The one where we were rewarded for walking long distances

Today we entered Yosemite National Park via Mono Lake. Mono Lake is a hypersaline lake which is 3 time saltier than the ocean. We took a few pictures, but then moved on to the main attraction. I have been to many national parks and have hiked many mountain ranges but the granite domes and forests of Yosemite are amazing and unique.



The three of us hiked to the upper cathedral lake and took in vistas that made us all repeat the words "beautiful" and "amazing" over and over again. The hike itself was 7.7 miles round trip and ascended over 1000ft to an altitude of almost 10,000 ft. The first assent was breathtaking, quite literally for me, but we made it. Even at Yosemite's peak season, we only encountered a few other people on the trail. It was one of the most tranquil and pristine places we had ever been. It made me think of Shangri-La. The sky was too perfectly blue and the greens so saturated that it didn't seem quite real. It was as if we were somehow transported into a work of art.

At the lake Emily had the idea to see if we could see the lower cathedral lake from where were. We trekked through the woods for a little while and were rewarded with the most amazing overlook yet. We had a snack break on a piece of granite that overlooked the lower cathedral lake and surrounding valley.


We decided that had we overused the words "amazing" and "beautiful" on this trip and so tried to think of new candidates. We tried out words like "fantabulous" and "splenderific" but in the end we decided that there were just no words that could begin to express the beauty of this place.



After the hike we started towards the bed and breakfast were we were to stay the night. We made the mistake of trusting Garmin to know where he was going and had to resort to looking for hard to see house numbers on dark and windy roads that never seemed to end. We found it though and it turned out to be a charming and cozy place.

- Posted by Sara from my iPad

Location:Yosemite National Park

Us + 1 (now better than ever!)

After a (very) uneventful drive through Nevada, we made it to Reno. Well there was that brief dust/rain storm we drove through that had these nifty little funnels following us around...oh and tumble weeds!

After we picked up Emily from the airport...


...we headed downtown for dinner. Emily and I had wonderful mushroom ravioli and Shawn had seafood risotto at La Strada, then I won $7.70 in a slot machine. We celebrated this feat by going to Circus Circus and spending the winnings on the carnival games there.



Now we are on our way to Yosemite National Park!

- Posted by Sara from my iPad

Location:Reno, NV

Related?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:U.S. 93,Twin Falls,United States

By the way...

...Twin Falls smells like cows.


-- Post From Sara's iPhone

Location:Idaho 74,Twin Falls,United States

Our trip to the moon

After making one last drive through Grand Teton National Park and Jackson, we crossed the Teton Pass and entered Idaho (state 43 for me). We enjoyed the drive through Targhee National Forest and the eventual transition into beautiful farmland. We stopped in Idaho Falls for a few supplies and then decided to find a local place to have lunch. Dixie's Diner fit the bill . . . It is a 50's themed diner with great atmosphere and incredible food. We can personally attest to the quality of the burgers, fries, and chili.




After waddling back to the car, we once again headed west. We soon crossed into the Idaho National Laboratory Site. I immediately flashed back to memories of my hometown. INL is the sister Department of Energy site to the Savannah River Site in Aiken. I can remember as a kid hearing about competing with Idaho Falls for various projects. It was interesting to see the site and it was a very obvious location for such a plant . . . remote and desolate.
Our real destination was a little known, but fascinating part of the National Parks system called Craters of the Moon National Monument. This is an expanse of other worldly looking lava flows that covers about 1100 sq miles of southern Idaho. The entire Snake River Valley from southeastern Oregon, through Idaho and to Wyoming are former locations of the volcanic hotspot that currently sits under Yellowstone. Most of these locations are now dormant, but Craters of the Moon has remained active erupting lava flows about every 1000 years. The most recent flow was about 2000 years ago and still looks very fresh with very little vegetation growing. We hiked several trails, including hiking to the top of one of the cinder cones (Infernal Cone) and through the lava field to Indian Tunnel, a massive lava tube. We thought this would be just a drive by attraction, but in the end we spent almost 4 hours exploring this place and probably would have hiked a few more trails if we had more time.






Our extended stay at Craters (among other things) meant we didn't have time to check out the nearby Hagerman Fossil Beds (so we'll have to save that one for next time). We are now checked into our incredibly posh $70 hotel room in Twin Falls, ID. Tomorrow we will cross Nevada and pick up our friend Emily at the Reno airport!!!



- Posted by Shawn from my iPad

Location:Harrison St N,Twin Falls,United States

Westward-ho

After a long day in Yellowstone yesterday we all slept in today. We had good intentions to spend a little more time in Cody, but we ended up hanging out with family. I haven't had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with my brother and his family in the last few years and we had a wonderful time catching up. We are leaving today to go back towards Jackson Hole so we can begin the second leg of our journey towards San Diego. We will miss Don, Alisha and the kids, but we have vowed to make these family vacations a more common event.







- Posted by Sara from my iPad

Location:Towgotee Lodge

Guest Blogger Cassidy Husted

Our trip with aunt Sara and uncle Shawn was great. It started off with them arriving here tuesday night around 11pm. Then Wednesday we took the tour of Cody Wyoming, saw museums, went shopping, went to the candy store, and ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Thursday we toured Yellowstone National Park. While we were in the car traveling we made up a game called "yellowstone adventure". We got to see many different animals but no moose!!! My favorite animal was the mommy grizzly bear and her two cubs. However, we did almost see a bison attack 2 cars and a motorcyclist. This trip has been really fun and I can not wait for many trips to come (:

Cassidy Husted
Ps thanks for everything(: keep In touch with me too



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Yellowstone/Cody, WY