10th day - 266 miles

Today I fell in love with America all over again! From the gentle grass covered foothills up into the steep and rocky mountains of the southern Sierra I witnessed some of the most beautiful sceneries this country has to offer. Twice I had to turn around because I missed my turn. It's hard to pay attention to the GPS when you're surrounded by this kind of beauty. From the stunning big vistas to the colorful little flowers on the roadside, you get easily distracted. The ever winding Generals Highway in the Sequoia National Park takes you up 7000 feet into a forest that can only be described as mystical. Groves of giant 2000 year old trees make you feel suddenly quite insignificant. Everything suddenly seems to be irrelevant when you find yourself standing amongst those ancient giants. A truly humbling experience that I will carry with me forever.

The foothills of the Sierra

Let the fun begin

Winding little roads that lead into the heart of the High Sierra

Road beautification program

Peaceful valley meadows

Lupine flowers lining the roads

Wow! I want one of these for my garden

The wild Kern River gushes out of the mountains

I wish you could have heard the refreshing sound

In the Sequoia National Forest

 

A group of four giants grown together over the past thousand years - will they become one?

Forest meadow

Sea of green

Even when they die they still impress

Last snow in the High Sierra

More Lupines - this time in purple

Leaving Sequoia National Forest behind

It's 87 degrees! How can there be that much snow up there?

That's the detour - not bad!

If you always chose the smaller road you wind up in the most beautiful areas of the beaten path

Motorcycle Nirvana!!

Going up the Generals Highway from 1000 foot elevation to 7200 foot

In the Sequoia National Park

This is the General Sherman tree. It's the biggest tree in the world! When the tree was discovered, the US cavalry build a camp here to protect him and gave him its name. 

There is no way to get Sherman into one picture, no matter how big your wide angle is.

Berry was speechless - and a little intimidated

Small forest lake close to the lodge I'm spending the night at.