2,487...

...the number of driving miles we traveled on our vacation! We went on vacation for a week, we've been back over a week now, and here I am. Driving is a great way to see the country, and traffic wasn't too bad!

Let's see...we started out on May 30, left home at 5 am (Glen wanted to leave at 4!) It was a Saturday, and our main concern was getting through Phoenix where traffic is just horrible. We stopped in Barstow, CA for the night and finally made it to Mariposa, CA, where we'd make our home for the next 4 days. Because it was still early, we decided to drive the 40+ miles to Yosemite on Sunday afternoon. I realize its a national park, but geez...there were a lot of people!! Most of the license plates were CA, and because Yosemite is easily accessible, its easy to see why a Sunday drive sounds like a good idea.

Yosemite is beautiful! The mountains are gigantic, greenery is abundant. The moment we saw El Capitan...wow!! People actually climb this thing?? One of the days, we stopped at a meadow at the base of the granite giant where a bunch of other people were gathered with cameras, scopes, binoculars, etc., watching people climb the side of rock. I took some footage with the video camera and was able to zoom in pretty close. Glen got some good pics with his camera and his super duper lens! You can even tell the color of caps and jerseys the people were wearing! No, thanks, I'll keep both feet planted on the ground. The Merced River runs through the valley, and it is rushing and gushing...a kayak heaven.

We drove to Glacier Point on another day, and had a great view of Half Dome, besides the clouds. Wow...we had seen some footage of people climbing Half Dome, online, and it was scary to watch, let alone experience it. You have to be really fit, and smart to even attempt this feat. Glen got a book, "Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite", that tells stories of people dying (usually human error) in Yosemite, falling off cliffs, being washed away in the various falls, swept by the river, base jumping (come on, who would want to do that?), taking shortcuts while hiking, using trails that have been closed, and various other acts of stupidity...people even committing suicide on some of the falls!

The area is rich in history with the native americans that made their home in the valley. We did a little hiking in Mariposa Grove home of some giant sequoias. Man, these trees are huge. Just to give some perspective, this picture of the Tunnel Tree shows the trunk of a sequoia where a chunk of it was cut out way back in the day to make room for stagecoaches to run through it.

Tunnel Tree

The picture below shows Glen standing in the opening! The trunk is huge! Standing in the opening gives a strange sensation, makes you feel so insignificant and mundane in the whole scheme of things! If these giants could talk, the stories they could tell!

An interesting thing about the sequoias, even though there are other trees in the same forest, these are the only species that have moss growing on their trunks! There are shuttles that take you to most places in the park and it is strongly encouraged to reduce pollution that could ultimately destroy the vegetation and wildlife. We were in Curry Village one afternoon...if you remember, last year there was a rock slide that destroyed many of the tent/cabins in the area. They rent cabins, which are little more than tents with soft sides in this village...no thanks, I like doors. Anyway, as we were driving we saw a couple of park rangers with what looked like paint ball guns, maybe they shot those bean bags, anyway, they were trying to chase a mama brown bear with her three cubs to cross the street and drive them away from people - the area was quite congested. By the time we got our cameras out, the action was gone!

Next on our trip, was Death Valley. Now why would we go to Death Valley, considering we live in AZ where we get quite enough heat?? Well, we've never been and it was a contrast in environments from Yosemite.

It is truly in a valley surrounded by vast, vast mountains. The mountains are solid rock, hardly any vegetation that could be seen from the valley floor...wide open space between the mountains as far as the eye can see. We stayed at Furnace Creek Ranch, run by Xanterra, which manages many of the national parks we have visited. Their staff is from all over the world and are very friendly. Food is over the top in quantity and taste! There was also a huge pool fed by a natural hot spring. The water remains 82F all year long! It was really nice. Another thing we noticed, lots of Europeans!!

We visited Badwater Basin, named because during the old west days, maybe the gold rush of 1849, some prospectors tried to get their mules to drink the water at this spring, but it was too salty, so they called it bad water! The picture to the right, where it looks light, are actually salt flats! To the touch, it almost feels like clay, and it is moist. You can tell where people dug holes in the earth to reveal water not too deep.

We also visited Scotty's Castle

Death Valley National Park - Scotty's Castle (U.S. National Park Service) Very interesting story, and it is along the lines of Hearst Castle in CA. I didn't get any pictures here, but it was beautiful, and the history is fascinating. The other thing about Death Valley is that I didn't have phone service, no texting, and we didn't have internet service, unless you paid $15 per day! No thanks, we'll just remain out of pocket for a few days - easier said than done. By Saturday morning, I had to call my mom!

We drove home on Sunday, 6/7, took us a little over 12 hours to get home. We take our time, no rush, and of course, we stop at every rest area possible! Need I say more...

Talk soon...