Yosemite - Vol. 1

So much for getting to bed early tonight..and that is after I accidentally poured bubbly water in the cats bowl. {sigh} Keeps life interesting. I did manage to get through some of my Yosemite photos. There are so many!! Without further adieu here are a few… more on the actual trip later..

The Grand Canyon - Vol. 1

Last week was my spring break from work. I hopped in the car and drove what I thought was going to be a seven hour drive and turned out to be more like 10 hours. I'm not sure how long it actually took to get there. It felt like forever. I took my Grandma along and we headed for the Grand Canyon. It has been on my bucket list for ages. She is cooped up in the house more these days and wanted to get out so I figured why not take a short road trip.



We hardly made any stops at all. Twice for gas and bathroom breaks and once for food but it still took ages to get there. We stopped at McDonald's for dinner and I asked my Grandma if she wanted to try my chocolate milk shake, which she promptly finished off.



I would have loved to stay in the park but it turns out you've got to plan ahead and make reservations oh a good year in advance not two weeks so maybe next time. We were able to stay in Tusyana which was about five minutes outside of the park and the beds were super comfy.

We spent all day on Sunday exploring the southern rim. The park has a great shuttle that takes you from stop to stop in between walking. The weather was a bit cooler up there. I left LA where it was a balmy 85 degrees for a nippy 55 or so on the rim. You'd have thought it was -12 the way my Grandma bundled up but she was comfortable and cozy all day.



While we stopped at most of the points there is still a lot I'd love to go back and see and do. Definitely more hiking. It turns out there is a train that runs straight into the park. For a weekend visit I think the train and staying inside the park at the El Tovar would be lovely.







The colors in the canyon really were spectacular at sunset. We saw loads of elk and some deer and one turkey vulture flying overhead. None of the critters were very photo cooperative though.





Monday we drove through the park exiting the eastern exit. We passed through the Kaibab forest and into the Navajo Reservation. The views were stunning. I found the plateau inside the reservation land to be so much more than the canyon itself. Of course there were no pullouts or anything on the side of the road we were driving so I could stop for a photo. If you ever get the chance to drive into the park from Flagstaff to the park go up the 89 and into the eastern entrance of the park. I bet that view at sunset is unbelievable. Flagstaff wasn't that exciting. The downtown area is cute. Stopped for a great bacon cheeseburger.





Then we headed to Sedona. The drive was beautiful. The town itself didn't have all that much to see or do. Fairly small and touristy. The people were pleasant though and some good food stuff.



Tuesday we drove home through the Mojave desert where it was a cool 95 degrees. It was another LONG drive. I thought my butt was going to be molded to the seat by the time we got home. But it was a really nice trip.





Two days home and I was back on the road for Yosemite…

Yosemite Essentials

I'm heading back to Yosemite next week after a short road trip to the Grand Canyon. This time I'm totally prepared..mostly..I think.. Here are my top ten things for the trip:

1. J Brand Maria High-Rise Skinny Jeans - for the last few years I've lived in AG jeans and I love them still. But last week I was at Anthropologie and I found a pair of these on sale for $69 so I figured I'd give them a try. They are awesome!! I am petite but curvy. These are super soft denim with a nice amount of give and the waist is high enough so there is no annoying muffin-top bulge going on but no so high that I feel like I'm being suffocated. They are great for hiking about or just about anything else.

2. I got this Rxmance sweatshirt in a hood from Madewell a few weeks ago. I dig it a lot. The cotton is so soft and it looks cute on. I'm finicky with tees and only have five or six in my closet generally opting for a cute top or sweater instead. I can't remember the last time I wore a sweatshirt. Years at least. But it's going to be nippy in Yosemite and I don't want to be weighted down with layers of clothes so I opted for something warm and cozy that could be pulled on over a tee and worn under a vest.

3. I love Poler's stuff. I've bought a number of things from them this winter when I went to Chicago for a weekend in January. There stuff is great and they have great sales. I've yet to purchase anything regular price (I would if I had to but I love that I haven't had to yet). I got this great reversible vest 50% off last month. Most of there stuff is menswear so I get an XS. It is still a little big but light and warm. I liked the fact that it is reversible and bright orange. I figured if I get lost somewhere at some point at least I'll be visible ;)

4. After my last trip to Yosemite slipping and sliding on the little bit of ice and snow covering some trails I thought a good pair of hiking boots were in order. (I've been putting them to use hiking around LA and Ojai as well). I did a bit of research and the reviews on these Ahnu Montara were great. I got them about a month ago and have hiked in them a number of times. They are pretty comfy though it has taken some time getting used to the high top around my ankles. Still, better that then landing on my bum on a sheet of ice.

5. I like to play with cameras. I've been eyeing this Fuji Instax for awhile. The price went down on it recently so I decided to use a bit of my tax refund towards it and take it on my upcoming trips. I have a great old Polaroid 600 that I take along too. I LOVE it. The film though is crazy expensive so I use it sparingly. The Fuji takes great pictures and the film is much more reasonable.

6. I needed a good canteen for water while hiking. I picked up this great ocean blue one by Klean Kanteen at REI last week. It's a good size, fits into a pocket on my backpack, and isn't too heavy.

7. This trip I plan on taking my Canon 5D. I want to try some time-lapse photography, particularly at sunset. I needed something to sit on and hang out for the hour or so I would be shooting and this camp chair from REI is perfect. It packs up into a bag that is maybe 3 x 8 inches and weighs hardly anything. It can get packed into my backpack or stored in the truck of the car where it takes up no space at all. In fact, I want to pick up a second one this week to take with me to the Grand Canyon for my Grandma.

8. My last trip we drove around and explored everything we could via car (except Glacier Point). This trip I want to make some specific choices of what I want to see and focus on that so I get the most out of my short trip. I like The Rough Guide to Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon because it isn't overwhelming like I tend to find most guidebooks to be. The design and layout is clean and simple. It has some maps and images but the majority of the content focuses on areas to explore, trails to hike, safety info, and history snippets.

9. I like to read. A lot. I have a Kindle. I read books on my iPhone with my Kindle. I still love real books though. Especially when I travel. I picked up Orphan Train last week while buying a gift for someone at Barnes & Noble. I could have gotten it cheaper at Target or via Amazon but c'est la vie. I haven't started reading it yet but it looked like a nice light read that I could throw in my bag or read curled up in bed back at the lodge each night.

10. I got the backpack shown awhile ago. I love it. It was the perfect carry-on bag when I went to Chicago. It holds a ton, has great compartments, and surprisingly does not weigh a ton.

*None of the products listed above are paid endorsements. They are all things I dig. I don't inherently support the companies or their policies or advocate on their behalf (though I am pretty keen on Poler and REI). All images are the products of the companies and are taken from their websites (links provide in text).

Yosemite

I went to Yosemite for the first time this past fall. I had been wanting to go for ages but somehow just never managed it. Then I saw a Living Social deal for a weekend at the Yosemite View Lodge. I invited an outdoorsy friend along and off we went for a weekend exploring the park with zero pre-planning. Having never been to a national park before, well besides a short day trip to Joshua Tree National Park, I was totally ignorant. I figured there'd be food and gas and loads of touristy things to see and shop at. Oh how wrong I was. Apart from packing totally appropriate clothing, bringing loads of cameras and my iPad for looking stuff up more easily from the lodge I totally missed the mark. There is nothing in El Portal except a small market and the shop and restaurant at the lodge.

Let me first say the lodge is an awesome place it stay. It is maybe five minutes from the parks western entrance. The room was huge with two queen beds, a small kitchenette with microwave, two burners, and a small fridge. There was a small balcony looking out at the mountains where we could hear the river if not quite see it through the trees. The bathroom was huge. It's a great place to stay. That being said, the restaurant blows buckets. Not much to eat, over priced, and total "crap I got in high school at the dodgy cafeteria" quality. We ate there the night we arrived and that was out of shear desperation. We never went back. The lodge store is okay in a spot but they don't have much. As for other food options you can either 1) drive an hour down the mountain to a cute little town whose name I don't recall. There was a main street with several cute restaurants and a great looking coffee place that had live music playing when we passed by Saturday night. or 2) eat inside the park - which again has very limited options… I'll come back to that.

My life is generally an adventure. I like loose plans and the rest is just sorting it out as I go along. I drive a Prius (thankfully) so we arrived in El Portal on a single tank of gas but in need of filling up before venturing too far in any direction. Our first morning we left the lodge thinking we could grab breakfast and gas on the way into the park not realizing that the lodge was the last stop before entering the park. We did look at a map before hand and it looked like there was another stop in between but the map lied (or more likely I read it totally wrong). Thinking it would be fine, there had to be food and gas inside the park we just continued along. There were two main road options and we ventured left onto Hwy 120. Before long we found a gas station and filled up but the small market attached was closed. We continued on assuming we'd find food. Have I mentioned that I get totally hypoglycemic when I don't eat and subsequently incredibly crabby. We wanted to see Tenaya Lake and the Toulumne Meadows. Usually Tioga Road is closed from late October to mid-May/early-June but there hadn't been much snow so the road was still closed. We were able to drive all the way to Lembert Dome before we had to turn around because I was famished and starting to get quite pissy about the big cars that would come up behind me and ride my tail on the twisty roads. Tioga Road has some incredibly beautiful sights. It also has zero services open during the winter. NO gas. NO shops. NO food. Because the road isn't suppose to be open and passable. And it's nearly a two hour trek getting from the park entrance to Lembert Dome (well with lots of stopping to look at the sights and see the snow on the side of the road). I was super excited to see snow so there was a lot of stopping and squealing over that. Turns out the only places to get food in the winter are off Hwy 140(?) where the Yosemite Lodge and Visitor Center is.

After stopping to take photos of El Capitan (which is spectacular) our options were The Yosemite Lodge, The Ahwahnee, and Curry Village. We chose The Yosemite Lodge. Turns out that was not the way to go unless you want more over-priced high school cafeteria tasting food. We stopped at the cafeteria. The selection was crap. There was also a restaurant which may have been better but I'm not holding my breath. If you are going to the park and want to eat in the park eat at The Ahwahnee. The hotel is beautiful. The restaurant did not look huge so if you are visiting during peak seasons it probably requires a reservation. I cannot say with certainty that the food is better but it certainly looked a hundred percent better than our experience at the lodge. However, if you have small people with you the lodge is certainly less fussy and has lots of options that are a bit more kid friendly.

Food sorted we set off to get in one small hike before sunset. Our plan was to trek up to Vernal Falls. It took us a bit of time to get the path to the falls sorted and as we were headed in the right direction we passed a lovely older couple whom were quite concerned that we were headed to the falls. Turns out there wasn't enough time to make it up to the falls before dark. The man told us how to get to the bridge at the base of the falls where we'd be able to see it and be there and back before we were left in total darkness wandering around in the woods. We made it but only barely. I have asthma and I forget this fact because 95% of the time it doesn't bother me. I'm not so good with ascents, particularly in a rush. It's a bit of an uphill climb to Vernal falls. It took a number of stops to catch my breath and drink fluids but we made it.

After we checked out Sunday morning we headed back to Tioga Highway. I wanted to stop and see some frozen ponds around Toulumne Meadows and my friend wanted to climb Lembert Dome. Then we were driving all the way through the park and exiting through Tioga Pass so that we could make a stop at Mono Lake. The meadows are a huge plain of dry grass during the winter but living in Los Angeles I was excited by the little bits of snow and icy ponds formed by the side of the road. Lembert Dome is a HUGE rock with a fairly steep face. I'm not a climber so I opted for us to take the hike up that wound around the dome (a good 10x longer than just climbing up the face). We didn't get far before snow and ice made the trail difficult to pass (in trail runners) and difficult to follow. We ended in a clearing where the path to a lake was visible but the path up to the dome disappeared under the snow. Not keen on getting lost in the wilderness we turned around and headed back to the face of the dome. As we started to wind around the face of the dome a man in his 60s maybe and a 40-something woman started to trek straight up the front of the face and they made it all the way up to the top. I was not as adventurous or as sure footed. We wound around and about halfway up before I stopped to enjoy the view and did not have enough confidence to continue up and risk falling off the side of a bloody dome in Yosemite. The view was spectacular though.

Our next stop was in Mono Lake which I had wanted to see since I took a geology field lab as an undergrad way back in 2001. It was everything I'd hoped it would be and more. I would have loved to have spent a bit more time driving around the lake and exploring different views but we had a long drive home and it was already late. The town of Lee Vining is surreal and something reminiscent of a horror film. I'd love to shoot something there one day. There were a ton of great sights to see along the way back down the mountain but we had zero time. Stopping for dinner also proved tricky. The towns are few and far between and have very few food options. By the time we got back to LA it was late and we were exhausted but totally blissed out. While it is a bit cold in mid-November and not much is open in the park it was a great time to go because it also wasn't crowded and everything was easy to see if you had time to see it and it was accessible.