Sequoia National Forest

In the back ground, Mai-ly and Thuy are making Ham and Cheese sandwiches for older kids.

There are at least 2 or 3 stations of people cooking different meals to suit everyone taste. Aren't we the luckiest campers?

Kevin posing in front of the fallen Monarch

The thick bark (up to 3 feet/1 meter) of the giant sequoia helps it to survive frequent fires, and a chemical in its wood called tannin allows it to resist insects and disease. Even after they die, generally by falling over, the tannin in the sequoias' trunks prevents them from decomposing quickly. The Gamlin brothers used this fallen, fire-hollowed sequoia as a summer residence while they were building their cabin, and also used it to house a hotel and saloon. John Trout and John Carrington, the loggers who felled the Centennial Tree, also lived here, and the Cavalry used it as a temporary stable for their 32 horses.

This picture was taken inside the fallen Monarch. This an opening inside the trunk of the tree, looking to the outside.

The Gamlin Cabin

Thomas and Israel Gamlin built this cabin from sugar pine logs in 1872. The Gamlins were the first white residents of the Grant Grove. They grazed cattle here during the summers before the sequoia grove was designated as a National Park. While General Grant National Park was created in 1890, the National Park Service did not come into existence until 1916. The first rangers in this park were members of the US Cavalry, who used this building for hay and grain storage. It was also the home of Ranger Davis, the park's first civilian ranger, from 1902 to 1909.

The only thing that can kill the Sequoia tree is toppling. Sequoia have very shallow root system. Soil moisture, root damage and strong winds can lead to toppling.

Not even fire can destroy these giant trees. Their thick bark insulates them from most fire.

You can see in this picture that this tree survived a fire. Visible scars of fire can be seen at the bottom of the tree.

The General Grant is the world's third-largest sequoia, after the General Sherman and the Washington Trees, both found in Giant Forest. President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed this "The Nation's Christmas Tree", and ceremonies are still held at the base of the tree on the second Sunday in December. In 1956, President Eisenhower designated the Grant Tree as a living National Shrine in memory of Americans who have died in war.

Khoi, Justin, Kevin and Nicky posing in front of the General Grant.