Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Posted on July 20, 2025 by Anne Sandler · 42 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #357: Into the Woods

Egidio, you hit the bullseye. I love the woods. Getting out of suburbia and into the fresh air is amazing. I especially love the smell of pine trees. I need to get up to the mountains more often. Fortunately, although Sacramento is too low for pine trees, we do have wooded areas around our creeks and rivers.

Let’s start with higher altitude, the forest, specifically Lassen National Park. These pictures were taken from our last visit in 2023. As soon as I got out of the truck, I could smell the forest. It was wonderful being back after a long absence. Unfortunately they were still clearing away the dead trees from the 2021 fire. Our dog was still alive and I enjoyed our walks around the campground. I think he also enjoyed the new forest smells.

Lets move on to a State Park. Calaveras Big Trees State Park. The Big Trees refer to giant Sequoias. They are impressive trees. Not as tall as our coastal redwoods, but they have amazing girth.

Woods change with the seasons. In the Sacramento area, we don’t get too much Autumn color. We photographers have to go up in altitude to find it. I found these in Grass Valley in what we call the Foothills.

While we are still up in altitude, let’s visit Hope Valley and see how fire can devastate our trees. It will take more years than I have left in my lifetime to grow a new grove of aspens.

Down in altitude and in my local area, Dry Creek is a favorite for children in the summer. You walk through wildflowers to get to the creek. Stock Ranch Nature Preserve is located just behind Costco. It is dark and moist–the perfect place for fungi to grow.

And, now for my favorite National Park in California–Sequoia / Kings Canyon. Although joined, Kings Canyon (higher than Sequoia) has mostly cedar trees and a beautiful forest. Sequoia has the larger Sequoia trees. I’m closing with an image of the infamous, well-known General Sherman. You can’t hug this tree!

You can see why I love the forest and its smells and beautiful trees. Thank you Egidio for this trip down memory lane. When you post your response, please remember to link back to Egidio’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag. Next week, look for Tina’s post since she will be leading the challenge.

In the meantime, stay safe and live in gratitude!

Please see this page to learn more about the Lens-Artists Challenge and its history.

Posted on April 19, 2025 by Anne Sandler · 55 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #345: My Go To Places

John wants to know where I go to relax and rejuvenate. At first I didn’t know since I don’t have a designated place that calms me down. I gave it a lot of thought while I was editing photos, and then it came to me. My go to place is anywhere my camera takes me!

Yes, I can be upset, not feeling well, tired, etc.; but when I’m holding my camera, I have energy, I’m happy and not weary. The upsetting world drifts away, and I’m absorbed in a sunflower field, beautiful countryside, rivers, wildlife, buildings or anything that attracts my photographic eye.

At least one photo outing gets me through the week. Thank you John for helping me realize how important this photo hobby is to my physical and mental being. It’s definitely good for my soul. When you post your response, please link to John’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag.

What a week this amazing photo community gave me in your responses to “abandoned.” They were varied, heart felt and amazing. Thank you everyone. Sophia is presenting next week’s challenge, so be sure to look for her post a week from now. Until then, stay safe and live in gratitude.

Posted on December 3, 2023 by Anne Sandler · 40 Comments

Lens Artists Challenge #278: Unique

What is unique to some, may not be unique to others. It all depends on your life experiences. This week, Amy is asking us to post pictures of places and things unique to us. Since I began photography as a hobby 10 years ago, I have been to places that were surprisingly different/amazing to me.

Let’s start with the Coachella Valley Preserve in Thousand Palms, California. I had never seen an oasis before, and here was one in the California desert. You can see a large cluster of palm trees in the middle of a desert. As we walked through the preserve, we saw pools of water that fed the thirsty trees.

Have you ever tried light painting? Yes, painting with light and captured with your camera. You can’t do it alone because someone needs to hold the light source. And, of course, it has to be dark. One of my camera groups hosted this unique experience.

I remember seeing a giant sequoia for the first time. That definitely was a WOW experience. The sequoias occur naturally only in groves on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California. They can grow up to 279 tall and have a diameter of 20 to 26 feet. This is one tree you just can’t hug!

Redding California is home to the Sun Dial Bridge. It’s a steel, glass, and granite bridge that crosses the Sacramento River and is simply beautiful, especially at night. This bridge is one of the largest sundials in the world. Its shadow traces an arc that is so big it can record time for only four hours a day, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. When visible, the shadow moves about one foot per minute.

The Folsom Powerhouse is “an example of the tremendous advance in the commercial application of electricity. H.P. Livermore realized that the water of the American River could turn generators for electricity in Sacramento, 22 miles downstream. With his partners, Livermore built the powerhouse, which still looks much as it did in 1895.” During a docent led tour, of the small facility we learned how amazing this was. And it was certainly unique in that time.

Yes, my camera has shown me many unique places. I’m sure there will be more to come.

Please remember to link to Amy’s post when you respond to this challenge and use the Lens-Artist tag in the reader. Last week, thanks to Patti, we enjoyed seeing many empty spaces and variations on the theme. I appreciated your imagination and photography. Next week Ann-Christine will be leading the challenge so be sure to look for her post. Until then, stay safe this holiday season.

Posted on July 15, 2015July 15, 2015 by Anne Sandler

On the road again: Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Parks and Fresno, California

“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….?