Home. Oakland, California

I finally made it to Oakland, California! My final destination… For now J

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After actually making it out of Death Valley alive, I set up camp by myself for the very first time at Diaz Lake Campgrounds in Lone Pines. There were two very nice couples camping near by and invited me over for s’more and I told them that I was planning to drive up to Yosemite the next day.

Although they totally scared the begeezes out of me with their bear stories (probably why I didn’t end up camping there) they did recommend a very nommy place to eat right at the junction of 395 and Tioga Pass near Mono Lake.

The next day I drove the quick 2 hours up to Tioga Pass and after eating a delicious breakfast burrito, I went through Tioga Pass, which is right in Yosemite.  It was just the most incredible scenic drive! There were snow-capped mountains, rocks smoothed by glaciers, little creeks rushing with water, lakes that looked like they were filled it glitter. I mean, it was just drop dead beautiful. In fact, I spent so much time just drooling over the views I totally zoned out while I was driving and missed the turn to Olmsted Point, which is where you can get a great view of Half Dome. I realized too late and vowed I would be going back to Yosemite for at least a long weekend.

Tioga Pass, Yosemite National Park

It then took me forever to finally get to the Bay Area because of all the Memorial Day traffic, but I made it! Cindy, Matthew and Gemma were all there to greet me and after unloading my car, I just face planted into my bed.

Most amazing Yoventure ever… But I know, it’s not over yet. This was only the beginning!

Land of Great Extremes. Death Valley, California

Death Valley is the hottest and driest place in the United States and after my Las Vegas visit, it was only appropriate for me to expose myself to this cruel climate. Maybe not the best part of the trip to do totally alone... But I made a campsite reservation at Lone Pine, just west of Death Valley so I was on my way.

I entered Death Valley on the east entrance and immediately saw how the entire valley, just flat, was surrounded by these glorious mountain ranges. Apparently they had this crazy storm pass through the day before and the mountains has been capped with snow. But that didn't seem for real since it was HOT. Like so hot you could see the sizzling air just hovering above the ground.

I continued driving toward Furnace Creek and took a left to drive down to Badwater. Now, side note, I had about 1/2 a tank of gas and its about 85 miles to get to Lone Pine, so I figured the extra 34 miles round-trip to Badwater would be fine.

Badwater basin is 282 feet below sea level and is the lowest point in North America! Two to four thousand years go the basin was the site of a 30 foot deep lake that has now evaporated and left a 1 to 5 foot layer of salt in its wake, which is 4 times saltier than the ocean. You can walk out onto the salt and see how the layers contract and crest interesting patterns. If you god like 5-6 inches you can even see the water sitting below the salt layers.

Badwater Basin, Death Valley

Then, when I got back onto 190 west I passed more sand dunes! I'm pretty sure I've seen all the sand dunes North America has to offer... These ones were called Mesquite Sand Dunes and had a real desert feel. The sand was hot, the air was hot, it was just really hot. I can't even imagine how it would be in the later summer months... I learned later that in 1913 the 2nd highest temperature in the world was recorded at 134 F. As I continued driving, I went past the Race Track where you can see some of the mysterious "moving rocks". Check out all my pictures here!

Mesquite Sand Dunes, Death Valley

Even though I wanted to stay and explore some of the old mining ghost towns, it was getting late and I wanted to get to Lone Pine before dark. As I kept diving I passed Stovepipe Wells Village and saw that there was a gas station for $5.28 a gallon!! I was like yeah right... I was definitely getting low but I figured I'd make it. Of course, I didn't consider the 5,000 foot climb and as I was creeping up the mountain, the gas meter just kept creeping down. And man, I'm telling you, I was in the middle of no where! Nooo where. I got so nervous the whole drive that I couldn't even enjoy the view, I was just staring at that gas meter being like pleaseee make it! I did! FEWF! When I got to Lone Pine, gas was $4.57 uhg!!! Welcome to California I guess...

California!

6,013 miles later, I am crossing the boarder in Death Valley to the destination state: California! Wow.

Welcome to California!

Crazy. Las Vegas, Nevada

Sketchy hotel on the strip… Check

Roller coaster ride… Check

Mango jalapeño drink… Check

Monte Carlo, Bellagio, The Mirage, Harrads, Flamingos, etc… Check

Penny Slots… Check

Black Jack… Check

$5 Slots… Check

Loosing more money than was won… Check

More drinks… Check

Happiness… Check

Conclusion: I don’t ever need to go back to Las Vegas again. At least we got a peak at Hoover Dam on the way. I miss Ale now, but WOW, what an incredible trip!

Las Vegas Strip

Disco Duck!

Making Money

The Grand Finale. The Grand Canyon, Arizona

The Grand Canyon is by far my favorite National Park that I have ever been to. Every time I see the view, it takes my breath away.  It’s almost not even real. The vast space and just the whole concept that this had been created by nature over millions of years. Ale and I were just awe-struck the entire time we were there.  For those of you who watch Parks and Recreation, we only felt that Ron Swanson’s quote was appropriate here: “Crying, acceptable at funerals and the Grand Canyon.”

We entered the park from the east entrance and drove along Desert View Drive. We stopped the first chance we got and I captured Ale’s Kodak moment on video from when she first saw the Grand Canyon. Money shot!

Now, since I knew it was Memorial Day weekend, I went ahead and made reservations a few days earlier. When I made the reservations online, everything was already booked except for 2 equestrian campsites. I figured… Eh, I’m sure we can camp there, even if we don’t have horses. Apparently not! When we showed up, the NPS Ranger asked us where our horses were… And then he showed me the blatant disclosure on the reservation written in bold red font that said they could refuse the reservation if we showed up without horses. I seriously thought he was kidding… Well, as luck has it, they had only 8 campsites left and we got one. FEWF!

After setting up our tent for the LAST time together (I had to practice how to do it alone so I could manage after Ale left), we went on the free shuttle tour and took a number of memorable candid shots. Check them out here!

The Grand Canyon

That night, we had another repeat of hot dogs and s’mores, which shockingly, I am not sick of yet. Who get sick of hot dogs?! In the morning we got some breakfast to  go and ate at the Watch Tower which was created by Mary Colter, who also designed the buildings at Hermit’s Rest and Phantom Ranch, which is at the bottom of the canyon. On our drive out of the Grand Canyon, we spotted a herd of Elk! A wonderful grand finale to an incredible trip with Ale!!! And then off we were to spend our last night in Las Vegas baby!

\ˈan-təl-ˌō-pee\ Canyon. Page, Arizona

When Ale asked if we could go see the “smooth caverns” I knew she was talking about Antelope Canyon. I was so excited to go back to Page after Yosef and I went there last summer. Last year, we camped on the beach at Lake Powell and went jet skiing, and it was just the most incredible experience.  Although Ale and I weren’t about to drop big money on some silly water toys (especially considering our past experiences with jet skis in the Bahamas), we were definitely going to do some beach camping and visit Antelope Canyon.

We stocked up on beers and more hot dogs and set up camp right on the beach at Lone Rock. The weather was beautiful and the water was warm enough for us to wade up to our knees. We stayed up late huddled around our mini bon fire which was by far one of our best nights camping… But then the blustery winds came that started late that evening and carried on through the next day.

Lone Rock, Lake Powell

The next morning we got up early for our 9:30 Antelope Canyon tour and hurried over to the meeting point just in time to learn that we were an hour early… We had officially made it to PST time, but not our cell phones. They were totally confused. So we had brunch at Ranch House Grill to kill the time and had the most bomb green chili Huevos Rancheros. NOM!

Later, we boarded these funky open air trucks to drive to the canyon since it’s on an Indian reservation. I had done the same tour last year, so I was ready and prepared with the right camera settings to get some awesome shots. The canyon is basically created by flash floods and the cool formations were made by swirling water. It was super narrow inside and really tall, and surprisingly dark considering all the photos come out really bright. It was fun listening to the tour guide point out all these bizarre shapes in the rock formations, like the Liberty Bell, an eagle, a heart, etc. among other imaginative forms. But of course our favorite part was when all the red sand started pouring down the slots due to the high winds that just caked our head in dust. That sand will stay with us forever…

At the end of the tour, the guide offered to take a picture of us. He had us stand in a specific spot and hold his flashlight (not on) upwards. We were both totally confused until we saw the picture and you could see how he made it look like we were holding a torch. Amazing! That one is getting framed.  Check out more pictures here!

Holding the Torch in Antelope Canyon

On our way to the Grand Canyon, we also stopped at Horse Shoe Bend. This is a really unique part of the Colorado River just a few miles from Glen Dam, and the perspective makes it look like the river does a 360 around a little island, but it's really just a horse shoe bend... Hence the name. Beautiful!

Horse Shoe Bend

Four Corners

It has always been my childhood dream to go to the Four Corners and put one foot in Colorado, one in Utah, one hand in Arizona and one in New Mexico.

Dream come true! Enough said.

Ale touching all 4 states!

Me touching all 4 states!