by Jessi Hafer

The National Steinbeck Center, located in author John Steinbeck’s native city of Salinas, California, would probably generate the most interest from Steinbeck enthusiasts, but the Center has a way of converting visitors into Steinbeck enthusiasts as well.

by Jessi Hafer

Together, the Sierra Nevada Mountains’ adjacent Giant Sequoia National Monument/Sequoia National Forest (including Hume Lake) and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks offer serene drives, a variety of trails, recreation areas, and breathtaking trees and canyon views, both humbling in their immensity. Collectively, they provide the Great Outdoors for just about every level of interest, and just an hour and a half’s drive from Fresno.

It’s a calm and uneventful 50-minute drive up to the Cat Haven in the Sierra foothills in Dunlap, on the way to Sequoia National Forest. For visitors, the Cat Haven is a mini-zoo displaying about ten species of wild cats, including species most of us don’t get to see very often. Unlike a zoo, though, the Cat Haven is a fairly quiet and intimate setting. You get pretty close to the cages (don’t get too close), and the only way to see the cats is on a short tour with one of the knowledgeable caretakers.

After about 45 minutes of driving, I got to the foothills just outside of Fresno a little early to sign up for the hike, but there were already at least 20 people of various ages in attendance. A volunteer came around with a clipboard, and as people signed up, she playfully gave each a “No whining” sticker to help her keep track of who had already signed up. As she moved away from me after I signed up, I joked with my friend: “Well geez, if I had known that they didn’t allow whining, I wouldn’t have come.”