mohaus: Discovering California

Showing posts with label Discovering California. Show all posts

Sunday, April 11, 2021

Moores Go West: Day 24 (Alabama Hills, Death Valley and Las Vegas)

Woke up and decided to conquer the rock pile behind Tall Wall. Kids could have stayed here all day. We hope to come back to Alabama Hills for much longer. We all got pretty high on the boulders. I hadn’t actually planned to climb high but Isaac was frustrated with not being as capable as Jack. So I climbed with him and we talked about how just because you are short doesn’t mean you have to get frustrated or discouraged. After all I’m shorter than Daniel. We just have to find a different way. And we did! We all got pretty high.

I'm counting three different walks for today's hike (bouldering at Alabama Hills, two short stops in Death Valley and walking the strip in Las Vegas). These make up our 32nd hike for 2021 (32/52). We walked a total of 3 miles. This brings us to 96 miles hiked this year.

This afternoon we made it to Death Valley. The kids got their Jr Ranger badges abs then we stopped at the Badwater Basin to check out the salt flat and be at the lowest part of the US — almost 300 feet below sea level!

Before leaving Death Valley, we had time to stop at Zabrieskie Point. We could have explored here a lot more, but we are running out of days and have a lot of miles ahead of us to get home.

Day 24: After a day of climbing, hiking, site seeing and driving, we landed in Las Vegas. We set up camp at the Oasis and then went into town for dinner at Sickies Garage — which was delicious but took forever. Then we drove down the strip and tried to see the Fountains at the Belaggio. We waited for 45 minutes before giving up (they are supposed to run every 15 minutes). That was disappointing but it was still neat to see the strip when it wasn’t super crowded (we did have to avert little eyes a few times).

Saturday, April 10, 2021

Moores Go West: Day 23 (Alabama Hills in California)

Day 23 of our trip we slept in after Daniel and I were kept awake all night from crazy winds at our boondocking site. The kids slept like babies. Once we mobilized we drove on to the Alabama Hills for some fun. We found an amazing campsite at the foot of Tall Rock. Once camp was set up we went to hike the Arches Loop hike. Supper was grilled salmon and asparagus. We watched rock climbers climb Tall Rock while we ate and then the boys went to climb big boulders before bed.

We did the Arches Hike before dinner last night. We spotted the Heart Arch, Mobius Arch and the Lathe Arch. Mount Whitney is in the background behind us in the family picture with the Mobius Arch. Kids loved bouldering at this park. It was also cool to read about all the movies filmed here on Movie Road. Also, hiking with the kids lets us have fun conversations. Like when Isaac told me I shouldn’t eat or play with yellow snow.

The Arches Loop Hike made our 31st hike of 2021 (31/52). We walked a total of 2 miles. This brings us to 93 miles hiked this year.

Friday, April 09, 2021

Moores Go West: Day 22 (Sequioa National Park in California)

We got up this morning with the intention of driving up to Sequoia National Park to see General Sherman — the largest tree by volume in the world. Per the GPS, it should have taken us 1hr15min. We failed to account for the large elevation gain and the fact that we were towing our trailer up. About ten miles shy of the park entrance we had to stop because our transmission was overheating. We let it cool off, consulted some maps and decided to press on. The drive took more like two hours. In the end it was worth because there was snow for the boys to play in and we got to see the Giant Sequoias. While these giant trees are awe-inspiring, we all agreed we liked Stout Grove in the Redwoods better because we got to experience the trees to a greater extent. Also, the kids didn’t get to snag their Jr Ranger badges. We will have to mail in for those. The extra drive time has put us behind. We were planning to hit up Joshua Tree next but are adjusting our plan. Hopefully we will be at a cool spot to boondock for the weekend. Probably won’t have internet or cell service though.

The hike to the giant sequoias was our 30th hike of 2021 (30/52). We walked a total of 2.5 miles. This brings us to 91 miles hiked this year.

I haven’t driven a whole lot in California — we’ve been on a lot of narrow mountain roads with big drop offs. I’m taking a turn today, headed into Bakersfield. We are going to hit 5,000 miles on the road soon.

Day 22 of our trip we made it up to see General Sherman at Sequoia National Park (see previous post) before heading to tonight’s campsite. Our actual site was about 15 miles due east but Mount Whitney (the tallest mountain in the continental US) was in the way. So instead we had to make a huge loop that took 4+ hours. We crossed 5,000 miles of driving today and made it to camp on BLM land right at dusk. Camping in the desert is our favorite. The stars are amazing. And to top it off we all saw the biggest shooting star that any of us have ever seen. It exploded in green and yellow at the end. It was a good end to a long day.

Thursday, April 08, 2021

Moores Go West: Day 21 (Travel Day)

Day 21 was mostly a travel day. Daniel got up early and worked at the Lodge down the road where there was WiFi. We rolled out of camp a little late and then had a delay from a landslide. We watched excavators work precariously high on a dirt slope above the gorge. We wondered how the men got up there and then passed a helicopter in the work zone. We drove through Fresno where we stopped for fuel. They only had bio diesel in the truckers bays and Daniel didn’t think our engine could run on it. We had a few errands in town which put us later than anticipated for Sequoia National Park. We decided to camp at the last campground outside the park and enjoyed a hot meal at a normal time of day, then a campfire and s’mores and a gorgeous night sky. Tomorrow we will see General Sherman and then we are debating our next stop. Pretty sure there are cows across the road from us that are going into labor.

Wednesday, April 07, 2021

Moores Go West: Day 20 (Yosemite Day 2)

Big hike today to the top of Vernal Falls with 1,400 feet of elevation gain. Our boys were troopers and paced ahead of a family of teenage boys (Isaac led all the way to the top). The trail continues on another 8 miles to Half Dome. Most people stop at the bridge but we went all the way to the top. It was one of the hardest hikes I’ve done. Our boys earned their Fanta and Rootbeer for dinner! Loved how encouraging everyone was on the trail. We are in such a beautiful place. It’s been really crowded but doing this trail made the trip worth it. Mileage for today was 7 miles, I think 4 were on this trail to the top of Vernal Falls.

Yesterday was Day 20 of our trip. We have driven about 4,600 miles and visited 6 National Parks and Monuments. Two nights ago I was able to take the boys swimming at a nearby lodge while Daniel did our laundry. The indoor “heated” pool was pretty chilly. I enjoyed the hot tub though. Before our hike up to Vernal Falls we had planned to ride part of the Valley Loop on our bikes. While we were still in the parking lot Jack blew his front tire. We spent a bit of time trying to find a new tube or patch kit from a bike shop. The kids snagged their Jr Ranger badges but we decided to skip the ride and just do the hike. The kids were disappointed but I think the ride and hard hike probably would have been too much.

Hiking to Vernal Falls and around Yosemite Valley makes our 29th hike of 2021 (29/52). We walked a total of 7 miles. This brings us to 88.5 miles hiked this year.

mohaus