`

In the summer of 1991, my family and I packed our bags and went to the airport to visit to my grandmother in southern California.  The airport was packed with people waiting for their flights as it usually was around this time of year.  As I sat in front of the gate of my flight, I began to have a mental inventory of all the things I could do whenever I got to California.  But I figured that my parents would want to spend most of the time together as family.  For the next few weeks in California, we visited Universal Studio, Disney Land, Chinese Theater, and any other tourist sites around/in southern California that could fit into our schedule. But I had no idea that visiting Sequoia National Park would be included in my trip.  Being an indoor person most of my life, I have never really given nature the time of day.  I felt that spending a week in the outdoors, getting bit by bugs and seeing trees, did not please me at all. As we were packing for our trip to Sequoia National Park, I tried to convinced my parents of all the other options of spending our last week in California that can be done in town where we might have the choice of being in air-conditioned buildings to cool us down in these hot weather.   I thought that my last week should be spent more worthwhile and enjoyable than looking at trees and dirt where I could also see them anytime and anywhere in Texas. On Sunday morning, my family and my grandmother drove toward west central California near Fresno, California to Sequoia.  I do not remember much of the drive up to the park because I fell asleep for most of the trip as I usual do on most car trips.  I just hope that I would enjoy what was in store for me. After seeing Mother Nature first-hand, I was awe-struck at everything around me.  I was able to see nature's true beauty and appreciate what I have take for granted by always staying indoor.  Now I understand that simple things that most people overlook are the most valuable things out there.  I'm really glad my last week in California was spent in here with nature.     Click on the images for more info.  **(The quality of images may not be clear as it should because the pictures are kind of old)**