Sunday, October 19, 2008

Out West - Day 46

Sunday, October 19, Day 46 - Kingsburg, CA. Another beautiful day in California. We started the day at 8:00 Mass at Holy Family Church in Kingsburg, about 5 minutes from our campground. We arrived at the church at 7:45 and took our seats. There weren't very many people in the church, but they continued to trickle in. This is an older church, and the pews reminded me of the churches back in Beverly - dark-stained wood with thin kneelers. Have I mentioned before how laid-back life is here in California? Unless you are on the freeway, that is. I say that because 8 o'clock came and went this morning, the church is now full, and Mass has yet to begin. Finally, at about 8:09 or so, they start the Mass. And nobody is upset, antsy, or ready to leave, including the children attending. Everything proceeds slowly, each song gets all four verses sung, the priest takes his time saying the Mass, and his homily seemed to drag on forever. Just when we thought he was finished, he begins to read excerpts from the Pope's letter to Catholics regarding Mission Sunday (today). Still, everyone, including the children, listen to his every word as if he is telling a story and they are fully engrossed. We left the church after Communion (our usual practice), and went to find a place for breakfast. We had been seated at a restaurant for about 10 minutes, when I decided to go get the Sunday paper out front. I then saw most of the people from the Mass waiting to be seated for breakfast. Wow! Now that's devotion for you!

OK, back to the trip! Today, we decided to take a trip into Sequoia National Park, about an hour from where we are staying. If you have never been to Sequoia, make sure you check out the web album, as we took lots of pictures of giant redwood sequoia trees. These trees are truly giants. We made it to "General Sherman", the largest tree known to exist. It is not the biggest, nor is it the tallest, but in sheer mass, it is the largest tree in the world. It stands 270 feet tall, and it is as wide at the top as it is at the bottom, about 3 feet up from the base.

This is the "General"! Note how it maintains its girth as it rises. We could not get a shot of the top of the tree because it is so tall! The "General" has stopped growing, as it's top has died (so the sign says), at its present height of 270 feet, or about the height of a 21-story building! The main characteristic of these giants is that they maintain their girth as they grow, and they will continue to grow as long as they remain healthy. Forest fires usually do no harm to these trees, as their bark can be up to 2 feet thick, and their pith wood will not burn. If they fall, due to overpowering forces, such as wind, or avalanche, the sound has been likened to that of a roaring train, or avalanche. These are magnificent trees to see, tall and stately, and a gorgeous red color that these pictures just do not do justice to. Being among these giants makes one feel so insignificant in the whole scheme of things, to know that these trees survive for hundreds, and some even thousands, of years. That is the reason why they can attain such great heights and mass.

Tomorrow, we take the motor home in for service in Fresno, CA. If it will be tied up or a good portion of the day, we will attempt to visit Kings Canyon. Be sure to tune in tomorrow to see if we make it. After that, it's on to Yosemite!

Enjoy the photos in the web album - lots of shots of redwoods, but we couldn't help ourselves!

Here's the link to today's web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripDay46SequoiaNationalPark?authkey=ZPNrk2dSK5U#

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