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Yesterday was a day for sight seeing and travel. I wasn't quite prepared for the idea that traveling 45 miles in Sequoia National Park would be done in the lowest gear possible to prevent burnout of the brakes. The HUGE Sequoia trees only grow in altitudes between 4000 to 7000 feet. That means that the roads have switch backs that "meet themselves coming back" as we used to say in Oregon, especially when going over the Greensprings Mountain between my desert home and the lush valleys on the other side. Also, the similarity with Oregon is that the road has a sharp and vast drop-off, this time on the side I was driving on. The views from the pullouts were breathtaking, and whole hillsides above me were covered in wildflowers. I climbed to the altitudes where there are groves and forests of the Sequoia trees, which tower over the lodgepole pine and what I think were Douglas fir trees near them. I was frustrated that I could not get a picture of an entire Sequoia in one frame, my camera range doesn't expand that far. The size of these trees, and their antiquity, is breathtaking.

Oh, in reading back, I have used the word "breathtaking" more than once. Maybe that was because of the altitude! There is a museum close to the summit, and I walked across the parking lot and up a trail to the viewpoint. There were three whitetail does just ahead of me on the trail, and I may have got a picture, but it is probably the kind where you say, "Now, where is the deer in this picture of trees and branches and rocks?" I was afraid to leave Jiffy alone in the car, because there are posted warnings about bears breaking into cars for food. On consideration, though, I thought Jiffy might be safer (and me too!) enclosed in the car than at the end of a leash with me as his only protection against a hungry bear. However, neither of us saw any bears.

I met a young man named Steven when I stopped for lunch at a lodge on the way to Kings Canyon park. He told me his history, but gave me no opening to discuss deeper things. I think this appointment was to pray for the Holy Spirit to draw Steven to himself, so that the loneliness in his life can be filled by the only One who can fill the inner hungers for any of us.

Tomorrow I plan to go to Yosemite, and then home to Klamath Falls. It will be good to see Danny. The weather may be a problem - rain, possibly snow is predicted for today. Please pray about this, also.