Kings Canyon National Park

Kings Canyon is located south of Yosemite.  Here we are at the entrance into the canyon portion of the park.

Entering the park from the west (driving east from Fresno), you first enter what I'll call the "tree portion" of the park, it's where there are the Giant Sequoia groves. Driving east, one actually enters the Sequoia National Forest to get to the main portion of Kings Canyon, which is the area between those two ridges.

As one drives east, one gets to an overlook where you can see where the two forks of the Kings River meet.  You can see the road entering Kings Canyon there on the right.

Rounding the corner into Kings Canyon.  At first I was unimpressed because I was expecting a view as spectacular as Yosemite. But I soon was able to let go of comparison and appreciate Kings Canyon for what it is.

Looking east into Kings Canyon, with the South Fork of the Kings River leading the way.

Onions put it best..."the river looks angry"

It was more than five continuous miles of raging water.  I just tried to imagine what it would be like to raft this river....

And then the trees appeared again the the canyon opened up and we could see the high Sierra to the east.

Looking at the east "end" of Kings Canyon.

Here, at the eastern end, around "Road's End" where the road literally ends, it looks a bit like Yosemite.  I have to stop trying to make comparisons.....

Zumwalt Meadow.

Roaring River Falls

So much mist.  A great place to take a nap, which is exactly what I did right there on the rocks along the river.

Heading back out west through the canyon, we drove back through the tree portion of Kings Canyon National Park.

The General Grant Tree, the third largest tree by volume of wood in the world.  Turns out Giant Sequoias grow only in a small zone here on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada's between 5,000 to 7,000 feet.

Last stop of the day, Panoramic Point.