Yosemite, CA- Mariposa Grove

Oct. 14, 2011

We felt like ants as we looked up under the towering giants around us. The Mariposa Grove is home to Giant Sequoias and there is no way to explain how incredibly massive these trees really are - you must stop and visit for yourself someday if you haven't before! The Mr. and I decided to take the tram tour with audio headsets and the narrative was informative and very interesting. We thoroughly enjoyed it. At the end of the tram tour, you can choose to hop off and walk through some of the trees on your way back to the parking lot and see the trees up close and personal. Although many of the trees are surrounded by wooden fences in order to protect the shallow roots, we were able to get up close to quite a few and even walk through one. It was amazing.

We were told these ravens were skilled enough to open a backpack zipper and eat your lunch. They are smart birds!

Bachelor and Three Graces

The Grizzly Giant. Follow the left side of the trunk upwards and you will see a large branch. This branch is almost SEVEN FEET IN DIAMETER! That's how big these trees really are. Photos just don't do them justice!

The Faithful Couple is two trees that are attached in the center, but not at the bottom or at the top. It's pretty cool to see! Another cool tree is The Telescope Tree, but I missed getting a good shot of that one. A fire hollowed out the center of the tree, but because of the nature of these trees and how they are sustained, the tree is still alive. Click here to see it explained. You can stand inside the trunk of the living tree, look straight up and see the sky out the tippy-top of the tree. These amazing trees were created to withstand forest fires!

The base of The Faithful Couple.

One of those "I feel like an ant" moments. These trees are humongous!

The Clothespin Tree is another example of a Sequoia that lives through forest fires. According to the audio tour, the opening at the base of this tree is large enough to drive a car through.

Fallen Wawona Tunnel Tree

A Sugar Pine Cone - not from a Giant Sequoia as their cones are actually quite small. This photo was taken at the Mariposa Grove Museum - a log cabin originally built in 1930.

There are many etchings on the walls of the tunnel through the California Tunnel Tree. In this photo you can see the carvings on the left, and the bark of the tree on the right as it is slowly covering up the etchings in an attempt to heal itself. Just one more example of how cool these amazing trees really are.

1896 is supposedly the earliest date found inscribed along the walls of the tunnel. You can see the red "blood" of the tree in this photo.

Another shot where you can see that the bark of the tree is now curling into the tunnel and covering up old carvings on it's tunnel walls. It's hard to explain why this happens, but it is the same reason why the Faithful Couple grew together and the Telescope Tree is still alive. The most-alive part of the tree is not the core.

California Tunnel Tree and The Mr.

Bachelor and Three Graces

The Fallen Monarch. Check out this historical photo taken in 1899 of Troop F, 6th Calvalry.

There's more to come, stay tuned! :)