From Fresno Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks are each about a 2 hour drive from the San Joachin Valley up into the Sierra Nevada mountains. The drive takes you from 1,000 feet to 7,000 feet on steep winding mountain roads. The views are spectacular. In Yosemite we saw the beautiful granite mountains that Ansel Adams made famous, Half Dome and El Capitan. We passed painting and photography classes happening on the side of the road and ,of course, visited the Ansel Adams Gallery. The next day we made a similar trip to Sequoia. Also steep roads with 130 switchbacks but not busy with tourists like Yosemite. Their mandate is to preserve the giant Sequoias so there are not as many tourist attractions as Yosemite. It is hard to describe a Sequoia. You have to see one to truly appreciate how big and old they are. Can you see the guy standing at the foot of that Sequoia? It is not even the biggest or the oldest. The General Sherman is supposedly the biggest tree by volume in the world. And it is comparatvely young at 2,200 years old. I hope all of you get a chance to see these National Parks.