For ages, lighthouses have served as a symbol of port for mariners. Their usage has continued to increase manifold with increasing maritime trading.
Lighthouse photography is a popular pastime for many people. There are multiple Facebook groups actively run by enthusiastic folks.
Cape Cod, MA
The powerful light emitted by the lighthouses can sometimes be seen as far as 25 miles. Lighthouses are usually made of brick, wood, granite, cast iron and concrete.
Hawaii
Some interesting facts about lighthouses:
The “Lighthouse of Alexandria” built around 3 BC in Egypt is believed to be world’s first lighthouse
The “Tower of Hercules” in Spain is considered oldest intact lighthouse
US has highest number of lighthouses than any other country
The first lighthouse in US was on Little Brewster Island, Boston
Portland, Maine
The site of Louisbourg Lighthouse, in Nova Scotia, is considered Canada’s first lighthouse.
Louisburg, Nova Scotia, Canada
With the advent of modern navigational systems, solar and electric powered lamps, most of the lighthouses don’t need a keeper now. Which makes you wonder if lighthouses are still relevant in modern times? What do you think?
If you aspire to stand next to the tallest, widest, fastest-growing and longest-lived of all organisms on Earth, you must visit Sequoia National Park to view Giant Sequoia trees. These trees are as tall as 25-story building, have width similar to a city street, and are older than 2500 years. You have to literally stand next to one of them to appreciate the stunning size of these giants!
Sequoia National Park
Sequoia National Park is located in California, close to town of Visalia that is mid-way between San Jose and Los Angeles. We started driving from town of Visalia and reached the park entrance in about 1.5 hours. The route cuts across steep and winding mountain roads that offer beautiful scenery along the way.
Mountain scenery routePark entrance
We parked near Giant Forest Museum and walked inside to get information about giant sequoias and nearby attractions.
Outside the museum we took Big Trees Trail that is about 1 mile loop. Throughout the trail we saw incredible sequoia trees and lovely meadow with plenty of photo opportunities.
Big Tree Trail, can you spot tiny humans?
Once back to the museum, we boarded one of the free shuttles that takes visitors through the main attractions of the park. We highly recommend taking the shuttle.
General Sherman is a giant sequoia tree and is the largest tree in the world; standing about 275 feet tall, about 100 feet in circumference, weigh 1,385 tons and is believed to be 2,200 years old. Our reaction after watching it was “this is a BIG monster..”
General Sherman
You may have done plenty of drive-through for coffee, but if you ever wanted to drive through a tree then you need to visit Tree Log Tunnel. The tunnel is 8 feet tall and 17 feet wide. The tree had died of natural causes and was later turned into a tunnel.
Tree Log Tunnel
Crescent Meadow is a small and beautiful meadow in the region and is often praised as “Gem of the Sierra”. We strolled through this peaceful place that was flourishing with lush greenery.
Crescent Meadow
Our last destination was Mono Rock, which offers best view of the whole park.
Moro Rock is a large granite dome that has elevation of about 6,750 feet. We hiked to the summit by taking about 400 steps of concrete stairway. Be careful of the narrow and sudden drop-offs along the route, although handrails makes it somewhat safer to climb. From the top, we saw spectacular view of the valleys and wilderness in the surrounding area.
View from Mono Rock
Adiós
We took park shuttle back to the museum, took few more shots of the giant trees, and headed back to our home with fond memories!
