Day 14 - Yosemite and beyond

We traveled through Yosemite on highway 120 from east to west. Beautiful drive and not nearly as death defying as some of the roads we've been on. Seriously, we have been taking switchbacks at 10 miles per hour with no guard rails. It was some scary stuff...but now the roads seem positively tame!

Tenaya Lake in Yosemite

Tenaya Lake

Ellis Lake

Good bye Yosemite! You are amazing!

Wish I was years younger so I could

enjoy all the hikes to see the really cool vistas!

The drive from Yosemite to Lone Pine, CA

We drove from Lone Pine up into Mt. Whitney to Whitney Portal.

It was only about an hour, and a pretty easy drive, but the views were amazing!!

Mary, these are the best flower pictures I could find for you today.

Half way up to Mt. Whitney.

Mt. Whitney

Foot hills of Mt. Whitney, these we so cool!

OK, look at these next photos carefully!

These were taken in movie road outside Lone Pine, CA.

Several movies were made here. Link

Mindy got a great shot of the heart in the rocks!!

Yeah, none of it looked familiar to me either!

Isn't it amazing to think that just a few days ago we were in a rain forest
and now we're at this gorgeous, arid landscape!
But just wait...tomorrow we're in DEATH VALLEY!

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Day 23 last day in South Padre

So sad to say goodbye to the beach. But I'll be back some day. It's less than 15 hours from home...that's totally doable. Here's a link to where we stayed. link This was a perfect place for a late September vacation. Very few of the condos appeared to be occupied. We had the hot tub all to ourselves last night! Today we rented chaise lounge chairs and an umbrella and just enjoyed the beach all day long. We had an amazing dinner at Pier 19 where we were able to see dolphins out the window. Now were getting things ready so we can get up at 4 am and start driving home.

Day 24 - Home - Trip Summary

MILES: 7,780 STATES : 15 Missouri Kansas Colorado Wyoming Montana Idaho Washington Oregon California Nevada Utah Arizona New Mexico Texas Oklahoma TRIP PHASES: 4 To the west coast Pacific Coast Highway National Parks Beach Vacation FLAT TIRES: 1 ECO SYSTEMS: 20 Prairies Foot Hills Mountains Geysers Sulphur Springs Lakes Continental Divide Rain Forests Ocean Beach - Pacific Ocean Redwood Forests Vineyards Almond groves Yosemite El Capitan OK, not an eco system, but unlike anything else! Sequoia Forest Desert Death Valley (see El Capitan note) Canyons...some of them even grand Gulf of Mexico Beach - Gulf of Mexico NATIONAL PARKS/FORESTS: 15 Yellowstone National Park Olympic National Park Hoh Rain Forest Redwood National Forest Yosemite National Park Stanislaus National Forest Sierra National Forest Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias Inyo National Forest Death Valley National Park Zion National

Day 18 Grand Canyon and the end of Phase 3

Today we went to Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest National Parks. We are officially done with Phase 3 of our trip - the National Park Phase. And frankly...we're both relieved. The National Parks, while beautiful and awe inspiring...were also kind of a bummer. They were crowded, had limited parking and generally felt like a tourist attraction. Mindy went to several of these when her boys were young...35+ and 20+ years ago. Hearing how the parks have changed over the years was kind of a downer. That being said, I'm so glad I went and was able to this countryside, it is truly unique and majestic. Now that we're done with Phase 3, we both feeling a little energized! We're ready to get up early tomorrow and begin Phase 4...which we've decided to keep secret. If I told you what we're doing, you'd think we're nuts. Better to keep quiet than to confirm that thought! First view of a canyon on the prairie First overlook into Gra

The Adventures of Gypsy-Jackie

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