Yosemite Day 1

The kids have been counting the days until Yosemite! I guess when we think of National Parks Yosemite and Yellowstone are big on the list! and BIG it was! Everything is just bigger in Yosemite! The majestic views are indescribable. We hiked the things that we read were the not to miss spots. Glacier Point, Taft Point (no railings....again), Tunnel View, and Bridal Veil Falls...all amazing. We even saw a bear when we first arrived! Yosemite Falls is all dried up. I was very excited to see the waterfalls. I did not realize that by August they are usually dried up. Bridal Veil was a fun hike. The kids were able to climb "dangerous" rocks to get closer to the falls. We were able to end the day early and spend the evening at the camper.

I think today may have been our hump day, the day we were all just mad at each other. It was bound to happen. Kids were a little grumpy, parents had short fuses...We confess, we are not always Happy Campers. We had a family meeting this evening, some open forum, prayer and hope for some more pleasant attitudes in the am!

Sequoia National Park

We are excited to be in California!  Sequoia was wonderful. I loved this park. We got up early to explore these Giant Trees! The park just was peaceful. Easy trails. Cooler temps. The trees are amazing! We got our picture by General Sherman, the largest living thing on earth! We drove through  a fallen sequoia and that was fun too! This park ranks high on my list! By the way, can you guess which pine cone a GIANT Sequoia drops?
We left Sequoia and headed for our next campsite in Coarsegold, near Yosemite! Today was a longer day because we needed to make some stops. We stopped at Little Caesars for some cheap lunch, got Logan a much needed haircut, (our hairdresser decided she was on vacation for 6 weeks and did not bring her clippers) and we shopped at Sams Club! We made it to our campsite and enjoyed the pool for a few hours!

Bye Bye Vegas, Hello California!

We hit the four thousand mile milestone today on our way from Lost Wages (Las Vegas) to Three Rivers Hideaway RV campground.  We are spending one night there and then getting up early to explore Sequoia National Park and see the largest living organism on planet earth.  If your interested Google search General Sherman's tree.  This morning we left the dry desert rocky landscape and traveled through the mountains of California that appeared to be covered in wheat.  I'm not sure if it was wheat or not, but it was nice to see a change of scenery.  We also drove through an area of California where the hills were covered with orange groves as far as the eye could see and once we got down to the flat land there were grape vineyards that seemed to go forever.  After we pulled into Three Rivers Hideaway and set up camp we scarfed down dinner and then jumped back into the Excursion for a quick trip down to Slick Rock Recreational Area.  A place we had passed on our way into town. It actually ended up being the perfect activity for the evening.  We all cooled off in the water and had a blast sliding down some small rapids for a little extra added excitement.  Well all of us except Emma!  She had it in her mind that it was forced fun and she was not willing to participate.  She dug her heels in and the standoff began.  I gave in for the sake of not wanting to ruin the evening.  She missed out in my opinion!  Time to get to bed.  We have an early start tomorrow, my trip planner (Angel) says departure time is 0730 sharp in the morning!!  Goodnight

, Corey.

Vegas

We couldn't pass right by Las Vegas without stopping. It was HOT. We told the kids it was a non hiking day. By the time we arrived back at our car last night, late, very late, I think they were a bit tired. We walked a little more than we planned :) We started out at the Hoover Dam. Everyone enjoyed walking across that and scaring me once again. We ate dinner on the strip, took a pic by the famous sign, road the roller coaster at New York, New York, and watched the light show at the Bellagio. We camped at Nellis Air Force Base so it was nice hearing the sounds of the planes again! Looking forward to cooler temps and beautiful scenery at our next stop! Sequoia National Park.