Our final stop on our Big Tree Trail was the General Grant Grove, a section of the greater Kings Canyon National Park, established by the US Congress in 1890.
The star here is the General Grant Tree, which is 267 feet tall and the third largest known tree in the world. Estimated to be over 1,500 years old, it has been known as the United States' National Christmas Tree, since 1925.President Eisenhower declared the General Grant Tree to be a National Shrine in 1956. It was dedicated "in memory of the men an women of the Armed Forces who have served and fought and died to keep this Nation free..." It is the only example of a living shrine in the United States. During the dedication ceremony, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz mentioned its "equal stature with that other great shrine in Arlington Cemetery -- the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier."Probably our most unique find was the Fallen Monarch.This fire hollowed fallen sequoia was used for temporary housing by the Gamlin brothers, early settlers whose homestead cabin stands near by (more about that to come below). Later, the U. S. Cavalry used it as a stable while patrolling the parks (1890-1914). Wild.It is hard to see but there is a huge stump behind this sign. The Centennial Tree was cut, sectioned, and reassembled at the 1876 World's Fair in Philadelphia, where it became known as a California Hoax, by dubious easterners, not believing a tree could be so huge. Sad.These two images illustrate, for me, the need for National Parks.This is the cabin the Israel and Thomas Gamlin built in 1872, while living in the Fallen Monarch.With a timber claim of 160 acres, they quartered here until 1878, while grazing cattle in the mountains. After the National Park was established, in 1890, the cabin was used as a storehouse by the patrolling U.S. Calvary until 1913. Later it became the home of the first park ranger stationed here.While exploring, the weather went from rainy to snowy. It was time to head home.The road we drove in, a few days prior, was now inaccessible due to snow. Wow, timing really is everything! It was the ideal way to end our Sequoia Sojourn."A grove of giant redwoods or sequoias should be kept
just as we keep a great and beautiful cathedral."
-Theodore Roosevelt
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