#sequoianationalforest

Our next stop was Sequoia National Forest. I have always wanted to see Sequoia or Redwood trees in person so was super excited about this stop. Initially, I tried to find a place for us to stay just outside of Sequoia National Park, which is north of Sequoia National Forest. I could not, for the life of me, find a place near the park entrance that allowed dogs. I stumbled upon Sequoia National Forest and Lake Isabella just through researching the area. Lake Isabella was just over an hour drive from the Trail of 100 Giants, a paved trail with hundreds of massive sequoias. What I’ve learned on this trip is if you aren’t staying inside the park, you’re likely going to drive a ways to get to access the popular park areas. The roads in and out of the parks are mostly mountain passes so you must go slow to avoid driving off the mountain (have had many visions of twitching or sneezing while driving and doing this). Mileage wise, it’s usually not far it just takes a while to get there.

Anyway, we arrived at the Lakeview Motel around dinner time after a 3.5 hour drive from Vegas. The motel was exactly as I expected when I booked it. Nothing had been renovated since the hotel was built in the 1950’s! The kitchenette (although not functional because it was no longer not up to code) was so cool. Original sink, stove, and ice box all in one. Apparently, kitchen appliances were built this way to save room (a sign in the motel told me this so feel free to fact check).

The motel was located on a tiny strip across the street from Lake Isabella and there was not much else around. Like, basically nothing within walking distance with the exception of… Yep, you guessed it, a Mexican restaurant! Did we get dinner there both nights? Sure did.

We only had one full day in Lake Isabella so we hit is hard. We drove up to Trail of 100 Giants, which was incredible. Pictures really don’t do these trees justice. I am STILL trying to wrap my mind around A TREE being 2,000 years old. Almost all of the Sequoias in this grove had scars from burns during forest fires. When a tree is “injured” in a forest fire, it begins to produce extra tannin which is essentially how the tree heals itself and is able to continue to grow and thrive after being burned. Wild. Nature is so cool. This walking trail was also dog friendly which is always a huge plus. We did have to endure lots of large families who were camping at the onsite campground. Lots of shouting and one fellow double fisting Bud Lights at 11 am on the walking trail. But hey, I certainly know what it’s like to be in vacation mode? If I could do it again, I would have planned to arrive just after sunrise – Cannot imagine how peaceful/serene/amazing it would be in the grove with little to no other people around.

After hugging as many trees as we could, we drove to Kernville which was a happening little town about 20 minutes from where we were staying. We had to drive through here on our way up to the forest and immediately decided we would stop for a walk/beer on the way back. Had I known this placed existed, I would have tried to find a place to stay there. Kernville is located right on the Kern river so lots of people floating, picnicking, etc. and an adorable little town square with coffee, restaurants, shops, etc. At this point, it was hot AF which doesn’t bode well with Greg so we did a short walk and then popped into Kern River Brewing Company. There was a crowd but we managed to get a spot on the covered, dog-friendly patio and enjoyed a tasty brew. The day wasn’t over yet, though. We headed back to The Lakeview Motel and dropped Greg off for dog napping, changed into our suits and headed over to Remington Hot Springs. The hot springs were a short hike down to the Kern River and built right alongside the river. Really cool and very different than our New Mexico hot spring experience. There were a number of pools here and the pools are upkept by locals so there wasn’t algae, etc. on the rocks/bottom of the pool like there was in New Mexico. Very touristy and full of families but I think going later in the day helped. We were able to soak in the original tub, which is the hottest/cleanest water and after a 30-minute soak, we went for a swim in the Kern which was my favorite part. The water was cold but so refreshing. After our river dip, we headed back. We grabbed Greg and walked down to our favorite (and only) local restaurant, El Portal. The food was actually really good (margs were not) and anywhere that’s walkable/we can bring Greg is optimal. So that was that.

All the buildings in the “downtown” of Kernville looked like this veterinarian office.