After the first days in San Francisco and driving along the Californian central coast, the next step of my trip was Sierra Nevada. I was so looking forward to spending few days in the mountains! The plan was to travel from Santa Bárbara to Sequoia National Park. From there, visiting Kings Canyon National Park and, finally, arrive to Yosemite National Park, the crown jewel of Sierra Nevada.
The trip from Santa Bárbara to Sequoia NP was a long one. The changes in the landscape as we drove were mesmerazing. From the beautiful mountains of Los Padres National Forest close to the coast, we headed almost inmediately to a huge valley full of orchards. After that, the valley becomes a huge almost desertic area with petrol wells everywhere. We wanted to arrive to Sequoia NP before sunset, so I didn’t take photos of these areas…
After a few hours driving, the terrain started to ascend and we started to see green vegetation again… At first low vegetation, but after we drove across the gates of the National Park, this low vegetation transformed into trees, and then we started to see huge cinnamon coloured tree trunks… the giant Sequoias!!
Sequoia National Park has been one of my favourite experiences in California. I didn’t spend there as much time as I’d have liked, but that time was very rewarding! Walking among the giant millenary sequoias was amazing. I felt so small!!! The park didn’t feel as crowded as one could expect from these kind of places. We hardly met anyone once we went to the less known sights that needed a bit of a hike to reach them… And we saw a black bear, very close to one of the most famous sights of the park, the General Sherman tree (the largest tree on Earth!). The bear wasn’t very close and it was focussed in its own business, but the encounter with this magnificent wild animal was an incredible experience!!! Such a pity I couldn’t take good photos of the bear… And we saw a lot of mule deer too!
Here are a some of the photos I took in Sequoia NP. I hope you like them! 🙂

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Kaweah river and Morro Rock. Canon EOS1200D 18mm f/11 1/250sec. ISO100
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Kaweah river. Canon EOS1200D 32mm f/11 8sec. ISO100 ND1024
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Kaweah river. Canon EOS1200D 33mm f/11 15sec. ISO100 ND1024
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Kaweah river. Canon EOS1200D 48mm f/11 10sec. ISO100 ND1024
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Tunnel Log. Canon EOS1200D 18mm f/11 1/6sec. ISO200
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General Sherman Tree. Canon EOS1200D 10mm f/11 1/8sec. ISO100
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Mule deer. Canon EOS1200D 250mm f/5.6 1/200sec. ISO200
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Crescent Meadow area. Canon EOS1200D 18mm f/11 1/15sec. ISO100
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Generals Highway. Canon EOS1200D 18mm f/11 1/100sec. ISO100
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Tokopah Falls. Canon EOS1200D 33mm f/11 1/30sec. ISO100
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American Robin. Canon EOS1200D 250mm f/5.6 1/25sec. ISO100
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Grey squirrel. Canon EOS1200D 250mm f/5.6 1/80sec. ISO100

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