California

May 4-16

May 4: After a long and restful night in the dark and quiet of Double M Stockdogs, we woke up to four mule deer in the meadow and then watched the cows return to the field as well. We started our drive around 8:15 AM, dropping our compost with our friendly and generous host who gladly accepted the compost for her garden. Along the route, we stopped in Ash Fork, AZ along Historic Route 66 to mail a Mother’s Day card and then drove straight on to California. Once in California, we drove Route 95, a true “ribbon of highway” as it kept dipping up and down. We stopped on the side of the road for an avocado sandwich for lunch, and then jumped on Route 62 that headed directly into Joshua Tree. 

Driving into town, we noticed small impoverished homes mostly made out of corrugated metal and communities of houses made of metal shipping containers. We stopped in the town of Twentynine Palms at the National Park Service Visitors Center and got great information on how to visit the Joshua Tree National Park. Then we drove to the Joshua Tree Lake RV and Campground, checked in, and upgraded from a partial hook-up to a full hook-up to stay in a more secluded and shaded site (306). After talking with a friend on the phone, taking a shower, and eating a burger and salad dinner, we planned the next day, walked around the campground, watched TV, and went to bed. 

The campground was very nice. The showers were new and clean. There was a lake with ducks and other birds on the property. The campground runs a music festival as well with a designated area and cabins made out of shipping containers. And there was lots of cool art all over the place. It was a very interesting campground! 

May 5: Today was a busy day visiting Joshua Tree National Park. After a pancake breakfast, we headed to the west entrance of the park in Joshua Tree. The park is spectacular with wonderful Joshua Trees and incredible rock formations. Our first hike was the hardest, hiking up 1000 feet in 1.5 miles to the top of Ryan Mountain. After the hike, we returned to the van to eat pb&j sandwiches lunch and then walked to Ryan Ranch, which was really interesting to see. We walked around Cap Rock, which was really cool, then drove to Keys View. Looking at the San Andreas Fault, seeing Palm Springs and the surrounding area was really interesting. Before leaving the park, we took one more 1 mile walk to Barker Dam, seeing the dam and some petroglyphs. Then we drove back to the campground, talked with some family members on the phone, took a shower, had burritos for dinner, and hung out. Joshua Tree National Park is really spectacular and very otherworldly!

May 6: We had another busy and great day today. We drove back to Joshua Tree National Park, driving to Skull Rock. We walked the Skull Rock Nature Trail (about 1.7 miles). Skull Rock was the most crowded area we had been to, but once we started walking, we were the only people on the trail. We saw a Gambel’s Quail on top of a Joshua Tree, chirping away. We also heard a verdin chirping nearby. The landscape was amazing with rock formations that are rounded and look like someone just plopped them from the sky. We also walked through Jumbo Rocks Campground as part of the hike and wondered why we had decided not to camp in the park. We really can’t remember why we decided not to stay in the park as there are lots of campgrounds that would've been beautiful. We like where we're staying but next time we would spend at least one night in the park.

After the hike, we drove several miles out of town to the Cholla Cactus Garden, which was beautiful. That part of the park is in the Colorado Desert instead of the Mohave Desert and the mountains near the cactus garden looked more like mountains than mounds of rocks. Cholla cacti are really cool looking. We had seen them in Arizona last year and really liked them. 

On the way out of the park, we stopped at a pull-out and made hummus sandwiches for lunch. We were hoping to see some big horned sheep, but they did not show themselves. After lunch, we drove out of the park into the town of Twentynine Palms. We looked around a bit and went into a few thrift shops, but there really was not much going on. Then we drove into the town of Joshua Tree and walked around there, although many of the shops were closed. Wanting to do laundry and also looking for vegan ice cream, we drove into Yucca Valley, a much bigger town with many big box stores. After putting in a load of laundry at the local laundromat, we drove to where we thought Nice Dream ice cream shop should have been but we couldn’t find it. So we went into Sue’s Health Foods, didn’t find ice cream there, so walked to the Ginger Rabbit, a local Asian food store. There we purchased some king oyster mushrooms, baby bok choy, and green onions for a stir fry dinner. Returning to the laundromat, we moved our clothes into the dryer and visited a few shops next door, including Kasa Market and a newly opened art gallery. The art gallery had a visiting spiritual healer who oddly wanted to touch our hair. We chatted with the owner for a bit, played with his dog, Blue, and then went to get our laundry. 

After that, we drove to the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Art Museum, a huge spanse of outdoor art made from salvaged materials. We walked around for a bit, enjoying the artwork, By this point, it was hot and we were tired so we headed back to the campground for beer, a quick phone call, a shower, and a wonderful stirfry dinner. 

So far in Joshua Tree, we have seen doves, finches, mallard ducks, ravens, a hawk, quail, a small yellow bird, maybe a flicker, and crows. 

May 7: We had a leisurely morning and left the campground around 9:30 AM. We headed to get diesel at Mr. B's in Yucca Valley because it was the cheapest we could find at $6.79 per gallon. Then we went to Walmart and picked up a few items and groceries and headed toward Death Valley National Park. The drive to Death Valley was only about 4 hours, but the weather got hotter and hotter as we drove, and the landscape became more dry and desolate as we drove through the desert. 

Once in the park, we stopped at Zabriskie Point because it was on the way. Then we stopped at the Furnace Visitor Center and saw the big thermometer that said it was 108 outside. We picked up a map and some information and headed the 30 minutes north to Stove Pipe Wells Campground, located in the middle of the park. On the way, we stopped to look quickly at the Mesquite Flat Dunes, but did not walk around as it was too hot out. The campground was nothing special and mostly looked like a large gravel parking lot. But the view was very nice and we had a full hook up. Across the street was a swimming pool and some restaurants with a general store. After setting up, we turned on the air conditioner in the van. Because the campground did not have showers, we used our outdoor shower, which felt really good. We ate a cold Mexican meal so we didn't have to cook because it was really freaking hot out! At night there were a lot of stars out, but because of the light from the Stove Pipe Wells hotel, we did not get the dark night we had hoped for. We slept with the air conditioner on all night and actually got a good night’s sleep.

May 8: We woke up at 6 AM, and after a toast breakfast were out and ready for a hike by 7 AM. We hiked Mosaic Canyon, which was about a 3 1/2 mile out and back and had a really wonderful and beautiful hike through slot canyons. Thankfully, most of the hike was in the shade. Then we drove back to Furnace Creek Visitor Center to fill up our water bottles and use their Wi-Fi to check emails and texts. Our next stop was Badwater Basin to walk on the salt flats. The salt flats were really interesting and vast, but walking on them was SO hot! Covered with sarongs, walking onto the flats there was a slight breeze. We probably only walked about a ½ mile, but there was no breeze on the way back, and we were walking in full sun. We seriously thought we would melt before reaching the van!

Getting back in the van, we drove the 5 mile Artist Drive which was absolutely stunning! Then we drove back to the campground stopping at the gas station at Furnace Creek to purchase 3 gallons of $9.26 diesel to just make sure we could make our drive out the next day! We definitely should have topped off the gas tank before driving into Death Valley! 

Once back at our campsite, we turned the air conditioner back on, made BLTs for lunch and then walked over to the pool to hang out. The pool was small but cool and there was lots of shade protect us from the grueling sun. We spent the entire afternoon at the pool, swimming to cool off, and using the Wi-Fi to catch up. We had considered leaving Death Valley this afternoon because it was really so hot but decided to stay through the night and leave early the next morning for cooler weather. 

After the pool, we took showers located near the pool, and then walked back over to our campsite. It was so hot that our hair almost dried completely before we got through the two minute walk. Once in the van, we hung out, made pasta with green sauce for dinner and then watched the movie Frankenstein, which we had downloaded in advance. Somewhere around 5 PM, our main fuse blew, turning off the air conditioner. After a few moments of a very hot panic, we managed to flip it back on. But then at 11:30 PM it switched off again and we were not able to get it back on. Luckily, it was cool enough to open the windows and we were able to run a fan off of our Eco Flow lithium battery. 

May 9: We woke up around 6 AM, made a pancake breakfast, packed up and were on the road by 8 AM. Oddly (and thankfully), we were able to drop off our compost at the general store right by our campground. The store also took all of our recycling. The drive out the north side of Death Valley was beautiful driving along Route 190. We gained 5000 feet elevation along a windy up-and-down road surrounded by beautiful mountains. Before leaving the park, we stopped at Panamint Ranch to see if we could pick up some Wi-Fi and get directions, but no Wi-Fi was available. The diesel there cost $2 less than at Furnace Creek but we decided to find cheaper diesel outside the park. Then we stopped at Father Crowley Vista Point, overlooking Rainbow Canyon, which was beautiful. And then we happily drove out of Death Valley, a beautiful and interesting area, but not anything we would ever return to, despite being the largest national park in the USA. 

Interestingly, outside of the park there were acres and acres and acres of Joshua trees. Even as we drove Route 58 West in California, we saw Joshua trees all throughout the landscape. 

After stopping for much less expensive gas, we drove through Central Valley, CA past acres and acres of Sunkist orange grooves, as well as olive trees and some vineyards. We stopped at a roadside stand and purchased two huge delicious oranges for $1. Then we continued onto the village of Three Rivers, noting a variety of small grocery stores that we could stop by on the way back to pick up supplies. We stopped at a very small art show along the way and then continued into Sequoia National Park. As per usual, we stopped at the first visitor center we found, Foothills Visitor Center, got some information, and drove to our campsite in Potwisha Campground. Our campsite was pretty close to the road and not completely level but overall just fine. We saw what we think were marmots, as well as lots of wild turkeys wandering the campground, even with two little baby turkeys. 

Before dinner, we walked to the Potwisha Suspension Bridge spanning the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River, and put our feet in the river. Then we came back and walked around the campground a bit, locating the portable water by the dump station across the street where we could fill our tanks. Then we made a really good dinner of bok choy and tempeh stir fry. Sitting at the picnic table, two large turkeys gobbled a bit aggressively at us and then walked on by. With no showers in the campground, we took outside bucket baths using our green tent. Because there were lots of mosquitoes, we spent the evening in the van. It was much cooler in Sequoia than in Death Valley so we looked forward to a cooler night. And we hung out and planned our next day of hiking and exploring.

May 10: Waking up around 6AM, we hit the road by 7:15 to head up to Moro Rock. We wanted to get there early because we thought it might get crowded quickly, which it did. The drive up General's Highway was steep with a lot of hairpin turns, so we drove up very slowly. Moro Rock required climbing up 280 steps to the top ending with an amazing view of the surrounding mountains and valley. After climbing down, we drove to Tunnel Log which the van could not fit through, but it was cool to see. 

Then we drove to The General Sherman Tree and walked the Congress Trail to see the absolute amazing and enormous sequoias. It is hard to describe or even imagine how huge and old these trees really are. Because the KNP Fire a few years back, many trees had serious burn marks. However, sequoias can survive, which is pretty amazing.

After drove up to Lodgepole Village, we made an avocado sandwich lunch sitting in the parking lot. The visitor center was closed, but the marketplace was open. There were showers there and Wi-Fi so we were able to play our New York Times games and catch up with family as today was Mother's Day.

Based on a recommendation the previous day by a park ranger in Foothills Visitor Center, we headed back down closer to where we were staying to hike the Paradise Creek Trail. It turns out that we had to walk about a mile and a half on a paved road in the burning sun just to reach the trailhead. And the trail was poorly marked. So by that time we got onto the trail, we were hot and exhausted so we walked in just a bit and then walked back out. We took bucket baths in our bathing tent, had a beer, and made Just Eggs and kale for dinner. We had brought some books of games so we played some crossword puzzles in the van, hung out, and then went to sleep. Thankfully, the evenings have been cool, even though the days remain very hot.

May 11: We woke up early, and after realizing that our water pump was not working because we didn't have enough water in our freshwater tank, we drove over across the street to the dump station filled up the tank. Then we drove back up to the Moro Rock area to hike the Crescent Meadow hike. On the trail, we met a ranger who suggested we take the Tharps Log Trail to see a cabin made out of a large sequoia log by the first known European American who lived in the area. The cabin was really cool. Along the way we saw some interesting mushrooms, one that we think was a large morel, and some that were bright red. The hike along the meadow and in the woods was really pleasant, cooler in temperature, and with amazing sequoia trees. You just don’t get tired of looking at these beautiful giants! 

Throughout our hikes, we saw lots of wildlife, including pileated woodpeckers, deer, marmot, chipmunks, maybe pika's, squirrels, lots of turkeys, and stellars jay birds. We also saw lots of snakes (some smooshed), gray squirrels, and very large ravens. We also heard lots of birds that we identified using our Merlin app: Gambel’s quail, acorn woodpecker, oak titmouse, black-throated gray warbler, dark-eyed junco, brown creeper, western tanager, yellow-rumpled warbler, mountain quail, and fox sparrow. And we saw two pica’s by the falls on that trail, and tons of ladybugs flying everywhere. 

To make the most of our day, we drove up to Lodgepole Village again and made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for our hike to the Tecopa Falls. The hike was 3.5 miles round-trip with a gradual incline to absolutely incredible falls adjacent to a huge rock face. We ate lunch on the trail, saw two pika's, and found an area of rocks where really cold air was blowing out of the cave in the rocks. It was really amazing. Then we hiked back down and returned to the Lodgepole Village. We had noticed the day before that they sold Häagen-Dazs mango sorbet at the Lodgepole market so we purchased some and sat down and ate that while we played our New York Times games and caught up with family and friends online. 

We also looked online to see how we could fix our breaker that had misfired in Death Valley. Not finding any definitive answers on YouTube and not finding any RV techs in the area, we called our RV tech from home and he walked us through some possibilities. He suggested we try turning on the generator, but also trying to find someone locally who could fix the problem. We called the service department at Camping World in Fresno and they also suggested we turn on our generator. So we went back to the van, turned on our generator, and low and behold the microwave and receptacles started working again! We are hoping that when we hook back up to shore power they will continue to work.

Happy with the fix, we took showers at Lodgepole Village. By this time it was 5 PM and while we had hoped to go to the Giant Forest Museum, it was already closed so we drove back to the campground. We had stored some of our stuff in the bear box at the campsite and when we went to open the box, we were startled to find  a snake curled underneath. The snake was large, but wasn't moving so we assumed it was dead. We also didn’t think it was a rattlesnake, but it kind of freaked us out. We think maybe some animal had attacked it and it slithered to protection under the bear box, where it then died. That’s our best guess, anyway. 

Having snacked quite a bit in the afternoon, we weren't particularly hungry, so we drank a beer and made a big salad for dinner. Then we hung out and got ready for bed. Our stay at Sequoia National Park has been really wonderful! 

May 12: We took a leisurely morning leaving Sequoia National Park because the drive to our next campsite was only a little over on hour away. We stopped in the town of Three Rivers to pick up some groceries at a very expensive but well stocked market. Then we continued on through a town called Woodlake only to find that there was a DG Market, which was much less expensive than the previous market, so we finished our grocery shopping, filled up on diesel, drove through town and then continued on our way. Luckily, before heading too far out of town, we noticed that our GPS was suggesting we take Dry Creek Road, which looked like a tiny winding road on the map. After putting in our destination on RV LIFE GPS, we decided to take 245 all the way up which was a much better decision. We arrived around around 12:30 at Sequoia Resort & RV Park where were would be staying for two nights, found our site (#25), and plugged into shore power. We were super happy to find that our electricity was still working! 

We made a quick lunch and then drove up to Kings Canyon National Park. The drive up was on a windy road but once in the park, the road was not so terrible. We stopped at the visitors center for some information and then went to see the General Grant Tree, walking the 2-mile North Grove Loop through a lovely forest that had both very old sequoias that had been burned in the KNP fire, as well as new baby sequoia's growing there.

When we arrived back at the campground, lots of other campers were hanging out doing their laundry. The laundry at the campground was free and there were showers as well. There was also Wi-Fi available near the main office area and library. Apparently, people could get Verizon service but we have T-Mobile, so we did not get any cell service at the campground. (Note: The lack of T-Mobile cell service throughout the California parks prompted us to purchasing a Solis device when we got back home). We took a shower and waited to do our laundry and chatted with a very nice couple from England. Then we went back to our campsite and got a beer before heading back to the main area to finish our laundry. It was pretty dark by the time our laundry was done so we quickly made our bed and hung out for the evening. Although it was hot during the day, the evenings were cool in the 60s, which was lovely sleeping weather.

May 13: We woke up to hear and see a western bluebird, California quail, acorn woodpecker, and a hawk outside our campsite. There are also robins and mallards all throughout California. It was fun to see both new and familiar birds while traveling. There were also lots of wild turkeys at the campground. 

We ate toast for breakfast and then drove back up to Kings Canyon, stopping at the Grizzly Falls, which are beautiful, and then onto Junction View Lookout where you can see where the King River forks. We were able to get a birds-eye view 2000 feet down into the canyon!  We did a 4 mile round-trip walk through Zumwalt Meadows. Along the way we saw a king snake. The Kings River is beautiful as are the surrounding cliffs and rock faces. We ate an avocado sandwich for lunch sitting on a rock facing the river. One of the nicest lunch spots we've had in a while!

Returning to the van, we drove to end of the road just to see what it looked like and then drove down to Hume Lake. By now, it was around 2 PM. We had hoped to walk the 2.6 mile Hume Lake Trail, but it was getting late and so we walked part of the trail and then decided to head back. Hume Lake Village is really made up of Hume Lake Christian Camp so we discovered a very interesting mix of National Forest and Christian youth camp co-mingling in a beautiful setting. 

We drove back up to General Grant Visitor Center, caught up on texts and emails via their Wi-Fi. Then we drove the 40 minutes back to the campground arriving around 6 PM. We stopped at the office area to take quick showers and then came back to our campsite to plug-in. After our usual nightly happy hour we made kale and hummus for dinner and relaxed. We have really enjoyed both Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks! 

May 14: We took our time in the morning, ate Birch Bender pancakes for breakfast, packed up, and then went to the campground office to connect a bit to Wi-Fi. We said goodbye to the British couple and then headed up toward Fresno, taking Dunlap Road instead of 245, which was actually a little bit better being less windy and steep. We also passed the Dunlap, CA post office and were able to send off a postcard to a friend. Driving on flat roads going 65 MPH towards Fresno was a welcome change from driving 30 MPH up and down steep and winding roads. Our first stop was at the Fresno Community Garden to drop off compost, but the gates were locked and the garden looked very closed. Then we tried to find the cute historic downtown of Fresno in the Fulton Street area. What we found as we walked around the area was a very tired and depressed Fresno. The area looked like at one point it might have been a fun city but right now there was not much going on. So we drove north to a Whole Foods outside of town where we were able to pick up some expensive groceries but also deposit our compost which was great. Then we drove to what we were hoping was a vegan restaurant called Vegan Planet, but all the food was either large burgers or deep fried, so we walked across the way and got really tasty blueberry and banana protein shakes from Fresh Monkee. Sitting in the air conditioned shake shack, we relaxed and planned out our next stop at Yosemite National Park. 

Three different GPS programs gave us three different routes. Ultimately, we chose the shortest one and arrived at the southern entrance (near Mariposa) of the park around 4:15. We stopped at the Wawona Visitor Center at Hill’s Studio, a very small center with an unhelpful ranger who gave us limited information. Then we drove onto our site (C72) at Wawona Campground. Our site sat right next to the Merced River and was absolutely serene and gorgeous! Because we had been unable to secure a campsite in the more centrally-located Yosemite Valley, we had selected Wawona Campground because it was quiet and by the river. Our site and the campground did not disappoint! 

After setting up the van, we walked around the campground, came back, made a spicy Ramen noodle dinner and hung out. Then we planned the next day’s adventures, not 100% sure about what we wanted to do, but thinking about going to Mariposa Grove in the morning before our niece and nephew joined us from San Francisco later in the day.

Overall, we found that Yosemite is definitely more built up and developed in terms of tourist attractions than the other parks we had recently visited. So we were extra thankful for having secured a peaceful and beautiful campsite. 

May15: After toast breakfast, we drove to Mariposa Grove where we saw some of the enormous and gorgeous sequoias, as well as a bunch of deer. Then we came back and drove to Pine Tree Market, located in a crazy little village in the national park. The market was very well stocked market and had free Wi-Fi. We called our niece to find out what time they were coming. Then we walked part of the Wawona Meadow Loop Trail. On the drive over we saw a fox in the street. And while walking, we found what looked like a giant puffball mushroom. There were also really beautiful purple lupine and yellow wildflowers all around the area. 

After a BLT lunch, our niece and nephew showed up and we hung out for a little bit and then headed to Yosemite Valley. Given that they know the park really well and had a car instead of a van, we were thankful to be sitting in the backseat with our own personal tour guides. The road to the valley was beautiful, and after driving through the tunnel we stopped at Tunnel View to catch our first sighting of El Capitan (aka El Cap) and Half Dome which were spectacular to see! Continuing our drive past the spectacular Bridalveil Fall, we stopped in El Capitan Meadow to watch people climb El Cap. People sat with climbing gear and telescopes to watch people climb. Because the climb can take several days from the bottom to the top, climbers actually sleep on the steep side of the cliff, and we could see their sleeping gear attached to the granite surface. Absolutely crazy! 

Then we headed toward to see the Yosemite Valley Chapel, stopped first at Fern Spring, a lovely little spring with great spiritual meaning for indigenous peoples in the area. After the chapel, we shared a beer and then walked the short hike to Lower Yosemite Falls, which were beautiful! Along the way we saw a coyote, snake, and newt. From there, we drove to the Ahwahnee Hotel which was really amazing. Then we stopped at the Yosemite Village Store to find some cell service, do our NY Times puzzles, and buy some more beer. Then we returned to the campground for a pizza dinner hanging around, drinking, and sitting by a campfire. A fabulous day all around!

May 16: We slept in a little bit today, had a pancake breakfast, and then prepared lunch and dinner for the rest of the day as we planned on being out all day exploring more of Yosemite. 

Leaving the campsite around 10 AM, we drove the 60 minutes to Yosemite Valley. We were hoping to get parking near Curry Village, but after driving around for nearly an hour, we finally found parking along a road, needing to park on an angle and getting stuck in sand. We left the car, hoping that either the person in front or back of us would be gone by the time we got back so that we could maneuver the car out. Then we walked over to the Yosemite Valley Lodge, where we picked up the free Yosemite Valley Shuttle to the Happy Isles (16) stop. Our goal was to hike The Mist Trail, a beautiful but crowded hike. Along the way, we could see Yosemite Falls as we hiked up the very steep trail to the bottom of Vernal Fall. Then we walked to the top of Vernal Fall, where we got soaked from the heavy spray (thus the name, The Mist Trail). After that, we walked down via the Clark Point and John Muir Trail. 

By the time we got down, it was around 4:30 PM. We were hoping to go back to Curry Village to take showers, but the shuttle took nearly 45 minutes to pick us up and by that time it was getting really late, so we went back to the car, happy to find enough space to maneuver out of our tough parking spot and drove the 90 minute drive straight up to Glacier Point. On the way up, we saw a mama bear and her little cub in the woods, which was really amazing! After Glacier Point, we continued up the road, stopping just in time to enjoy a gorgeous sunset at Washburn Point with a glorious view of Half Dome. We watched the sunset while eating hors d’oeuvres of chips, salsa, and hummus. We ended the evening a little further up the road at the Glacier Point Viewpoint where we ate dinner and watched the stars. Our niece and nephew came prepared with lots of warm clothes to wear. And while we ate our pre-prepared dinner, they brought out all their camping stove and portable kitchen and cooked an elaborate dinner on the spot, which was great fun to watch! We were lucky to see two shooting stars. Getting really cold around 11 PM, we drove back down to our campsite arriving back around midnight. A long but super amazing day!