Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
Day 1 – Yosemite National Park
Yes, I did partake on an EPIC weekend adventure. Not only that, I’m going to make you completely jealous so that next time… I don’t have to go at it alone… because that’s cool and all… but it’s nothing to sharing an experience like this weekend with somebody else (besides Gretchen). Let’s see, where to begin? Well, Friday night, I offered to take my roommate along for the ride… but he was weary about cost (seriously, it would’ve been less than $100 splitting gas, food, room, attractions, etc) and he had the possibility of work over the weekend, so he declined… and called me a lucky SOB. No reason to talk about my mother in such a way… but he was probably just frustrated that he didn’t go. So Saturday morning, I woke up early and was out the door by a little after 7 AM. Hey, have you seen your breath lately? I did. It was mid-30’s that morning… but as usual, it warmed up quickly when the sun came up over the mountains… and I got to the Nevada side of the mountains on my way to Yosemite National Park, about a three hour drive from Truckee to the East Entrance. Along the way, I called my mama to wish her a happy 29th birthday (which is odd because that would make me older than her). Not that bad of a drive…
Day 1 – Yosemite National Park
Yes, I did partake on an EPIC weekend adventure. Not only that, I’m going to make you completely jealous so that next time… I don’t have to go at it alone… because that’s cool and all… but it’s nothing to sharing an experience like this weekend with somebody else (besides Gretchen). Let’s see, where to begin? Well, Friday night, I offered to take my roommate along for the ride… but he was weary about cost (seriously, it would’ve been less than $100 splitting gas, food, room, attractions, etc) and he had the possibility of work over the weekend, so he declined… and called me a lucky SOB. No reason to talk about my mother in such a way… but he was probably just frustrated that he didn’t go. So Saturday morning, I woke up early and was out the door by a little after 7 AM. Hey, have you seen your breath lately? I did. It was mid-30’s that morning… but as usual, it warmed up quickly when the sun came up over the mountains… and I got to the Nevada side of the mountains on my way to Yosemite National Park, about a three hour drive from Truckee to the East Entrance. Along the way, I called my mama to wish her a happy 29th birthday (which is odd because that would make me older than her). Not that bad of a drive…
There was a bit of a wait at the East Entrance… but nothing too major. Just got to enjoy some of the scenic beauty at 10,000 feet above sea level. On that note, this trip was amazing… and Gretchen was a trooper. In all, it was over 600 miles… and the altitude fluctuated almost constantly between (and I’m not joking) less than 1000 feet to over 10,000 feet in elevation… and there was a LOT of up to 8000, down to 3000, back up to 7000, down to 5000, up to 10,000 again and so on. It was also a lot of winding mountain roads, stop go slowdown from other gawking tourists, basically if roller coasters make you queasy, this wasn’t the trip for you… but if you could stomach it, well worth it. Anyway, here’s some from the drive from the East Entrance to Yosemite Village…
Olmstead Point
Half Dome in the distance...
Once in Yosemite Village, I decided to wander a bit, do a few hiking trails & see what I could in a few hours, which was actually quite a bit. Oh, another thing, one of the best things for your legs… is to be in a car all day, then do a few miles of hiking, then back in the car for an hour or so, then another hike, and so on about five times. My leg muscles are like steel cables now. Well, first hike was to Yosemite Falls, which I’m sure is a rushing behemoth in April & May when the snow’s melting off the peaks of the Sierras… but in late August, at least you get to play in the rocky riverbed, which is also pretty cool…
El Capitan
Is it just me... or is that a little close for
some kid to be drying his hands by my junk?
Half Dome
GREAT rock climbing...
Yosemite Falls riverbed
After that, I went to a trail to see the Vernal Falls… which was okay…
Which deer is more camouflaged?
Last stop on the way out of the village was to Bridal Veil Falls which was a little more eventful than Yosemite…
Temporary bridge...
...because of a landslide
Though the day was a bit overcast as you can tell from the pictures, it was still a magnificent experience that I highly recommend. Don’t worry, I bought the 12 month pass so that we can go together. The Wingmans have already expressed interest as this is the Wingman’s favorite national park… and he lives like two hours from all that southern Utah has to offer. Maybe we’ll just have to do a big road trip where we get all of those in. Haven’t seen the parks of southern Utah in DECADES. Hmm… Anyway, that night, I stayed at a hotel in Turlock, a city apparently named after a pagan turtle fertility god often depicted as a tortoise with an enormous 5th leg. The next day, I would take another scenic way back to Truckee.
Day 2 – Western Sierras
Sunday morning, I headed out early again. I’ve noticed something about California. I often refer to “The Golden Hour” when the sun comes up or is setting… and everything is just amazingly lit and gorgeous. Here in Cali, that seems to last about three hours at either end of the day (at least in the summer). You might have noticed with the pictures of the wheat fields earlier… but yeah, same thing in the morning. Anyway, my first stop was about an hour away near Columbia State Park. Now, I found out about this place called Natural Bridges in a little booklet… and the directions were very vague… and the number it listed didn’t upon until 11 AM. Oh… and my cell phone & GPS didn’t work for sh*t this entire trip, so yeah… it was an adventure… but I did happen upon the one sign that indicated a trail to Natural Bridges. Now, it was around 9 AM on a Sunday… and it’s kind of in an isolated area… and it was about this time that I started thinking about things like “Bears go to water in the morning” and how they could easily outrun me… especially on the fairly steep uphill that this path was… and my cell phone reception was sh*t… but you know what? I went for it anyway. If I was going to die being mauled by a pack of black bears (and yes, it would take at least one pack because of my flawless technique) then it was meant to be. I was rewarded for my bravery when I reached the bottom of the crevasse… to the riverbed… and this gorgeous limestone cave… seriously, if I had prepared with a bathing suit, I would’ve went exploring. I obviously wasn’t scared of bears at this point.
and now, the adventure begins...
I have no idea why I'm flourescent...
The next stop was in the city of Murphys, which is a cool little touristy town. LOTS of places to get your wine tasting on, nice parks, boutique shops, basically just like Truckee… only warmer and with more of an Irish flair to it. Apparently I had just missed a music festival & Shrimp Feed that was there the night before (obviously in honor of my mama’s birthday) but here are some pictures of the town…
My reason for going to Murphys though wasn’t the rotten grape juice & shiny things… but was FAR more nerdier than that. Mercer Caverns is a magnificent cave where there are stalagmites, stalactites, and the most impressive of all – Aragonite flos ferri. If you’re a geologist, you just got a mini-chub… and it’s understandable. There’ll be some pictures of it later… but basically it’s really shiny delicate crystal formations that are EXTREMELY rare. How rare? This cave got an award at the 1900 World Fair in Paris because of it. Oh yeah, this was discovered in 1885 by a gold prospector named Walter Mercer & his wife Marguerite who actually led tours here using ropes & candles. Luckily they have staircases & lighting systems now. Anyway, enough jabber, here are the pictures…
Angel wings...
This is the Aragonite flos ferri
Boioioioioioing...
Mmm bacon...
By the way, quick note on the caverns that I found out. The cave was a mortuary cave for the Yokut Indians before it was “discovered” by Mr. Mercer. Does that make it cooler? Cast your vote now.
After the caves, I got some lunch at Murphy’s Hotel, which was a pretty cool place… and the waitress was cute. Enjoyed some wine tasting and a Vanderbilt Sandwich (roast beef & turkey). Here are some pics…
Next stop was… well, also a bit nerdy. About an hour away was Sutter Creek Gold Mine tours… and so I was going back underground. It was pretty cool… but not nearly as cool as the caverns in my humble opinion. Still, it was cool & refreshing at a nice 65 degrees and at the bottom, 0 feet above sea level (though the city of Sutter Creek was about 1500 feet above your head). Here are the pictures…
The guy in the right... is a REAL miner
and he looks straight out of 1868
Follow the quartz veins to gold
Head towards the light...
"Eh, close enough..."
Then I decided to take the scenic route back to Tahoe along Highway 88 in what on the map was called the Shenandoah Valley Wine Region… but it was really windy beautiful mountain roads which take you about two hours to get from Sutter Creek to South Lake Tahoe. Here are some of the sights…
Anyway, that was the weekend… and it was amazing. Can’t wait to do similar trips again. Now, you may be asking “$teve, you live in f**king Tahoe. Why would you go on road trips like this when you already live in a destination like that?” Well, there’s so much to see in just this area… that I have to go check it out during the summer when I can. You know I love Tahoe… but I also have to see San Francisco, the Pacific Coast, Lassen Volcanic, Reno, Yosemite, Sacramento, Monterey, and there’s so much more I’ve yet to see. The Redwoods, Burning Man, Napa Valley, the real Shenandoah Valley, Oakland… well, Berkeley. That’s all just within about 5 hours of here. Anyway, I’ll keep you posted on my future travels of course… but yeah, love it here in Tahoe when I’m not traveling too. In the meantime, I’ll just share all my travels with you so that you can get a little taste for yourself. Have a great day everybody!!!
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