth, and had a cool laser pointer to show where major stars and constellations were in the sky. We were even able to see a smudge of a much larger galaxy. It was amazing and humbling!
Meanwhile, the guys had assembled in Rob's room and finished off Mike's bottle of Pappy's, a rare and very smooth bourbon.
Here's a busy woodpecker.
Tomorrow we will explore King's Canyon, which is also a National Park adjacent to Sequoia.
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