Antsy to get out on the road, we left from Oakdale at seven. Route 49 begged us to view it from the opposite direction, so once again we headed out toward Mariposa where the snaking highway twisted us back over the mountain. Again, my stomach and my throat met as the bike leaned over open spaces that dropped from ragged peaks to rivered valleys thousands of feet below.
We stopped by a lake for a picnic brunch, complete with Bloody Mary's. Climbing higher, then coasting into the valley, we reached the end of 49 and continued southwest on 41 through Fresno.
The dry heat of the California Central Valley was on. We passed acres of grape ranches that grow in production for the big name wines. There were olives, nuts and oranges, each adding the distinctive color of their leaves to the landscape.
Route 108 sucked us into Sequoia National Forest and Kings Canyon. General Grant, the National Christmas Tree, greeted us and then we spiraled downward into Kings Canyon. Grant, Lincoln and Sherman and the surrounding forest exceed in size and age, any redwoods we have seen. The power of nature makes itself known here.
Then Kings Canyon. Another twined road that wound us down through massive rock and mountain , each switchback blasting a view better than the last. This place grabs your soul and takes it for a ride. It was so hot that I felt like I was free falling into hell, but the hard beauty of the canyon lets you know that there's a higher power that's going to lift you out - and so it did into the amazingly cool heights of Sequoia.
Our long day ended outside of Visalia. An old timer we met on this trip was telling us about the roads we took today and he said, " You'll love 'em - you'll be looking at yourself in every curve". We saw ourselves all day long and I can't imagine a better mirror.
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