Category: Cross Country Trip 2016

Day 20 (7/18) (Lin) We left Los Gatos this morning at 9 am and headed south towards Carmel-by-the-Sea in order to take the coastal route (Rt. 1) to Los Angeles. Our first stop was the 17 Mile Road, which we only did the coastal portion of, and featured beautiful beaches, rocky waterscapes, old and majestic cypress trees, and nice houses, all intertwined amongst the famed Pebble Beach Golf Course. At a few public beaches, the kids loved climbing around on the rocks and (separately) seeing harbor seals playing in the water and sunning themselves on rocks.

From Carmel we headed south through Point Lobos State Reserve and stopped briefly at a beach for the kids to run around a bit. Just south of there, we entered Big Sur more properly, and we were captivated by the stunning rocky vistas that seemed to be around every corner for hours on end. I think we (and Jo especially, who has done the majority of the driving on this trip!) got tired of turns and bends after a while, and we had to limit our stops for photos, since there were so many places to pull off. Seeing (and crossing) the iconic Bixby Bridge was fun, of course.

We decided to try to get off the beaten path just a bit, however, and drove back a narrow one-lane winding road to Pfeiffer Beach, a sprawling beach at the bottom of looming cliffs and with a large rock formation that sort of split the beach. The rock formation had two neat holes/arches in them that the water crashed through. It was windy and surprisingly chilly, but the kids messed around in the sand and in the shallow water for a while. On the road again, we stopped much farther down to see a whole beach of elephant seals sunning themselves. The kids enjoyed their loud, er, belch-like sounds, and the way they jostled each other around. Just north of Santa Barbara we stopped for dinner (In-N-Out, what else?) as we entered hill country and left the coast. We were treated to a soft pink, orange, and purple sunset with an almost full moonrise.

We arrived at our friends’ house—the Kuzmic-Croccos—in Valencia (just north of LA) around 10. A long but fun day. As I told the kids, the journey was part of the destination today.

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Day 19 (7/17). (Lin) We finally officially completed the coast to coast leg of this trip – we touched the Pacific! More on that soon. Today was a nice change of pace in many ways. We all slept in, and the kids got up and watched TV with our friends’ kids while eating breakfast. Score. On recommendation from Lisa, we stopped by Philz, the local coffee and pastry joint, and got delicious dark roast coffee, donuts, and croissants. We attended the church that our friend, Dave, is the pastor of, helped pack 400 lunches for homeless people in San Jose, and then headed into San Francisco.

Somehow we missed the memo that San Francisco is cold and foggy in the summer time. All day long. Middle of July. When we left Los Gatos, it was in the low 80s, clear and sunny. Our first planned stop in San Francisco was at Twin Peaks, usually a lovely way to see the city and bay from up high. On the way in, however, the clouds and fog begin building up and the temp dropped sharply. By the time we unloaded at the top of the lookout, the temp had dropped 25 degrees at least, and it was super windy, and you couldn’t see more than 20 feet from the overlook. Hello, San Fran! We scrounged some long sleeves out of our Thule carrier and spent the rest of the day simply freezing and mismatched with hoodies and sweatshirts over church clothes.

Nonetheless, we had a good time in the city. We briefly drove through Golden Gate Park stopped at Baker Beach, on the west side of the Golden Gate Bridge. We all got to stick our feet in the Pacific Ocean for the first time, which means we can officially check the coast to coast thing off of our bucket list for this trip. The water was cold, but the waves were fun, and the Golden Gate Bridge was in the background.

From there, we fought traffic and went to the Golden Gate Bridge welcome center and looked around a bit. We followed the trail down to Point Fort under the bridge. It was super windy and cold, but also fun. From there we drove to Lombard Street (the curviest street in America), which was so backed up Jo and the kids walked down it.

From there it was to Fishermen’s Wharf, where we met some other friends (formerly from Boston) for dinner at Fishermen’s Grotto. Dinner on the second floor overlooking the downtown was lovely, and included a whole crab, crab cakes, clam chowder, and fish and chips. Dessert was incredible hot chocolate (and liquid chocolate) at Ghirardelli Square.

On the way out of the city, we drove down Lombard Street, since the traffic had lessened considerably. Of course, as we drove south the skies cleared and the temperature rose again. So fascinating.

(Click on photos to see larger versions.)

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Day 18 (10/16). (Lin) A mostly travel day today. We got up early again to beat the crowds at Yosemite, which definitely paid off. We hiked the Lower Yosemite Falls trail, which gave nice views of the Upper and Lower Falls. The kids played on the rocks and in the water, which was freezing cold. From there we drove to the Bridalveil Falls trail, which was another easy and short one. We enjoyed watching the wind shift the waterfalls to the right and left, and then allow it to come straight down.

On the way out of Yosemite, we saw the long lines of cars waiting to park and even get into the park itself – an indication of how busy it gets on the weekend, I suppose. We were glad to be heading out!

The drive west towards San Francisco was interesting, with diverse landscapes. The more mountainous hills gave way to rolling hills of dry yellow grasses, almost like the African safari. And then we hit the central valley, with all of its artificially watered massive fields of every kind of fruit trees and vegetables imaginable, as well as almond trees and cornfields. We stopped at two different farm stands for cheap and immediately fresh fruit – including cute little avocados, cherries, apricots, figs, and strawberries.

Along the way, we kept passing wineries, so I finally picked one out ahead of us on Google maps, Creekview Vineyards, and it turned out to be serendipitously wonderful. What was supposed to be a short 15-minute tasting turned into almost an hour stop, as the owner gave our kids a bag and shears and told them to go pick as much fruit in the large fruit tree and bush section as they wanted. Meanwhile, I sat there tasting wine after wine and eating the delectable cheeses, crackers, and specialty meats that the wine club members shared. Mmm. After a while, the kids came back with a bag full of plums, apples, peaches, etc., and we had to hit the road. Highly recommend Creekview if you are in the area!

We arrived at our friends’ house—the Watermulders—in Los Gatos around 5 and headed to their friend’s house for a swim and dinner, which the kids were happy for after a half day of driving. So fun to hang and relax with old friends. Tomorrow we can truly sleep in for the first time in a while.

(Pics are best viewed by clicking on the first one and scrolling through the slideshow.)

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Day 17 (7/15) (Everyone – joint post) Another early start today to beat the crowds in Yosemite Valley and grab a parking spot. We opted to hike the Vernal Fall trail. It started out as a steep, paved, uphill trail, and we thought that was tough enough in some spots. And then we reached the stairs – 600 of them, often large and really steep! Well before we reached stairs, however, there was a nice bridge that crossed the river and gave a far-away view of the falls. The trail is called the “mist trail,” although the reason for it mystified us until we felt water in the air, which we almost missed. (Sorry – we pass time with bad puns.) The stair section of the trail afforded gorgeous views of the falls and the valley below, including a full rainbow created by the mist. The stairs took us right up almost even with the main part of the falls, and then hugged the cliff to the very top of the falls. Coming down was a bit easier, but more treacherous, especially in the misty wet area. Still, a very long six miles and up and down 1,000 feet in elevation!

After a quick lunch at the van, we fought traffic in the valley and found parking near the main visitor center, where Helena and Harrison handed in their Junior Ranger Paperwork (they had been fulfilling various duties throughout, including filling a trash and recycling bag of things they found along the trails). We also watched a movie and grabbed ice cream and drinks.

It’s amazing how crowded the Valley gets – just lines and lines of cars waiting to park and move through intersections. Back in the van, we drove until we were along side of El Capitan, likely the most famous and hardest rock climbing face in North America. Lin and Eden especially really wanted to hike in to the base of the face, but there isn’t an officially marked trail. We lucked out, though, and found a pretty decent unmarked rock climbers’ trail that took us straight to the dawn wall of El Cap (so called because the morning sunlight hits only that face), close to the nose that runs up the entire face. It was spell-binding. We all just sat or laid there, looking up 3,000 feet to the top. We all took a crack at climbing it, but couldn’t even make it a few feet. I’m sure there are other better places to start. And, ahem, we aren’t exactly rock climbers. But it gave us a whole new appreciation for people who go up that face. Wow. After 45 minutes or so of just basking in the power of that sheer granite wall, we hiked out again and headed back to the hotel for a quick swim and dinner.

After dinner we took a long drive up to Glacier Point, which is an incredible overlook high above the valley floor. On the way, though, we stopped at the Tunnel View lookout, which gives an amazing view looking eastward of the entire valley. The evening sun was just perfect and soft. As we climbed the long road to Glacier Point, it got brighter, as we got up out of the valley. So bright, in fact, that we decided to try to quickly hike to the top of Sentinel Dome (close to Glacier Point, and famed for its 360 degree views of the valley), but after half a mile, we realized it would take us too long, and we’d miss the sunset at Glacier Point. So we ditched that and headed to Glacier Point, where we watched the truly beautiful sunset over Yosemite Valley. The colors in the east (away from the sunset) turned an amazing pink and purple, and the light lingered on Half Dome, Cloud’s Rest, and all the other peaks for minute after minute. Finally, around 9, it was dark, but the mountains in the distance were still bathed in a soft glow. It was magical. Lin is pretty sure Glacier Point is one of his happy places.

It was a long, 14 hour day, and we likely logged over 10 miles of arduous hiking. I think we will all sleep well tonight!

(Note: if you click on the pictures, you can see them all larger in a slide show. Still very slow internet, so only a few pics.)

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Day 16 (7/14) (Lin) After a solid night’s sleep in South Lake Tahoe (and gorging ourselves on the continental breakfast), we wanted to see a bit more of Lake Tahoe before heading south to Yosemite. We drove to Emerald Bay, on the southwest side of the lake, to Inspiration Point, and then hiked a short trail to Eagle Falls. Both were lovely, and we had to pull ourselves away. There were also a lot of people at both places! Parking was difficult for the hike especially.

On the road again, we headed south through the Sierra Nevadas to Mono Lake, just outside the eastern entrance to Yosemite. The road south to Mono Lake, however, took us through several astonishing mountains, passes, and valleys! Steep curving roads through the mountains, rugged snow capped mountains on either side, and then sweeping valley vistas, always with mountains in the distance. Our kids cannot believe this is all within one state! Spoken like true Rhode Islanders, I guess.

Mono Lake, like the Great Salt Lake, has high levels of salt and minerals. We drove to the south side of the lake to where a significant collection of tufas (mineral stalagmites) were along the water. It was super hot, but really beautiful, with the blue sky, the multiple blues of the lake water, and the whites and grays of the tufas. It reminded me a bit of Barbados, which has a lot of coral rocks. We opted not to swim (since there weren’t any showers).

From Lake Mono, we finally headed into Yosemite proper, via the east entrance through the Tioga Pass, which was in itself amazing (9945 ft. elevation, our highest so far, I think!). From there we descended into the Toulumne Meadows in the high country of Yosemite. Granite domes started popping out everywhere — huge towering mounds and mountains, mostly free-standing. We stopped at Tenaya Lake, which is a gorgeous lake tucked between towering granite mountains.

After Tenaya, we stopped at Olmsted Point, which is an amazing lookout that gives you a view of Half Dome from a long way off. It was really pretty, and cool to see Half Dome. The rest of the drive to the valley floor of Yosemite was highly wooded, although often with beautiful redwoods or some sort of very tall redwood type trees. Occasional lookouts allowed amazing vistas out onto and over the mountains. As we descended into the valley, one particular lookout gave a really unique view of El Capitan and Half Dome close together, although from miles away.

We reached the valley floor around 7 pm, and decided it was too late to make it up to Glacier Point for the sunset. So we did a loop around the valley and took in the incredible views of the towering mountains and formations above us. The moon was out, and the soft setting sun illuminated the upper portions of many of the mountains and granite walls. The Upper Yosemite Falls were also beautiful, although the were in the shadows. I admit to being totally mesmerized by these towering granite mountains and walls!

After a quick tour of the valley, we went to our hotel in El Portal, which turned out to be a huge complex with four swimming pools. Dinner by the pool with the sunset in the background and a nice swim made for a good end to an excellent day. Tomorrow we get up early to beat the crowds for some hikes.

(Note: Due to a slow internet connection, I wasn’t able to upload as many pictures. Hopefully that will improve in the next few days. Perhaps this is good, since I’ve been posting too many pictures anyway!)

Day 15 (7/13). (Elliot) We got up this morning and we got ready for the long drive ahead – about nine hours to Lake Tahoe. The landscape across Utah and Nevada was mostly flat, with mountains in the distance. Sometimes the road was extremely straight and it looked like it went on forever. It was so hot and flat that we saw mirages on the road and sand – it looked like the mountains were floating.

The coolest part of the drive was beating a hard level in Geometry Dash. Okay, really, the coolest part was these amazing salt flats [in northern Utah]. The salt flats were super white and flat and went on and on, about seven miles to the mountains in the distance. We stopped and walked out on them – some of us ran way far out on the flats, but we didn’t seem to get any closer to the mountains! The salt flats were so bright they hurt our eyes. The salt also stuck to our feet and shoes. Some of us walked and ran barefoot on the salt. Close by was the place where the record for the land speed was set – over 600 miles per hour! [The Bonneville Speedway.]

To pass time on the drive, we played screen time, read, slept, ate, looked at the landscape, and watched a movie. When we got close to Lake Tahoe, we had to drive through the mountains. We finally saw the lake from up in the mountains. My Dad told us that it is 1,600 feet at the deepest part!

From our hotel we walked a short distance to a nice beach on Lake Tahoe. The lake was super shallow at the beach, and we could walk way out and it was only up to our waist. Lake Tahoe’s water was fresh and we sank easily – compared to the Great Salt Lake we swam in yesterday, that was salty and made us float. The water was fairly warm. It was weird seeing snow in the mountains above us as we swam in the lake! It was so beautiful, so we stayed for several hours and ate our dinner on the beach as the sun went down. We played in the sand and then also went swimming after sunset since the water felt warm compared to the cool air. The sky had a cool orange glow for a long time. As it got dark, we could see Mars close to the moon. And now, off to bed in our hotel.

(As always, the best way to view the photos is to click on the first one and scroll through the slide show).

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Day 14 (7/12). (Harrison) Okay, so this morning we ate breakfast and changed and had some screen time. We went to Salt Lake City and we saw some Mormon temples and buildings and we saw some cool buildings. We met one of Daddy’s friends who is from Salt Lake City and he showed us around some of the Mormon buildings. We went into the Mormon Tabernacle building and heard a guy playing a huge pipe organ that had gigantic pipes and pencil-sized pipes. After that we went into a library and we saw some old books, including an old early Mormon hymnal from the 1830s and a first edition of the Book of Mormon. [Lin: okay, so I’m prompting Harrison a bit here. It was a heavy history and religion day for a 7-year-old!] We also went into the visitor center and saw a large statue of Jesus.

After that, we were STARVING, so we went to the Red Iguana for some good Mexican food. My dad said it is a famous place to eat [thanks to those who recommended this place! Yum.]. Then we did a short but steep hike up Ensign Peak. It was high at the top! We could see a lot from the top, including the city, the mountains and the Great Salt Lake.

After the hike we went to swim in the Great Salt Lake [Antelope Island], and it was very salty. You could float without helping yourself float! We just floated around for a long time. There were also a lot of small flies near the lake that would fly up in small clouds when we chased them. Elliot loved to chase them, and he looked like Pigpen from Peanuts. Then we dried off and had a quick shower to get all the salt off of our bodies.

Then we went to Target for snacks for our long drive tomorrow, and then we went to In-N-Out for burgers. That was my first time at In-N-Out. Mommy and Daddy say it is a famous place, but we don’t have any of them in Rhode Island. Then we went to bed.

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Day 13 (7/11). (Helena) Today when we woke up in our Yellowstone Lodge, we packed up and we drove to Grand Teton National Park [Lin: we unfortunately learned today that the three largest peaks of the Tetons were called “les trois tétons” by French fur traders. The translation? “The three breasts.” Uh…time for a new name for this national park, anyone?] While we were driving there (still in Yellowstone), it started snowing. Mom said it was 34 degrees! When we got out at the Tetons, it was freezing, so we layered up. We stopped at a lookout at Jackson Lake, but the peaks were all covered by clouds. We kept driving along the lake and stopped at Jackson Lake Lodge. We went for a hike on the Lunch Tree Trail, which ended at an amazing lookout. Along the trail there were many unusual plants, and one kind that looked like super-sized dandelions with seed pods that we enjoyed blowing off. From the top of the trail, normally we could have seen all the mountains, but the tops of them were still in the clouds. It was still beautiful. From the lodge, we could see a large flat valley between us and the mountains, and my mom really wanted to see a moose. But we didn’t, even though there were supposed to be moose in that area. After the hike, we got hot chocolate and pastries while we sat in the lodge and looked at the mountains.

Then we drove to Jenny Lake, where we took a ferry boat across the lake. We hiked a one-mile trail that went up almost 500 feet to Inspiration Point. Our trail took us past several falls on the river. From the top, we could see the whole lake below and lots of mountains in the distance. There were also lots of chipmunks that came right up to us. The trail got pretty scary at the top, with a drop off on the right. We hiked down and took the boat back across. The weather was clearing a little bit, and the main mountain, the Grand Teton, actually peeked through the clouds enough for my dad to finally get his picture.

Then we got back into the van and drove through Wyoming, a corner of Idaho, and then into Utah, to Ogden, where we are staying in the home of some friends.

We forgot to mention that we saw a bald eagle yesterday and some sand hill cranes. We also saw a bald eagle nest along the highway today after we left the Tetons.

(As always, the best way to view the photos is to click on the first one and scroll through the slide show).

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Day 12 (7/10). (Eden) We were off to an early start this morning, after another short stop for the night in Canyon Village. Unfortunately, it started pouring soon after we got on the road, but Yellowstone is beautiful in any weather! The rain did get annoying, and our trip to a petrified tree (which seemed to petrify Helena and Harrison) wasn’t as enjoyable in the downpour.

The animals didn’t seem to mind the rain that much because right away we saw a deer and two more black bears! I’ve almost gotten tired of bison because they’re everywhere, but it’s still cool to see any animal.

Our next stop was Mammoth Springs, a series of small springs that spewed warm sulfur-y steam. The formations created by the years of bacteria leaking out of the springs were amazing!! They created weird stairs and bubbly foam shapes that were super unique and colorful.

From there, we went back to Montana and walked back a half mile trail to where the Boiling River meets the Gardner River. It creates a warm place to swim, like a natural hot tub. It was kind of gross once you stopped to think about all the bacteria that was probably in the water, but felt lovely compared to the chilly air. We just sat and soaked up the warmth before bracing ourselves for the trek back to the van.

Then we headed to more mini springs. The contrast there between the bright orange rock and vivid blue pools was amazing! In other areas, with the steam, gray and black rocks, and half-sunk bare trees, it seemed almost post-apocalyptic, and had a different sense of beauty.

Next was the Grand Prismatic Spring! There was so much steam surrounding the boardwalk that my glasses fogged up and I couldn’t see two feet in front of me! The experience might be compared to walking in a cloud–you come out with tiny water droplets all over your clothes and body–except pleasantly warm. (I also don’t know what walking in a cloud is like….) Unfortunately, all this steam obscured most of the famous colors of the Grand Prismatic. We could see the bright orange and some blue, which was still pretty, and some of the nearby pools had great hues too.

And then, what we’d all secretly been waiting for: Old Faithful! (Or, as we like to call it, Young Traitor, because we’re weird and opposite like that.) We had to wait almost forty minutes and by this point, the temperature was around 40 degrees, so we were lucky there was a nearby lodge that we could seek refuge in. Almost exactly at the predicted eruption time, finally, finally, it started to spray water! It didn’t reach the 100 feet height we’d been looking forward to, but the amount of steam that it released was terrific!

After that, it was a quick dinner, a quick stop at the Continental Divide, a quick look at the fresh snow on the mountains way across Yellowstone Lake, and on to the lodge we’re staying at on the shore of Yellowstone Lake. Like last night, it has sketchy wifi but it’s an interesting experience to be in the middle of the country without reliable connection!

(As always, the best way to view the photos is to click on the first one and scroll through the slide show).

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Day 11 (7/9). (Lin) Up early and on the road after a shorter night and big breakfast in Sheridan, Wyoming. It was dark when we arrived at midnight last night, so we woke up to a nice view of the mountains looming to the south and east. We chose to take Rt. 14 through the Bighorn National Forest to Yellowstone (instead of 90), and it turned out to be totally amazing. Climbing up through the mountains was so beautiful, and then on the backside we descended slowly through gorgeous rugged passes and valleys. Even afterward, the mountains were constantly in the distance, with more rugged bluffs a bit closer. Cody was a surprisingly large town, and seemingly bustling and fun, nestled in the mountains. It is really the last large-ish town before Yellowstone when approaching from the east.

Climbing into Yellowstone was also amazing. Ascending up to Sylvan Pass, there was, rather inexplicably, a bison trudging uphill in the middle of the road. I’m not sure how it got on the narrow mountain highway (with a sheer rock wall on one side and a guardrail on the other), but there it was (pic below). There is still snow on some of the higher mountains (including the Tetons, which we saw way in the distance at one point). We stopped to frolic a bit at Yellowstone Lake after descending from Sylvan Pass. Since the weather was lovely, we headed straight for the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone to see the upper and lower falls. They didn’t disappoint! Eden, Elliot, Helena, and I also hiked down Uncle Tom’s trail, which involved a steep and precarious descent of 350+ steps to a little outlook close to the lower falls (the larger of the two). Artist’s Point was also very nice, although more crowded.

From there we decided to drive through Lamar Valley, where wildlife abounds. We saw so many bison that, frankly,after a while we hardly stopped unless one (or 50!) were crossing the road, which happened several times. In addition to bison, we saw pronghorn deer, pelicans, and various birds. Oh, and BEARS! That was outside of Lamar Valley, on the way back. A mama bear and her cubs were grazing and hanging out right on the side of the road. Really lovely. But no wolves, as Jo wanted. We did manage to reach Montana, however, by driving almost the whole way out to the northeast entrance! That made Helena happy (since Helena is the capital of Montana). Hilariously, we were not the only ones – a whole line of cars turned around almost immediately after crossing over into Montana! I think that makes 28 states we will hit on this trip.

The drive back from Lamar Valley was really lovely in the soft late evening glow. At one point a thunderstorm moved through, which created a full double rainbow (a bit faint, but pic below). And then later a sudden hailstorm hit, too. A little nuts. Tonight we are in the Canyon Lodge, were there is no internet (except for up the hill in the main lodge), so this will be posted sometime in the future.

Our overall impressions of Yellowstone so far: 1) it is huge (takes really long to drive everywhere!); 2) it has super diverse terrains and topographies (and changes between them quickly); 3) it is stunningly beautiful. Overall, the crowds have not been crazy, even with it being the 100^th anniversary of the National Parks System, and with Yellowstone being the most popular of them all (and in peak season).

Note: if you click on individual pictures, it pulls up a larger version of it (can see them all in a slideshow).

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