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The party never stops
Aug. 17th, 2012 11:22 pmRocks!
Hills above California coastline. This was a fun hike because there was something for everyone--high-up caves for big people, little caves for little people, and interesting rocks to climb on:
Yosemite, land of granite. We hiked up Sentinel Dome and my 7YO looked over her shoulder to see Half Dome. Her commentary: "Whoa. WHOA. Mom. Mom, that's not--that can't be--no way is that the mountain you climbed and STUCK YOUR HEAD OVER THE EDGE!!" She was suitably impressed. :)
The valley (El Capitan, photo by my husband):
A sequoia grove. This was the one where you hike down to it and then hike back up. Steeply. With lots of children screaming at you for making them do this. They had some cool trees, though, including one that someone decided to cut a hole through (it died, as you see).
One thing about Yosemite that nobody tells you is that the roads are rather terrifying to drive. Six inches off the road and you're over a 3000 foot drop. Still, the views on Tioga Road are stunning--there are just seas of granite. This is Olmstead Point:
And Tenaya Lake, as labeled. Unfortunately, a storm came in and so our plans for hiking Lembert Dome had to be jettisoned. Also, the lake is not so pretty when it's reflecting gray skies as when it's reflecting clear blue. But it was still nice.
We left via Tioga Pass, into Lee Vining (by Mono Lake)--ay yai, that 10% grade down the mountainside in the rain and with road construction wasn't fun. But at least we came out close enough to visit more cousins. I didn't take any photos, but a good time was had by all--after running around outside with flashlights in the Nevada desert, they all came in and told creepy stories around a candle. It was a brief visit, but one I think my kids will remember with a happy bit of warmth.
Then it was a bazillion miles of this, until I wanted to stab myself in the eye with a Steinbeck novel:
And finally, back to Idaho. My sister is visiting, so we went up Teton Canyon today. Everyone did well, and we went further than I'd expected (maybe two miles in?). The only bad thing was that we are getting smoke from a ton of wildfires, and even with Grand Teton smack in front of us, we could barely see it. But it was still fun.
Summer is almost over. What are you doing with your last few days?
Hills above California coastline. This was a fun hike because there was something for everyone--high-up caves for big people, little caves for little people, and interesting rocks to climb on:
Yosemite, land of granite. We hiked up Sentinel Dome and my 7YO looked over her shoulder to see Half Dome. Her commentary: "Whoa. WHOA. Mom. Mom, that's not--that can't be--no way is that the mountain you climbed and STUCK YOUR HEAD OVER THE EDGE!!" She was suitably impressed. :)
The valley (El Capitan, photo by my husband):
A sequoia grove. This was the one where you hike down to it and then hike back up. Steeply. With lots of children screaming at you for making them do this. They had some cool trees, though, including one that someone decided to cut a hole through (it died, as you see).
One thing about Yosemite that nobody tells you is that the roads are rather terrifying to drive. Six inches off the road and you're over a 3000 foot drop. Still, the views on Tioga Road are stunning--there are just seas of granite. This is Olmstead Point:
And Tenaya Lake, as labeled. Unfortunately, a storm came in and so our plans for hiking Lembert Dome had to be jettisoned. Also, the lake is not so pretty when it's reflecting gray skies as when it's reflecting clear blue. But it was still nice.
We left via Tioga Pass, into Lee Vining (by Mono Lake)--ay yai, that 10% grade down the mountainside in the rain and with road construction wasn't fun. But at least we came out close enough to visit more cousins. I didn't take any photos, but a good time was had by all--after running around outside with flashlights in the Nevada desert, they all came in and told creepy stories around a candle. It was a brief visit, but one I think my kids will remember with a happy bit of warmth.
Then it was a bazillion miles of this, until I wanted to stab myself in the eye with a Steinbeck novel:
And finally, back to Idaho. My sister is visiting, so we went up Teton Canyon today. Everyone did well, and we went further than I'd expected (maybe two miles in?). The only bad thing was that we are getting smoke from a ton of wildfires, and even with Grand Teton smack in front of us, we could barely see it. But it was still fun.
Summer is almost over. What are you doing with your last few days?
