In October I wrote about our autumn trip to Yosemite National Parkwith my three sons. I gave you a bit of information about their hike but I wanted to share some of their amazing and gorgeous photos from that Half Dome hike that they accomplished on a sparkling blue sky day.
Half Dome Permits for Day Hikers – information on getting a permit. We had to put their names in for a lottery and they were able to get permits that way.
Hiking Half Dome – YouTube video from the National Park Service. I found this super helpful! You may just wish to watch this to see what it would be like if you could hike this trail to the top.
My two youngest sons have been cooking up this hike for awhile. It took some planning because one of my sons lives in New York now and has limited time to visit us here in California. Hiking the trail in October before the cables are down, they found the trail was pretty much empty and there were only half a dozen people up there when they arrived at the summit.
They started out before sunrise in the dark with flashlights, making their way along the trail from Curry Village to the base of Vernal Falls. Then as the sun rose, they summited the top of Nevada Falls. I have never done this hike because of my fear of heights. Obviously, my boys have not inherited my fear and they thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
These boys hiked fast and were up to the top in a few hours. These two boys have inherited my love for the outdoors and spent lots of time telling me afterwards about the many highlights of the day.
I am so proud of these two boys for reaching their goal of hiking together to the top of Half Dome. They are such good friends and are so supportive of each other even though they are very different people with very different talents. What a blessing to have perfect weather for this hike! I hope they make new goals to hike something else in the near future.
They are both now living in New York so maybe we will summit something in the Adirondacks next year when I visit. My daughter just recently hike to the top of Gertrude’s Nose in New York and I am up for trying that hike maybe next spring. No matter what, I am enjoying my children’s adventures and views of the world.
Our recent trip to Yosemite National Park put us into the autumn mood. It is a quiet place in autumn with far fewer visitors and very little water in the waterfalls. In fact, Yosemite Falls and Bridalveil Fall are both dry, dry, dry. The story of Yosemite in autumn is more about the trees and peaceful landscapes.
Hiking in the big Sequoia trees at the Mariposa Grove gives you a chance to experience these trees up close. You don’t have to hike too far to find magnificent specimens with their wide trunks reaching up into the sky.
There is no real way to capture the whole tree from the trail but these images help you visualize the towering trees a little better.
I hiked with two of my men on this day…the other two were off climbing Half Dome. I am going to share some of their experiences in another entry later in the week.
I found a copy of this book Yosemite Photographer’s Guide; Official Camera Walk Handbookand decided that it would be a fun long term project to take photos from every single location listed in this guide (like a need another project!). There are 32 locations mentioned in this book that we can look forward to experiencing through the lens of a camera (or iPhone in my case on this particular trip since I forgot the charger to my digital camera). NOTE: This is an older book that you can’t purchase new…there are a few used expensive copies on Amazon. I may switch over to a newer book like this one:The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite.I will let you know how I like this book when I get it in hand.
We started the project with a few locations that were suggested for the fall season.
This is location #17 – Cook’s Meadow. There is a short boardwalk from the road out to the river where you can view many of the park’s landmarks.
This is from the same location, looking across the meadow to Sentinel Rock.
We stopped at Location #13 – Cathedral Beach. At this time of the year, there is very little water in the river and you can walk a long way up along the side of the water. I stopped to enjoy a little bit of fall color in the late afternoon sunshine. We didn’t experience a lot of color during this visit but the oaks, maples, and dogwoods were scattered with color throughout the valley.
From the same location at Cathedral Beach, you can clearly see the Cathedral Rocks. This is a prominent rock formation along the south side of the valley.
Here are the Three Brothers taken from Location #14. What a great spot to stop and enjoy the peaceful surroundings of a Yosemite autumn day!
Hello Mr. Deer! This guy wasn’t happy with me taking a picture of him from a distance and as I was standing there just came nibbling closer and closer. I finally had to move because I really think he was going to just push me over to get to his destination. So tame and accustomed to humans….great for viewing up close!
There weren’t many wildflowers at this time of year…mostly brown grasses and lots of weeds with seeds. These thistles were so pretty on closer examination…so much so that I created a nature journal page featuring them in my personal journal. These were up where we were camping at Crane Flat.
Some color!
One afternoon as we drove back up to our campsite, we noticed smoke in the valley. As we drove up the highway, we spotted a wildfire. It had just started and we could see from the pull out that it was just on the other side of the ridge. It was the Dog Rock fire and it continued to burn all through the night and next day…well, even longer than that but we came home before it was completely out. You can see the fire tanker flying over the blaze if you look closely in the photo.
It was such a great family trip and we enjoyed our last morning just wandering around, taking photos and sitting in the sunshine.
We ended up at the Ahwahnee Hotel for coffee and chatting. This is an amazing place for sitting and taking in the historical atmosphere of a Yosemite experience.
It is always sad to come home from this unique place on the earth but I look forward to visiting again soon.
Great Basin National Park is a surprising place…way out in the middle of a lot of nothing-ness (close to both the Utah and Nevada borders). It takes some planning and forethought to get there but it is worth the effort. We stayed three days earlier in August along with my husband, son, and two of his friends.
We camped in one of the five campgrounds in the park, Baker Creek which is three miles up a gravel road that is accessible to most cars whether they have four wheel drive or not. We looked at each of the other campgrounds during our stay and they each have their own benefits so make sure to read about them on the website. All are first come, first serve so arrive early in the day for the best selection of sites. There are no hook-ups for RVs, all have simple vault toilets, and there are no showers….making for a real camping experience. There were lots of trees, nice picnic tables, and a babbling creek that some children were exploring when we were there.
The nearest place to perhaps find a room is in Baker, Nevada but Ely, Nevada is not too far either. Baker had a little grocery store (very limited), a cafe, and a gas station. The national park does not have a store except for a gift shop. There is a small cafe at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center.
There are two visitor centers at Great Basin National Park. The Great Basin Visitor Center (closest to the highway) is superb! We thoroughly enjoyed the interactive exhibits, historical displays, and nature based information that was presented. You can learn all about the bristlecone pines, the Great Basin habitat, and all the creatures found in this unique desert environment.
Great Basin National Park is trying to make a name for itself as a dark sky destination for viewing the night sky beauty. It bills itself as “one of the last true dark skies in America“. We wish we had been able to experience that part of the park but because of the super moon and the clouds…it wasn’t a great star viewing weekend. It will go back on the bucket list for future visits. You can find a schedule of astronomy events on the park’s Astronomy page.
The second other visitor center is the Lehman Caves Visitor Center. This wasn’t as updated or interactive as the other center but still very informative and interesting. We booked our cave tour here early in the morning and we only had a few choices of times available. Make reservations or arrive early to make sure to fit in a tour of the caves. There are two different cave tours and we took the ninety minute tour which takes you to every room open to the public. It was amazing!
I have been to quite a few caves but this one by far is the most interesting and beautiful of all. I also want to note that this cave has lots of tight confined spaces that you have to fit through (usually by turning your body sideways) and lots of low ceilings. I am fairly tall (5′ 10″) and many times I had to walk a distance with my head down to avoid touching the ceilings. Just a warning. This tour is appropriate for all ages as long as they are comfortable with walking since you can’t take strollers, carriers, or even backpacks on this tour.
There are also Park Ranger programs you can attend by viewing the schedule in the park newspaper or asking at either visitor center. The day we were there they were offering up scopes to few the sun and an interpreter to tell you all about what you are looking at.
There is a Jr. Ranger program at Great Basin National Park that we observed quite a few of the children participating in….ask at either visitor center for information. They also have a “Cave Cadet” pin so ask about that too!
My guys enjoyed the viewing scopes to look down from the park across the Great Basin…
Our group split up on hiking day. Three of use hiked the Bristlecone Trail and two hiked to the top of Wheeler Peak!
The trail up to the Bristlecone pines was empty when we hiked up early in the morning (around 8:30 AM). There is a rather large parking lot at the trailhead but it was FULL when we got back later in the morning. There are vault toilets (clean) in the parking lot once you wind your way up the road from the visitor’s center. It is a very high altitude and the views as you round the corners are majestic.
Bristlecone Pine Trail:The hiking trail itself is a little longer than posted at closer to 3.1 miles and not 2.8, as measured by our pedometers. It is a moderately difficult hike because of the length and elevation when you end up at a little over 10,000 feet.
Our group thoroughly enjoyed the hike and then the interpretive trail with signs teaching you more about these ancient trees. More information on the hike here.
Fascinating to think about how old some of these trees are and after going through the interpretive trail I am fairly sure I can identify these interesting trees.
View from the trail…amazing light and clouds the whole day long!
Wheeler Peak Summit Trail: We dropped the other group off at the Summit trailhead and they started off at around 8 AM. It is advised to start early so you aren’t up on the peak when the threat of afternoon thunderstorms roll in. There is a very small parking lot for this trailhead so plan to have someone drop you off or get there early. This is a very strenuous hike and fairly long at 8.6 miles roundtrip. You start at 10,100 feet in elevation and gain 2,900 feet going up to the summit. My son said the last portion of the hike is all exposed with no tree cover.
These two young boys completed the hike and said it was worth the effort because of the beautiful view from the top. I will take their word for it.
There is a turnout alongside the road where you can use these telescopes to look up at the peak. We could actually see people up there but not our boys.
One evening we walked along this trail which parallels Baker Creek and ended at our campground. What a beautiful place with the aspen trees, green grass, and the sound of running creek water.
There were lots of wildflowers which makes me happy.
Plenty of fungi to observe too!
Not so very glamorous after a week of camping and no showers at Great Basin. Our children are all growing up so we treasure the time we have to spend with even just one of them during a camping adventure. Planting seeds of appreciation for the natural world gifted to us by a loving Creator is something we highly value and have tried to do throughout our years as parents. Seeing our youngest share his love of the outdoors with his friends makes me smile from ear to ear.
Thanks for coming along on our Great Basin experience!
Some other things to know about Great Basin National Park:
No entrance fee!
There is a ticket cost for the cave tours.
This is the desert but it gets cold here so make sure to bring a jacket or sweatshirt even in the summer.
Exploring a new area is one of my favorite things to do. Nothing makes me happier than traveling to a new place and spending time learning about the habitat. Our trip to Eagle Lake was just that sort of experience. We found new plants to observe, interesting birds to watch, and experienced some wild weather too!
We loved the campground which was nicely arranged with spaces far apart and lots of trees. Our particular space was within view of the lake and we enjoyed watching the activity of the afternoon and the changing colors of the water as the sunset each evening. (We were at the Merrill Campground.)
The water is down in the lake pretty far…exposing a lot of beach with plants that are growing from the volcanic rocky shore. This is the second largest natural lake in California and it lies with in 60 miles of Lassen National Park. It is in a wilderness area and has its own particular species of trout. Some of the neighbors in the campground had been out fishing in their boat and related that they caught their limit every day.
The wildflowers are very pretty and we enjoyed walking along the shore with our dog…she enjoyed getting wet.
There were sections of the beach just covered in white aquatic snail shells. Just part of the ecosystem I guess.
We saw so many osprey here at Eagle Lake and enjoyed every single sighting. We went up to the Osprey Overlook which had binocular equipment to view the tops of the trees, looking for nests. We didn’t see a nest but we saw a platform where they have had a nest in the past. It was a spectacular view (no photos because as we got up there a thunderstorm rolled in so we didn’t spend a lot of time there).
We saw lots of other birds too: Steller’s jays, Mourning doves, Tree swallows, American white Pelicans, Western grebes, Canada goose, California Towhee, Dark-eyed juncos, Lesser goldfinch, Western tanager, and even an Anna’s hummingbird. (Excellent list for the lake area’s birds HERE.) If we ever go back to Eagle Lake, I am going to take better camera equipment to document the many amazing birds!
There was a nice paved bicycle trail along the shore of the lake connecting several of the campgrounds and the marina. We were wishing we had our bikes!
The afternoon thunderstorms were mostly dry…no rain. But, the sunsets were amazing because of the layers of clouds. The wind was brisk and we were quickly cooled off from the hot summer temperatures when the storms would roll through.
The highlight of the trip was a day at Lassen Volcanic National Park! But, of course, that will be in a separate entry in the near future!
We will be heading to Utah for another adventure soon…looking forward to exploring another habitat with the family and a couple of my son’s friends.
June was an exciting month of outdoor life for our family. We took a three day camping trip up to the mountains and were able to complete two awesome day hikes. Hiking is something that fills that need for adventure, finding a spot out in the forest where there are few people and lots of interesting views to enjoy. The first hike was to a lake we have visited before but the second hike was completely new to us.
The trail to Round Lake is part of the Tahoe Rim Trail,stretching along for 3.5 miles from the trailhead to the lake. The hike, according to my sister, is 80% uphill on the way to the lake. It was a steady uphill and never felt to strenuous to my husband and I. There were lots of things to look at as you hiked, including wildflowers galore.
In fact, at the very beginning of the hike you cross Big Meadow on a completely flat narrow trail lined with wildflowers and criss-crossed by butterflies flying. What an enjoyable place!
Here is a close-up of one flower that was abundant as we walked across the meadow.
Here is a map of the topography of the trail, showing how as you hike along you go up in elevation for the most part until you reach the lakeshore.
Some more wildflowers along the trail…just enough to keep it interesting.
This was our stopping spot to eat some lunch and enjoy the view. Although, the photo does not show the hordes of mosquitoes that were trying to make lunch of us! We were glad that a strong breeze kicked up and for the most part we could sit and enjoy our meal without too much annoyance. I wish I could say the same for the hike back down the mountain….I ended up with quite a few bites on my legs and back of my neck.
Here is one more view of the trail side as we hiked back down. This section was filled with Corn Lilies…a little dampness is all it takes.
So there you have our hike…New Hike #2! We are planning on returning later this summer to hike to the Dardanelles which are along this same trail with a westerly turn at about two miles.
I am calling this my “local hike” since it is just about an hour from my front door.
Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas is a park like no other that I have visited before. This national park is not gated by an entrance station and has no real parking within its borders.
Instead, this national park is right in the middle of a town! Hot Springs National Park is not far from Little Rock so when we were traveling through on our cross country trip last April, we made a visit to this interesting place.
My daughter and I arrived early in the morning when there was still plenty of on street parking and the temperatures were cool. The national park is one side of the street and the town is on the other.
We were too early to tour the Fordyce Bath House (where the Visitor’s Center is located) so we took a stroll along the Promenade just behind the row of bathhouses. In this image you can see the stairway up to the various terraces where the pathways are located.
It was a pleasant walk in a green and wooded area where we heard lots of birdsong.
There were several paths (more on hiking in the park) to take and if you have enough time you can hike to the top of the mountain behind the bathhouses to the Hot Springs Mountain Tower. We were on a time schedule so we didn’t do that hike this time but we would have liked to do so and would highly recommend it to other families.
These hot springs are different than those we have seen in the past. The waters are heated by pressure and friction (you can read more here). They do not have any sulfuric smell at all and you can find both hot and cold springs within the park.
There are places you can bring your own containers to fill up water from the hot springs to take home. I purchased a water bottle and filled it up as a gift for my son in New York. In times past, people were given prescriptions for hot springs water to cure all sorts of ailments.
Today you can still have the traditional hot springs bath experience at the Buckstaff Bathhouse. We watched the movie in the visitor’s center that showed just what you do when you take a hot springs bath…super interesting and very involved.
We were interested in these steam baths…not sure I would like to actually get in one but still rather interesting (only your head sticks out).
This is one of the bath house rooms where the men would sit after their bath.
In their hey day, these bath houses were quite stylish and reminded me of the gilded age. There were many stained glass windows and ceilings throughout and very ornate furniture and decorations.
You can also have a more modern hot springs experience at the Quapaw Baths and Spa right in the middle of the national park.
This was a wonderful half day trip for us and if you want to add in the bath house experience or hike to the tower, you could easily spend a whole day exploring the national park. I would love to also take time to investigate the surrounding areas of Arkansas. Arkansas was a surprising place for both my daughter and I. It was so much prettier than we had imagined it to be and much greener. I can imagine it would get very humid in the summer time but in the spring it was lovely.
I highly recommend visiting this park with your family!
“Because of their beauty and scientific value, special need exists for the protection of our native wild flowers and shrubs. It is understandable that these uncultivated plants should attract the visitor, but in too many instances he is not satisfied to enjoy their beauty as they exist in their natural habitats. All too frequently he picks flowers in large numbers, only to discard them faded and wilted a few hours later.”
Handbook of Nature Study, page 460
I have enjoyed watching this special area of the national forest as the plants and flowers make a comeback after years of people tramping through them as a short cut to the picnic area. It warms my heart to see the abundance of wildflowers this year, lavenders and yellows and reds justbeginning their showy display at the beginning of June.
Just beyond the restored area, you will find the glorious beach and shore of South Lake Tahoe. This is our familiar spot…the one we come back to during all four seasons just to soak in the beauty of this magnificent place. This particular day was a busy day with the parking lot full and the beach dotted with families enjoying the sunshine and the water. We opted to walk along the trail just up from the beach along the tree line where we could hear the birds and stop every now and then to observe a pretty flower or tree.
I was surprised to see that the Snow plantwas in all its glory during this hike. I recently learned that this plant is native to the west coast and cannot be found in other parts of the U.S. The first thing you notice is its bright red color, no mistaking this plant for much else. The whole plant is red and it makes these curving spiral parts around the flowers. It is unusual in that it doesn’t have any chlorophyll but gets its nutrients from fungi found in a conifer forest. (read more at the link above if you are interested in learning how that work).
This plant was really blooming along the trail and in the forest. I found it in my field guide, Slim Solomon’s Seal. It looks like it has a lot of other common names but this field guide is particular to my specific place so I am hoping I got it right.
The Applegate’s Paintbrush is dotting the landscape….making little red spots on the mostly green and brown forest floor. Just like someone painted red flowers in for interest.
I am having trouble identifying this flower…thought it was Graceful Cinqufoil but now I am not sure. I wish I would have taken a photo of the leaf because that would have helped me out. Lesson learned.
This is a new flower for me as well. I found it in my field guide…Sulphur Flower. I was surprised to read that this flower is in the buckwheat family, same family as the rhubarb.
This year the Corn lilies are amazing! They look so healthy and the area near the creek is just packed with them. I love the leaves with their soft greens.
Here is a glimpse at the area where the Corn lilies are growing thickly. I think the other plant with the different leaf you see in the photo is going to be Cow parsnip.
I spent way too much time trying to identify this flower…need to start again when I am fresh. Still, a beautiful color of lavender-blue!
This is my happy place where purple, yellow, and green mingle together to make the perfect spring wildflower bouquet…the one I don’t actually pick and put into a vase but rather I take some photos and recall the wonderful afternoon spent hiking around the forest with my hubby.
We ended the day with a picnic and then a drive over to Emerald Bay lookout to gaze at the green waters of the bay in the evening glow. We may be spending our anniversary weekend here camping under the pines and dipping our toes in the freezing cold water. We have our 30th anniversary next month and that is something to celebrate! It is the perfect place for us to share on this anniversary since we got married not far from this spot all those years ago. It holds special memories to us as a couple and as a family.
Hope you enjoyed seeing a little of our hike and the wildflowers that painted the day.
What a glorious thing to explore a new state, a new trail, and then to top it off…a NEW to me flower.
Our recent trip to New York (via a road trip across the complete United States), gave us an opportunity to take several new hikes in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. My daughter picked the hike to Mount Arab out of the guide book and it was a winner! Just outside of Tupper Lake, NY, this trail is a short hike up the mountain and through a heavily wooded forest. Since it is early spring, the trees were just starting to get their new leaves and there were wildflowers just starting to bloom alongside the trail.
I created a list of wildflowers to look for during our trip, flowers we don’t have in California but are listed in the Handbook of Nature Study. I had a east coast wildflower field guide with me too for reference since most of the flowers are new to me. We actually spotted this variety of trillium (Purple Trillium) right at the beginning of the hike…so pretty and colorful in the brown woodsy floor. (Outdoor Hour Challenge for this flower in the future.)
Then we saw lots and lots of Trout Lilies! This is another one on my list of wildflowers to study and I will now be able to create an Outdoor Hour Challenge for this flower. The abundance of these lilies really created a special atmosphere as we hiked up the mountain.
I read in a guide book before we left that May is “mud season” in the Adirondacks. There were sections of this trail that turned out to be quite muddy but the trail makers had made it easier by adding these board walks to span the muddier parts. The mud created spots for insects to gather and we tried not to stop and get eaten by bugs.
The trail at the top opens up where there are large rock slabs and an incredible view. The weather had been threatening to rain in the morning but we enjoyed sunny skies when we reached the top.
Here is the fire tower at the top of Mount Arab. The wind was blowing really hard which felt like air conditioning after a hot hike up. I am not great with heights but my kids and husband were eager to climb up the stairs and check out the view from the top.
I was a little sunburned…that’s the trouble with fair and freckled skin. I had on sunblock…really. I climbed about half way up the tower and the wind was whipping through up there. I was good with the view from there, I know my limits.
On the way back down the trail, we spied several toads. The above image is a “Where’s Waldo?” sort of photo where the toad is very well camouflaged by the leaves on the forest floor.
We also saw a snake! He was as curious about us as we were about him.
What a great hike! We will remember this one for its trilliums, lilies, toads, snake, and view from the top. I will also try to remember the variety of bird song we heard as we hiked along as a family.
This hike will count toward my Nature Study Goals for 2014…a new hike!
Our weather has dried up again after about twelve more inches of rain. We had a week of rainy wet skies which were much welcomed in our drought-restricted area. My garden is much happier!
My faithful readers know once the trails are dry and the sun warms the air that I itch to get outdoors for a good springtime explore. My husband and I carved out a whole day for a good hike…traveling out of our county, through another county, and arriving at a spot that we love to ramble down to the river. There were two cars in the parking lot at the trailhead but we never saw anyone until we were returning back up the trail much later in the day. I love that!
This time of year the hiking story is really about the wildflowers. You can hike along for a bit but you do need to stop and take a few photos along the way. Here are a few of the highlights. I know for many of you that spring has not yet arrived….so enjoy my images and dream of your springtime coming soon!
The Blue Dicks or Wild Hyacinth is in full bloom at the top of the trail. As we began our hike, the slope from the parking lot down to the little ravine was dotted with pretty bluish/purple flowers.
Another one of our regular early spring wildflowers is the Shooting Star. Once it starts blooming, you can be sure it is spring for sure and the days will get warmer.
I am pretty sure this is a new to me wildflower…I have seen something very similar but a different color. Using my field guide and the CalFlora site, it looks like this may be a Brown Bell or Brown Fritillary
This is such a beautiful blue wildflower! There were several spots along the trail that had Hounds Tongue. We have this on our local trail as well and it is just starting to blossom for the early spring bloom.
This Caterpillar phacelia has such a unique looking flower that I never forget its name. It really does look like a caterpillar!
Coyote Creek at the bottom of the trail, beyond the natural bridge, runs cool, clear, and fast over the marble rocks. It is a great place to sit a few minutes and listen to the birds singing and the insects buzzing. This is where we observed our new spring bird, the Black Phoebe!
Hopefully this is the start to a fantastic hiking season!
Did you know you can get access to all the archived newsletters (all 36 issues) with every level of membership?
Death Valley National Park is a surprising place! I had lived in California all my life but until 2006 had never visited this amazing place. Our family took a trip during the first week of April 2006, escaping to the warm temperatures and dry landscape for a few days. My boys had a blast in this vast and awe-inspiring place.
Hottest, Driest, Lowest…all describe this unique place on earth called Death Valley.
We stayed two nights at Furnace Creek Ranch, making that our home base for the three days we were there. The hotel and rooms were nice but the highlight was the swimming pool! My boys enjoyed swimming in February and I relished the time to have bare feet as I watched them splash around mid-February. There was a diner type of restaurant, a small store, and a the Visitor’s Center. It was super expensive so if we ever go back, we are going to go camping!
We started our visit with the Visitor’s Centerto get our bearings and to learn more about his unique habitat. We talked to the rangers about hikes to take with our boys to give us the flavor of Death Valley. I purchased Hiking in Death Valley and Mohave Desert Wildflowers to have as references during our stay.
Yes, wildflowers! Can you believe wildflowers in the desert? This was our first experience with this kind of habitat and right away I knew I had been wrong about what we would find to observe and study there in the desert. I had expected only rocks but found a whole array of wildflowers and plants to learn about as we hiked and explored.
These are affiliate links to books I own and love!
I highly recommend both books we purchased because I think we did get more out of the experience knowing where and what to look for during our stay. Several of the hikes that were listed in the guide book are not clearly marked from the road and we would have driven right past them.We concentrated on the Furnace Creek regionof the park and there was plenty to do just exploring this part of the vast desert.
Our favorite was “Canyon at second dip” along the Artists Drive. Sure enough, the canyon at the “second dip” was just as described and a favorite of the boys because the start of the trail is a scramble up a “short pink fall 50 yards from the road”.
We experienced natural bridges.
Hiked to the end of box canyons.
Explored places carved by flash floods.
Marveled at the stunning colors we observed.
Found surprising creatures.
Wondered at the way plants could grow right out of the rocky, sandy, graveling floor of Death Valley.
This is an amazing place to explore a study of botany, geology, ornithology, and zoology.
Look at that incredible sky!
Death Valley as 3.4 million acres to explore…be prepared! Water is a necessity at all times of the year and we also carried a good map, wore sturdy shoes and hats, and made sure to gas up the car. You can see this page for a list of places within the park to fuel up.
You will need a car to explore Death Valley National Park. It is reachable from just about any of the major cities in California. Please note that many of the highway passes going west-east in California are closed in winter. Check with Cal Trans information before planning a drive over
Also, your cell phone will not work in Death Valley National Park so be prepared for that if you need to make a call.
We also visited Scotty’s Castleon the way out of the park, heading towards home. This is a lot of fun to tour with the kids and we enjoyed seeing this unusual place and hearing the story of how it was built.
You may be interested in reading more in my national parks series:
They started out before sunrise in the dark with flashlights, making their way along the trail from Curry Village to the base of Vernal Falls. Then as the sun rose, they summited the top of Nevada Falls. I have never done this hike because of my fear of heights. Obviously, my boys have not inherited my fear and they thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
I am so proud of these two boys for reaching their goal of hiking together to the top of Half Dome. They are such good friends and are so supportive of each other even though they are very different people with very different talents. What a blessing to have perfect weather for this hike! I hope they make new goals to hike something else in the near future.
and decided that it would be a fun long term project to take photos from every single location listed in this guide (like a need another project!). There are 32 locations mentioned in this book that we can look forward to experiencing through the lens of a camera (or iPhone in my case on this particular trip since I forgot the charger to my digital camera). NOTE: This is an older book that you can’t purchase new…there are a few used expensive copies on Amazon. I may switch over to a newer book like this one:
