Let’s assume that you are starting from the Hotel Charlotte in Groveland just west of Yosemite on Highway 120 because that is where we started from to give you driving instructions. We did this as a two night trip and were in no rush, so there was quite a bit of lingering at interesting cross-roads. Day one was spent exploring southern Yosemite and some of the smaller stops between YNP and Fresno. The next day we did a power drive through the two parks.

We start the first stretch of road on Highway 120 into Yosemite but skip the Valley this time around and head directly to the south part of the park.near the entrance at Highway 41 (go through Yosemite Valley not around the park), this is a wee bit more than two hours from Groveland. Spend time exploring the Wawona Hotel and Mariposa Grove of giant redwoods. Make a stop at the Pioneer History Center & Covered Bridge where the docents are often in period costume and relate stories of earlier travelers. The Mariposa Grove of Redwood trees is just off the park exit where you can catch a narrated one hour tram tour. The Wawona is

a charming old hotel in a very pretty location. Perhaps have lunch here; they have a spacious dining room where most seats seem to be window seats, good menu selections and nice beverage pairings at a fair price.

Leaving Yosemite continue south on 41 and you will quickly find yourself in an outpost called Fish Camp, really cute and reminds me of Groveland, a one road town just a few blocks in length.

Continue south to the town of Coarse Gold. Here is the Chukchansi Casino and Resort with big name entertainment. This is no rinky-dink operation! Our only disappointment was the way the slot machines pay out. We like to hear the coins drop, scoop them up and sashay out with big grins as if we had actually won! The machines we came across, none of which took our quarters to begin play, each paid out in a paper chit which we could take to another machine or to the cashier, not nearly as exciting as a scoop & sashay exit!

South again on 41 to 99 at Fresno, to 99 to Visalia. We chose to overshoot the Sequoia/Kings Canyon and enter from the south. From here take 198

East to the small community of Lemon Cove(a don’t blink or you will miss it town) where we recommend the Plantation Bed & Breakfast. Door-to-door, Groveland to Lemon Cove total drive time was 4 hours and 20 minutes. We stayed in the Mammy room at $159 a night in this Gone with the Wind themed B&B. The room was nicely sized with a king bed, big closet, rocking chair, small bath and shower, TV/VCR combination and a working fireplace. Be sure to take advantage of the swimming pool, hot tub and groomed lawn with hammock gardens. Gourmet breakfasts were beautifully prepared and delicious too! To this day we continue to exchange monthly newsletters with the owners: www.theplantation.net

From Lemon Cove, through Three Rivers it is only 16 miles to the park. On our first day we “discovered” Bullene Vineyards, and bought our wine for both evenings as we enjoyed the hot tub before retiring for the evening. Restaurants in Three Rivers are not grand. The Gateway, a hop-skip from the park entrance had a menu with some nice selections and a scenic location, though the prices were a bit steep.

Once into Sequoia National Park, the road swiftly becomes one

made for the movies and a small foreign car. Visitors will be awed by the breathtaking views, severe drops, sharp curves and dramatic scenery as the road climbs from 500 feet above sea level in Lemon Cove to almost 7,000 feet at the pinnacle.

The Sherman Tree is the highlight of park, but the area was under construction during our visit as they built a new parking lot to protect the tree roots. No doubt this construction is now complete. Shortly after the Sherman Tree is another pullover with a big walk-in tree that was damaged in a long-ago fire. The museum, just down the road a bit more, is loaded with interesting tidbits about these trees, what makes them grow so tall, age, affects of fire and man….

Leaving the area of the tall trees we took the remote and unpopulated Ten Mile Road to Hume Lake where we came across Hume Lake Christian Camp, a bustling lake front resort community located at the base of the lake with all the water and outdoor activities one could think of.

Continuing on it is important to note the confusion of signage, there are two parts to Kings Canyon National

Park, a small bit to the west adjoining Sequoia National Park, and the main canyon that leads to Cedar Lodge. The main canyon route is like a little Yosemite though far more narrow and with less traffic. Along the way one first comes across the Kings Canyon Lodge, a lonely outpost with cabins, an antique gas station and a restaurant. We had timed this for a late lunch stop. Upon arrival it was just vacant, no sign of open or closed, just mysteriously quiet. After a few minutes of looking and knocking we continued up the canyon, glad that we had not timed this stop to fill our gas tank! This section of the Kings river is famous for fishing, picnicking and its rare remoteness. There is a cavern to explore along the way and at the end a campgrounds, small hotel and gift shop. The road into the canyon is fantastically dramatic with sheer drops, dizzying curves and open vista views and well worth every heart stopping moment! Unfortunately, this is also where the camera ran out of charge!

To return we back-tracked the canyon along 180 towards Fresno then took a small scenic country road south, Route

245, another passage notable for its curves and climbs! This brought us back to The Plantation in plenty of time for a hottub, dinner a movie, and an early nights sleep to start all over with another adventure the next day.

This route is very beautiful, but driving intensive and we suggest that you do one day in Kings Canyon and a second exploring Sequoia. We would have enjoyed more time in each! Additional information on both parks can be found on the website for the National Park Service. www.nps.gov/seki.

Lynn Upthagrove, along with her husband Victor, own the Hotel Charlotte, in Groveland, on the way to Yosemite. [http://www.HotelCharlotte.com]http://www.HotelCharlotte.com.