As a native California, I’m sad to admit that I have visited Sequoia National Park only twice. Once as a teen on a family outing with a friend I was staying with after her boyfriend and his friend stayed later than our established curfew. Her parents were not too happy with us, and we were dead-dog tired. The second time was about four years ago after the forest fire. So I feel like I haven’t had a stellar view of the park. But I received a fresh look while doing my research.
We all know that parks are created to protect certain natural geographic and landscape features and/or the resident animals. I was surprised to learn that Sequoia was created to protect from logging and animal grazing and hunting. Trees growing within the park include blue oak woodlands, foothill chaparral, and yucca plants at the lower elevations and Ponderosa, Jeffrey, sugar, and lodgepole pine trees at the higher elevations. By preventing logging, birds and their habitats were protected. My research turned up thirteen species residing in the park, including mountain chickadee, black-beaked woodpecker, mountain quail, and hermit warbler, to name a few.
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| Unknown photographer. From monovisions.com |
Current visitors probably proclaim the General Sherman tree to be the stand-out feature. I certainly remember it for its huge size—the world’s largest tree by volume. The tree is impressive from above, but when you reach the bottom of the multiple tiered path and stand near it, you are in awe. It is set with a grove of giant trees that include five of the largest ten in the world. Three of the ten oldest species on earth are found in Sequoia.
I did my best to include many of these facts when I developed my story, Floree, and look forward to researching more facts for my other two stories, Pinna and Isleen coming in 2026.
BLURB
Artist
Floree Percival goes to stay with the Sprague family in Sequoia National Park. Captain
Hank Sprague serves as park manager and agrees to chaperon her. A student in
the natural science department of University of Southern California, she’s also
the illustrator for her university mentor’s book on the birds and wildlife of
California. But her heart’s desire is to write and illustrate children’s
stories.
Corporal Kent
Mercher is in Sequoia National Park in its second summer with his cavalry unit
from the Presidio in San Francisco. Their assignment is to prevent wildlife
poaching, sheep grazing, and illegal logging. What he doesn’t expect is to be
assigned to a two-man guard duty unit to protect an artist, who has no business
being there when the cavalry has serious business to attend to.
Coming from
different backgrounds, the two have almost nothing in common until one
afternoon when they are forced to seek shelter in a cave, escaping a pack of
wild boars. Camaraderie develops from that day forward until illegal logging is
discovered in the park and Floree is shocked to recognize her cousins are the
culprits. Caught in the middle between family and a new love, what will Floree
choose?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F92RZDX2
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