Up early to shower. The KOA Bakersfield succeeds. The showers are wonderful and have earned a 9/10 from the both of us. High praise, I know.
We watched a few rigs preparing to leave as we ourselves would be doing as soon as the yoghurt, banana and coffee had been consumed. We packed up, dumped our tanks (all good) and were on our way.
It was shortly before 9:30am and we were headed North. We took Hwy 65 to Porterville, CA where we stopped for a few provisions. Continuing northward we passed Exeter, CA where we turned East towards Sequoia National Park.
We have reserved one night in the only open campground located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. We arrive shortly after noon to a line-up of vehicles entering the park. This is the third park at which we can use the ‘America the beautiful’ pass allowing us entry free of charge and today saving us $35USD. At this point the card has paid for itself and any future National Parks, forests or other supported locations we visit will be truly free of charge.
The campground is smaller with only about 40 sites and is primarily targeted at tent campers and smaller vehicles. The road to access the campground is restricted to vehicles 24’ or less.
It’s nice to be amongst the trees after several days in the desert. We went for a hike up the river canyon adjacent to the campground and captured some beautiful shots of the river and hillsides.
Bears frequent the area and everyone is required to store any foodstuffs normally left out in their vehicles overnight in the provided bearproof boxes on their campsite. So, bananas, oranges, etc are currently tucked away outside of the van so as not to attract night time visitors.
Settling in for an off-the-grid (internet free) evening. Tomorrow we head further into Sequoia National Park to see the towering trees and other sights the park has to offer.
