Sometimes things are not what you think them to be! We found this to be true in Fresno, California. Typically thought of as a farming community in a not so well off county. We expected a small town with little to attract tourists. Boy, were we wrong!
Fresno really impressed us. There was much to do and enjoy. The town has grown and will continue to grow. There was only one disappointment: The Tower District which is supposed to be the hub of Fresno night life complete with the iconic Tower Theater. We went there during the late evening, hoping to catch some of the sights before dark. Then I wanted to shoot all the neon that the brochure pictured. The Tower Theater was not well kept and dirty, and after the fourth police car went through, we decided to leave.
But everything else was as promised and enjoyable. I’ll probably post a large amount of images just to get through the highlights. You’ll see sights from the Old Fresno Water Tower, downtown Fresno, the Forestiere Underground Gardens, the Shinzen Japanese Gardens and Fresno Zoo. That was all we had time for. And, yes it was hot there. So, we went out in the mornings and evenings.
Take a look at Fresno, and find out more about each place by visiting the links.Because, sometimes you can be surprised!
The zoo has a tropical bird aviary.
Some are parrots. I don’t know what this bird’s name is.
Playing coy? Beautiful colors.
I think these are not kangaroos but a close relative.
A momma Galapagos tortoise and her baby.
Watch out emu (I think), I’m catch up
Another Mom and babe.
Beautiful colored duck.
This bird is called a screaming something. He makes a horrible and loud noise.
My artsy version of one of the two tigers.
The regular version.
The lake at the Shinzen Japanese Friendship Garden.
This is the only bloom we saw.
Another bud.
It’s okay, peacocks can’t read!
Waterfall at the garden.
A garden walkway.
A statue in front of the Fresno Court House.
I’m pretty sure this is a parking structure.
Finding a new purpose for an old but beautiful theater.
The work on this building is magnificent.
The front. It is now for rent for various projects and shows.
Wall art.
Another theater that is re-purposed.
The entrance to the Forestiere Underground Gardens.
Pomegranate outside and before we go underground.
The entrance to the residence from the ballroom.
A walkway between various rooms
Trees were planted and grew up towards the light.
The door and dinner bell.
The owners bedroom. You can see by planting the trees and letting them reach the light, the entire place had light.
The kitchen.
The Old Water Tower.
It is now an art gallery and tourist attraction. Just beautiful inside.
“You can’t go home again!” You’ve heard that old saying, and going to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks was like going home for Richard and me. We used to take the kids camping there pretty much every summer. I just loved it there, but we haven’t visited in more than 30 years.
The good news is that nothing has changed in the parks. The same trails are there, campgrounds are the same and the sights are still beautiful. The bad news is that we have changed–we’ve gotten older! Oh, and the altitude is about 1,000 feet less than Bodie. We took a few simple walks and decided that we needed to get into shape. My goal is to do Little Baldy Saddle. It’s a beautiful walk through the woods and then about 1,000 feet straight up via a switch back trail. At least that’s the way I remember it!
Why haven’t we been there? Well, our previous trailer was too big to get into the park and Richard is on a CPAP machine at night, needing a generator to run it. I was told over the phone that they would not make exceptions for medical purposes and no generators could be run at night (there are no hookups). However, it was a different story when we talked with the rangers in person. We can camp there, and we found just the right spot that would accommodate our much smaller rig. That’s why we were in Fresno at an RV park. And staying in the National Park will eliminate the 1 1/2 hour ride each way on Highway 180. I will talk about how Fresno surprised us in another edition of this post.
Right now I want to introduce you to Sequoia if you haven’t been there. This park is home to the earth’s largest tree in wood volume. The General Sherman Tree is estimated to be 2,200 years old. Sequoia is also the second oldest National Park, being given the status in September 1890. The Sequoia tree is resistant to most disease and even fire because of the chemicals in their wood and bark. Different from the coastal redwoods, which are tall and thinner, the Sequoia is wide with a massive trunk, huge stout branches and is not as tall.
Take a look at these magnificent trees found only on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada usually between 5,000 and 7,000 feet in elevation. But, why when they get older, they get stronger; and, when we get older….?
We entered the parks at Kings Canyon and drove down to Sequoia. It was cloudy, giving the sky a beautiful look.
The overlooks are magnificant.
Some of the trees in the General Sherman grove.
Look at how large the root system is on this fallen sequoia.
The General Sherman. There were many families waiting to take pictures, so I just shot one along with the family. We don’t know these people!
You can see the fire damage to this sequoia. Eventually the bark will close up the wound. May take hundreds of years!
In the National Parks, they leave things as is. A way was necessary to access the walkway!
Halstead Meadow is just one of the beautiful meadows in both parks.
I call this one big foots toes.
A meadow.
Another meadow.
A fallen tree.
The pictures really can’t do justice to the size of these trees.
Slow Shutter Speed 