June 2019 – Matt Corpos

Cats

June 30, 2019 Fun Nature

Project Survival Cat Haven, a home for wild cats, is just outside the highway CA-180 entrance to Kings Canyon National Park. It is decidedly not a zoo. Rather their mission is to support conservation of cats in the wild through education and fundraising. Guests (who pay the modest entrance fee) are escorted on a tour of the grounds and get to hear the story of each cat along with cool cat facts. I learned that…

Birds

June 30, 2019 Birds Fun Nature

For as long as I can remember I’ve enjoyed being in the presence of birds – noticing their colors and plumage. Tracking their behaviors and numbers. And as my Mom would mention – chasing pigeons in the park. I suppose at this point I am an amateur beginner “birder”. A few years ago I started tracking bird observations in a physical journal and I just started my digital Birder Life List here on my site.…

Sequoia and Kings Canyon

June 30, 2019 Nature Travel

Lucky Me To stroll calmly among giants. To inspect glacially-carved rock faces. To deeply breathe cool alpine air. I consider myself lucky – lucky to have some time off to explore the Golden State a bit and lucky to be relatively close (~4 hrs.) to some spectacular natural sites at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. With a few days to work with (thanks to my kids’ visiting aunt) I managed to do some camping…

Don Cecil Trail

June 29, 2019 Nature Travel

The Don Cecil hiking trail goes from the relatively lower Cedar Grove area of Kings Canyon National Park up the southern canyon walls towards Lookout Peak, which is about 4,000 feet higher. The Cedar Grove area is about 2 hours East of Fresno (CA), although it may take you longer if you stop to enjoy/photograph the views of Kings Canyon from one of the many vista points along highway CA-180. It took me a little…

Redwood Mountain

June 18, 2019 Nature Travel

Redwood Mountain and Redwood Canyon provide quiet trails, scenic views and ample chances to see Giant Sequoia trees (it has the largest grove in the world). There you can see the massive trees up close and bask in their enormity. The trail head is about 90 minutes East of Fresno, CA in Kings Canyon National Park. The trail is mostly smooth dirt but there are several parts where you must cross downed trees or go…

Moro Rock

June 18, 2019 Birds Nature Travel

Moro Rock is a granite dome in Sequoia National Park which offers spectacular views of the Sierra Nevada mountains (with 13,000+ ft. high peaks) to the East and the foothills and San Joaquin Valley to the South and West. Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States is just out of view. The trail to the top of the dome is short and has hand rails and cement steps. However if you are…