We are in the Land of the Giants, Sequoia NP, where the oldest trees are 3,200 years old, the tallest are 311 feet, and the heaviest 2.7 million pounds. Their bark can be up to 31 inches thick. Sequoia branches reach up to eight feet in diameter and their tree bases up to forty feet in diameter (Source: James D. Knoke).
We are spending New Years with the trees, and hardly any people. Due to California’s severe drought, many parts of the park not normally accessible in winter are open, and we are taking advantage of it! (Please click to enlarge).
The satellite is not a happy camper up here which is why you haven’t heard from me for awhile, and we will see if I can get this post out. This is a shot of the sunset reflecting off the Sierras.
Most Giant Sequoia’s have been able to withstand fires through the millenia, here are some scarred survivors.
It is nippy up here but this lake should be frozen over and there should be at least 6-8 feet of snow.
This is where the Giant Sequoias live,
with their heads in the clouds! I envy them. They see us come and go.
Jim likes these wise old trees and “finds tranquility here.” Here he is absorbing wisdom.
I didn’t make this pinecone circle of love, someone else did, and left it for us here in the grove. Love & Peace to you from Sequoia! And the very Happiest & Healthiest New Year!
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Hi Cindy ,wonderful post.Amazing miracles of nature.Last summer my wife and l took our granddaughter to Sequoia .We saw wild animals and the fascinating general Sherman.Wishing you a joyous new year.jalal
So happy you all had the chance to experience this remarkable place Jalal and Happy New Year to you and your family!
Gorgeous…Happy New Year!
Visa versa 2 U x 2!
I love these amazing old trees and hope to spend time with them again this coming year. Glad you get to be there. take lots of gorgeous photos! Happy New Year!
So happy you’ve had the opportunity to amongst these amazing living giants & cheers to you too!
Majestic master pieces!
Happy 2014 🙂
xoxo
Only the best and brightest 2014 for you ‘ma deah’!
Awww…Thanks Cindy.
{Hugs}
Years have passed since we visited Kings Caynon-Sequoia area. We also visited in winter, but with several feet of snow. Only the area near the visitor’s center was open. They were doing controlled burns to reduce the under-brush. Odd to walk in snow with smoldering smoking coming up from here and there along the hike.
Oscar
Oh yes that would be an eerie experience and limited to the visitors center misses too much, but is better than not being there at all. This time we have total access to areas, trails that should have been closed and buried in snow. This drought is getting scary!
It is so nice to come across the symbol as such. Very nice set.
So glad you enjoyed my friend!
As always, your captures are fantastic! Happy New Year to you and yours. I hope you have a wonderful 2014. 😀
Back to you Jackie, wishes for only the best and brightest!
What a wonderful way to welcome in the new year…with such awesome sights!
Thanks for sharing these photos, Cindy.
Happy New Year to you!
Your kind words are so appreciated! Wishing only good things for 2014!
All the very best for 2014 Cindy I look forward to seeing lots more of your wonderful photos.
And I yours! Cheers to you and Jack~
What a place to bring in the new year. And a very happy one to you Cindy! x wendy Frohes neues Jahr:)
Yes no belligerent drunks and loud parties! The Happiest of New Years to you my talented friend~
As always, your photos are astounding and I love the unique way you send your Happy New Year greetings. I am so late in responding since life has still not really slowed since the pre-Xmas trip to California. But I save your posts for catching up on and they are always worth saving! Happy New Year to you my friend and may you find many more fabulous photos to share. ~Dor
Yes I miss your posts because they are so well written and witty. But, you are entitiled to a break! Good for you and Happy New Year too!
A wonderful place indeed to spend your New Years, Cindy. And Jim looks like he is truly enjoying communing with the trees. I like both Sequoia and Kings Canyon to the north. There are lots of great backpacking trips in the area, including one you can do out of Kings Canyon that includes Mt. Whitney (a slight hundred mile jaunt). 🙂 –Curt
Jim passionately loves Sequoias and Red Woods in general. I have been going to Sequoia and Kings Canyon since I was a kid, but this was the first time in winter and definitely the best! I backpacked once when in high school, 13 miles in one day! 100? No way!!
I want to buy a cabin on Mt Whitney but we can’t figure out how. Cheers to you Curt~
Pow! What a great shot to open with–it was as if I were at the foot myself. Lovely sequence. 🙂
They are so thought provoking aren’t they! Thank you for your nice comments and cheers to you my friend!
Liebe Cindy mit Schlangen ist nicht mein Ding aber die wunderschönen großen Bäume die gefallen mir sehr und wie klein der Mensch da ist einfach super Fotos danke dir für diese schönen Fotos ein gute Nacht wünsche ich dir in Freundschaft Klaus
Ich mag keine Schlangen entweder Klaus und die Baume sind noch schoner!
Both of your trees posts were excellent, your thoughts along with the photographs were beautiful! Thanks for sharing this with all of us! Robin
The thanks go to you for the apprecation! Cheers to you~
Your camra has captured the splendor, beauty and wonder of those magnificant trees.
I felt I was in a sacred place when i visited the Giant Sequoias.
Experiencing the tranquility of natural cathedrals is a blessing.
Nice meeting Jim he looks at home with the wise old trees.
Yes!! “Natural cathedrals” that are “sacred places.” This is IT exactly Jack!
Very beautiful photos and I can imagine that Jim was taking tranquility there by the threes and I thought that the last photo was very nice 🙂 !
Hello my friend! Great to hear from you! Yes, Jim loves the redwoods and sequoias, and they release serenity from their pores like a magical elixir! Mil grazi~
This one brought tears to my eyes. One of my favorite stories my father would tell me when I was a little girl, was his visit to California to see his father & when he first seen the Giant Sequoia Tree’s. Although I’m not sure if this is the exact same place my father visited, it was enough to trigger that memory & have me quiet & thoughtful…feeling as though my father was looking over my shoulder & smiling with me. Thank you Cindy! Jim’s feeding off the wisdom indeed~we could all use some of that natural wisdom from these majesties. What stout, proud soldiers standing guard over their forest. And you my dear, what a gift God has given you & how you’ve mastered that gift. You take our breath away Cindy, with each & every picture!! This is one of my favorites!! 🙂
I think your father must have been looking over your shoulder and smiling with you and this lovely image gives me goosebumps. It is impossible to be around these incredible ancient living giants without a strong sense of spiritual wonder. I as so very happy you feel this. Jim wishes to do a guest post about this particular tree and your synchronistic comment has nudged me to ask him to do so. Thank you and hugz to you both!
I really want to go climb a tree right now. The scarred trees….beautiful. I love this post.
Stellar photos – WOW! I’ve been to the Muir Woods and that was stunning, but I’ve always wanted to visit the Giants of them all. What a perfect place to bring in the New Year!
We visited SNP in 2012 as part of our tour of the SW. We loved it, by far one of our favourite places, and before we started planning the trip [we are in the UK] we’d never heard of the place! And I love trees! SD
So happy you were there! It is pretty impossible to fully appreciate without actually being there. Cheers to you and have a good day~
Impressive. Congrat Cindy! Really great pictures.
Just happy you enjoyed them! Thanks so much & cheers to you~
Very nice post Ms Cindy, I hope you enjoyed your time up there.
Loved it!! Cheers to you and thank you for the nice comments!
gigantic, colossal, monstrous. I I have not seen such trees.
It is so eerie it walk amongs them, knowing they have been around for thousands of years! I doubt they are much impressed by us humans.
The top tree is like a ghost figure of eerie. It must be frightening to walk among them at night.. 😉
I have done it. These groves are magical places. The feeling of peace & serenity and spirituality is so powerful. No fear at all. Serenity~
You have a nice soul 🙂
As do you my dear friend. This is why I love to blog, I get to know people like you! <3
I know
That is one place where awe-inspiring in an inadequate description. I love the trees. And your pictures.
Yes, it is a spiritual place. So glad you feel about this as I do! <3
Reblogged this on From guestwriters and commented:
The beautiful photos of Cindy Barton Knoke not only reflect the amazing splendour of God’s creation, they also clearly show the nullity of man in that great whole.
These photos are also a wonderful gift to use every year to open it, with good intentions.
We wish you a wonderful New Year, in a nature that we must certainly stand up for, so that people do not damage that beautiful wonder further.
I share good intentions with you and thank sincerely. Be well.