A Journey to Grant Grove and the Big Snow

We woke up outside of Yosemite to the sound of pouring rain. We packed up and were happy to be escaping that weather - after all, we were on spring break so we shouldn't have to put up with any rain! Someone in the restaurant that morning mentioned that snow was in the forecast. That sounded impossible to us, since we had been heating up in the sunshine for two consecutive days. We were headed away from the rain, and enjoyed the beautiful views along the way.
When we pulled off the highway into the Grant Grove area, it was like arriving at a snow hole. Granted we had climbed a few thousand feet, but the amount of snow that was piled up was incredible. The workers at the visitor center assured us it had not snowed for several weeks, and the weather had been "spring like". Out of the other side of their mouth, however, they mentioned the possibility of more snow, the stories ranging from an inch to six the next day. Preposterous! But when you're surrounded by mountains of snow, you get the nagging idea it could be possible.

This is the frozen snow slide cascading off the visitors center roof and curling into a true art form into a snow pile.
The snow is layer upon layer, visible by the sides of the roads and on roof tops.

Grant Grove was like a playground for Jacob. This hollow log (cored out by fire many years ago) was angled up a hill. Jacob was determined to crawl up through it, and incredibly emerged without any sign of soot or cinders. The camera had a difficult time handling the contrast between the jet black truck and its interior, and the surrounding gleaming white snow.

Note the little bitty people to the right of the base of the tree below.

This sequoia trunk has been a hollowed out structure since recorded history of Grant Grove, beginning in the 1880s or so. It is a testament to the stability of sequoia wood over time. It has been used as a shelter, office, saloon, stable, hotel and restaurant. The center hole used to accomodate a chimney.

The Twin Sisters. Sequoias often grow in groups, as they germinate in the aftermath of forest fires and the seeds thrive in the fertile ashes of other sequoia trunks. Mutliple sequoias can fuse trunks, and also share root structures.