Lunch at 8,000 feet

We chose a random hike to do in Sequoia National Park and ended up with this view at the top.  We had a great panoramic of valleys, rocks, trees, fog and snow cap mountains, all within our 360 degree vista.  The whole hike smelled like walking inside a christmas tree farm.  The air was so crisp and refreshing.  Snow littered many parts of the hike, but the temperatures cooperated with our day of exploring.  We are fortunate to have these opportunities to spend in our new backyard.  We hit sunset on the 8,000 foot descent back through the fog line.  I couldn't help to think how blessed we are to have eyes built to appreciate His creation.  No other animal on the planet could look at these sights and see beauty.  

A woodchuck's dream

It's neither the tallest, nor the widest, nor even the oldest, but General Sherman is the largest tree on the planet...by volume.  The base of the trunk is 35 feet in diameter and stands 275 ft. tall.  Interestingly enough, the top of the tree is dead, but it keeps growing in girth every year.  The new wood is equivalent to a good size tree of any other species.  The giant redwoods were sporadically located throughout the forest, among other envious trees.      

Arrival

So it only took us three days after getting settled in to get the itch to go do stuff.  Not having internet, microwave, washer, dryer, measuring cups along with other items dubbed as 'necessities' to the modern American helped push us along.  So upon seeing that the park entrance to Yosemite was a mere 52 miles, we packed up our camping gear headed for the hills! Or to be more accurate, we headed for the massive granite sheer mountain cliffs.  

Seeing that the temperature for Yosemite Valley would only go down to 40, we thought for sure we'd be safe.  Little did we know that forecast was off by fifteen degrees, in the wrong direction.  Yosemite Valley is a tiny strip of land surrounded by these huge cliffs.  There is no gradual climb to anything.  It's 8,000 ft cliff, half a mile of valley, 8,000 ft cliff.  If looking straight ahead in the valley, all you can see is shades of grey from these giant rocks, no sky.  We hoped a strong fire would help us survive the night.  Alas, wood is not dry enough in the valley in winter to be burned, mostly because the sun can only shine directly on the valley floor for an hour or two before the mountain peaks shade it. Even though, we had a great time.  The drive to and from was beautiful with views of deep valleys covered in trees.  We saw numerous deer and squirrels so large they appeared like small dogs.  

One thing that caught our eye was how trees could still manage to grow straight out of the rock face.  Even on the peaks, where no soil could be found, sprouted trees that grew to full size.  Just on the other side of the southern ridge was a redwood grove.  No where else except in this little area, giant sequoia trees were blossoming.  Truly an amazing park.

A Grand Experience

The Grand Canyon, for lack of a better term, was simply awesome.  It was awesome in the truest sense of the word, meaning it inspired an overwhelming feeling of wonder or amazement.  To be honest, it looked faked.  We felt as if we were standing inside a postcard.  The sunrise and sunset were hands down one of the most beautiful moments we've experienced.  We had the pleasure of camping out on the south rim and gazed upon the twilight with eager eyes.  To continue with cheesy metaphors, it looked as if someone splashed a bucket of colors across the night sky.  

The next day, with our awesomeness meter in at full, we were struck again by something incredible, this time man made.  We unfortunately were not able to get good pictures of it, but the Hoover Dam burned an image of extreme engineering in our heads.  It stands 730 ft high by 1250 ft in length.  It holds 3.33 million cubic yards of concrete and produces an asto

nishing 2.08 gigawatts of electricity.  The Hoover Dam was just warming us up for another man made miracle, as we spent the night in Las Vegas (woohoo!).  We have never seen a more diverse mix of people from all over the globe and all walks of life.  The themed hotels, unique attractions and the delicious food surpassed our expectations.  Our walk along the strip was capped by the dancing fountains at the Bellagio.  These last two days were certainly filled with excitement as we experienced $8 camping at the Grand Canyon, followed the next night by a stay in a 5 star hotel. 

P.S. Internet access was hard to come by in the Southwest...

Florida to California, Day 5...

West Texas.  The 428 miles down 1-20 from Dallas to Pecos was filled with grey skies, huge windmills, endless flatlands, metal scrap yards, dead grass, red clay and hundreds of thirsty birds (or oil drills for all you non-texans).  The unchanging landscape was a bit tiring after a while, but thankfully the speed limit is higher than the rest of the country, to allow for an expedited escape I suppose.  The windmill farms were a site to behold.  These goliath energy producing machines make for an amazing view as they tower over the surrounding brushland, spinning their 85 ft. blades in perfect unison.  It seems harmonious spinning is the common denominator in this region, as the constant whirling of the oil drills is mesmerizing.  The landscape is lacking in color and variety.  The little bit of rock outcroppings worth seeing are marred by the stench of oil refineries and the countless metal graveyards filled with ancient oil equipment as well as cars, trucks and tractors from years gone by.  

Florida to California, Day 3...

The Desoto Disaster.  Question: What do you get when you mix two people who still think they're in Florida, who don't feel the need to check a weather forecast with a surprise cold  front in the forests of Mississippi? Answer: two really cold campers.  We were in trouble while setting up the tent at three in the afternoon and the temperature was already at 50.  Naturally, all of our cold weather gear was packed nicely in our truck with no means of reaching it.  Our sleeping bags and tent were not made to handle this kind of weather, nor were we expecting it too.  So sure enough, we noticed it when the temperature dipped into the twenties, how refreshing!  To make matters worse, the moon was almost full.  At midnight, we thought daybreak had come and it was time to go...how discouraging! We made the best of it, constructing a fire and making some mac & cheese over it.  It was a lot of fun despite the elements.  We have learned our lesson and will now check the weather report anytime we camp, whew.  One good thing about the cold is that the animals are smarter than us, and were snuggled in their dens and not out sniffing around our tent! We're in Dallas today, and hope to be back on the road tomorrow.  The adventure continues...  

Florida to California, Day 1...

Just under 600 miles and 11 hours of driving we made it to our first stop, Apalachicola, FL.  Our journey started Friday, November 7th upon disembarking the cruise in Miami.  The crazy thing was this morning we were 20 miles off the coast of Cuba on a cruise ship and now we're in Florida's panhandle.  The car is packed tight, but still handles considerably well.  We spent the 2nd day here relaxing on the beach.  Our next stop will hopefully be the Desoto National Forest.  We had originally wanted to stay in New Orleans, but alas, no rooms were available in any of the hotels we liked.  So we opted to camp out.  We're going to put our new camping items to the test tonight!  

Cruisin'

The newlyweds set sail! The cruise was amazing and just what we needed.  After seeing 9 months of planning evaporate in one action packed day, we needed the few days to get our heads back on straight.  First stop was Key West.  Having only a couple of hours at our disposal, we walked around Mallory Square and checked out the southern most point of the United States.  Key West has, to say it lightly, some interesting folk.  Although to their credit, the homeless don't beg but craft jewelry and hats, painted tiles, and even play instruments for your dollar.

Next stop was Cozumel, Mexico.  The beaches were simply unreal.  We saw no less than 6 shades of blue in the water.  The sand was soft and the breeze refreshing.  A rented jeep took us around the whole island.  Once we got away from the tourist areas, we were exposed to the real Cozumel.  Needless to say, it did not look like what we saw on the brochures.  The local town is dirty, having animals from stray dogs to burros (mules) walking around.  The entire economy is 100% reliant on tourist income.  As soon as you set foot on the island, the begging begins.  It was a little uncomfortable seeing as how these people are struggling on dollars a day, meanwhile we have all you can eat buffets on board.  On a brighter note, we heard the snorkeling, scuba and fishing we great.  If we ever go back we'll surely do one of those.  The reefs are huge and home to hundreds of species of coral and fish. 

  

Wedding a success!

We'd like to again sincerely thank all our wonderful friends and family who made this day possible.  It was everything we could have hoped for and so much more.  We hope all who attended enjoyed themselves.  We were blessed to have so many special people join us on a day we will never forget.  Your continued love and support will carry us through as we begin our journey west to California.