Instead of heading back towards home, Jonathan surprised me with a visit to the big trees, Grand Canyon, and Mount Rushmore. So, it was a longer trip than I had planned. Now I know why he didn't tease me for bringing too many clothes, lol.
May 12 - We ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel (and got another fruit bowl to take with us of course) and hit the road at 11.
On the road again and I don't want to forget the little stops to take pictures on Route 66, little things here and there, we loved it.
We stopped at some Route 66 spots before leaving Oklahoma and got pics of the cool red clay there, as well as the red rocks throughout the southwest. We were too late for the 66 museum :( but, that was ok because we got out and took some pics around it and a photo of us at the Route 66 sign.
We stopped at the Big Texan Steak Ranch & Brewery, a kitschy, saloon-style steakhouse known for its 72-oz steak-eating challenge (we did not partake), plus a gift shop, a motel that looked like a western town (it was great), and more.
We picked up a red rock at a rest stop in New Mexico. The desert landscape in New Mexico is beautiful with all the red rocks. We stayed at the Meteor Crater RV Park in Winslow Arizona near the Meteor Crater Natural Landmark, which oddly enough, is a giant meteor crater in the Arizona desert.
May 13 - Big day as we visited two landmarks. First, we went to downtown Winslow Arizona and "stood on the corner". Taking pictures with the statues of the Eagles, the very cool mural on the brick wall, and the sign that says, "Standing on the corner of Winslow Arizona". There was a fun gift shop, ice cream place, eateries, and more. We loved it, definitely a must-stop for Eagles fans like us.
May 24 - We stayed the night at a Cracker Barrel in Springfield and had breakfast before leaving. We headed to Oak Ridge Cemetary, the final resting place of Abraham Lincoln. He is a hero to both of us, but especially Lisa, and we really wanted to stop here even though it was raining. President Lincoln's tomb complex is amazing. Within the walls of this stunning granite monument is the final resting place of Abraham Lincoln, his wife Mary, and three of their four sons (Lincoln’s oldest son, Robert, is buried in Arlington National Cemetery). At the entrance to the Tomb is a bronze bust of the President where visitors from around the world have stopped to rub the nose of the statue for good luck, so naturally so did we!
Touching the nose of Lincoln is supposed to be good luck, if you notice how bright and shiny it is you realize how many people follow this tradition. Also, you see this inside on the many full-body statues of Lincoln his shoes have been rubbed clean. You can see them in the photos if you look carefully.
May 15 - Mountain Valley RV Park was very pretty during the day and is right next to a small municipal airport so we got to see some small planes take off and land while we were getting ready to leave. Time to head to the "Big Trees". We arrived at Sequoia National Park at around 8pm and wanted to see if we could get up into the really big tree groves before dark. As we headed up the windy road it became obvious that there were far too many curves to do in the dark. We turned around and headed back to civilization to spend the night. We had originally planned to boondock at a Cracker Barrel or Walmart, but found out that in most of California overnight parking in store parking lots is not permitted by ordinance. We wound up staying at a cheap truck stop that had online payments.
May 16 - Time to see the Giant Sequoias. We came into Sequoia National Park from the north, the road was wider and less windy making it a less nerve-wracking drive in the RV. We went around Grants Grove in Kings Canyon National Park, so many incredible trees, especially General Grant. It is a truly spiritual experience to stand amongst these giants and think about how old they are and how much history they have witnessed.
I have so many reasons why I wanted to see these wonderful trees. Unlike the fantasy art I love so much they are real, and I could touch them. I even walked inside the trunk of one that had fallen, it was amazing. It's sad to see some of the fire licks and damage to some of them, but still so many, so old, so large. I also used to run meetings helping the newcomers in the AA and Alateen programs when I was younger. I always told the story of how many of us, including myself at the time, felt it difficult to believe in God, but that we must realize there are things stronger than ourselves and for now it can be anything, whether it was the group as a whole, a building, the ocean (so strong and powerful), or a tree that is so big you can't push it over and perhaps you can sit beneath the beautiful branches that shade you and think or talk things through or just meditate. Maybe in time you can let God back in like I did. In time I gained so much understanding that it is our choices that make bad things happen, not God, he loves us all.
Anyway, back to these magnificent trees. They did certainly leave an impression on us, awesome, amazing. Nature is so wonderful. Another reason it was on my bucket list was being so close to some of the most amazing trees in nature you could smell the wood all around us, we loved it.
Like I said before, amazing, they were just amazing. Jonathan did well, we walked half the trail and it went up to the General Grant, a huge tree the biggest in this park and one of the biggest overall.
It was awesome and like I said Jonathan made it with lots of breaks.
You could smell the wood, we loved it, being in nature with such beautiful huge trees was breathtaking and wonderful.
Below are some burned trees so sad.
The General Grant
We took a VERY windy mountain road to head out of California toward Nevada. There were still several feet of snow on the sides of the road, it was quite terrifying because there were no guardrails, and in many places it dropped off precipitously. We eventually arrived at the Desert Rose RV Park in Fernley Nevada.
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