Yesterday, we roasted chicken over a campfire in Sequoia National Monument. Today, however, I’m eating crow.
Okay, confession time: though I whinged about roughing it, I really did enjoy reconnecting with the earth. I don’t like getting dirt under my fingernails, and I don’t especially enjoy sleeping on the ground. (The Princess and the Pea, that’d be me!) But in the end, it was all worth it…just look at the beautiful scenery we found!
Oh, and check this out. This tiny cone (next to the peach) contains up to 200 miniscule tree seeds. Believe it or not, each one’s capable of producing a giant Sequoia — the largest living thing on the planet!
Is anything more mesmerizing than the Milky Way, shimmering in the midnight sky? And can you think of anything more cozy than sharing stories around a campfire? Still, after I stash the camping gear and scrape off the crud, I’ll definitely be ready to get back to my writing.
Beautiful pics! I’m glad you’re back, and that you had such a good time!
Thanks! Hey, don’t you have a writing retreat coming up soon?
Yep. De and Dot and I are going to a little B&B about an hour away from us to write our little hearts out. End of July. I can’t wait!!
Thanks! Hey, don’t you have a writing retreat coming up soon?
lovely pics—!!!
Thank you. Nothing beats the real thing, of course, but these pictures help me remember…
Thank you. Nothing beats the real thing, of course, but these pictures help me remember…
Gorgeous. My mother in law lives in a sequoia forest. Very cool.
Really? That’s so cool, almost like a fairy tale! Do you get to visit very often?
Really? That’s so cool, almost like a fairy tale! Do you get to visit very often?
WOW! I’m jealous.
And welcome back!
Thanks for the nice welcome home. Hey, aren’t you planning some sort of writing retreat? I’d love to be with you for that. You should plan for a campfire, with s’mores and hot dogs.
WOW! I’m jealous.
And welcome back!
Plant those sequoias! I’d love to see more of those growing…
The pix are lovely, and I am so glad you had a good time!
I would plant them, but they need fire to help them sprout. As dry as it is here in SoCal, I’m not thinking that’s such a good idea.
I wish we had more foresty kinds of plants here. Fortunately, we don’t have to go super-far to see ’em. Trade-offs, right?
Plant those sequoias! I’d love to see more of those growing…
The pix are lovely, and I am so glad you had a good time!
Breathtakingly beautiful! I wish you could plant those sequoias… but of course they need fire to grow.
http://www.nps.gov/archive/seki/fire/segi.htm
I’d love to have sequoias around here. I didn’t bring the cone home, good girl scout that I am…I remembered the rule about leaving nature as it is.
Lovely, lovely
I’m glad you enjoyed it! And you know what? There’s nothing better than that first hot shower and night in your own bed after a few days in the wilderness:D
Oh, I sure agree with you about that, Robin! Do you and your family members like to camp?
The kids *love* it — I like their enthusiasm…the campfire, the stars, the wind through the trees. For a couple of nights, it’s wonderful — longer than that and I’m wishing for my bed and cleanliness
The kids *love* it — I like their enthusiasm…the campfire, the stars, the wind through the trees. For a couple of nights, it’s wonderful — longer than that and I’m wishing for my bed and cleanliness
Your pictures make me homesick. I love the Sierra Nevadas with a deep, undying passion. Probably because i worked at the most magical summer camp in the world based in the Sierras.
Was it Hume Lake?
You must have felt you had died and gone to heaven, to work in a place as magnificent as the Sierras!
What a beautiful vacation! I’m equally impressed with the sequoias and the redwoods. They are amazing trees. My favorite pointless fact about sequoias is that it’s one of the only words that has all 5 vowels in it. Crazy, huh?
See you at PFL?
I did not know that, Jonathan. Thank you for yet another fascinating fact to add to my scrapbook.
Yep, I’ll be there tomorrow! See you there.
Oh my gosh…thankyou for sharing your trip. I LOVE being in the mountains, too. And –same as you don’t particularly love the tent sleeping bit, but after a long day of hiking it ain’t too bad, lol. Enjoy the rest of your trip as you soak up all of that beauty surrounding you!
It’s all relative, isn’t it? A small price to pay for experiencing such beauty.
Thanks for sharing my pictures (and adventure) with me!
Wow! So pretty! A new setting for your next WIP, maybe?
Thank you! If I wrote fiction (should I say when?), I’d definitely want to set a story in this magical place!
Thank you! If I wrote fiction (should I say when?), I’d definitely want to set a story in this magical place!
I definitely agree!
I definitely agree!
Is anything more mesmerizing than the Milky Way, shimmering in the midnight sky?
I can’t think of anything more mesmerizing.
Glad you had a good time out in the wilds!!! Beautiful pics!
Welcome back from your roll in the dirt.
HA! “Roll in the dirt” is just about right!
But a good roll in the dirt is always so wonderful!
But a good roll in the dirt is always so wonderful!
I love Sequoia!
Oh, me too. Majestic is the best word I can think of to describe them, and even that’s inadequate.
Love your icon, by the way. I’ll bet there’s a story behind that one.
yeah, there is!
::hugs::
yeah, there is!
::hugs::
Oh, me too. Majestic is the best word I can think of to describe them, and even that’s inadequate.
Love your icon, by the way. I’ll bet there’s a story behind that one.
Amazing!
Yes, they are. Incomperable beauty.
Camping plays havoc with a manicure, though.
I bet. I did’t even go camping, and after four days my manicure is already shot to h*ll!
I bet. I did’t even go camping, and after four days my manicure is already shot to h*ll!
Yes, they are. Incomperable beauty.
Camping plays havoc with a manicure, though.
Gorgeous!!!
Hi Liz! So good to see you again. You’ve been very busy, I know, so I’m very happy that you stopped by to say hello.
Hi Liz! So good to see you again. You’ve been very busy, I know, so I’m very happy that you stopped by to say hello.
Gorgeous!!!
Gorgeous pics! Glad you had a good time.
The pictures don’t even do justice to the real thing. It was so awe-inspiring.
I love your icon, by the way. It’s very evocative and pretty.
Thanks!
Thanks!
The pictures don’t even do justice to the real thing. It was so awe-inspiring.
I love your icon, by the way. It’s very evocative and pretty.
Looks so beautiful there!
You’ve been there, haven’t you? If not, you should totally take the trip. It’s not far from where you live, and you can stay in a cabin or lodge, if you don’t like crawling around in a tent. Ahem.
Yes, I have been there
I love it there…Well when it’s not snowing lol.
You’ve been there, haven’t you? If not, you should totally take the trip. It’s not far from where you live, and you can stay in a cabin or lodge, if you don’t like crawling around in a tent. Ahem.
Totaly breaklthaking! Yep, one of these days I;m going to go to al those lovely places in the US I;ve only seen pics of, and see them for myself. Sigh. So many places, so litle time!
But I know how it feels to be back home again….
Yes, returning home is a recurring theme for both of us, isn’t it?
I’d *love* to show you around my corner of the continent!!! Someday, as we both agree, it *will* happen.
Yes, returning home is a recurring theme for both of us, isn’t it?
I’d *love* to show you around my corner of the continent!!! Someday, as we both agree, it *will* happen.
I’m a total princess too, when it comes to that stuff. But those pictures look as though it might just be worth it! Lovely!
Linda B.
http://www.justlikethenut.blogspot.com
Hi Linda B…I’m so glad you dropped by to visit my blog! Don’t know how you found it, but I’m glad you did; I love meeting new friends!
I took a peek at your blog, too…such fun! I really enjoyed your topics and approach, and I look forward to reading more.
LOOK AT THOSE PICS!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! How lovely!
Those pictures are gorgeous. I would love to tromp through the woods. And I bet the stars filled the sky like spilled sugar. I love looking at stars!
Ooh, stars filling the sky like spilled sugar. I love that image! May I borrow it sometime?
i’m jealous
great pics!
i’m jealous; i need to go somewhere like this!
shon
Those are beautiful pictures. I know I’m a “bit” behind on my LJ reading, but welcome back!
We have redwoods here but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a giant Sequoia. What I wouldn’t do to be able to wave a wand and be able to walk into these beautiful photos and sit with my back against one of these trees and let it speak to me. And food eaten outside, by a campfire, while sharing stories – delicious. Then I would roll into my specially transported puffy mattress, tuck myself under my light-as-a-feather duvet and sleep like a baby – until I woke in the middle of the night, needing to pee. And I would stumble out into the blackness of the night and I would gaze in wonder at a million trillion diamonds above me in the sky. Aaah, camping.