Pacific Time Part 1

Like you might guess, we didn't hike very much in Death Valley.  On our way to the visitors center towards the middle of the park, we stopped at Zabriskie Point for a cool lookout.  The tan mountains were a texture and shape that made them look soft.  From there we went to the visitors center for a picture by the thermometer and information from the ranger.  The lowest land point in the western hemisphere is Badwater Basin.  On the way there, we took the Artists Palette loop through the colorful mountains.  There were some climbs where the van got a little overheated so we turned off the AC for a few minutes.  The outdoor temperature peaked at 108 degrees while we were there.  After a stop at Badwater Basin, we continued south up and out of the park.

The next park is Joshua Tree.  We drove most of the way and camped along the empty road near the Mojave Desert.  In the morning, we drove the rest of the way to the park and saw the odd-looking Joshua trees.  We did another short hike and read the signs about the local plants and animals.  Rock climbing is very popular there so I had to scramble around on the bolders myself too.  After the hike, we drove to the Cholla Cactus Garden.  There was an abrupt change in scenery as the area was suddenly covered in these very prickly plants.  Bees are attracted to the flowers on the cactuses so there was a warning sign at the beginning of the trail through the garden.

Pinnacles National Park was a few hours away, so we drove most of the way there and camped at Laguna Mountain campground about half an hour from the park.  In the morning, we got up and went to see some condors, the largest North American land bird.  Their wingspan can be up to 3 meters.  They are critically endangered because they get lead poisoning from eating animals that are shot and lost by hunters.  I wasn't able to get a picture, but I saw three of the on the Condor Gulch trail. There were more trails to hike, but the rock formations and the condors are the main attractions, and we covered those.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are very close to each other, sharing a border even.  Sequoia National Park is home to General Sherman, the largest tree by volume.  We hiked around a meadow and along the trail was a cabin made out of a hollowed out sequoia and another sequoia that had been hit by lighning and was hollow but upright.  After that, the parking lot had cleared up and we went to see General Sherman.  It is so big that it's hard to fit in one picture.  We camped in Sequoia National Forest just outside the park so we would be ready to go again in the morning.  Also, most of the park is up in the mountains; we were above 6000 ft for most of the afternoon.

Kings Canyon is split into two sections, and General Grant is in the western.  General Grant is the largest tree by circumference, another massive tree.  After a stop at this tree and the visitors center, we drove down into the eastern section of King's Canyon.  It was spur of the moment, but we decided to rent horses and go for a guided ride along the river at the bottom of the canyon.  Within the first ten minutes of our ride, we saw a bear and her cubs along the river, and the mama was swimming too.  It was a great time. Outside the park, we went to an Ethiopean restaurant which was good; I hadn't had it before.

We had planned to go to Yosemite next, but they are requiring reservations to enter the park.  The soonest we can get in is the 15th, so we are going up to Lassen Volcanic and Redwoods first and then coming back for Yosemite.