After arriving around 11:30 last night and setting up a tent and campground in the dark (using proper bear precautions of course) we attempted to find the restroom. It was black as pitch and Rachel trusted me to get us there. Naturally, I went completely in the wrong direction and it took us a good mile walk to find what was no more than 200 yards away from our tent. Anyway, after the long day and the long night walk, we slept pretty soundly.
The sun woke me up early in the morning and Since I am a noisy being Rachel woke up with me! Thus began our first full day of camping fun!
We said hello to those who were not up when we arrived. My brother and his wife were there with Mary Kay on her first camping trip! Also there were my parents, aunt, cousin, grandpa and a long list of family friends!!! What can I say: when we camp we bring the whole neighborhood and the dogs too!
Most of them were recovering from a decent night of drinking! While we let them nurse their hangovers, Rachel and I meandered around, playing games and making camping donuts! For those that don’t know, a camping donut is made by taking raw dough, wrapping it around a campfire skewer and smithing it in melted butter, cinnamon and sugar! Then you toast it over a fire till the dough is cooked. It takes awhile but they are delicious! Anyway, the morning stretched to early afternoon before everyone finally got off their butts and we headed over to the crown of Sequoia National Park: the General Sherman Tree!
The General is the largest tree in the world! Not to be confused with the tallest tree in the world, The General Sherman is the largest tree by volume! It is also over 2000 years old and is, without a doubt, an impressive sight to behold!
The parking lot and trail was fairly crowded but we all made it, even Mary Kay! I wish I had the picture of my brother Andrew going all Lion King with his daughter, but alas I do not. I assume it will surface eventually!
All-in-all it was a good afternoon, spent checking out some incredible sights with incredible people. We made our way back to camp and whiled away the rest of the afternoon with card games and food! Particularly we played an insanely long but good game called Phase 10 (I think it is time to change up the rules for that one). And most definitely worth a mention is my dad’s flaming salmon on the grill! I don’t think he did it on purpose but it turned out delicious anyway!
Rachel and I called it a relatively early night after our long drive, short sleep, and good hike of the days before! The day was nice but tomorrow is where the real fun began!
Matt Was Here 