Cali- Yosemite!

Our campsite at Big Sur must have been legal (or not just enough to draw attention), so we woke up and packed up to head towards Yosemite National Park! We learned that this area is one of a few different wine countries in California, as we drove past too many vineyards to count. 

A few hours inland, we made it to Yosemite. Since we hadn't reserved any campsites for the night, we drove a couple of hours inside the park (south to north) to get to the campground that we wanted (all had different locations, prices, and amenities). We took it easy the first night and ride the tour bus around the park to check it out, grabbed some local beer, and whipped up some supper.

Yosemite Falls- the highest measured waterfall in North America. It was a bit windy, you can see the water blowing.

Waterfall coming out of Marc's head!

We learned right away about the very real danger of bears in the area. In Yosemite, the bears have become smart enough to break into cars if they see or smell anything appetizing (food and/or toiletries). So, we piled our things into the metal bear box at our campsite (the bear box was a big reason why we decided to go into the park and pay instead of look for free campgrounds near the park..) and called it a night, excited to explore the park the next day.

First thing in the morning, we drove back down to the southern entrance to spend the morning exploring Mariposa Grove, which is basically a huge bunch of Giant Sequoias, some of which have tunnels carved through them, and others that were impressive because, for instance, they were growing very closely for such large, water-sucking trees. We also may have snuck off the path to get a better look at some trees. 

Big fallen giant sequoia roots. Marc for scale.

Tunnel! Carved when the forest was thicker, so vehicles could get in and out. 

My personal favorite- the Clothespin Tree. The middle was destroyed by a fire I think, but the outer sections are still alive. Also, HUGE!

We spent the rest of the day exploring a couple of the shorter hikes in the park, and found a beautiful, relaxing lake/stream to stick our feet in. Other people were swimming in it, but we sat on a pile of rocks where the water was running through.

Our rest stop for the day

We each took the opportunity to take a shower ($5 each, but so completely, totally worth it... we hadn't showered since Phoenix..!) at one of the nicer campgrounds than ours. Clean and ready to go, we got back to camp in time to watch a beautiful sky as the sun set behind the trees, and got ready to move on. 

-Allison

California, pt 1

Alright... We know we have been bad and not updated at all. We do want to finish this up though, so hang with us!
After waking up for the last time in Phoenix, we made our way west to California. The border was littered with windmills, which we didn't really expect, but there was definitely wind to warrant them!
On our first night, wet made it to some free campgrounds in the San Bernardino National Forest. It was quite the drive up into the trees to get to the campground, but it was sure a  beautiful place to be!

To make it all the way to the coast, we hopped onto Highway 1 and found Pismo Beach and our first view of the Pacific Ocean! Pismo Beach is a cute, little, fairly touristy town with shops lining the street leading to the beach, including one that sold chocolate covered crickets...! (We weren't brave enough for those though).

We also came across a few spots with lots of sea lions, lined up, relaxing on the beach. Some were throwing sand on themselves, and others were facing off and talking to each other. We spent quite a bit of time hanging out with them. :)

After a quick stop, we continued north on Highway 1 to hunt out a place to camp near Big Sur. We ended up finding a steep turnoff which looked like it was about where our researched campground was. We got settled, made some sandwiches, and took our books across the sort road to a huge rock overlooking the ocean. It was completely relaxing and gorgeous. (We may have spent the night hoping that we were camping legally... Nothing was really marked).

The ocean was just to the left, down a steep hill

Just across the road from our tent was a big rock that we climbed on and sat at the ocean, reading. Seriously beautiful.

-Allie