Thursday, June 29, 2017

How did it get so hot?


Last we had left off we had moved out of our house on the 23rd
When you don't have furniture but Netflix is life
Today is the 27th.
We only left CA at 1PM (PST) on the 26th...

So what have we been doing with ourselves?

Well the first day we made the long haul all the way to Fresno. All two and a half hours of it.

Apparently 30 minutes into the trip Gabe asked Jennifer if we in Virginia.  Not 5 minutes later he asked her if we were still in California.

This was shaping up to be a very long trip.

The first REAL day we went to the Forest Moon of Endor aka Sequoia National Park. We even brought our own Ewoks.
Actual footage of Jennifer and I (in white) handling Gabriel and Alistair...

Yub Nub
While there we saw General Grant and General Sherman trees, the latter of which is the largest tree in the world. This fact would have been even more impressive if I wasn't trying to catch my breath at 7000 feet above sea level. As a Sailor for the last 7 years, you could say I have become acclimatized to a grand height of 10 feet above sea level.... so yeah
Why does he look like he is plotting something with that Pinecone?
He knows he is supossed to stay on the trail
The largest tree in the world "General Sherman"
It actually took us FOREVER to do the Park, mostly because the 7000 ft descent on the South side we were going out. Pretty much 10 mph of switchbacks and winding roads.
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Its like a view from a car commercial. But not a closed course. So yeah, you get stuck behind the guy riding his breaks and never going above 5 mph.
"Despair all ye who enter"
We loaded up and went to Bakersfield that night to start our trek into the desert the next day.
First stop, the Cesar Chavez National Monument, because nothing is more exciting to small children than a 1960s labour leader and his grave site. 
But Jennifer and I will be damned if we miss an opportunity for a National Park Passport stamp.
Can't you tell they are captivated?
At least he stopped to smell the flowers. There was also a "Bundy" Rabbit that Alistair found.
 We then crossed into the wasteland.
And it wouldn't be a Valdyke trip if we didn't see something Volcanic.

What a good looking fella

I feel soooo bad for this guy at times. Black fur and over 100 out.
We then wen to Manzanar War Relocation Camp. One of the darker parts of US history, this is one of the locations they forced Japanese Americans to live during WWII. What sadistic person thought just outside Death Valley was a suitable place to force people to live I don't know, but I want to punch the guy.
The plates are still there. Thousands of games were played on this feild.

Memorial to the 150 Americans that died in the camp.
That is Mt. Whitney as seen from our hotel. Yes it has Snow on it. Yes we were taking the photos from 104 degree weather. Yes, that doesn't make sense.

We then did DEATH VALLEY. Gabe was very concerned by the name and didn't want anyone to die.
We said he had better behave then.
THIS WAY TO THE FUN BOYS!
Gabe said he wanted to go to the beach
I has sands.
We even put them in swimwear so we could pour water onto them to keep them cool.
We gave Gabe a disposable camera to take his own pictures with. There are going to be grand sights mixed in with random rocks and trees and tables when we get that developed.
Much more my speed.
What a pleasant place.

People actually used to work here. Near a boiler. In Death Valley....
EVEN BETTER!

Baron's quarters for the trip. Trying to stay cool in the shade. And crushing my cups while at it.
We missed this at the entrance, so got it at the exit.
That'd it for now. Next up, Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon!

4 comments:

  1. "But I didn't really meet any Sand Dudes!" (Sand dunes)

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  3. Love it!!! Looks like you are having a great time.

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