Yosemite National Park, California

So after a wee shuffle-round of our itinerary, we eventually made it into the final national park of our trip - Yosemite. We had two full days in the Park; our first was spent crossing the Sierra Nevada mountains on scenic Tioga Road and the second exploring Yosemite Valley.

Our first stop along Tioga Rd was Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias (the largest trees in the world). Here John demonstrates the huge size of these ancient trees (some date back well over 1500 years).
MC and a fallen giant sequoia.
Squirrel at Olmsted Point, where we stopped for lunch.
Olmsted Point, pretty spot for a picnic.
Another view from Olmsted Point.
John acting the goat at Tuolumne Meadows, the largest subalpine meadow in the Sierra Nevada.
Tuolumne Meadows sits in the heart of Yosemite's high country at an elevation of 8575 feet.
Tuolumne Meadows.
We went for a hike up Lembert Dome and discovered Dog Lake on the way.
Dog Lake.
At the top of Lembert Dome.

MC and Lembert Dome in the background.
Sun going down on Lake Tenaya...
...and Olmsted Point...
...and Tuolumne Grove.
The next day we set off to explore Yosemite Valley.
We were there in time to see the last of the fall colour in the leaves.
We hiked up to the top of Vernal Fall.
View from the top; Vernal Fall crashing into the Merced river.
Merced river; you can see the top of Vernal Fall in the middle background.
Acorn woodpecker; he pecks holes in the wood to store his acorns in.
Grumpy MC at Lower Yosemite Falls (John had obviously done something annoying again).
Yosemite Falls - you can see Upper Falls on the right and Lower down on the left in this shot. These falls are the fifth tallest in the world at 2425 feet.
Deer roaming the carpark at Bridalveil Fall.
Bridalveil Fall.
View of the Valley from Glacier Point.
We were fighting the rapidly subsiding daylight to make it to the last stop of the day, Mariposa Grove, Yosemite's largest cluster of giant sequoias (about 500 mature trees).

After two great days in Yosemite we were headed back into the big city; this time San Francisco.

Lake Tahoe

After exploring Death Valley, our original rough itinerary had us crossing west onto the Tioga Pass Road bringing us into Yosemite National Park. However, as we approached the turnoff we discovered the pass was closed (in anticipation of a storm which never eventuated, we found out later; the road was open the next day!) so instead we continued north toward Lake Tahoe.

We stayed the night in Lone Pine, not far out of Death Valley. The picturesque setting is thanks to the Sierra Nevada mountain range which runs 640km north-to-south between California and Nevada.
We stopped for lunch in Mammoth Lakes, a pretty alpine town.
Us and the first snow at Mammoth Lakes.
Gorgeous Lake Tahoe. We drove the 72-mile circumference of the lake - the following photos are taken from the beautiful undeveloped eastern shores.
Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America.
It is also America's second deepest lake.
Much to John's amusement MC went for an unintended dip around this spot after stepping on a very slippery log!
However John's laughter abated as we rounded a corner of boulders and discovered a middle-aged male nudist spreadeagled on a rock!

Emerald Bay on the south side.
Reflections on the western shore.
John playing on the big boulders.
The top of Lower Eagle Falls plummeting into Emerald Bay.
Eagle Falls.

After a great time driving round Tahoe, we set off the next day for another go at getting into Yosemite National Park!

Death Valley National Park, California

Rejuvenated after a luxurious few nights in Vegas, we were on the road again, headed for some more national park action - this time in Death Valley, California. This area is a land of extremes - holding the US records for hottest temperature (57 deg C), lowest point (Badwater, 282ft below sea level) and largest national park outside Alaska (over 5000 square miles).

Zabriskie Point - golden badlands eroded into waves and gullies.
MC at Zabriskie Point.
Down the road from here on Dante's Peak you can simultaneously see the highest (Mt Whitney, 14,505ft) and lowest (Badwater) points in the USA.
Sun setting over Zabriskie Point.
Pretty skies over our campsite in Death Valley. The lovely warm weather meant this was our most comfortable night camping (in fact most of the facilities are closed in summer due to the scorching climate), despite being woken around 1am by scary howling coyotes!
Unfortunately our tent poles are still at this campsite after John (I MEAN, we) left them there. This was mostly due to the fact that we had to pack up in a hurry early in the morning after our tent blew over in hurricane-style winds!
Badwater, the lowest point in the USA.
John on the crinkly salt flats at Badwater.
The salt up close.
The salt crust forms hexagonal shapes.
Badwater again.
Natural Bridge.
John exploring in the canyons around Natural Bridge.
Badwater in the distance from Natural Bridge.
Multicoloured cliffs at Artists Palette.
Mesquite Flat sand dunes.





It's hot and dry here!
John in Mosaic Canyon.
A Zebra-tailed lizard we spotted hiding in Mosaic Canyon.
MC at Mosaic Canyon.
The rock at Mosaic Canyon is as smooth as marble.
Us at Mosaic Canyon.
Joshua tree.

After a fun day in Death Valley we stayed the night in Lone Pine, on the way to our next stop, Lake Tahoe.