Into the Valley

We awoke to a beautiful morning at the Yosemite Springs Bed and Breakfast. We were treated to a wonderful and breakfast by our hosts, which included incredible French toast and very yummy orange-banana smoothies. After a few errands we got a somewhat late start and headed off for the Yosemite Valley.



When people think about Yosemite this area is what they probably envision: A vast valley sandwiched between granite monuments like El Capitain and Half Dome with waterfalls plunging thousands of feet over each size. Interestingly the image that has recurrently popped into my head when thinking about this trip will be like is from one of the Star Trek movies. I have no idea which one it is, but one of them starts with Kirk climbing El Capitain while camping with Spock and Bones. I know its pretty weird, but there it is.

Anyway, the valley is an incredible place. As we drove in on Oak Flats Road the view of the valley was amazing. We then descended to the floor for bottom up views. It is pretty surreal standing in the completely flat valley with granite monoliths jutting up straight out of the ground. We went to the visitors center and decided to take a hike up the Mist Trail to Vernal Falls. The last bit up to the falls was steep and fighting the flood of people coming down made it a bit treacherous, but in the end the view was worth the climb. We stopped down for a picnic lunch (PBJ and apples) and returned to the visitor's center to browse the Ansel Adams Gallery and get some pictures of Half Dome and Yosemite Falls. We then made our way up to Glacier Point for some pictures of the sun's evening rays on the valley. We were then treated to one last great view as Sara spotted a massive Grizzly Bear with two cubs off the side of the road on our return drive. The dusk lighting was bad for pictures, but we did have the bear family to ourselves for several minutes watching the cubs play as the mother bear seemed to teach them to how to look for food.


The Yosemite Valley is one of the most amazing places I have been, but the sheer number of people was disconcerting. We knew the valley would be more crowded, especially compared to our tranquil day in Tuolumne Meadows. We hoped going in the middle of the week would make it tolerable. Its really great that so many people want to get out and experience nature, but sad that they all decide to converge on the exact same piece of nature. I'd really hate to see what a weekend was like . . .



- Posted by Shawn using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Yosemite Valley

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

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- 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