Big Blend Radio
Super Summer in California's Sequoia Country
Celebrate Parks & Recreation Month in Tulare County! From park adventures to community events, it's all about summer fun on this episode of Big Blend Radio's "California Sequoia Country" Podcast.
Located in Central California, Tulare County is home to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Giant Sequoia National Monument and Sequoia National Forest, and charming art and agricultural communities including Visalia, Tulare, Exeter, Dinuba, Porterville, Three Rivers, Lindsay, and Woodlake.
Featured guests from the Sequoia Tourism Council include Sintia Kawasaki-Yee - Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, Suzanne Bianco - Visit Visalia, and Alida Verduzco Silva - Tulare County Resource Management Agency.
Plan your visit with these websites mentioned in the podcast:
- Sequoia Tourism Council: https://www.discoverthesequoias.com/
- Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks: https://www.nps.gov/seki/index.htm
- Visit Visalia - https://www.visitvisalia.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Duration:
- 36m
- Broadcast on:
- 04 Jul 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
- Welcome to Big Blend Radio's California Sequoia Country Show, home to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Giant Sequoia National Monument and Sequoia National Forest, and the charming historic agricultural communities that make up to Larry County. - Welcome everybody. It is actually the 4th of July today. So happy 4th of July for those listening on the end of the day here, but we are talking about summer in California's beautiful Sequoia Country. That means we're going to Tulare County, which is home to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Sequoia National Forest, Giant Sequoia National Monument, basically a lot of big trees and a lot of nature. It's also home to some other parks we're gonna talk about as well. And amazing communities like Tulare, Visalia, Porterville, Springville, Three Rivers, Exeter, Lindsey, Woodlake. These are all communities that are agricultural, I was gonna say agricultural bound, but there's a lot of bounty coming out of there. There's a lot of dairy, a lot of fruit, a lot of vegetables, and a lot of art as well. So a lot of shopping, a lot of dining. Basically, you need to go. And that's what we're gonna talk about, what you can experience in summer in Tulare County. So first we've got Suzanne Bianco back on the show from visit Visalia. How are you, Suzanne? - Hi, how are you? I'm doing great. - Good, good, good to have you back on the show. Is it warming up a little bit, feeling summery? - Feeling a little summery, that's for sure. That means people go up to the parks. Go visit Cynthia. Cynthia Kawasaki-Yee is back on the show from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. How are you doing, Cynthia? - I'm doing great. Thanks for having me again. - I feel like we should go for some of those hikes where we can dip our feet in that water, 'cause you know that water. It may be really warm, but the water's not warm, is it? It's still cold. - It's frigid cold, it's snow melt. - Okay, so it doesn't, just because it's warm in the valley, doesn't mean that water's gonna warm up for you. You're still gonna get cold. - That's right, yep. - That's cool, that's cool. So, we also have a new guest on. We have Alita Silva joining us, and she is from the county. She's a line man working for the county. Now I'm just kidding, I'm sorry, but welcome Alita, how are you? - Well, if that were true, I'd have to get a water bottle or two to get out there on the field right now, but I'm very happy to be here. Thank you so much for having me. I represent the economic development office here. Our team focuses a lot on tourism, and we can't wait to talk more about what we have in store for the summer. - Yeah, I love this, because the communities, I know Tulare County, the small communities themselves, and then the actual county, all hold hands, to welcome visitors, and to just really say, come on in, yes, you taste our fruits and vegetables and our cheeses and ice cream. Did I mention ice cream? It's ice cream month, y'all, just saying. So there's a lot of good food, but there's also a lot of opportunity. So I know you're joining us. I know you have to have a meeting, but we're glad we've got you here. We're not letting you go until it's your time. But while you're here, you've got a few places that you want to represent. So one of them is one that we haven't talked about for about a year or so, Balch Park, and this is kind of a little treasure. It's a Tulare County treasure. You want to tell us about Balch Park? - Yes, definitely. So we're back open, we're in business, and Balch Park is a great place to come out, see large trees, do a little bit of hiking, do a little bit of picnicking. It is a service of the Tulare County Parks Department, and so they're excited to be welcoming visitors this summer. So I get that hiking gear in tow, and come on now, check us out. It's up the, the, the referred to as the Mighty 190, it's day route 190 going up into Springville. So just up above Springville, you'll get into Balch Park. This is a route that doesn't currently take you up to the 12 100 Giants. It's not open to that type of traffic, but it is open to Balch Park. And so we're excited to welcome community members and visitors from around the area, or from out of state to come and check us out. - I remember going there a few years back, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Of course you've got the giant sequoia trees out there, and then they've got this beautiful pond area. So it's just really pristine, and then it looks like people can go camping there too. - Yes, so I would encourage checking out the website, the Tulare County Parks website for all of the details. But it definitely is open for the season, and we're hoping that more people come up. And while they're maybe stopped by the community of Springville, it's one of our 43 unincorporated communities, along with the eight cities in Tulare County. And there's a lot of ice cream there. We have been celebrating dairy month all month as a top dairy producers, and we can't wait to really share the, the deliciousness of it all there. There's a hamburger stand with, I don't know, maybe more than 50 or 100 flavors of ice cream, so you can pick up a nice room. - What? - And we have to bodge park. - Are you serious? - They have pretty much every flavor you could think of. They have a lot of flavors. - I'm in. - And then we have ice cream at Rymer's two and three rivers. So we have ice cream all over the place on the unincorporated side. - Yeah, that's interesting. I didn't realize they had so many unincorporated communities. Wow, so there's eight cities in 43. Wow. - Okay. - There's a lot to see as, you know, the San Catalia about Bicellia, that's our county seat, and there's just so much there, but everywhere else. You have Springville, you have three rivers, you have, you know, Goshen, Traver, Pixley, and all these many have hidden gems that if you're traveling to our area and you need to stop and pump gas somewhere, check out your Yelp, you know, check out your Instagram and see where people are eating, see where people are enjoying themselves. Ivan Hill has a little drive in hamburger stand. It's very quaint, and you can check that out. So, so yeah. - Traver has Bravo Farms, right? - Traver has Bravo Farms, absolutely. - Yeah, and then all the fruit stands and, you know, that you have, that's the one thing. I mean, you can go get nuts and plums and peaches and seriously, like it's-- - Well, if you're going up to Batch Park, you know, off of 190, there's the Sequoia roots farm. It's an organic citrus farm, and they still have one of these citrus farms, citrus stands at the front of it. It's one of these, you know, trust system stands where you drop off your money, take your oranges, and head on up for your hike. - Wow, so as a county, I mean, I was thinking about all the parks 'cause we travel full-time documenting parks and public lands, and so we do all parks. And so, like how many parks do you think, like off the top of your head you have in the county, do you think? How many, because I think, you know, we've got Sequoias and King's Canyon, you know, you've got the crown jewels there. But even for travelers coming in, you know, we've talked about this before, right, Suzanne? And Cynthia is like, get the kids out before you put them in the hotel, let 'em run, let the dog, if you brought the dog, let the dog run, you know what I mean? And it's great for picnics, and you can meet locals there too. So how many do you have? - A good dozen, we have 12 parks. One of the other parks we have is Mooney Grove Park. - Okay, beautiful. - And on South Mooney's south side of Bicellia, it's a park that also features the Port of El Musea, sorry, I have Port of El on the brain, that's my hometown, so also Tulare County community. But it has the Tulare County Museum with a great collection of yogurts artifacts from our Tully River Native American tribe to the east of the county. There are these beautiful baskets there. There are settler artifacts. There's a lot in the farm museum about immigrants in the area. So you can really learn a lot about Tulare County's history at Mooney Grove Park. There's also a dog park. There are a lot of improvements to the duck pond. And so that's a park that's really getting overhauled to just make it really nice for picnicking. They have disc golf. So if you're a disc golf fan, you can stop by and have a little match with your friends, maybe do a little practicing. So if your travels include a disc golf set, that's a great place to stop by. So that's one of our amazing parks here at the heart of the Central Valley. So that's part of the Tulare Park Mooney Grove Park. These are parks you don't want to miss. - And there's some new murals there in Mooney Grove as well. Some new murals that have been recently installed. - Really? - And a usable playground. - Yeah. - The playground is looking amazing, definitely. - Accessible playground, yeah. - An accessible playground, that's unique too. That's fantastic. And that ties in with Visalia, right? In your initiatives for those with autism, right? And weren't you the first community to become like a community-- - A certified autism destination, yeah. - Okay, wow. That's fantastic. - And the Tulare County Museum, I believe, is also-- - Certified autism center. - Yes, I know Amy King there has told us of her work with Suzanne in that pursuit. So it's definitely a wonderful place for people to go and experience in all types of ways. That museum has an outdoor area with a lot of buildings, old buildings from the 1800s. It has a collection of saddles even from people who enter horseback riding. - And it's a very, very important, very famous throughout the world. - It's part of our history. And there are just a lot of amazing things to look at within that museum. We get a lot of trips from the schools, but we're welcoming visitors who are maybe on the way up to Sequoias. They want to stop and see a little more about our history. That'd be a perfect location to stop at. - I love all the history, the one that, it was one of the newer ones, wings that they had opened, showcasing all the workers, all the different cultures that make up Tulare County and do all the agricultural work. And it was amazing because I just, I have no idea, like, so, you know, I like, no, when do you all have good food? I'm just saying. (laughs) - It's a diverse county and it's a beautiful place to live. I think there's never a dull moment to lay a county. There's just so much to eat. There's so much to experience, places to go. And when you talk about groves of Sequoias, I'd like to say Mooney Grove is a grove of oak trees. So you get to see a different type of tree. They're also majestic in their own way. And so for any nature lovers that are looking to get lost in nature and they're in Bicellia, well, that's a place to stop by. It's definitely, you could get lost in the very quickly in a good way. - And they've got peacocks too. And they've got that big sculpture, the end of the trail sculpture too. Yep, and a lot of people travel wanting those kind of, you know, we want those roadside attractions and sculptures and murals. So we do those pullovers for that. The other part I know you wanted to touch on was Korea Oaks Preserve, which is also a really great place to go hiking, especially early in the morning, right? That's a really good time to get out there. - And so it's definitely, so that's managed by the Sequoia Riverlands Trust. It's a beautiful location off of the 198, which leads right up into the part of the Cynthia. It's a lovely location to also get lost in the best of ways. They have just amazing oaks. I think that there are some Sycamores. They're the last side checked. It's just a lovely location. You could easily miss it. So I would definitely recommend looking at a Bongoogol maps before you head, if you're, for example, heading into the Sequoia National Park, then maybe you look at it on Google before you head there because it's right after, right after Visalia, right after like, right after farmers build pretty much on the way up, it would be to your left. So basically a little dude detour and you're in a magical place with all types of photo ops. It's very Instagram worthy too. And it's just a really nice place to visit and enjoy a picnic or a nice, comfortable hike. - And bird watch. And I saw people walking their dogs there. So that's something for folks traveling with their dogs so they know that they can take their on leash, right? I'm just always like to bring that up. (laughs) So just take them on leash. So that's a good place for them to go. But thank you so much for joining us. I know you've got to go and run off, but we've got a lot more to talk about ladies and gentlemen. We have two ladies joining us here to talk about the parks and some events and all that good stuff. But thank you so much for joining us, Alita. - Thank you for having me. I look forward to joining in the future. And it's nice to be among friends. Have a great one. - You too, you too, take care. So I want to go up about the parks. I mentioned dogs and that's something that I've talked to people they just think they can take their dogs to national parks. And I think we've touched this before, but I wanted to find out what is the protocol for people, families traveling with their pooches? - Yeah, Alita, I would say Sequoia Kings Canyon is not the most dog friendly place to come, just given our resources and our trail system and facilities. When you do come up with a pet, we just ask that you leave them in your vehicle or that they stay within the parking lots of the different areas you go. They are not allowed on trails. And it's just really for the safety, not only of our wildlife, but also for your pet. You just, this is, we're amongst... It's an ecosystem for our bears and our deer and the different wildlife. And so you may have your pet on a leash, but you just don't know how our wild animals are going to behave in the area. And so just really for the safety of everyone involved and for the ecosystem, we just really ask that you do not take your pets on trails, but we are so lucky that you actually are able to traverse, not as you're going through the parks, you actually also traverse National Forest land. And so that's actually a very dog friendly place to take your pets. And it's just between Sequoia and Kings Canyon, you get. So just along the way. So you can still experience very much. - Yeah, a big meadows, there's giant sequoias. It's very similar in terrain and experience. It's just a less congested and just a more pet from the place to go. - Kim, a little bit about Kings Canyon, because we talk about Sequoia National Market, you go in, but Kings Canyon, it's this time of year when people can get down there and like you see waterfalls maybe if you're lucky, right? And in Sequoia National Park too, but that drive down into Kings Canyon out to Zumwalt Meadow is just gorgeous. I mean, the river and you know, when you hear the river going over the rocks and the pebbles, I mean, it's just like, oh, sounds really good right now, doesn't it? Let's go. - Can we do this? - Yes, let's go over the park next time, you know? - Yes, we should. - Yeah. - All right. - No, it's a wonderful place to visit. I actually, if you are able to drive up Highway 180 and go into Kings Canyon National Park, that entrance station is just, it's a little less windy. If you're traveling from Visalia from Fresno and you're heading up 180, it's a less windy way to go. The entrance station is a little bit bigger. There's a little bit less congestion going up in that direction. You can access giant forests, you can access everything from that same, from that entrance station, as you would if you went through three rivers. But going down, as you mentioned, Cedar Grove is a seasonal portion of the park. And so getting to enjoy that in the summer months, it's a must, if you're coming to the parks, don't miss it, just like you mentioned, driving down a super steep canyon. I mean, the views are incredible. You're driving down the canyon, and then all of a sudden, you are just driving along the river and just the rushing river this time of year, especially earlier in the year, and then driving into Cedar Grove with like, then you're like in the canyon, right? And you just like are able to luck up on both sides, you have the river. It's just a really beautiful, peaceful place. There's no cell phone service down there. So you really are able to disconnect, enjoy the waterfalls, enjoy the trails, enjoy the river, access wilderness, you know, 90, over 93, 93 to 97% of our parks are designated wilderness. And so that's something that not a lot of people get to experience or even know about as a traversing the parks because the main corridor is what, you know, most visitors get to experience, but you just go off the trail or go up the mountain, you're into wilderness and a whole different experience. - Do you have to get a permit for that? - We are in the court as a season between Memorial Day and Labor Day usually, and so going on recreation.gov and getting your permits. We do have a small amount of day of walk up permits available for our trailheads. So something to look into if you just really did not anticipate going, and this is only required for overnight hikes. So we don't really encourage you to do a last minute overnight, a wilderness experience if you're not really prepared for it. But we do, if you weren't able to, you know, get a permit and you really are set, you're already gonna be in the parks. So something to try out early in the morning is getting a day of permit. But also you get, you're able to go to will experience wilderness just on a day hike. You can do a five mile, an eight mile round trip hike and get out far enough to experience wilderness. So just something we'll, you know, should consider. - You were gonna say something, Suzanne? - Well, I was just gonna say that going down into the canyon is something not a lot of visitors experience. So, you know, it is a lesser visited area of the park. So you don't have the crowds that you would have, you know, just even gathered around General Sherman, for example. So it's a great opportunity to sort of have that wilderness experience without having to go on a 10 mile hike or whatever. And also to clarify that it's the purpose that you guys are talking about. It's not an entry reservation required to get into some point Kings Canyon National Park. Unlike some of the other parks that are instituting that, sequined Kings Canyon are still available for people to come in and visit any time. - That's a good point to make. And same for the forest as well. So, and I always say go to the website. So go to nps.gov/seki. That is always good before you go into a park 'cause, you know, you are in the wilderness and things change, you know, according to weather, all kinds of stuff. So it's always good to check that website. And of course, go to discoverthesacoyas.com. That is your porthole to all those different, those eight cities. And to learn what's going on with the events and go to the actual websites for each community, which is, you know, there's always so many events. And in summer, I know you guys are in like in full, I mean, I'm like, I'm glad we're, you're here. I thought, oh my gosh, how are we gonna get these people on a show during the summer? 'Cause it's so busy, but so much fun too. And I think family-friendly wise too. That's also the thing, junior ranger programs. Come on, this is the time to get your kids out and do all that and bring your families. So you probably see a lot of families at some of all the family attractions. I know we've talked about that before, but a lot of the museums, like in Tulare, you've got the Agra Center and the Agra Ventures, where, you know, kids can go, you know, do the park and then really do the communities too. I think that balance should be have, right? Suzanne, especially with the family. - Yeah, absolutely. You know, these are some really wonderful communities with a lot of great activities for, you know, all types of travelers from our art installations and galleries and murals that, you know, some people really enjoy taking a look at that. And that gives you a good history of our communities, the murals do, the fun children activities. If you're traveling with kids, you know, the Imagine Your Children's Museum is always a great activity. It's an indoor, so you meet the heat a little bit with an air-conditioned indoors, but the kids are very hands-on and active. You know, the summertime is here, so we've got our Adventure Park Sequoia Springs water park is open now, and that's a really terrific opportunity for people to get a little wet and cool off the, there's no standing water, so it's, you know, fairly safe for families of all age groups, so that's a great activity and it's open daily now that summer is here. - What are some good family trails or activities in the parks, Cynthia, because, you know, we talk about an eight-mile trek or something, some families are used to that, so that's, you know, some of them, you know, kids are born and they're on the, you know, the shoulders of mom and dad going immediately, so they're used to it, but some may not be, and so hiking with kids could be their first time, right? So any tips on that or places that you should say people should experience? - Definitely, I actually just came up last Sunday to Grant Grove and him, like, with my two-year-old for the first, you know, brought him up, and the Grant Tree Trail, I will, I highly recommend it, I was up on a Sunday, it wasn't too busy, there's a tree, you know, that's down that you can go through, it's a little cave and you really enjoyed that, it's paved, it's one of our accessible trails that we offer, so if you're here with parents and you wanna in a wheelchair or with, you know, just physical, you know, disabilities or just needing a little, just an easier trail to be on, super easy, I was able to just let him go on his own and just, you know, stay near him, but he really enjoyed walking along the trail and seeing the big trees and, you know, just really looking up and being amazed. So we did that, we did stop by the Visitor Center, Junior Ranger, Buck, you know, collect that with your children, maybe get a little t-shirt or a hat to commemorate your trip, a little souvenir at our Visitor Center or the gift shop. And then we went to Hugh Meek, it was, you know, middle of the day, it was a warmer day, so we went down to the lake, it wasn't too busy there either, we were able to find parking, we went to the snack shop, you know, to get a milkshake, we were able to play in the water a little bit. So it's just a really fun experience to just, you know, we just made a day, it was a day trip for us, you know, we lived down in the valley and so we escaped the heat and to cooler weather. So we have a lot of family-friendly trails. I would say there's a lot of trails like that, also in Giant Forest, we have Round Meadow. Really, if you check our accessibility guide, I would say that's a good place to start, if you are traveling with young children, if you want something that's a little easier. I feel like accessible trails and young families and children, I feel like those really work well together. And so, and if you have any questions, always stopping in at the Visitor Center and talking to one of our friendly rangers, but definitely have to customize your experience. - Do you have Ranger programs during the summer? - Definitely, we have multiple programs happening in all of our different districts. They are posted outside every visitor center as you, you know, travel through the parks. And so, I definitely recommend talking. We staff up in the summers, we have a lot of new energized talent that we are able to, you know, hire and bring on board. And they're really excited to talk about bears and the history of the parks. And wildlife and so, come attend a program. It's really fun. - Speaking of the history of the park, I love that you, I wanna do like all the trees that have names like the Clara Barton tree and things like that. And so, you've got General Grant, you've got the General's Highway and Sherman and, you know, these, you know, iconic trees. I wanna do something just on those icons, you know? And why did they get named this and how? So you've got a special event coming up July 28th. And then it's Buffalo Soldiers Day. And that's, I think that's a really important observance because the Buffalo Soldiers did so much for our country. And it's like, I have a thing about them and the Tuskegee airman, that's my thing. I'm like so into it and like a little crazy. But, so tell us what's going on in the park on July 28th. - Yes, this year is a special year. So Charles Young, you may all know that he has a strong connection to these parks. He was the first African-American acting superintendent here in the early 1900s. He was here with a troop and really tasked with, you know, really working on that main road that connected the valley up to the mountains and getting, you know, creating access for the public to enjoy these lands. And so he did that very successfully. And in turn, it was actually the city of Isalia that helped, you know, name this tree app in his honor because his troops wanted to name a tree in his honor. And he really didn't want that. And he said, you know what, if you're gonna name a tree, name it after Booker T. Washington. So we have a Booker T. Washington tree in the parks that came, you know, from his era. But then city of Isalia actually, you know, decades later was he put something together and we now have a Colonel Young tree in the parks. Colonel Young actually got a posthumous promotion from the army a couple years ago. And so he was promoted to Brigadier General Charles Young. I'm hoping I'm getting this right. And so we are updating the naming of our tree here in the parks on Sunday, July 28th. We are making it a fee free day. And so we invite everyone to join us. It's no, you know, no entrance fee required. We will have programming throughout the weekend. So Friday through Sunday, we have a special presentation on Saturday evening in the logical amphitheater and a special, you know, the renaming ceremony on Sunday. We will have descendants of Charles Young in the parks with us. So it's really, we're still in the planning process, but it'll be a really special event. We invite everyone to join us and we will be updating the Colonel Young tree to be the Brigadier General Young tree in these parks. And so we're excited. - That's amazing that his descendants are coming. That's awesome, that's special, right? You know, that's really, really special. - Wow. - I think they also renamed a portion of Highway 198 as it enters the park as the Charles Young highway. - In 2019. - Yeah. - So, wow. - Very important. - That's a little part of our history. - We're going to update those signs as well to really align his new title, you know, wherever he's named. - That's exciting. - I love it. - Yeah, it is. So what's happening over in the valley with all, you know, to Larry County, seems that Visalia's got a lot going on. And I'm really, I know we're going to talk about September, but what's going on at the adventure park? That was the splash park you were saying that's open. - Splash park is open for the summer as we start to see the temperature climb. It's really exciting to have a place to cool off, kids to have fun. Parents can actually rent a gazebo or a cabana, sorry. And they can just sort of hang out on the sofas in their private cabana while the kids play in the, in the park. So that's a great, you know, after you've been in the parks and up in Sequoia National Park and you've hiked and been outdoor doing all that sort of stuff, you can kind of have a day of fun and relaxation. So that's really exciting. And we mentioned Mooney Grove having the accessible playground, the new dog park opened up there. So that's lots of great things happening at Mooney Grove Park. It's really exciting to see those changes happening. - Now, what about these, this car racing? What's this racetrack? Color racetrack. - Oh, yeah. - Oh, what's going on? - Oh, you. - Talking about some of those parks on the west side of Bicelli is Plaza Park, similar to Mooney Grove in that it has a duck pond and play areas. But there's also, it's a huge hub in the western part of our city with the golf courses out there. There is another dog park out there. So it's a great facility. But there is the spring car races at the Plaza Raceway. And they recently this past spring did some renovations to the racetrack, it's sprint cars. There are those little short, small, fast cars. And to awesome or long, you can come out in the warm summer night and watch the races, if you'd like. - I want a race. - Oh, I want a race. - It is really fun. - It is really fun. - And I'd love to go and there's a new indoor playground for younger kids called Paradise Playground. And by the way, they just opened a couple of weeks ago. We've already been there maybe two or three times. It's air conditioned. It's really, really cute for really younger kids. Really recommend air conditioned. It's right in the middle. - Did you say air conditioned? She said that. - Air conditioned, air conditioned is very important when you live in Mycelia and you're getting children. You can't just go to the outside parks in the middle of the day like you used to. - Well, I wanted to touch on, we're gonna shoot through to September so people can plan for this. There's a special concert coming up that I wanna talk about, but also the Dark Sky Festival. This is because I think it's so great because it shows the parks after dark. And that's something we forget about unless you're camping and you're getting that experience. But this is September 6th, 7th and 8th. Cynthia, do you wanna touch on that? Because that's part of the Sequoia Parks Conservancy partnered with you, right? - That's right. Yeah, it's a partnership with all of us. And if there's programming throughout the park, so it doesn't matter where you're going, the Parks, you will be touched by Dark Sky information and get to see programming around that topic about stars and galaxies and all of that. There's a star party that's a part of this, which is a night event where you get to go out near Wuxace Lodge and look through really large telescopes that scientists and volunteers bring out for us all to experience. You get to look at different planets and just being able to be there. I mean, it's a star party because you're just, you look up and it's complete Dark Sky. It's just, you know, lit up with stars everywhere. - I thought a star party was for me. - Lisa, you will be our brightest star in the room. (all laughing) - Well, in the dark sky. - The dark room, it's a big room. - The dark sky has events happening daytime and nighttime, just wanna be clear about that. So it's all day long and into the evening and people that live in a city have no idea the stars that are out there because we have so much, and we call it light pollution from big cities that prevent us from being able to see some of these stars. So if you go into a dark sky area like Sequoia where you really have very little light pollution, the stars are just amazing, the milky way. - Thank you for mentioning that. - Yeah, it's just really amazing. - Yeah, I think people think like, what's the big deal I look up in who the sky every day? But there's nothing like being in complete darkness on a mountain and looking up and seeing the same view that you see, the same sky you're looking up from down in the valley or in the city, it's completely different, really recommend it. - That's exciting. So that's why I wanted people to know about September. Now, I'm also excited and Minnie Grove, you have Hunter Noak going. He's been on our show a few years ago. - Oh really? - You're an artist. It's absolutely incredible what this man does. He is a pianist and it's this interactive experience. He was a National Parks, Arts Foundation, Artists in Residence in Hawaii and he performed and everyone had headsets and this was a few years ago. In fact, I'll link it to his interview 'cause for people to hear just how he's so talented. I mean, he takes a piano outside and you're like, this is so cool, man. - It's like not just a piano, but a nine foot Steinway that he takes to the outdoor and outdoor experience sets the piano up, visitor guests that attend the concert are given a wireless headset and are encouraged to explore the outdoor area that the concert is taking place in and listen to the music while being in the outdoor. So it's a really fascinating sensory experience. The music that he's playing and the outdoor experience and this will take place in September at the Moonegrove Park. And so, yeah, it's a really Sunday, on Sunday the, in September, September 15th. Yep, so it's a great experience. You can lay on the grass and look up at the sky. You can, I've even seen pictures of people laying underneath this piano and touching the piano to hear the vibrations of the wood of the piano, but just really an amazing, very different kind of concert experience for people. Yeah, that's magic. And he's very connected to nature, you know? It's, his music is beautiful and I'm so excited. I'm like, I wanna go. I know, and ticket prices are very reasonable. I mean, my goodness, I don't know what people are spending on a Taylor Swift concert, but you know, this is a very reasonable price point for being able to attend and just a really different exuberant kind of experience. - So we're looking for that. - So that's up on your website, visit by sale. There's a lot of people can learn more on that. Excellent, and everyone, there are so many communities with so many events. There's public art, like we're saying like, Exeter, you can go to public art mural tour. You can do that in Tulare. You can go shopping, the outlet shops in Tulare. And then there's all kinds of boutiques. So shopping is part of it and ice cream is all over. It is everywhere. Rosa brothers, you know? So yeah, let's, okay, summer day, you know, I always want to know what your pick is for a summer day. What are you doing? So Suzanne, what's your summer day look like? A whole day off. - A whole day, I can't imagine that. But I'm thinking right now, we had something called the mix open up on Main Street here. That's our shopping and dining district, very pedestrian friendly area, but it is a multi-restaurant location. And one of the places in there is Scoop's ice cream. So I think I'd like to stroll on down there and get, try out one of their ice cream, that Scoop's. - Are you gonna do it right after we hang up from this? - I think so. (laughing) - You mentioned ice cream a lot and I'm starting to have to work the drool for me. - I know, I know. So Cynthia, what about you? - I think I'm gonna have back up to the parks. It's been really, really hot. And, you know, I live in Visilia in the valley. And so getting up into the mountains with my son, getting some outdoors space. He loves being in the outdoors. So just getting on a trail. I think, you know, I mentioned going to Grand Grove and Hume Lakes. I think we'll do that again, but also just expanding our travels to Giant Forest and going around around Meadow. And even out to Crescent Meadow, I think that's Crescent Meadow is where I really, you know, want to get out there, get on the shuttle, head out to Crescent Meadow. There's been bear sightings of a mom, a cub, and a mom and her cub out there recently. There's deer. So just, I think you would love that. And just being on that trail. And it's so peaceful and quiet out there. So that's what we're heading. - And there's a, and you can go into the little house. It's a tree. - Yes, Starp's log. - Yep, that log where he would go and spend his summers and earn his medal in that meadow. I mean, it's, to me, I love Starp's log. I love the story of it, you know? It's just these people that lived in the park before we, it became a park, you know? So it's just fascinating history, but Crescent Meadow, there's always a mom with babies, the deer babies. And we saw the Marmot's are super cute. - I've seen a few Marmot's up there recently. It's just, we're so fluffy and-- - Listen, the Marmot's, all of them have the same name. It's Goldie. - Goldie. - Yeah, Margaret. - I'm gonna go say, how do your friend Goldie leave that? - Thank you, thank you. And Goldie is on every trail. It just keeps running from one trail to the next. Awesome, awesome. Everyone, discover the sequoias.com. Don't forget, you mentioned the shuttle. So there's a shuttle within the park itself. And then there's shuttle buses that go from the cities right into the park. So that's something to look up as well. So very cool. - Definitely. - Well, happy summer, have fun. Go eat that ice. - Happy summer to you too. - Come and see us. - Oh yeah, everyone, discover the sequoias.com. Thank you for joining us here on Big Blend Radio's California Sequoia Country Show. New episodes air every first Thursday at four p.m. Pacific time. You can keep up with the show at bigblendradio.com but also plan your Tulare County Escape. Go to discover the sequoias.com. (gentle music)