Destination: Lone Pine, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe |
Death Valley |
The first thing I have to say about Death Valley is that I am surprised that there is a fee to drive through a hundred miles of sand. There is nothing to hunt or fish for, and I'm not really sure what the big event would be other than if I were a road warrior with a souped up dune buggy in a futuristic era. We didn't pay the fee, but had a national park pass that probably covered it. Don't get me wrong, parts of it were pretty, but the scenery didn't stick with me or Hana. There was about 30 miles or so of incline that didn't appear to be steep at all, but put a tremendous strain on the rig. All ten cylinders seemed to be saying " I think I can...I think I can" while struggling to go over 35 miles an hour. Since we are towing a car, and with the extra weight I gained in Vegas, I didn't push it. On the way down there was a 9 percent grade which really freaked Hana out, and she is now convinced it was named Death Valley because of the drive on the way down the mountain as opposed to the blistering heat it is known for.
Mt. Whitney, Lone Pine |
By the time we got to Lone Pine, California I had a rip-roaring sinus headache. Driving days often do that to me. I suppose I will mention here that the hardest part about living in an rv for me is the allergy that I have to all the materials on the inside. The materials in newer rvs are much lighter than they were in the old days, but the voc level is higher. While one person may have to live with arthritis, or some other ailment that never goes away, I have allergies. It is becoming a more well known fact that a lot of people are getting cancer from all types of household materials. Few notice what is happening to them, while people like me can hardly stand to be in a Walmart more than 10 minutes because of all the products in there which contain benzene and formaldehyde. Needless to say, I keep the windows open even on some cold days and nights and drive my wife nuts. She struggles to be warm, and I struggle to breathe.
from Mt. Whitney, Lone Pine |
Lone Pine is a small, desert town surrounded by mountains. It has a hostel downtown, and seems to attract a lot of young backpackers and die hard hikers. There wasn't much wildlife to be seen in our area other than a few furry little this and thats mumscumbling around the dust and brush. Twelve miles down the road was trailhead access to one very beautiful area full of aspens, rock, and clear flowing streams. The dogs enjoyed the hike through the mountains as much as we did.
James' homemade cigar box guitar |
Next we headed to Lee Vining right outside Yosemite National Park. I was up naturally at 6:30 the first morning, exited to get the day started. The previous night I discovered a spring, and filled up as many jugs as I could. While the few people I asked said it is good water, I had a little rumbling going on in my stomach. Overall it is great water, and I am not sure if the rumbling was even from that, or the small amounts of chlorine in the municipal water that comes from a well. I am taking the precaution to boil the water, and am always thankful when I can find a good spring, considering all of the things added to water these days. We usually fill our jugs with reverse osmosis water that can be found at a variety of health stores, and even at some Walmart stores. The downside is that there isn't one in every town, and you are relying on the store itself to change out the filters when they are supposed to. I recently discovered one study that found 1 out of 15 water refill stations in California actually had true purified water. We are now going to purchase a two gallon Berkey purifier which will get out 99.99 percent of what you don't want in your water, plus an extra set of filters that specialize in removing 95 percent of the flouride that has been added to the water.
Yosemite |
We headed into Yosemite which really lived up to my expectations as far as scenery goes. After driving around a bit we found a trail that we wanted to hike, only to find a sign that had a picture of a dog with a red Ghost Busters circle around it with a slash. We stopped to asked the rangers if there was anywhere that dogs were allowed, and the answer we got was a very abrupt "This is not a dog friendly park!" When I asked why, we were told it's because they hurt the wildlife and spread disease. I found this highly debatable, but I could not get a word in with the ranger who cut me off to preach about what a threat dogs are to wildlife. I imagine an off-leash dog may get a squirrel here and there, but I know the cars driving through get more than a few. One thing that was mentioned to us is that a lot of black bears and other animals are killed in the park by cars...and maybe an occasional off-leash yorkie.
Since I have already written a pretty lengthy blog so far, I am going to save my rant about all of these regulations and attempts to "preserve" our forests. I am sure I will have another opportunity later. I have never read in my cowboy stories about dudes that probably looked like an unshaven Clint Eastwood with names like Hondo having to stop and pay some snively ranger a hefty fee to ride through the trails and be told to leave their dogs behind.
Frozen lake at the top of Saddle Bag Mountain, Yosemite (It was snowing up there!). |
Contemplating that mountain view |
-James
Not our usual Sunday post, as we're getting tossed around here and there in California trying to avoid the 100+ degree weather in most areas, as well as struggling to find parks that aren't completely booked now that the summer camping season has kicked in. We've already had to move 4 times in the last 2-ish weeks! After Yosemite we headed to nearby Lake Tahoe (which was much more pristine and beautiful than I expected) to spend Memorial Day:
3 comments:
Beautiful pics-great journey❗️Enjoy your experiences❗️❤️ Mom ��
Beautiful pictures, always wanted to see Lake Tahoe!
Thanks, yes it was a very pretty lake and not nearly as developed as I had imagined!
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