Our 3rd day of vacation -- July 4 -- took us to Kings Canyon National Park. We left Kelty Meadow while the kids were sleeping, but at least it wasn't in the dark. The only downside to Kelty was the sketchy road that led us there. I was thankful when we hit pavement again on our way out. And once again, we were treated to a beautiful sunrise as Russ and I had our "morning coffee date" while driving.
Evie was the first one up and requested a yogurt parfait for breakfast. One of the best things about having an RV is being able to eat while driving. No wasted time!
We made it to Kings Canyon and went to Grant Grove Village first.
We hiked around and marveled at the sheer mass of these trees.
The General Grant tree is the 3rd largest in the world (we'd be seeing the largest one in Sequoia).
Next we watched the 4th of July parade as it passed by, complete with horses and plenty of American flags.
Then we hit up the Manzanita trail for some good hiking. There were lots of big pine cones to be found on this trail!
Off we go!
There were plenty of boulders to climb and views to take in all along the way.
We took this on a self-timer at the top and were laughing at how we all looked the same height! And don't miss our great Red, White, and Blue colors to celebrate Independence Day :) Overall, Evie gave Manzanita Trail a "mid" rating.
We took a break to have lunch and plan the rest of our day in Kings Canyon.
Our next hike started at Vista Point at Kings Canyon Overlook, where there were lots of fun rock sculptures. Our kids had to make their own sculpture to add to the collection.
We admired the vistas for a bit and then started our hike.
My favorite part of this hike was all of the wildflowers -- purple, orange, yellow, and white. And some of them were growing directly out of the rocks!
Once we got to the top. . .
. . . Calvin decided he could go higher. And so he attempted to scale the rock you see below. He was mostly successful, I'd say.
On the way down, Evelyn wondered at a tree that was growing out of the boulders. God's creation is so resilient!
We got back to the camper and Calvin got cleaned up after his ambitious hike.
We drove by Hume Lake, which was a pretty happening place on this 4th of July! (Although these pics don't show that.)
Then we discovered yet another incredible view, so we had to pull over and take it in.
I love this man and these kids SO MUCH.
Our campground for the night was really close so we went to check things out. There were HUGE sequoia stumps all over the grounds -- so cool!
We found our spot and relaxed a bit as we set up camp.
This was my favorite campground with the huge trees and great location. The boys were easily able to find plenty of wood for the campfire.
They climbed up on one of the old sequoia stumps, which was no easy feat!
Our 4th of July feast included corn on the cob and trail suppers. We cooked the corn in the husks over the fire and they turned out just perfect.
And did I mention that our RV was fully stocked? I mean, even including all of the essential accessories for a perfect corn on the cob eating experience!
The corn served as a bit of an appetizer while the boys closely monitored the trail suppers.
Diane (our RV host) even had 4th of July plates for us! Doesn't our table look so festive?!?
We played several rounds of pitch after dinner and then the boys stayed outside while Evie and I got everything cleaned up inside. We provided a "turn down" service for the boys, complete with mints on their pillows :)
While we didn't see any fireworks on this Independence Day (they are not allowed in the National Forest, as you could probably guess), it was a wonderful holiday spent with family, enjoying more of God's beautiful creation in Kings Canyon!
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