An Anniversary to Remember....

This year Bret and I reached our 20th anniversary.  We always talked about going on some kind of trip to celebrate this year, but it's been a crazy year and there was just no way it was going to work out.  So, we took the kids camping for a long weekend at Sequoia National Park.  It was so much fun, and I wouldn't change anything!

We stayed in Belknap Campground and our campsite was amazing!  Somehow we didn't get it in the picture, but there was a giant sequoia behind our tent, and a stream running right past us.  Everything was so green, and the weather was perfect. 

We spent one day driving through the park and seeing the sights.

There is a stand of 8 giant sequoias all growing near each other called the "Parker Group."  Generally, they just crop up here and there among all the other forest trees, so it's a little unusual for them to grow in a group like this.

This is Moro Rock.  After climbing a 1/4 mile staircase, you can see for miles in every direction.  As always, the pictures don't come close to showing how beautiful the view was.

As I was the only voice of reason in my family saying, "Let's go quietly away and leave the wild bear alone before it gets annoyed and eats us," we have this nice shot of a brown bear.  He was just hanging out in the Crescent Meadow next to all the picnickers, minding his own business.  Everyone there flocked over to him and stalked him for a while.  Scary.

And here is General Sherman.  General Sherman is the largest tree in the world by volume.  Meaning that there is another tree that has a larger girth (General Grant), and one taller unnamed tree, but neither of them have as much mass as Gen Sherman.  He's over 3000 years old!  Again, the picture doesn't come close to showing how impressive it is.

The next day we spent a lot of time at the stream that ran past our campground.  The kids made their own fishing poles, nets, and even a spear from some hooks and a lure left behind by someone else.  They actually caught two fish!  Hailey caught the first one with her pole and a piece of hot dog.  Everyone was so excited!  Except Hailey, who cried because she didn't want to kill anything.  Hailey has got to be the kindest person I have ever known.

Jace caught the second fish.  He just scooped it out of the river with his hands and threw it onto the bank!  Crazy.

And you can't camp without some goofy camp crafts...

So, all around, it was a great weekend.  I couldn't have asked for a better 20th anniversary!