California Shawerma (pt 3)

We made an early departure from Yosemite so we could spend the day in San Francisco. We really wanted to spend more time in SF and had planned it that way, but with our time constraints, it didn't work that way. We spent our time there at Baker Beach, just south of the Golden Gate Bridge, in traffic, and wandering around the streets.

What is this? I don't remember. Something that we saw in between Yosemite and SF. :)

We were pretty surprised at how relaxed the city was. While we sat in some traffic, even that wasn't too terrible, and once we got out of that area and further west, it was a really interesting place. Baker Beach was beautiful, even if it was fairly cold and windy.

Trafficccc

The beach had a few owners who had brought their dogs, who played in the sand and the ocean. So cute.

Braving the cold wind to hang out at the beach. You might ask, why don't we flip it the right way? Because we can't figure it out. 

We ate at a little Mediterranean place called Truly Mediterranean where we had shawerma, falafel, and baklava- SO delicious. We sat right outside the little shop and people-watched while we ate. Afterwards, we walked a few blocks down the road to check out a little used bookstore and took it easy.

Falafel and Shawerma!

Baklava. We saved it for later, but it didn't even make it out of town.

Then, we drove across the iconic bridge. Ok, fine. We drove across it three times. Whatever. It was our trip and we were excited about it. :)

For the night, we planned to sleep in a casino parking lot, but were kicked out because we weren't customers. Oops! :) We found a little outlet to crash for a few hours before we continued north.

-Allie

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

Arizona

Our trip to the Grand Canyon did not start out very smoothly. As it turns out, the north entrance, which we blindly selected from the GPS only leads to cabins. 

After another  4 hours, we arrived at the main entrance. We decided to take a quick stop at the Grand Canyon, since we wanted to make it to Phoenix by dinnertime. This was Allison’s first time visiting the canyon. It is very difficult to capture the beauty of the canyon in a photograph. It is a one of a kind, and needs to be enjoyed in person, but we did try our best to get some pictures! 
 

Our next destination was Phoenix. Allison and I both were anticipating this stop. I have several family members who live in Phoenix and Mesa. We don’t get to see each other as often as we would like. Duane greeted us when we pulled up. He asked “Is it hot enough for you?”  I would say 110 degrees was pretty hot! After catching up with Duane and Wink, it was dinner time. Allison helped Duane prepare dinner. Wink and I were given difficult task of shucking pistachios. We continued to catch up over dinner. Duane and Wink gave up some ideas for additional stops in California. Duane and Allison made a delicious meal of grilled chicken with Brussels sprouts. After dinner we took a dip in Duane’s hot tub. It was the perfect cure for our sore feet! 

The next morning we slept in, which is very rare. We took it pretty easy that morning. Duane invited us to his work for lunch. He is a cook at a small restaurant called The Cafeteria. They serve one of the best burgers I have ever eaten. 

After lunch we visited a few used book stores. We didn’t find anything too exciting, but it’s always fun to browse. Next, we headed to Mesa to visit my cousin, Shona. Shona and her husband, Chad, just had their second son, Jake, last month. It was great getting to meet him. Catching up with Shona was a blast. We are both broke and busy, so we don’t get to see each other very often. I had a great time hanging out with her son, Gage. I can’t believe is going to turn four soon. Gage and I wrestled while Allison and Shona talked about stuff. Gage convinced us to stay at their house for dinner. He later extended the invitation by saying, “You guys can stay for five months.” 

We headed off to the grocery store for dinner supplies. The store Shona took us to was super-affordable, so Allison and I took the opportunity to stock up our food box. After a delicious pork chop dinner, I couldn’t stay awake. While I rested, Allison and Shona whipped up a batch of peanut butter sweet and salty cookies! The next morning Shona made delicious breakfast burritos. Gage reminded us of his offer, but we sadly had to leave. We headed back to Duane’s house in Phoenix. We spent most of the afternoon indoors, to hide from the sun. We cooled off a bit in the pool, walking quickly over the hot concrete. For dinner that evening, Duane and Wink took us to an amazing Italian restaurant. It was a small, family-run restaurant very close to their house. Duane told me that this restaurant was very similar to the ones they ate at in Italy. Allison and I don’t normally eat pasta at restaurants. But if they were all as good as this place, I would throw that rule out. After dinner we finished packing up our things, and left very early the next day. 

I had a wonderful time in Phoenix. It was great getting to see my family. I was also glad that Allison got the chance to get to know them better- we haven’t had the chance to hang out with them on more of a one-on-one (or two-on-two) basis. We both hope we get to visit Phoenix/Mesa again, very soon!

-Marc




The McDonalds near the Grand Canyon is one of the most expensive in the country. A double quarter pounder with cheese meal is almost $10!

Cactus, Cactuses, Cacti.



Allison likes taking pictures of people taking pictures with iPads.



It's Grand!





Isn't it Grand?

National Parks in UTAH!

I had no idea Utah was so beautiful. For some reason, I thought it was a big, flat desert. Arches National Park totally changed my perspective of Utah. I had never heard of Arches before visiting here. Allison tells me that it is pretty famous. Am I the only one unaware of it? This national park features great hiking trails, interesting wildlife, and of course arches! However these are no ordinary arches. They are created naturally through years of erosion. They are truly a spectacle. This is another example of something that is very difficult to express in writing. Please enjoy some pictures from our time at Arches.

We took a 2 mile hike in Arches through a little valley, and it was pretty!

The Balanced Rock at Arches- way cool

At arches- I don't remember which one this was, but we really liked it

Standing in an Arch!

Our campsite near Arches was beautiful!

Our next stop was further west. We arrived at Zion National Park around lunchtime. I am very grateful Allison booked a campsite in advance. Every single campsite in the park was booked! After a quick lunch, we changed into our hiking gear and went exploring. We braved a long, steep hike to the top of a mountain. At the top was a beautiful pond, called the Upper Emerald Pool. Along the hike we also saw the Lower Emerald Pool, and a waterfall! 

At the lower Emerald Pool- the water fell from the ledge above, all along where the gate is

After a long, hot hike to the upper Emerald Pool- it really was beutiful

A pretty pile of rocks on the trail

These pools are very special, given the desert climate. After taking some time to relax and reflect, we hiked back down. Our after-hike treat was a delicious soft serve twist cone. Hiking in the desert makes ice cream taste extra sweet. The guy ahead of us in line was very particular about his ice cream. He wanted the bottom half of his cone to be chocolate, and the top half to be vanilla. The employee informed him that they couldn’t do that. So, he settled for a twist cone, but not without giving the poor employee a little ‘tude, first. Weary from our hike, we hopped on a shuttle bus. The bus took us around the rest of the park. We were able to hop off and explore as we wished. Allison and I went for a few more small hikes in between sightseeing. One stop was the Weeping Rock, which was a big soft rock. The rock absorbs water, and slowly drips it out. I guess it is sort of like a giant rock sponge? Our last destination was the riverside walk beach. We didn’t feel up for hiking the whole riverside walk. 

A pretty little river at the riverside walk- this guy was very opinionated about how his subject was standing, and was very noisy, so I just took a picture of him! -Allison

We also found some kind of eggs in the river!

If memory serves me, this trail was pretty long. Allison and I were both tired from the last few days. Between Colorado, Arches, and Zion, we did a lot of hiking! It was dinnertime when we got back to our campsite. Allison whipped up Velveeta Shells and Cheese, with some black beans and a can of Rotel. Delicious! Just as the sun was setting, a family of six pulled up to the campsite next to us. I believe they hold the Guinness World Record for the LOUDEST children. One kid was placed in the car for time-out. He proceeded to roll down his window and yell “Hey killer!” to his dad. Geeze. Shortly after this happened, we went to bed. Somehow, we were able to fall asleep, despite all the noise. Since our day at Zion was so productive, we decided to cut our second day. We proceeded to the Grand Canyon, in favor of seeing our family, sooner.

-Marc

Up, up, and up! To Telluride, CO!

After camping at Cow Creek, we made our way northwest to Bandelier National Monument. Since we got there before 9, we were able to avoid the shuttle and drive right up to the visitor’s center. Bandelier National Monument shows off an ancient Pueblo civilization that used to live first in the mountain sides, and eventually moved into the valley below. We took a self guided walking tour and forgot to actually buy the pamphlet, so I can’t tell you much more about the monument from memory, but it is believed that the Pueblo people carved their houses in the rocks by hand, which had to have taken quite a while- the rooms are actually decent  sized!

Explaining that the insides of the homes were fire blackened

We wanted to show you just how big some of these homes were- this one continued to the last hole in the picture on the right, and also on the left side of the ladder

Looking down at the ground level civilization remnants

Lots of holes in the rocks

After spending time at Bandelier National Monument, we started to make the climb into the mountains, north and into Telluride, CO. It was extremely beautiful, but required lots of water and gum chewing to deal with the increased altitude.

Standing right outside of Dan's apartment looking at the mountains

When we got to Telluride, we met up with another wonderful host- Dan! We got unloaded, ran to the local grocery store, and had a delicious stir-fry.

During the rest of our 2.5 day stay in Telluride, we got the chance to window shop in the downtown district, but didn’t end up buying anything- it is a very expensive place to shop, but again, perfectly beautiful.

We rode the gondola over the mountain to mountain village, reaching a top altitude of 10,500 feet. 

I will just tell you- I was gripping the edges of the seat- still not a big fan of heights..

Checking out Bridal Veil Falls

 Another activity that we did was a hike. Oofda! Once we got to the top- Bear Creek Waterfall, it was completely worth it. However, the combination of the high altitude, and our not being in awesome shape, it was a tough hike, particularly for me (Allie). But we all made it!!

Big mountain with fresh snow on top

On our hike, we found an awesome rock garden- this is only a portion of it

Friends at the top of the waterfall

We made it!

Instead of spending a lot of money on overpriced restaurants, we mostly just bought groceries and beer, and prepared meals at Dan’s apartment, including pizza one night. (I had moderate success baking with yeast at high altitudes- score!)

-Allie

(Also- a HUGE thanks to a good friend who provided us with a netbook so that we can work on blog posts, complete with pictures, and homework! You’re the best, Curtis!)