We
wanted to see some of California's National Parks but timing was of
the essence. Every day we checked the weather - we needed it to be
not too hot for Death Valley and yet no snow in the higher elevations
for Pinnacles, Sequoia, and Yosemite. This is hard to do when the
elevations vary from 280 ft below sea level to 8,000 ft above sea
level. We didn't quite achieve our goal but got close enough to still
have a great time
Our
first stop was Death Valley. It was 102 F (about 39 C) at the
visitor centre the day we arrived! We decided to delay our exploring
until the following cooler morning and lay low in the afternoon.
Repeat until done. Amazing scenery.
We took this picture to make postcards for the grandkids. Why do you think Julie is wearing her snorkel gear?
We weren't expecting to see a bog in Death Valley
The
Trona Pinnacles are an unusual geological feature in the California
Desert. The unusual landscape consists of more than 500 spires of
porous rock, some as high as 140 feet, rising from the bed of the
Searles Lake dry basin. Quite a few films are shot here every year.
Next
stop Sequoia National Park, elevation 6,500ft. We had a 2 day window
before snow was forecast. After being in the desert all year so far
we were in heaven to be back in the forest with these magnificently
enormous trees. We both got cricks in our necks from looking up.
This is looking back over the road into Sequoia
It's nippy in the snow
Mark is so glad to be back in the forest he's hugging the Sequoia
Yosemite
was still scheduled to receive snow so we diverted to Pinnacles
National Park. But first we had to wait out 3 days of rain. We
lucked out and and found an amazing free campground just 20 miles
south where we rested, walked, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.
Pinnacles
was great - we walked through tight rock formations and caves and
enjoyed many more wildflowers. Sorry - we seem to have misplaced our photos for this stop.
Another
2 day window so see Yosemite, it's at 8,000 feet elevation and still
had snow on the ground. The plus side of this is that the
waterfalls, for which this park is famous, were more profuse than
they've been for the last several years. We see why everyone raves
about this park. The valley is probably ½ mile wide and the sides
are sheer rock, creating amazing sunrises and sunsets, very dramatic
waterfalls, and steep trails. There was a lot of wildlife available
for viewing in the valley floor. We consider ourselves very lucky to
have come here while it was warm enough to enjoy, yet before the
high season with it's hordes of tourists from around the world.
Upper & Lower Yosemite Falls
Bridalveil Fall
It's a good job Mark suggested bringing or raincoats when we walked to the bottom of Bridalveil Fall
The view of Yosemite Valley
All
this only took 11 days, a bit on the fast-track side for us, who
normally travel at the speed of parked. We look forward to returning
at a more leisurely pace with fewer weather constraints.
