Kings Canyon National Park and Sequoia National Park are often lumped together as one. They are instead, two separate parks that have different features. Both of them are overshadowed by the more well-known Yosemite National Park.
We have spent years in all
three parks. I can’t find my current pictures of Kings Canyon but I did find pictures of a vacation we took in 1960.
We camped in Kings Canyon National General Grant Grove with my aunt, uncle, and
cousins. This campground is no longer there. Traces of civilization have been
removed from the park in order to preserve the forest.
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| Uncle Howard, Billy, Aunt Anne, my mom Ruby and dad Ernie in the back row. Stuart, Gary, Me, my brother Marlin, and Patty in the front row. |
I am not always a fan of
progress. However, in order to preserve the grove, I do applaud the removal of
all the commercial sites. We are, and have always been, responsible campers but
just the traffic that used to run through the groves hurts the ecological
systems. The park has more than 500 Native American archeological sites
Even with the changes, Kings Canyon is spectacular. The General Grant Grove, only a small
part of the park, is part of one of the largest remaining grove of giant Sequoias.
Sequoia National
Park shares
these giants.
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| My dad and I in front of the General Giant. |
The rest of Kings Canyon is just what it says. A canyon carved out by glaciers.
It is similar to Yosemite but is not as accessible. Truly a magnificent sight,
it is preserved as it was. Visitors can visit Boyden Cave that has tours of this geological site with
stalactites, stalagmites and a subterranean stream. There is also a bat grotto
I recommend this park and Sequoia
to anyone who has not been there. Before going, check the website. As of today,
some of the roads in are still closed until the snow melts.
Various camping photos from that trip.
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| Me, my brother and Patty. |
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| Patty and I touring the forest. |
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| My uncle and dad. The car is a 1958 Opal Kadett Station Wagon that I got for my 16th birthday several years later. |
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| Sort of posed. The boys were being silly as usual. |
