On March 3, 2003, we jumped in the van and headed north On I-15 to I-10 to I-210 to I-5 to Rte 99 to beautiful Fresno and the Sportsmobile West factory. We rented a car, dumped off the van, and took off exploring. We dropped by the Reedley Opera House (don't miss it if you ever get to Reedley!) (why would anyone ever go to Reedley on purpose?) and from there took a cruise on the "Blossom Trail". It was the perfect time of year to see the Almond, Apricot and Plum orchards in full bloom, really a pretty sight, but hard to photograph (for me) especially in the rain. Below is Lorri among some plum (I think) trees.

Next we headed up Rte 180 to Kings Canyon National Park in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. At about 5000 feet we started to hit snow and about 6000 feet it was starting to stick on the road.

We found our way to "Grant Grove", home to many gargantuan sequoia trees, including "America's Christmas Tree", the General Grant. Here are some photos from around Grant's Grove.

The photo on the upper left gives an idea of the size of the trees when you compare them to the cars in the parking lot. I took a couple photos looking up at the General Grant, but without being able to give it scale, they made the huge tree look like a big weed. You had to be there.