Witness the spectacular Great Divide from the top of Moro Rock in Sequoia National Park; stand awestruck before General Sherman, the world’s largest tree and a living monument
food stands and wine bars awaits you – a local expert guides you on a “tasting tour” of its finest epicurean features. The rest of the day is yours; return to the hotel, or explore the city on your own – you’ve had a taste of all it has to offer and now it’s time to explore. Meals BL
3. CENTRAL VALLEY / SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK Before there was a National Park Service, the job of policing and protecting the national parks belonged to the U.S. Army. At Sequoia and Yosemite, the parks’ guardians were the Buffalo Soldiers, who rode out every spring from the Presidio, crossing 300 miles on horseback to the Sierra Nevada mountains. Board a train this morning for a rail journey to Fresno that first follows wetlands, then nearly follows the Buffalo Soldiers’ route across the agriculturally rich Central Valley. At Fresno’s vintage train depot, board a motor coach for the 7,000 foot climb to Sequoia National Park; your destination is remote Wuksachi Lodge® on the park grounds. Tonight, hear Bill Tweed (retired Chief Naturalist for the National Park Service) tell the story of how John Muir found and documented this area, which he named the “Giant Forest,” in 1875. Meals BLD
4. LAND OF GIANTS AND MORO ROCK Walk the Big Trees Trail, among ancient Giant Sequoias soaring to the height of skyscrapers. Wander among living monuments to American heroes, like the General Sherman Tree, estimated to be over 2,500 years old (and still growing), the Robert E. Lee, and the Booker T. Washington. Lunch at a private barbecue at Wolverton Meadow, where a living-history re-enactor tells stories of mountain life in the late 1800s. Travels inside Sequoia National Park are via small 10-passenger vehicles, accompanied by a guide; climb the 400 steps to the top of Moro Rock for stunning views of the park and the peaks of the Great Western Divide. The rest of the day is yours to explore at your own pace. Tonight at the lodge, immerse yourself in the hidden wonders of a night sky you didn’t know existed; a naturalist guides you through the spectacular constellations that fill the skies over the park, far away from the ground lights of towns and cities. Meals BLD
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5. KINGS CANYON & YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARKS The overlook at Kings Canyon offers a vista that will leave you breathless: deeper than the Grand Canyon, the glacier-carved granite cliffs plunge 8,000 feet to a wild river winding through an alpine landscape. Continue on to Fresno and the south entrance to Yosemite National Park. View a film by Ken Burns describing Muir’s passion for the Yosemite Valley, and his activism to preserve it for future generations. Later, have lunch in the elegant dining room of Wawona Lodge, an inn that was once a stagecoach stop. Only steps away is the Pioneer Yosemite History Center, a collection of buildings from different eras of the park’s history, including a blacksmith shop, jail, homestead house, and an army superintendent’s office. Here you’ll meet a “Buffalo Soldier,” portrayed by Park Ranger Shelton Johnson (featured in the Ken Burns documentary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea), who tells the story of how his regiment blazed trails, built roads, and mapped the wilderness to enable management of the parklands. Visit Glacier Point for a stirring view of the Valley, overlooking Half Dome and a panorama of glacier-clad peaks; on this spot in 1903, John Muir stood with Teddy Roosevelt during a private tour of the area that persuaded the President that Yosemite should be under federal protection as a national park. This evening, settle into your room at The Ahwahnee®, a historic masterpiece of stone, timber and soaring stained glass windows in the heart of Yosemite. Dine at your leisure, then join us for coffee and cordials with John Muir himself (portrayed by actor Lee Stetson, who appeared in The National Parks: America’s Best Idea), who shares stories of his life and philosophy. Meals BLD
6. YOSEMITE: “NATURE’S GRANDEST TEMPLE” Yosemite “is the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter,” wrote Muir, who regarded such
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