Friday, September 25, 2009

Day 10 - Yosemite National Park & a bit more driving...

This morning we drove back to Yosemite Park to see the Giant Sequoia tree grove. We parked at a little grocery store in the historic hamlet of Wawona and caught a free shuttle ride to the grove. The kids really enjoyed the bus ride (they got to stand on the way up which apparently was very fun). Not sure how to describe these trees -- they are unbelievably big and beautiful! I thought I saw some big trees on Vancouver Island, but these are in a league of their own. We took over 100 photos of the trees and we'll have to sit down sometime to sort through them all, but thought we'd send a few through on the blog so you could get some idea of how magnificent they are.
Three views (above photos) of the "Faithful Couple".
Ponderosa pine (I think) with Josh & Megan in the background.
A little perspective to other "big trees" in the park.
Not sequoias, but I thought this was a really pretty view.
It's a long way up!!
The happy traveler's !!
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Blue California sky!
The "Tunnel Tree".
We left Yosemite (yes, that windy road again -- Joshua was feeling a little whoozy....), drove south to Bakersfield and then took highway 58 into the Mojave Desert. We thought we might try to get all the way to Lake Havasu today, but it got dark on us and we didn't want to miss anything, so we decided to spend the night in Barstow.
Climbing back up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The contrast between the orchards and the desert mountains was very dramatic.
Windmills near Tehachapi as we approached the Mojave Desert.
Joshua tree, yes it's a little blurry, we were driving by at about 80 miles an hour!! The interstates are awesome!
Endless miles of sage brush.
Sunset over the Mojave Desert.

1 comment:

  1. We both remember driving and seeing those desert sites. We went through Barstow as well, so brought back good memories. Kids look relaxed and seem to be enjoying all the sights. Take care

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