THE TRIP TO STATE COLLEGE 8-27-11 TO 8-30-11

Travel day to Jackson, MN.  The picture above is a field of sunflowers.  Sunflower fields as far as the eye could see.  We saw a sight at our campground, not for the first time on our trip, but the first time with all the people out of the "vehicle".  The front half is a bus and the back is rows of bunk beds, each with a small porthole window like on a boat.  You gain access to the bedroom area via steps that are put into place after the bus stops for the day.  On the opposite side of the bus from the bunk access is a cooking area of about 3 ft by 8 ft than folds down and is accessed from the outside of the bus.  Tom is guessing he saw 20 people having breakfast.  Our drive today is through northern plain area.  Hay and sunflowers is about all there is to see.  We went by Rosebud  which is the site of one of the missions we support at St Paul's.  It is really windy today.  We don't know if that is all the time, but it's making for a tense drive for Tom.  We asked at a gas stop and IT'S ALWAYS WINDY HERE.  And by the way are getting only 8.5 miles per gallon.

Happy Birthday, Tom.  Travel day to Madison, WI.  Much corn, many wind farms and cows, cows, cows.  All in all one of those West Texas days.  We did have hamburgers and fresh corn for Tom's birthday dinner followed by Babcock Hall ice cream.  Babcock Hall is like PSU's creamery. 

8-29-11

For some reason my blog doesn't want me to load any more pictures so I'll finish off with text.  This is travel day to Indiana and the first day of our entire summer that we do not have a specific destination.  We are now on I-80 and we are anxious to be home. Four states today - Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. This was our longest driving day.  

8-30-11

The last leg of our journey.  We saw "the bus" for the third time.  We camped with them at Mt Rushmore. saw them at a Walmart where we stopped and now they are in our campground in Toledo. OH.  They are from Germany.  And now we've seen them a 4th time at a service plaza.  It took $50.00 in tolls to get through Indiana and Ohio.  We've travelled 11,600 miles on our 11 week journey and now our rolling hotel will get tucked away until March.

TRAVEL DAY TO INTERIOR/BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK

Travel day to Interior SD and the Badlands NP.  Not a long drive, but pretty plain with miles of plains for scenery.  We stopped at the visitors center and saw the orientation film and, of course, I got my Passport stamped.  We dropped the trailer off and basically drove around the park on the Badlands scenic loop.  Very strangely beautiful landscape.  We visited Wall Drug in Wall - the west's version of "South of the Border".  We got home at 3:00 PM and had a nap.  It's very fitting that Tom is getting to watch his first football game of the season.

TRAVEL DAY/MOUNT RUSHMORE 8/25/11

Travel day to Custer and the most common sight were Proghorn.  They aren't Antelope, they are Proghorn.  There are permanent signs everywhere that say when the lights are flashing the road is closed and return to the town you just came from.  A hint is all the heavy duty snow fences.  Mt Rushmore was very interesting.  They have recently upgraded a lot of the area.  We went on a ranger led tour and saw the artist models of the faces.  They really are not completed, but when the money ran out, the artist stopped.  And why did they create the monument??  To promote tourism in the area.  And why were these people chosen??  The sculptor chose them. 

TRAVEL DAY-CASPER WY 8-24-11

Travel day to Casper.  Ranches, ranches, ranches, horses, horses, horses and huge Indian Reservation - Wind River.  Wyoming ranks 9th among the states in sq miles (97,100) and 50th in population (522,800).  We saw Antelope - hooray.  We missed them in the parks, but right alongside the highway we saw them and they are everywhere.  What cute critters!  We got set up in the Casper KOA and headed out to see the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center.  It was a great experience.  Most of the trails west went through Casper.

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK 8-23-11

We headed out early, 6:30 AM, and we are so glad we had the extra time so that we could get the morning shots of the mountains and their reflection in the river.  It was 37 degrees, but I was all layered.  We had a 5.2 mile drive on a gravel road to get to the ranch.

My horse was Dallas, a beautiful thoroughbred, and Tom had Hoss, a huge draft mix.  The ride met all of our expectations.  We rode through forests, across streams and meadows.  A family from about two hours away runs the ranch in the summer and through guided elk hunting season and then they take the horses back to their ranch until next year's summer season.  What an operation!  They take out about 100 people each day.  Now we are in preparation mode for the big trip home.  We won't be anywhere more then one night and if all goes well we'll be home around the 31st.  Keep checking our blog because we still have Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument and Badlands National Park to go.  We'll just been combining a day's travel with touring.

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK 8-22-11

We took our high altitude hike this morning.  We rode to the top of Jackson Hole Resort on their new (2008) tram with a capacity of 100 people.  We got off at 10,000 plus feet and took a 4.3 mile hike which descended 1,000 feet.  Now we're thinking that this is going to be the best hike of vacation.  It trumped Cascade Canyon.  We could really feel the altitude and hiking back to the summit was challenging.  It took us three hours to hike the 4.3 miles.  We came back to Colter Bay by way of Jackson and got gas and, of course, ice cream.  We did our last loads of laundry and checked e-mail while we waited.

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK 8-21-11

We took a walk to the store for a Sunday paper and then went to church.  It was the largest crowd we've seen all summer.  A United Methodist pastor and her husband sat in front of us.  They are in their 70's and this is their last trip here as the altitude bothers them.  Another couple has been on the road since March and won't return home until October.  After our eggs we visited the Indian Museum.  It was very interesting and we're glad we saw it as this is its last year.  The park can't provide security for the valuable collection.  When we got back to our camper we found that we had new neighbors.  A couple and their six standard poodles moved in next door.  They are the cutest dogs.  Just like a giant Fluffy.  We drove out to the ranch where we will ride horses Tuesday morning and drove around on moose patrol, but didn't see anything.

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK 8-20-11

We got the ferry across to Jenny Lake to hike into Cascade Canyon.  Tom thinks this was the best hike of the trip so far.  We hiked two hours into the Canyon between two peaks and it took us an hour and ten to hike out.  We didn't see any critters, but a glorious hike anyway.  The trail was pretty crowded by the time we finished up.  The boat pilot told us that they transfer 1,000 people daily.  We ate in the car on the way to Jackson Hole Resort where we'll be taking their aerial tram for our high altitude hike on Monday.  They were finishing a 180 mile relay. One gal told us that her leg was in the middle of the night in bear country.  Since we had laundry to do we ate at the restaurant in Colter Bay and changed loads while we were eating.  Tom, the adventureous one, had bison flank steak.  It got an ok rating.  And he felt the bison deserved it for holding us up so much in Yellowstone.

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK 8-19-11

Our one planned activity was the Snake River Float.  I was well prepared with bug spray, bug shirt and bug net - not wanting to be swarmed.  The bugs here are really bad especially in the morning (our float) and in the evening.  And then the cold - four layers topped off with a PSU wind suit.  I must say that for the bugs I was over-prepared, but very cozy in my layers.  The trip was amazing and our guides very informative. We saw two bald eagles.  Know how to spot a bald eagle??  Look for a golf ball in a tree.  We saw the lateral moraine and the terminal moraine - a result of glaciers pushing through (like your hand through sand) and then receding.  After our 1 1/2 hour float we had a picnic lunch served in a wooded area along the river and then we bused back to Jackson Lake Lodge.

Since we sat in a raft all morning we biked along an eight mile dedicated bike trail to Dornan.  What a nice bike trail.  We stopped at an educational center and then...on the bridge before Dornan there he was - Mr Moose just sitting in the river munching on willow.  By the time we got there Mr Moose had been there a while.  We went for a slice of pizza at Dornan for energy to bike back and Mr. Moose was still in the water, but now standing up to better get at the willows.  AWESOME!!

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK 8-18-11

We're back at Jackson Lake Lodge still working on computer business.  Lots of people are here doing the same thing.  We hiked a four mile loop around the lake by Jackson Lake Lodge with views of the mountains.  Unfortunately no critters.

 

After our hike we headed to Jackson because we are in dire need of food and don't want to purchase too much in the campground stores as they are quite expensive.  Jackson is cute, cute, cute.  A town square with elk arches on four sides, a stagecoach that takes you for rides and all manner of  Western "stuff".  You can get a table with rifles for legs and six-guns for arms or have a drink at a bar with saddles for seats.  Tom got his birthday present - some binoculars which he can use on our travels, but also in our new seating at Beaver Stadium.  The last task of the day was groceries and then back to Colter Bay.

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK 8-17-11

Travel Day from Yellowstone to Grand Teton and what a perfect farewell we had.  A herd of thirty or so bison right on the road leaving our campground.  I know they came to say goodbye to me.  We drove 850 miles while we were in Yellowstone and it would have been more had we not stayed in Mammoth one night.  It's less than two hours to our campground in Colter Bay, but it is basically driving in the parks because one ends and the other begins.  We set up camp and then headed for Jackson Lake Lodge to do computer business.  I finished all the blogs from Yellowstone.  After supper we headed out to try to find some moose.  We looked and looked with no luck.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 8-16-17

The last day, last hikes, last animal-jam, but looking forward to Grand Teton.  We drove north and hiked Cascade Lake Trail, a five mile easy walk to a beautiful solitary lake.  This lone fisher person was fly fishing in the lake.  After lunch we saw Grand Canyon of Yellowstone from the north side and Upper and Lower Falls as well.  So much more we could have done, but all in all I think we did justice to Yellowstone. 

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 8-15-11

The first hike of the day was a bike/hike to Lone Geyser.  It was a pleasant bike hike along partially paved road.  The geyser erupts every two to three hours for ten to 15 minutes and we arrived just in time for the show.  We ate lunch in the car and then started to hike to Riddle Lake, a very flat 4.6 mile round trip.  About a mile into the hike in the lodgepole forest the wind kicked up and the sky darkened.  The trees were really noisy in their movements against each other.  Did it mention the advice to stay out of the lodgepole forests during storms.  The lodgepole pine roots are very shallow and the forests containing them look like so many pick-up sticks.  So...we had a two mile hike.  We did bedding and linens today, packed up the bug tent and rolled in the awning.  That way if it should rain everything is dry.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 8-14-11

We went for a walk before church.  The State College folks were there providing the music.  We're going to try to hear their gospel group when we get home.  After eggs and a nap we biked down to the Lake Hotel and sat on the front porch and watched the lake.  I got the Truman Everts account of his 37 days lost in Yellowstone in September of 1870.  On the way back to camp we saw the young elk pictured here in the woods beside our trailer.  It's a quiet Sunday.  I'm reading "Lost in the Yellowstone" and Tom is organizing the outside compartments in preparation for moving to Grand Teton in a few days.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 8-13-11

We are taking a few days to catch our breath, do chores and actually "camp".  Remember the breakfast from Mammoth that we felt was as good as Waffle Shop?  Tom is finishing off his pancakes - they lasted him three days.  We put up the bug tent and you can see what a cozy napping place it makes for Tom.  Just like home, I nap in bed and Tom naps in the recliner.  As I writing this we had a 37 degree night and used the furnace for the first time.  So that's 37 for a low and 117 for a high - 80 degrees difference.  We took a bike ride around camp and to the visitor's center where we saw a program on wolves, foxes and coyotes. 

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 8-12-11

Here they are again this morning.  The elk hanging out.  And why not?  They could go up on the plateau and chomp on sagebrush and dodge the wolves who might want to eat them or hang out here, soft grass--no wolves.  Since we got a late start we're having breakfast here and checking out before our hike.  Breakfast, we agree, rivals Waffle Shop.  Tom can't even finish his pancakes with blueberries, but is getting a to go box.  I ate the granola and blueberries and the top layer of oatmeal.  Well fueled we will take on Bensen Peak with a 1,300 ft climb.  Views better be good!!  The views were absolutely worth it.  And although it was a 1,300 foot climb in 2.1 miles, it was switch-backed so well and the views were so great that we hardly even noticed.  We checked in on the elk in Mammoth and then headed to Gardiner to check e-mail and let all know that we are well.  Coming back to Fishing Bridge we stopped at a river fed by a hot spring.  Tom got in to his knees and reported some toasty warm water.  Many folks were in the river just soaking in the hot water.  On the way home we had two animal-jams - one for a black bear and one for the bison.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 8-11-11

We headed to Mammoth this morning and took the route across the center of the Grand Loop - the figure-eight-shaped highway that connects the different parts of Yellowstone.  We stopped at the Museum of the National Park Ranger and saw a cabin of a back country ranger and the building built in the early 1900's.   Our hike today was a 5.1 mile loop around Beaver Pond.  The elk were very much in Mammoth today and seventeen of them were right outside our hotel window.

I must include biker puppy and his Mom.  They are part of the huge biker crowd who are in Sturgis for a two week biker event.  There are 400,000 bikers there.  We've seen a great number of them in Yellowstone.  Does biker puppy remind you of anyone??  We had dinner and listened to piano music all the while getting to watch the elk.  At 10:00 PM they moved on, but....

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 8-10-11

We wanted to hike two trails in the Fishing Bridge area this morning and our one hike asks that we check at the ranger station for bear activity.  We learned we could hike with a ranger at 10 AM, so we hiked Pelican Creek Nature Trail first and then met the ranger, Dandelion, yep, that's her name, from Queens, New York City.  We and about 40 others hiked Storm Point, a 2.3 mile hike by Indian Pond which we learned was a geyser blow-out that had filled with water and on to Yellowstone Lake.  Actually, it's autumn here at Yellowstone.  Summer lasts about three weeks.  The 136 sq mile lake does freeze in the winter, but not completely because of the geothermal features of the area.  The ice was gone off the lake by June 10th.  Yellowstone usually gets about 300 inches of snow each year.  This year they got 900 inches.  On July 14th the water was nine feet above it's normal level.  On our hike we saw all three of the park's trees - Spruce, Fir and Pine.  There are two types of fish in Yellowstone - or maybe in the lake.  Cutthroat Trout, the native fish, and Lake Trout, the invasive fish.   

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 8-9-11

It's 8:15 AM and we're headed to Mammoth Springs at the northern entrance of the park.  It's probably going to take us a while to get there so we are prepared to stay - two days of drinks and food.  A cup of coffee costs $2.30 so we got ice and have a dozen drinks in the cooler.  At Mammoth we were greeted by 15 female and young male elk, just enjoying the grass around the visitor's center.  The area was an Army compound from 1886-1918 when the Army administered the park.  Our elk greeters were totally unaffected by all of us and when we left at 3:00 PM they were still there.  We were unable to get a hotel room in Gardiner, situated at the park entrance five miles from Mammoth, but...hooray, we got a room at the Mammoth Springs Hotel, yet another of the park's historic buildings.  On the way back to Fishing Bridge we walked the Mud Volcano Trail, one of the hydrothermal areas of the park.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 8-8-11

We're headed to Roosevelt in the northeast portion of the park.  Our first stop was the Roosevelt Lodge which was built in the 1920's.  It's a wonderful log building built in honor of President Roosevelt.  We attempted a hike, but the trail was thick with foliage, so we moved on to a trail along the rim overlooking the Yellowstone River.  After the four mile hike we had a picnic lunch before moving on to the Canyon area.  We hike the South Rim Trail where we saw great views of Yellowstone Grand Canyon,  Upper and Lower Falls.  We spent our evening at Lake Lodge, another historic building, listening to a string quartet. 

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 8-7-11

We rented a boat for a ride on Yellowstone Lake which is basically the middle of the giant caldera which forms part of Yellowstone.  At places the lake is 450 feet deep.  The average depth is 150 feet.  We saw some of the geothermal features of the lake although most are at the bottom of the lake.  It was smooth going in the marina inlet, but away from there was quite choppy.  Tom was a little nervous at times being the non-swimmer that he is.  We got back to Fishing Bridge just in time for the church service.  Five of the nine people attending were from State College.  A couple who live at The Village attend Mt Nittany United Methodist Church and their granddaughter who will be attending Lock Haven Clearfield campus this year.  By the way, the couple perform in a gospel group which includes Brad Caldwell and his wife Karen from Curwensville.  It's a small world!  We took a Sunday afternoon drive to Cody, WY, a town designed by Wild Bill Cody himself.  Our primary objective in Cody was the McDonalds for internet service.  Across from us was a group of girls working at Yellowstone for the summer.  One was skyping her brother in Japan.  Stopped at the Wild Bill Cody Museum, but didn't go in because it was about to close.  The drive was very interesting with the different landscapes.  The temperature difference between Cody and Fishing Bridge was 30 degrees.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 8-6-11

This morning our objective was to find some cell service so we could do some "business".  We got to Canyon Village where there was supposed to be cell service, but no luck.  So..we drove another six miles and parked alongside the road to get our tasks done.  The fellow in the picture was just strolling down the road nice as you please and not at all concerned about the animal-jam he was causing.  The cell business completed we headed for home and hiked Howard Eaton Trail in the afternoon.  It was an easy seven mile hike through lodgepole pine forest, meadows and sage flats.  This won't be among the most memorable hikes of our trip.  The overview of LeHardy Rapids was ok, but we have seen some RAPIDS on our journeys.  All we can say was that it was a good walk.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 8-5-11

We drove to the marina to take a bike ride and hike to Natural Bridge of Yellowstone.  And then in the same area we hiked Elephant Back Trail, a 3 1/2 mile 800 foot elevation hike to a spot overlooking Yellowstone Lake.  We met a couple who have been volunteering here summers for the last 24 years!  They had taken a break from grooming the trail.  They told us that this particular trail had opened for the first time this year on June 26th.  Thunder showers are due here this afternoon so we are going to do laundry and hike in the Fishing Bridge area close to our campground in case we need to dash for cover.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 8-4-11

Gee, it's cold here.  It's up to 44 degrees now, so it had to be in the 30's last night.  It's Old Faithful day.  We did all things Old Faithful.  We watched the eruption three times.  We visited Old Faithful Inn, Old Faithful Lodge and Snow Lodge.  The Inn had all log staircases of knarled wood, a four story fireplace and Tom took a nap in one of the old rockers in the lobby area.  We walked the geyser trail and visited most of the geysers in the area as well as the hot pools.  We saw two films about Yellowstone and Old Faithful and it's other geothermal features.  On the way back to Fishing Bridge where we are camped we saw a huge bison just munching grass along the side of the road.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 8-3-11

A short hop to Yellowstone which should take us two hours, but most of that is on the scenic loop in the park.  No casinos in these gas stations.  They have all manner of stuffed animals on the walls and a fishing supply area.  We backed up in traffic right inside the gate for 1 1/2 miles which didn't bod well for getting to our campsite, but it turned out to be people stopping to see an eagle.  We saw the herd of bison which are pictured above.  As a matter of fact there are bison all over the place.  We biked south to Lake Lodge, one of the first public hotels in Yellowstone to have a look around.

TRAVEL DAY TO IDAHO FALL 8-2-11

Travel day to Idaho Falls.  It's an I-15 day.  The big sight other than cows and horses is potatoes, potatoes, potatoes.  In Idaho Falls they have two weeks off school for spud harvest.  And if it's really hot they have to harvest at night and sleep in the day

TRAVEL DAY TO BRIGHAM CITY, UT 8-1-11

That's salt along the highway.  We're on our way to Brigham City which lies to the north of Salt Lake City.  Tom is getting gas before we leave Nevada.  California gas is $4.09 and Nevada gas is $3.59.  You do the math.  At the Nevada/Utah border we are close to 7,000 feet.  It's almost as if you could touch the clouds.  The desert is so white it looks like snow.  We did get gas in Utah for $3.38 and fresh local corn and fruit. 

TRAVEL DAY TO WELLS, NV 7-31-11

Travel day to Wells and a new state to put on the list.  It's an I-80 day.  Nevada is 100's of miles of nothingness.  Except for every gas station, hotel, truck stop and even some grocery stores which all have casinos. 

TRAVEL DAY TO TRUCKEE-7-30-11

Travel day to Truckee, CA.  It's 57 degrees now, but Tom say, "It's better than 117."  Well, maybe.  It's now 12:30 PM and it's 87 degrees.  The little town we just stopped in is at 6,000 feet.  Our campground is 71 miles away at 5,900 feet. 

BIG SUR 7-29-11

Last day at Big Sur and two hikes to go.  We went to Andrew Molera State Park and hiked to the beach.  And then we went to Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park where we hiked through the redwoods and to a waterfall.  We did some prep work to prepare to take off tomorrow morning and are meeting John and Marty at the shop after close.

BIG SUR 7-28-11

Up and out for hiking in Big Sur.  The ranger station was closed, but Pine Ridge trail was well marked and much used.  We did ask a runner how far to the top and he said, "There is no top, you just level off a bit and keep on going up."  I don't really like hiking without the proper maps, so we stopped at a camping store and got everything we needed from an enthusiastic person who knew all the trails and we got a detailed map of the Big Sur area.  We had lunch at the beach.  After our beach hike we hiked a rim trail with great views of the ocean

BIG SUR 7-27-11

We did chores in the morning and then our travel guide John picked us up for a fun-filled day of this and that in the Carmel area.  We drove to Salinis in hopes of some RV equipment, but no luck.  Tom did get his pills at Target and we had a great lunch at an Indian, not the feather kind, restaurant.  Very yummy and not at all spicy.  After drop off we did grocery shopping to hold us over for the four-day trip to Yellowstone

BIG SUR 7-26-11

Traveling to Big Sur 28 miles down the road.  Gee, it's cold here.  Very beautiful, but very cold.  Mind you that's talking to me.  We got settled in our campground and then did laundry and planned for the upcoming trip to Yellowstone and for our days in Big Sur.

BIG SUR 7-25-11

We took our bikes to the shop in the back of the car and went from there to ride the 17-mile drive through Pebble Beach and back.  John and Marty came over for dinner and we grilled out.

CARMEL 7-24-11

After a gourmet breakfast prepared by Chef John, we headed out to do errands before lunch at a local seafood restaurant on the water.  Sunday afternoon was nap time for all.  We went to the wonderful Monterrey Aquarium in the evening and saw the exhibits while a jazz group entertained us.  We topped off the day with pizza.  After our very full day we headed back to prepare for the morning's move to Big Sur.

CARMEL 7-23-11

We rode our bikes into Casa di Campagna, John and Marty's store, and after checking in took a ride into Carmel, walked around, had lunch and returned to the trailer via the shop.  We returned when J&M closed and followed them to their house where they cooked dinner for us.  We stayed over as they had Sunday off.

CARMEL 7-22-11

Travel day to Carmel.  Interesting drive - turn left on Yosemite Avenue, drive 25 miles, turn left on Golden State Blvd, drive .3 miles, turn right on Olive Avenue and etc.  Then of course you've got your cows, corn and groves.  And now lettuce, artichokes, broccoli and tomatoes.  Not to mention beautiful strawberries.  It's 62 degrees here on the coast.  Evidently, the temperature does not vary much.  We got to Carmel By The River RV park at about 1:00 PM.  We're ranked in here like sardines, but at least no dust and it's shaping up to be a great sleeping night.  We checked in with John and Marty at the store and are planning to get together for dinner.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK 7-21-11

Basically, a get ready to move on day.  We did laundry, washed car, got gas, got propane and picked up a few groceries in Groveland, a cute little town a mile down the road.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK 7-20-11

We used our free coffee and tea coupons at the lodge cafe.  Tom added carrot cake and we considered ourselves ready for the morning.  Our first caller was Ali who was very concerned because she saw that people were killed in Yosemite yesterday, but did not report the names.  Evidently, young people were on the rocks at Fernal Falls and were swept away by the water.  There is so much water here because of the bad winter that the falls are very beautiful, but also very dangerous.  John checked in upon their return from a buying trip to Atlanta, where they ran into Hildred and Carolyn Rowles from Curwensville.  Tarla also called to check in.  We walked to lower Yosemite Falls which was close to our room. 

Our hike for the day was to Sentinel Dome at 8,122 feet providing a 360 degree view of Yosemite Valley, but our first stop was Glacier Point.  We drove to Glacier Point as the ten hour hike to get there by foot was way beyond us and unlike Sentinel Dome we could drive there - in the summer of course.  The views were great although there were tons of people and tons of buses.  While we were there we were interviewed  by a TV station out of Sacramento about the tragedy yesterday.  As of when we talked to the news team they had not found the victims and later a ranger told us that it is possible that they will never be found.  Another reminder about how dangerous these beautiful wild places can be.  We hiked the 2.2 mile round trip to Sentinel Dome which looks out over the valley and the High Sierra.  The last part of the day we drove to Wawona at the south end of the park.  One of the first homesteaders, Galen Clark, settled 160 acres in 1856.  In 1874 the Washburn brothers took over Clark Station and developed the Wawona Hotel which still operates today.  The painter, Thomas Hill (1829-1908) came to Wawona when his daughter, Estella, married John Washburn and he established a studio beside the hotel which is still there today.  We walked around the village where quite a few of the valley's original dwellings have been relocated.  We then made the 2 1/2 hour drive back to our camper

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK 7-19-11

It's 6:40 AM and 53 degrees.  We are headed for Tuolomne Meadows which is located on the extreme east side of the park.  We hiked to Elizabeth Lake which is at 9487 feet.  We hiked across snow pack and swollen streams.  When we reached the top we could see a little slice of Lake Elizabeth, but could not find a place to cross the stream to get there.  The hike was a 4.6 mile round trip with an elevation gain of 1,000 feet.  It's a subalpine lake and by the time we got to the top I could see only one kind of pine tree.  Before we started the hike we had to take all of our food out of the car and put it into bear proof containers which were situated at the trailhead. 

The drive back to the valley was 55 miles and we arrived at 4:00 PM ready to enjoy our stay at the Ahwahnee.  Well....as it turned out I did not make reservations there, but rather at the Yosemite Lodge.  I was not too happy that my planning went awry, but at Yosemite Lodge we got an eco-room which had just been redone using all natural and recycled products - very cool.  Dinner at the Ahwahnee was just as wonderful an experience as we remember from the last time we were there 20-some years ago. 

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK 7-18-11

Traveled 200 miles today.  Remember the S-curves of several days ago?  Well, this was S-curves with the trailer.  Yosemite Pines Campground is pretty, but it is an hour away from the Park.  We took a reconnaissance mission into the park to plan our strategy for the coming days.  Wow, it is like Disney in Yosemite Valley without the organization.  We saw a person stop their car in the middle of a four way intersection and jump out to take a picture.  We saw the introductory film, consulted with a ranger and then walked to the Ahwahnee, the historic hotel in Yosemite Valley and made reservations for tomorrow night.  The desk person said no reservations available, but we were determined and did get a room for tomorrow night.  We will not be returning to the Village area and will not be bringing our bikes as there are just too many people and it is crowded and dangerous.  It's 5:15 PM and we are leaving the park in a huge traffic tie-up.  Home at 6:30 PM so after the initial traffic it wasn't so bad.

SEQUOIA AND KING'S CANYON NATIONAL PARKS 7-17-11

We were up early and tried to go to church, but the rangers were clueless (too bad), and we saw no one at the site where I thought it was held.  We hiked a ridge trail with stunning views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  We ate our lunch on a log bench overlooking a beautiful meadow and then on the way out of the park we hiked an area where in the 1880's loggers cut down many of the Giant Sequoias.  Because they decay very, very slowly the stumps and even the sawdust from the trees are still evident.  Our walks were wonderful, 60 degrees and sunny.  Now were are back off the mountain and although it is still sunny, it's 88 degrees.  Tonight after we get back to Lemon Cove we'll prepare for the trip to Yosemite tomorrow.