Yosemite National Park

the next day we drove to Yosemite National Park! this stunning view is the first thing you see when you come out of the tunnel into Yosemite Valley.

it is definitely a memorable first impression. 

 the waterfall you see is Yosemite falls.

 Jason forgot to take off his headphones for the pic- ha! he listens to audio books in the car while I listen to music. 

 a couple of guys asked if I could take their pic and I said sure. then they said - now it's gonna get a little weird - then they started taking off their shorts and were wearing American flag speedos ha! they wanted a pic of their backs looking off into the scenery. later Jason and I wished I had gotten a pic with them for my "where's Momo?" game I play with my family. it would've been pretty funny :)

we didn't have a campsite reserved for that night so we had to quickly find one before doing anything else. we knew we wouldn't be able to find a campsite in the Valley because it is the most crowded area so we drove higher up where it is way less crowded. we were lucky and find a spot in the first campsite we went to that was only about 30 minutes from the valley. we were relieved to find one without having to look for very long. since we had somewhere to sleep for the night we then went out exploring.
we stopped to explore this little waterfall along the side of the road under a bridge. 

 we picked up a couple of backpackers here since they were going the same direction and took them to the lake. I want to backpack through Yosemite someday. specifically I want to hike the John Muir trail which passes through Yosemite. 

this is Tuolumne meadows.

we saw a bunch of deer in the meadow grazing far away but this one was right on the trail. 

 we started driving back to our campsite as the sun was setting. we passed the lake again and the mountain looked golden.

 we set up our tripod and got lots of pics of the both of us.

 

we sat apart so you can see Half Dome in the background. 

the mosquitoes were biting us like crazy here and you can see one on Jason's head below.

we went back to our campsite, made dinner, then relaxed by the campfire. we had a great first day in the park and couldn't wait to explore some more!

Joshua Tree

this summer Jason and I didn't embark on any three week cross country road trips like we had the past two years. we did go on a 9 day road trip though where we exclusively explored California. we revisited some of the same places as last year and also went to some we had never been before. my love has grown for the state of California and it's never ending beauty. 

our first destination was Joshua Tree national park. I have driven past the turnoff for Joshua Tree countless times on the way to San Diego but I had never actually been there. we still have our National Parks pass from last years road trip so we figured it's a better time than ever to see it. everyone had always told me that it was boring desert landscape and not worth going but I definitely disagree. living in the desert I have seen my fair share of desert plants but there is nothing in Arizona like the Joshua trees.

after we entered the park we drove for a half hour or so until we came to the Cholla cactus garden. we have plenty of Cholla cacti in AZ (we call them jumping cactus) but I've never seen so many in one location. as kids we always were afraid the cactus spines would jump onto us but they don't actually jump. they are called that because their spines easily detach when touched. I had never noticed their ombré-like color before and it is very beautiful.

 we continued driving and as we got further into the park the Joshua trees became more abundant.

we drove some more and stopped to climb some cool rocks.

this rock is called "Skull rock" for obvious reasons. way cool. 

 this tree was massive.

we really enjoyed Joshua Tree and its unique landscape. parts of it definitely looked otherworldly. we spent most of the day there and that evening we ate dinner in Palm Springs. 
we have driven by these giant dinosaurs many times but have never stopped until this trip. you can go inside the large one and there is a little shop inside. 

we stayed around Bakersfield that night and got a good nights sleep in preparation for camping the next few days.