Camping at Sequoia National Park

The week before school started we took a week off and went camping at Sequoia National Park for two nights and rented a small house near the ocean in Cayucos for three nights. The four hour drive to Sequoia was really curvy and hot. We made it to our campsite SO READY to get out of the truck. We set up and checked out the area a bit before making dinner. The first night our neighbors stayed up till the wee hours of the morning talking very loudly. Their grandson slept in their RV so they blessed us with their conversation. About the time Pedar was going to get up and ask them to please go the heck to sleep, they started explaining that Ron couldn't go shooting with them, because you know, he is a felon. Roger that. We didn't need to sleep anyway.

The next day we visited the General Sherman Tree in the Giant Forest and also went on the Crystal Cave tour. The cave tour was absolutely amazing. This may sound cheesy, but it felt like a church to me. It felt like we were in a very holy place. The hike down to the cave was made more exciting by seeing a huge rattlesnake.

Before our tour, we heard a dog barking in a car in the very hot parking lot. We went to check it out and found the dog locked in the car with the windows only open a tiny bit and the sunroof only open about six inches. I went and found one of the park employees and she used her megaphone to announce that she would break the window if she had to. The tours in the cave last at least 45 minutes and the hike down and up are about the same, so you are away from your car for close to two hours. We had no idea how long the dog had been in the car, but it was hot in the car and he was panting and upset. We walked to the car with the employee. This woman said to me, "The sunroof is open!" I went around the back and tried to hop on top of the car. The car was so hot it was hard for me to get my hands on top. She shoved me up from behind (oh hello stranger!) and I got on top. Thankfully I was wearing jeans. I tried to lay down on top of the car but the car was burning my arms. Someone threw me a jacket. I laid down and was able to get my hand and wrist down into the sunroof. The dog wasn't really afraid of me. I could barely reach him. I was able to get my fingers around his collar and lift him out. I handed him off and he was whisked to the little office for water and shade. I was shaking when I got off the car. The boys were so proud of me!! I felt a bit like a superhero! We calmed down and waited for our tour. 45 minutes later the family of the dog finally returned. They got their dog and went back to the car. I didn't talk to them. Sadly, they didn't even look embarrassed. They were probably just happy their window didn't get broken into. I hope they don't leave their dog again.

Our last evening camping was great. We bought earplugs just in case, but our neighbors went to bed early. The earplugs did help to drown out the darn generator noise. The next morning we packed up and headed out to visit friends and then we made our way to Cayucos. I am very grateful that we were able to go on two camping trips this summer. I loved all the memories we made. There is something magical about sleeping in a tent with your family.