Finding Fall Colors in Kings Canyon

I first visited Kings Canyon National Park over 20 years ago with my dad.  I figured Dad was with me as I made a quick drive into Grant Grove in Kings Canyon National Park.  I was not optimistic about finding much fall color, but I knew the trees would be there—and they never disappoint.

Being out among the trees I always feel relaxed and connected.  There is a spirituality in the trees.  They have weathered many storms and still keep reaching upward.  They sink roots and stand strong. I agree with Robert Louis Stevenson about the power of the trees to rejuvenate a person’s spirit:

“It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air, that emanation from old trees that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.”  

It was a great afternoon.  Autumn colors were even mixed in with the wondrous trees.

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Some Quotes about Trees

“Trees are your best antiques.”   Alexander Smith

“For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.”   Martin Luther

“There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it.”   Minnie Aumonier

“The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber.  The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky.”  Antoine de Saint Exupery

 “There is something about a forest that compels introspection.”  Eloise J. Roorbach

“Trees are the earth’s endless effort to speak to the listening heaven.”   Rabindranath Tagore

“Year on year, the lovely trees have grown more dear.”   V. O. Wallingford

“We can learn a lot from trees:  they’re always grounded but never stop reaching heavenward.”   Terri Guillemets

“The trees are whispering to me, reminding me of my roots, and my reach. . . shhhhh. . . can you hear them?  Selflessly sharing their subtle song.”   Jeb Dickerson

“If you would know strength and patience, welcome the company of trees.”   Hal Borland

“It seems natural to liken venerable trees to grand old men.  It is something to have lived through storms that try one so terribly, but only succeed in giving greater powers. Even the scars of a tree add dignity, and the loss here and there of a limb only makes for more character.”   Eloise J. Roorbach

“The groves were God’s first temples.”   William Cullen Bryant

“He who plants a tree plants hope.”   Lucy Larcom

“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago.  The next best time is now.”   Chinese Proverb

“If I knew I should die tomorrow, I would plant a tree today.”   Stephen Girard

“Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish caught will we realize we cannot eat money.”   Cree Proverb

BIG TREES & MORE: A Wonderful Drive

“These kings of the forest, the noblest of the mighty race, rightly belong to the world. . . we cannot escape the responsibility as their guardians.”  John Muir

“The groves were God’s first temples.”  William Cullen Bryant

“How dear the woods are!  You beautiful trees!  I love every one of you as a friend.”  Lucy Maud Montgomery

Sequoia National Park—the country’s second national park—was created by President Harrison in 1890.  Within a week, its size grew to incorporate the newly formed General Grant National Park.  The park’s goal—then and now—was to protect and showcase the Sequoias, those wondrous big trees the park was named for.  Sequoias, of course, are some of the largest and oldest trees in the world.  Redwoods are also evident in the park.

In 1903 the first paved road was completed, increasing access to the park’s wonderfully big trees, but the access was still rather limited.  Generals Highway opened in 1926, expanding visitation to the Giant Forest. This drive through the Giant Forest is one of my favorites—the grandeur and majesty of the trees is overwhelming.

In 1940, Kings Canyon National Park was created by President Roosevelt.  This new park is situated right next to Sequoia National Park.  Since World War II, the two parks have been jointly administered.  The two parks really do work together as one big protected area, encompassing 1,353 square miles.  The majority of this land (97%) is designated as wilderness.  Each year, almost two million people visit the trees and surrounding area.

I feel lucky that these two national parks—Kings Canyon National Park and Sequoia National Park—are basically in my backyard.  They are situated only about 120 miles away via a fun twisty-turny-steep road, so it takes about four hours to get to one of the various entry points.  My most recent visit was a few weeks ago, specifically to look for some early fall colors.  That trip was a success, but—regardless of the fall colors—the drive through the parks is always stupendous.

A Quick Glimpse into Kings Canyon National Park

Hume Lake

A Short Terrific Drive through Sequoia National Park

Fallen Tunnel Tree

Some Short Drives through the Trees

If you have not visited these parks—or any of the other Redwood Parks in California—do so.  As John Muir says, “The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.”  Trust me, you will be impressed.

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“Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience.  Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.”  Hal Borland

“But there is one tree that for the footer of the mountain trails is voiceless; it speaks, no doubt, but it speaks only to the austere mountain heads, to the mindful wind and the watching stars.  It speaks as men speak to one another and are not heard by the little ants crawling over their boots.  This is the Big Tree, the Sequoia.”  Mary Austin

“When you enter a grove peopled with ancient trees, higher than the ordinary, and shutting out the sky with their thickly inter-twined branches, do not the stately shadows of the wood, the stillness of the place, and the awful gloom of this doomed cavern then strike you with the presence of a deity?”  Seneca

“The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber.  The tree is a slow enduring force straining to win the sky.”  Antoine de Saint Exupery

“It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air, that emanation from the old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.”  Robert Louis Stevenson

“For in the nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.”  Martin Luther

“There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it.”  Minnie Aumonier

“I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they live than other things do.”  Willa Cather

“If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer.  But it he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.”  Henry David Thoreau

“You can live for years next door to a big pine tree, honored to have so venerable a neighbor, even when it sheds needles all over your flowers or wakes you, dropping big cones onto your deck in the still of the night.”  Denise Levertov

“I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines.”  Henry David Thoreau

“Old growth forests are not a renewable resource.”  Anonymous

 

“Today I have grown taller from walking with the trees.”  Karle Wilson Butler

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”  John Muir

“A nation that destroys its souls destroys itself.  Forests are the wings of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.”  Franklin Delano Roosevelt

“Fancy cutting down all these beautiful trees. . .  to make pulp for these bloody newspapers, and calling it civilization.”  Winston Churchill

“It’s impossible to walk in the woods and be in a bad mood at the same time.”  Anonymous

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE TREES!

Over the last several days I have been playing in and around Flagstaff, Arizona.  The pine trees are impressive—and the scent in the air is wondrous.  The pine trees also represent resilience and hope for the future.  The hillsides are not as thick with pine as they were years and years ago, since they were cut as lumber.  Fires have also worked through the hills, thinning the forests.  But the trees are still here.  Thank goodness. Today being Arbor Day makes me reflect on how important trees are—and how we need to take better care of them, if we want them around in the future.  They are our future, literally and figuratively. I certainly hope you have been noticing and enjoying the trees around you, especially today.  Did you sit in the shade, climb to the highest branches, harvest some fruit, or maybe make a fire or carve your initials into the bark?  Have you hugged a tree lately? Maybe you even planted a tree? And today, like every day—whether you notice and appreciate trees or not—I know you have been breathing the oxygen trees replenish for us throughout the world.

How did you celebrate Arbor Day?  I am sharing some photos of a few of my favorite trees!

Some Ancient Bristlecone Pines–some are thousands of years old!

California Redwoods–some of the tallest and oldest trees on the planet!

Fallen Trees & Stumps from Petrified Forest, Arizona

Some Random Favorite Trees throughout the Years

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SOME QUOTES ON THE IMPORTANCE OF TREES

“It’s the little things citizens do.  That’s what will make the difference.  My little thing is planting trees.”  Wangari Meathal

“Research gathered over recent years has highlighted the countless benefits to people, wildlife and the environment that come from planting trees and creating new woodland habitat.  It’s obvious trees are good things.”  Clive Anderson

“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow.  The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”  Abraham Lincoln

“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”  Warren Buffett

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant an apple tree.”  Martin Luther

“He who plants a tree plants hope.”  Lucy Larcorn

“Be like a tree in pursuit of your cause.  Stand firm, grip hard, thrust upward, bend to the winds of heaven, and learn tranquility.”  Dedication from Father of the Trees

“Earth teach me to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life. Earth teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall.  Earth teach me courage as the tree which stands all alone.  Earth teach me regeneration as the seed which rises in the spring.”  William Alexander

“For in the future nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious that if it were made of gold and silver.”  Martin Luther

“What is a fish without a river?  What is a bird without a tree to nest in?  What is an Endangered Species Act without any enforcement mechanism to ensure their habitat is protected?  It is nothing.”  Jay Inslee

“Until you dig a hole, plant a tree, water it and make it survive, you haven’t done a thing.  You are just talking.”  Wangari Maathai

“I never saw a discontented tree.  They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do.”  John Muir

“A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease.”  John Muir

“A man doesn’t plant a tree for himself.  He plants it for posterity.”  Alexander Smith

“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago.  The second best time is now.”  Anonymous

“The act of planting a tree is, yes, a simple one.  But rich.  Rich in symbolism, rich in personal satisfaction, rich in the exercise of responsibility.”  Michael Fisher

“Only caring individuals can restore the places we inhabit.  The simple act of planting a tree not only restores the places we live, but makes us whole and powerful again.”  Paul Hawken

“Acts of creation are ordinarily reserved for gods and poets.  To plant a tree, one need only own a shovel.”  Aldo Leopold

“In the woods we return to reason and faith.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

“To exist as a nation, to prosper as a state, and to live as people, we must have trees.”  Theodore Roosevelt

“Tree are the earth’s endless effort to speak to the listening heaven.”  Rabindranath Tagor

“The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness.”  John Muir

“The best friend on earth of man is the tree: when we use the tree respectfully and economically we have one of the greatest resources of the earth.”  Frank Lloyd Wright

“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”  Greek Proverb

“I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do.”  Willa Cather