The Getaway: Three Rivers, CA

Yes, this is the post office.

Next time, don't go to Yosemite and bitch about the crowds. Consider a secret little place my family's been vacationing in for years now: Three Rivers. A tiny town in the foothills of the Sequoias, Three Rivers is a pretty idyllic little spot, and home to many families, artists, and musicians. In short, it has a lot of character. Highway 198 runs right through the middle of it, up to Kings Canyon, a 462,901 acre national park; Lake Kaweah yields three forks of the Kaweah River that give the town its name and splits it up into sections known as "North Fork" and "South Fork".

From L.A., you take the 5 North up past the Grapevine (Gorman is a good place to stop), to the 99 North, then just follow the 198 East. Note, you will be driving past a whole lot of nuthin'. There will be cows and yellow hills and truck stops, oh my. You will pass towns with names like Buttonwillow, Pumpkin Center, and of course, Earlimart. The trip will take about 3 and a half hours, so bring your iPod.

Three Rivers, CA

Once you hit Lemon Cove, (at first glance, a virtual ghost town), your cell phone reception will go out and you'll know you're close! When we first started coming up here for Thanksgiving weekends, we stayed at the Lazy J Ranch, right after you pass Lake Kaweah, and just before the official town boundaries even start. Nowadays, we stay at the Three Rivers Bed and Breakfast, off North Fork Drive. There are many spots where you can head right down to the river and go wading, just make sure you're not in someone's backyard.

This runs along behind everything. Must sees in town:
-Reimer's Candies & Ice Cream (get the local blackberry ice cream)
-Heart's Desire domed gift shop
-The old Kaweah Post Office
-We Three Bakery for breakfast (just don't expect the food to come out real quick)
-The Gateway Restaurant (overlooking the river; you can occasionally spot a black bear lounging on the rocks by the water)
-Barby's slightly creepy antique shop
-The even creepier Doll Museum (waaaaay back off the main road)
-The Cabin, for used books and cappuccinos

The park is about 50 minutes up the highway, and it's a windy mountain road, but it's worth it.
Favorite spots in Kings Canyon:
-Hospital Rock with its petroglyphs and mortar holes left by the Potwisha Indians, and also a trail down to a spectacular portion of the river. There's a giant boulder there, held up naturally to creates a pretty kick-ass cave you could raise a whole family inside.
-Lodgepole, a fun place in the winter to get out and play in the snow, and I'm talking fun snow - soft, deep hills of it, perfect for chucking snowballs and jumping in up to your hips. (Carry the dog.)

Random facts:
-Angelica Houston owns a ranch here.
-William Shatner has a house here, and supposedly just answers the front door himself.
-The town started out as a utopian colony.
-Faena Brava is an awesome local group that features Spanish guitar, percussion, and cello.

A group of not-very-shy deer at Hospital Rock.
A deer, a female deer.