On the Road Again: California

Central Valley California

Eddie and Elma in downtown Visalia, larger town close to Dinuba

After about three months in Denver, we are on the road again, this time just for a short trip, including California and Oregon.

We flew into the Sacramento airport, rented a car and drove down the California central valley to visit with our friends, Eddie and Elma Gonzalez, who live in a small city called Dinuba--about 30 miles from Fresno.

Eddie with some of Abe-El's produce

We first met Elma and Eddie three years ago in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and have kept in touch since.

Eddie and Elma were both born in Nueva Leon, Mexico but didn't meet until both their families came to California when they were teenagers. They met picking tomatoes.

Eddie has worked for the same farming company for the past 43 years; he now supervises all of the crews who pick the fruits and vegetables. Elma worked as a school secretary and together they raised three beautiful & successful daughters.

Squash field

For us, their story seems like a testament to the American Dream and epitomizes the hard work of so many immigrants to our country.



The owners of the company where Eddie works are now changing their business plan and doing less farming and more food processing.

Many of the vegetable fields are being converting to oranges--especially the little Cuties that have become so popular recently--and other tree crops.

Enjoying one of the great Mexican restaurants

The Gonzalezes were surprised at our interest in their area and our desire to see the fields, but they were happy to drive us around the countryside.

We had never visited the Central Valley and were really unfamiliar with the incredible agricultural production.

We were so impressed with the large farms and the fruits and vegetables that they produce--all dependent on the water runoff from the Sierras.

Our three day visit flew by (at least for us).  It was lots of fun being with Eddie and Elma. They treated us like royalty, and we had some wonderful times together, especially over some great Mexican food. We hope they will let us reciprocate by visiting with us in Denver.

Sequoia National Park

Lake in front of Montecito Sequoia Lodge

We left Dinuba and headed to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks.  It took us less than two hours, even though the last hour was through steep hills and mountains with lots of twists and turns. 

The two parks were created separately in the early 20th century but are now administered as one as they are contiguous.

Our first stop was our hotel, the Montecito Sequoia Lodge which is just a few miles inside the park. What a funky but fun and convenient place.  

One of the grand sequoias

The rooms remind you of a Motel Six, but your rental includes all of your meals--and what great meals they were. Despite being served buffet style, they were surprisingly tasty--almost gourmet and plentiful.

You eat communally and in the three days we spent there we met people from all over the US, Germany, Spain, Japan, and Russia. 

Often we met some of our fellow lodgers as we traveled through the parks, and it was very helpful to get viewing hints from them. We loved the Parks and would happily go back.

Gorgeous sequoias

As the name implies, the park is home to the giant Sequoias, and they were truly magnificent and awe-inspiring.  It is really quite humbling to stand in front of a 2500 year old tree and contemplate the history it has witnessed and survived.

Size comparison--amazing trees !

Although much of the Sierra Nevada forests, including the sequoias, were extensively, one might say brutally logged by the end of the 19th century, there were some visionary politicians and civic minded citizens who recognized the natural treasure that this land represented and fought to save some of the forest for future generations. For that we are truly grateful.

Grizzly Bear Falls

As wonderful and awe-inspiring as the sequoias were, the grandeur and scenery in Kings Canyon is not to be believed; it is glorious--and was a complete surprise to us.  

When we planned this trip, our first goal was to see Yosemite, but since Kings Canyon and Sequoia were so close to the Gonzalezes we decided to pay them a visit as well, without really knowing what we would encounter.  

We are so happy that we did.

Waterfalls.  Wildflower strewn alpine meadows.  Glacial canyons. Spectacular views. Scary mountain roads. Lakes, streams and rivers. Peaceful and serene hiking trails.

There was so much to see and do.

Happy tourists

Our last day in the Parks, we packed a lunch and soon after yet another great breakfast, we set out for the floor of the Kings Canyon and to drive to Road's End.  

As we left the Lodge, it was spitting rain and snow and the temperature was in the mid-thirties, but the road was clear and there was little traffic to contend with.

For the first half hour or so, we drove along the ridge line and through some pretty impressive forests--although some of it had been touched fairly recently by fire.  (Remember last year's Kings Canyon Fire--evidently it was one of the biggest in California history, but it had not registered with us until our visit to the Parks.) 

Despite the fire damage, the scenery is beautiful--and fire is a natural phenomena that makes for a healthy and diverse environment.  Without fire, the sequoias cannot reproduce; something the park managers didn't understand until a few decades ago.

Soon you come out of the forest and you see an incredible river valley, many thousand feet below you and a narrow ribbon of a road that takes you to the bottom.  As you gradually descend the eastern slope, the temperature climbs, it becomes drier and the scenery and plant life change dramatically. It is a trip of less than 50 miles but a world apart from the rain forest of the Western slope and home of the sequoias.

Zumwalt Meadow in Kings Canyon

Three hours and many "viewing" stops later we arrived at Road's End: the road actually dead ends here. But your reward is that there is a peaceful picnic area situated along a beautiful, swift flowing mountain stream.  

We enjoyed our lunch looking at the river, under a canopy of Ponderosa pines and watching the antics of the resident Western Blue Jays. It was truly idyllic. 

From the picnic area, a path leads to Zumwalt Meadows, one of the most beautiful and serene places you can imagine.  The meadow is really more of a bog or swamp with grasses and rushes and all kinds of insect and bird life.  Because there are so few people, you can stop and listen and hear the wind blowing, the insects buzzing, and the birds singing.  The video below will give you some idea of the tranquility of the place.  (You can see a video by clicking on the picture caption above.)

Our hike around the meadow took about an hour, partly because of the boulder field that you have to negotiate for some of the way, but also because we kept stopping to enjoy the vistas and quiet majesty of the place.  After the hike, we reluctantly climbed back into our car to make the return trip back to the lodge.

Wild flowers (notice fire damaged trees in background)

Our last stop was at the top of the canyon off a closed road  that leads up to a picturesque alpine meadow.  (One of our fellow lodge guest had told us about it) It is filled with thousands of wild flowers, many of which were new and unknown to us, and the songs of the resident birds.  

We climbed the steep and rutted road slowly, but our reward was a great view of the entire Kings Canyon valley and much of the surrounding countryside.  It was a great finish to a wonderful day.

Coming back to life after the burn