These are days.: First Camping Trip

Our trip to King's Canyon/Sequoia National Park was a success, and Alaka'i is now officially seasoned in both the eastern and western Sierras!

This is where Alaka'i played while we packed up the car. This is also where he wanted to be every chance he could possibly get while in the mountains. We thought he'd be enamored with more sticks and rocks than he's ever seen. But he really just wanted to "git in white caww".

Here is our campsite at Sheep's Creek. There were just open woods to the right, where we set up the tents. And no one was around us!

We are more prepared for backpacking than for car/tent camping. Our load was pretty light, including a snug 2-man tent and tiny 1-man tent. Alaka'i and I shared the 2-man and Jacob slept solo.

There was a raging river right next to our campsite, so we took many trips down to throw "egg" rocks into the water.

This was his next favorite place to be besides the driver's seat in the "white caww."

We heard this roaring all night long, kind of like hearing the waves break on shore.

He was serious about getting those rocks in!

I think this is called a snowflower. It just grows randomly in the shadows of various coniferous trees. This was on our campsite, and I thought it was beautiful.

We're still at the raging river.

Our first morning was chilly. The forecast said 30's/40''s. It felt wonderful, but definitely cold. Daddy built a fire and Alaka'i "helped".

Oatmeal for breakfast!

On our second day, after a rather short hike (okay, so you can't really hike with a 2-year old), we drove up to Hume lake. We've never been there before. It was so beautiful!

Relaxing at the lake.

Me: "Love, do you think you could at least take one picture of me on my birthday with Alaka'i?"

Inside the Monarch tree....felled so long ago they don't really know when it toppled. It's a very long tunnel to traverse, and Alaka'i both loved it and was afraid of it!

General Grant tree - the second tallest tree in the Sequoias. Maybe the second tallest in the world too?

Viewing the backside of General Grant led to some serious discussion.

He's back in the Monarch tree.

Here is our campsite on the second night, at Crystal Springs. It was not quite as secluded, but it was still lovely, and at dusk, Jacob and I watched 6 deer - no more than 50 feet away - feed on the leaves of nearby trees. It was like watching Planet Earth.

This is where we enjoyed the fire on our second night. Up at the very top right, you can see one of the bear boxes. Every campsite has one. These parts were "active bear" country, so everything with a scent, including children's car seats (not just food items), had to be locked immediately, to avoid bears breaking into cars, or worse.

Ahh, yes.

On our way home from the Sierras, we have made it a tradition to stop at my friend Jessica's restaurant in Bakersfield, called Moo Creamery. If ever in the area, go! We thoroughly enjoyed our very filling and extensive lunch. We spent over 2 hours there, loving the food, as well as the company from Jessica and her husband Richard.

Here is Jacob, enjoying homemade toasted almond ice cream with homemade caramel and hot fudge, thick whipped cream and fresh toasted almonds on top.