a four to five hour drive from los
angeles and san francisco and just over
an hour's drive from fresno are
california's sequoia and kings canyon
national parks
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established in 1890 sequoia national
park is named after one of the largest
tree species on the planet and is home
to one of the usa's highest peaks
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neighboring king's canyon lays just to
the north plunging 2000 feet deeper into
the earth than arizona's grand canyon
yet despite their differences these
parks share much in common
their valleys have been shaped by the
snow-fed cascades of the central sierra
nevada
while from their soils rise giant
sequoias some of which first put down
roots 3 000 years ago
long before the rise of the roman empire
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sequoia and kings canyon national parks
are living timelines that remind us that
we have small parts in a story far
greater than our own
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after passing sequoia's iconic entrance
sign
follow route 198 through the park's
sunlit foothills into the dappled
shadows of its conifer zone
pull over at tunnel rock where
generations of motorists left their mark
before the road was re-routed in 1997.
four miles on at hospital rock see the
marks of even earlier travelers the pot
wisha people who for centuries use this
healing place as a winter encampment
follow the hairpins ever upwards for
another eight miles
then turn left and follow the gentle
melody of yucca creek into the depths of
crystal cave
discovered by two park employees while
on a fishing trip in 1918
these marble caves have been shaped and
polished by snow melt for over 100 000
years
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after exploring the park's subterranean
worlds turn your gaze skyward at the
four guardsmen a grove of
thousand-year-old sequoias
but these are mere adolescents compared
to what lays just beyond in the giant
forest
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call into the giant forest museum to
learn more about the sequoia tree named
after the cherokee scholar who created
the first alphabet for his people and
inspired the creation of writing systems
for pre-literate languages all over the
world
which is somewhat ironic for as you walk
beneath the 8 000 sequoias of the giant
forest chances are you'll be lost for
words
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from the museum take the big trees trail
a wheelchair friendly circuit where
you'll find favorites such as ed by ned
twin sequoias whose combined footprint
is as large as a swimming pool
two miles on from the museum pay your
respects to one of the park's elder
statesman
general sherman which rockets 16 stories
into the sky and contains as much wood
as an average 20 acre pine forest
after straining your neck muscles
looking up at one of the world's largest
living beings take the 10 minute drive
tomorrow rock
climb the 400 steps up the bald granite
dome which juts from the mountainside
to the west look down on route 198 which
zigzags up from the valley floor
to the east
gaze out to the peaks of the great
western divide piercing the clouds at
over 13 000 feet
while to the north feel the call of even
more adventure from king's canyon
just an hour's drive from morrow rock is
grant grove village the sole gateway to
kings canyon national park
after learning more about the park's
human and natural history at the visitor
center explore the general grant tree
trail
peer into the fallen monarch used by the
u.s cavalry a century ago to stable
horses
and gambling cabin the oldest remaining
structure in the park
then stand before the general grant
the world's second largest tree
declared the nation's christmas tree by
president coolidge in 1926 and a living
shrine to those lost in war by president
eisenhower in 1956
the roots of this giant run deep into
america's consciousness
after bathing in the forest fragrances
at grant cove
buckle up and hit the king's canyon
scenic byway
open from may to october this incredible
road snakes its way eastward high above
the king's river
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as the road descends and your grip on
the steering wheel relaxes take a
breather by the cool mists of grizzly
falls and roaring river falls
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after 30 wild rocky miles the road nears
its end delivering you into the lush
valley floor at zumwalt meadow
wander the boardwalk around this
picture-perfect sierra meadow filled
with wildflowers berries and birdsong as
the near vertical granite giants north
dome and grand sentinel fill the sky
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whether it's the vastness of zumwalt
meadow or the giant sequoias which reach
toward the heavens no photograph no
video no words can fully capture the
sheer scale and spirit of sequoia and
king's canyon national parks
this is a place that defies the limits
of lens and language
a place where as john muir wrote the
snow melts into music and between every
two trees is a door
leading to a new life
the only way to experience this place
is to step through that door yourself
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[Applause]
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you