We left the Yosemite area on much better roads than the way we arrived. Let's just say the GPS doesn't always know best! Once we got out of the mountains we entered farm country and the roses were simply gorgeous. There were literally fences of roses. Unfortunately we didn't stop to take any pictures. We also began to encounter grape vines... lot's and lot's of grape vines. We stopped at an RV park near San Juan Bautista. The next morning we lazed around a bit and then headed to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I had read on the website to expect to spend 2-3 hours. They were wrong. We arrived around 12 and stayed till they closed at 6. It was the best aquarium I've ever been too. The displays were so full that you could stare at them for a long time and still not see all the life that was in them. They also had lot's of hands-on displays. We even got to touch a bat ray. We ended up going out for dinner as we were all to hungry to drive the 30 miles home and then cook a meal.
The next day we headed north. Andrea had seen that the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield had free tours and was really interested in going. So we indulged her and took a tour and got some free samples. It was actually really enjoyable! We ended up buying a bag of "belly flops" that we've been enjoying along the road. We parked in Rohnert Park, about 30 miles north of San Francisco for the next 3 days.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Hoover Dam, Seqoia National Park and Yosemite
Upon leaving Zion we headed to Las Vegas. Talk about a contrast! Our primary purpose was to visit the Hoover Dam, but we opted to decrease our time pulling the trailer and parked at a park in the city. This travel day happened to fall on my birthday and I really wanted a place with a hot tub, so my wish was granted! I also wanted steak for dinner so we went out to a buffet at the casino/resort that we stayed at. It was an exercise in gluttony. So much food it felt wrong. We enjoyed a nice swim and headed to the Hoover dam the next day. Doug was the one who had the most interest in the dam, but we all ended up being glad we went. The engineering was incredible! The one thing we noticed though was the amount of trash laying about. The national parks were so clean that this really contrasted in a negative way.
When we got back into the city we decided to take a drive down the miracle mile. I can now say "been there, done that" and I never need to go back again. After seeing the rolling billboards for the naked girl shows we decided fairly quickly that it was time to go home.
We did a long driving day the next day and made our way to Three Rivers, Ca. This was just a few miles from the entrance to Sequoia National Park. We made our way to the groves of the giant Sequoia's the next day. Wow, they're huge! There was still quite a bit of snow at the higher elevations so a lot of the trails were still closed. We did do a nice hike along a closed road to Moro Rock.
Yosemite was next on our places to see. We stayed at a nice campground that was about 25 miles from the park. We couldn't get reservations in the park. We surprised to find that the hikes/visitors center etc were another 25 miles into the park. The 50 miles were along curving mountainous roads. The drive took 1.5 hours. When we finally got to the park we were astounded by the waterfalls. The snow melt has enlarged the rivers and falls phenomenally. Bridalveil falls, Yosemite falls were huge and beautiful! We wandered around the first day and did a few short hikes. We also saw a film featuring climber Ron Kauk and had a chance to talk with him after the movie.
The next day we did a strenuous hike up Vernal and Nevada falls. We walked the Mist trail alongside Vernal falls and got soaked! The total hike was about 7.5 miles, with about 2000 feet of elevation change. It was challenging but fun.
When we got back into the city we decided to take a drive down the miracle mile. I can now say "been there, done that" and I never need to go back again. After seeing the rolling billboards for the naked girl shows we decided fairly quickly that it was time to go home.
We did a long driving day the next day and made our way to Three Rivers, Ca. This was just a few miles from the entrance to Sequoia National Park. We made our way to the groves of the giant Sequoia's the next day. Wow, they're huge! There was still quite a bit of snow at the higher elevations so a lot of the trails were still closed. We did do a nice hike along a closed road to Moro Rock.
Yosemite was next on our places to see. We stayed at a nice campground that was about 25 miles from the park. We couldn't get reservations in the park. We surprised to find that the hikes/visitors center etc were another 25 miles into the park. The 50 miles were along curving mountainous roads. The drive took 1.5 hours. When we finally got to the park we were astounded by the waterfalls. The snow melt has enlarged the rivers and falls phenomenally. Bridalveil falls, Yosemite falls were huge and beautiful! We wandered around the first day and did a few short hikes. We also saw a film featuring climber Ron Kauk and had a chance to talk with him after the movie.
The next day we did a strenuous hike up Vernal and Nevada falls. We walked the Mist trail alongside Vernal falls and got soaked! The total hike was about 7.5 miles, with about 2000 feet of elevation change. It was challenging but fun.
Canyon Impressions
In an effort to catch up in the blogging world and prevent repetition I'm going to discuss all the canyoning we've done in one long post. These canyons include 1. Grand Canyon 2. Monument Valley 3. Natural Bridges 4. Canyonlands 5. Arches 6. Bryce and 7. Zion. All of these are either national parks or national monuments.
After leaving Hopi Mission School we headed West, to the Grand Canyon. We almost decided to skip Grand Canyon seeing as how it really wasn't on our way anywhere, and after all, it must be hyped up, right? Wrong!!! It's called the Grand Canyon for a reason. It was truly breathtaking in it's immensity. The geology was fascinating and the views panoramic. We stayed 3 nights. We did one long hike, down to Skeleton point. It was 6 miles round-trip, with a total elevation change of 2000 feet. We were tired by the time we got back to the rim! The girls both said they'd do it again though.
From the Grand Canyon we made our way North East towards Moab and Arches National Park. On the way there we drove through monument valley. Talk about an alien looking environment! You'd have a flat plain, then bloob, there's a pedestal of stone. We didn't get any pictures but I'd like to drive through again. We spent a couple of nights at Bluff, Utah and day tripped to Natural Bridges National Monument. We did a relatively short hike down into the canyon to find these big bridges carved out of limestone. This hike had some ladders and steep areas which the girls loved.
Arches National Park is one of the front-runners in my list of favorites so far. The limestone is layered on top on an unstable salt layer (the Paradox layer) that has allowed the limestone to tilt and fracture into fins. These fins erode and form into arches. We did a ranger-led tour through an area called the Fiery Furnace which was really cool! This is definitely a place I'd like to come back to.
Next on the list was Bryce National Park. We'd heard lot's of great things about Bryce and were looking forward to our visit. The rock formations are called Hoodoo's and there are a lot of them. The weather while were there was cold! Sub freezing temps at night. The first day was 50ish when we started a short hike, and 40's when we were done, as well as being very windy. The next day was better. We did a 6 mile hike in the hoodoos, including a 1400 ft elevation change. It was good, but we found that the hike was not particularly exciting. The scenery became predictable. But I'm still glad we went.
Zion Nation Park was the last stop in Utah. I loved Zion! We were able to get reservations in the park with hookups. It was really nice to be in the park and not have to commute in. The downside was that the campground was infested with tent caterpillars which freaked Erin out. We did a great hike called Angels landing. The last half mile was up a narrow, steep trail. At times you had to use the chains provided to help you up. The narrowest part of the trail was about 6 feet to the 1200 foot drop on either side. The girls did great! We did a couple of short hikes the next day since all of us had sore legs!
To see pictures check out my flickr page!
After leaving Hopi Mission School we headed West, to the Grand Canyon. We almost decided to skip Grand Canyon seeing as how it really wasn't on our way anywhere, and after all, it must be hyped up, right? Wrong!!! It's called the Grand Canyon for a reason. It was truly breathtaking in it's immensity. The geology was fascinating and the views panoramic. We stayed 3 nights. We did one long hike, down to Skeleton point. It was 6 miles round-trip, with a total elevation change of 2000 feet. We were tired by the time we got back to the rim! The girls both said they'd do it again though.
From the Grand Canyon we made our way North East towards Moab and Arches National Park. On the way there we drove through monument valley. Talk about an alien looking environment! You'd have a flat plain, then bloob, there's a pedestal of stone. We didn't get any pictures but I'd like to drive through again. We spent a couple of nights at Bluff, Utah and day tripped to Natural Bridges National Monument. We did a relatively short hike down into the canyon to find these big bridges carved out of limestone. This hike had some ladders and steep areas which the girls loved.
Arches National Park is one of the front-runners in my list of favorites so far. The limestone is layered on top on an unstable salt layer (the Paradox layer) that has allowed the limestone to tilt and fracture into fins. These fins erode and form into arches. We did a ranger-led tour through an area called the Fiery Furnace which was really cool! This is definitely a place I'd like to come back to.
Next on the list was Bryce National Park. We'd heard lot's of great things about Bryce and were looking forward to our visit. The rock formations are called Hoodoo's and there are a lot of them. The weather while were there was cold! Sub freezing temps at night. The first day was 50ish when we started a short hike, and 40's when we were done, as well as being very windy. The next day was better. We did a 6 mile hike in the hoodoos, including a 1400 ft elevation change. It was good, but we found that the hike was not particularly exciting. The scenery became predictable. But I'm still glad we went.
Zion Nation Park was the last stop in Utah. I loved Zion! We were able to get reservations in the park with hookups. It was really nice to be in the park and not have to commute in. The downside was that the campground was infested with tent caterpillars which freaked Erin out. We did a great hike called Angels landing. The last half mile was up a narrow, steep trail. At times you had to use the chains provided to help you up. The narrowest part of the trail was about 6 feet to the 1200 foot drop on either side. The girls did great! We did a couple of short hikes the next day since all of us had sore legs!
To see pictures check out my flickr page!
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