Desert, mountains, huge trees

After seeing the marvelous Grand Canyon, we drove a very long 9 hours or so to our next destination: the town of Three Rivers, California. In order to get there, we had to go through the Mojave Desert. It was my second time driving that stretch of I-40 through Needles, but the first time for everyone else. Guess what? The desert looks exactly the same as it did when I drove through in 1990. :)

A few miles from Three Rivers, we passed an overlook where the scenery was so pretty, we had to pull over and take some photos . . .

We went to Three Rivers because it's the town on the edge of Sequoia National Park and Forest and near Kings Canyon National Park.

The redwoods and sequoia trees are AMAZING!!! There's nothing else like them in the world. The giant sequoia called General Sherman is one of the largest living trees in the world. It's over 80 meters tall (approximately 275 feet) and over 2,000 years old!!!

We put a lot of miles on our rented Ford Explorer and we saw all kinds of landscapes. It was great that Mom & Dad got to see these places since they'd never been before. And now Dad can say he's been to California. I think he might be ready to go back, maybe to Yosemite next time. :)