We have received some complaints that we have not been blogging regularly enough. Since we aim to please, here we are blogging again!
We had a stellar time in Yosemite National Park, well at least we did after we finally figured the d*** place out! It is probably the most backward government-run organization of them all. It took us about two hours to find the visitor's center, which we think should always be in a pretty obvious location. Instead of starting our day after getting some basic information about the park, we spent a few hours staring at 4 different maps and road signs, all seeming to point us in different directions. We finally found out that you can't actually drive to the visitor's center because it is in the very middle of a village that can only be accessed by foot or bike. Silly us. (Sean says, to be fair they were trying to encourage visitors to make use of their shuttle system, which we discovered has a stop right in the center of the village).
We were probably overly frustrated because the evening before we had been sent on a wild goose chase to reserve a campsite. When we first arrived in Yellowstone Valley, a ranger waved us past the gate without asking to actually see our entrance pass. This upset us quite a bit because we paid $80 for this piece of plastic, and nobody seems to care about it! After asking, the ranger did provide us with a map and directions to a campsite 12 miles into the valley. Upon arriving at the campsite (after dodging some road construction and taking an alternate loop), we learned that we could not pay for a site at the campground but instead needed to go to a different area (Curry Village) to register. This was especially frustrating because we were given this information by a man in the campsite's entrance booth, and it seemed like this man should be the one gladly taking our money rather than sending us away. Upon arriving in Curry Village, we learned that the rangers in the registration area, although still present, had already begun shutting down the computers for the day. (Side note: it is only about 4:15 at this point.) Long story short, we had to go back to Curry Village the next morning to pay for our campsite, although both of us considered keeping the $20 since nobody else seemed to want it very badly. It was my guilty conscience speaking to me in my mother's voice that forced us back to Curry Village to pay our bill.
Apart from all of the confusion, Yosemite was gorgeous and very fun. We explored some waterfalls, including Yosemite Falls, the tallest waterfall in North America. Then we drove to the top of Glacier Point and looked out over the huge granite cliffs that surround the valley. We saw some crazy rock climbers and their tents hanging precariously from the 3,000 ft sheer face of El Capitan. On our last day we took a hike to a Giant Sequoia grove and drove the 32-mile Tioga Pass (which was closed the very next day due to heavy snow fall) through the incredible granite mountains and pine forests of the Sierra Nevadas.
Our drive through the Tioga Pass was both a wonderful scenic drive and and a means to an end en route to our next destination: Death Valley. The drive into the valley was awesome. On the way in we had to cross two mountain ranges, providing amazing scenery and some of the steepest elevation changes we have experienced. Conveniently placed signs on the side of the road indicted our exact altitude above sea level. At one point, it seemed we had risen 2000ft in as little as 6 or so miles. Our weary, fully laden Hyundai struggled mightily to propel us up the steep mountain passes.
The valley itself was nothing short of incredible. We had a wonderful (and warm!) night of camping, despite a group of loud, drunk RVers next to us and one particularly obnoxious man who couldn't seem to stop talking about himself. This lovely group treated the entire campsite to some late-night political discussion and original songs by their band, Red, White, and Bluegrass. I'll sum it up by saying I was not interesting in purchasing a CD.
We hiked through canyons and mountains all day in the valley, until a dust storm rolled through and forced us to continue on to Vegas. Having gone 5 days without showers and knowing there was a snowstorm brewing, it was not a hard decision to splurge on a hotel room.
We spent our morning in Vegas doing laundry and taking the car to the shop (once again!) to get the alignment fixed. Of course nothing is easy with this car, so $400 and 3 hours later we left Pep Boys with new front tires and a diagnosis that our left rear lower control arm needs to be replaced soon. But, as my dad says, we don't want to make the car perfect, so we'll deal with that later....
We did wander through some casinos and see all of the notable spots on the strip, but neither of us felt inclined to even play the penny slots. I think I can safely say Vegas and Rapid City are the only places we've been that I never need to see again.
We've spent the last two days entertaining ourselves in Sedona and surrounding towns while waiting for the snow at the Grand Canyon to clear. Now, after a brief 2-hour shopping stop for my benefit, we are on our way to the canyon!!! From there we are planning to continue heading east through New Mexico and Texas, possibly making a few stops but probably not staying in any one place for too long. We should be home around the 19 or 20, just in time for our birthday!!!!!
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