Revisiting Some Favorites
We had gotten into Mariposa, CA late on Tuesday night with plans to spend the next two days in Yosemite. We lolly-gagged around the house on Wednesday morning and then made the hour long drive into Yosemite Valley that afternoon. Our first stop was to see El Capitan. In preparation for our visit, Jackson and my mom had started watching the documentary Free Solo, which follows climber Alex Honnold as he prepares for and (spoiler alert!) ultimately succeeds at free climbing El Capitan. Cameron and I had watched Free Solo and after seeing it I thought that free climbing (no ropes or safety mechanisms at all) was ludicrous. Seeing El Capitan in person again only reinforced that opinion. I am intrigued by anyone that would stand at the bottom of that 2000’ foot sheer granite rock face and think they should try and climb it with or without any equipment. That’s a level of self-confidence mixed with arrogance that I will never know or understand. After marveling at the grandiosity of El Cap, we popped in the Visitor Center and then walked over to Lower Yosemite Falls. My parents and the kids all seemed impressed with the grandeur of Yosemite that surpasses any other park we have visited so far.
Just like Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, there were a lot of people visiting Yosemite. I have found it hard at times to focus on the natural wonders around me and not get distracted by the hoards of people. As I have previously mentioned in this blog, I have been thinking a lot about the relationship between man and nature. Visiting these many national parks has only affirmed my belief that nature will ultimately win out despite man’s best efforts to bend its will to suit our needs and desires. Over and over again we have witnessed people completely ignoring rules and warnings so that they can satisfy a personal want, like getting a selfie on the edge of a cliff or being able to say they swam above a huge waterfall. And, each time, I look the other way and hurry on in the hopes that we won’t be witness to a horrible accident. We probably saw more of this type of behavior in Yosemite than anywhere else. Thankfully, our kids think its stupid and disrespectful so we don’t have to worry about it with them. I selfishly resent the way it detracts from our experience. I am interested if we will see similar behavior in New Zealand or if it’s a distinctly American characteristic.
Yosemite would be our last chance to do a big hike so we decided to spend Thursday tackling the Vernal and Nevada Falls trail. My parents decided to skip the hike and explore more of the park on their own. Because of where we had to park, a 7 mile hike turned into a 8.5 mile trek. Combining that distance with a 1900’ foot elevation gain made this the hardest hike of the summer. The first section to the top of Vernal Falls was extremely crowded, but that was offset by getting enveloped in the mist from the falls as we climbed up its side and getting a great view back down towards the valley. The trail from Vernal Falls to the top of Nevada Falls and then back down along the John Muir Trail had a lot less people so I think we all enjoyed that section the most. We didn’t know it at the time, but my parents had driven up to Glacier Point at the same time we were at the top of Nevada Falls and were looking down on us as they gazed over at the back of Half Dome. As we descended the trail we started to hear thunder and by the time we made it to Curry Village to meet my parents we were in a downpour. We tried to wait the storm out inside, but ultimately decided to make a run for it, only to sit in traffic for an hour just to get to the park entrance. Grimy, wet, and tired, we ate dinner at our Airbnb that night.
Friday was a travel and errand day for us on our way to Lake Tahoe. My parents decided to take the long route to Tahoe that included going back through Yosemite on the Tioga Pass Rd. and then coming north through western Nevada. This gave them another perspective on the park as the landscape and terrain is quite different there from Yosemite Valley. We had to go a different route to Tahoe so that we could pick up some parts for our car. While in San Francisco we continued to have trouble with the air-conditioning and were able to get it looked at by a mechanic. There were two leaks in two different hoses. They weren’t able to get the parts ordered and work done before we needed to leave for Mariposa. We decided to order the parts from a Hyundai dealer we’d drive by on our way to Tahoe and then have the repair done while we were there.
When Cameron and I spent a week at Lake Tahoe in June 2014 there weren’t a lot of people there so it wasn’t a problem getting into restaurants or finding a parking spot at the beach. Apparently, that all changes in July. Because of the route we chose and our timing we ended up there over a late July weekend and it was a zoo. We got into town Friday evening and there was traffic backed up in the opposite direction for miles for no apparent reason. We were both a little disappointed as we knew it would alter our experience of a place we’d really enjoyed five years ago.
Cameron and I both went on runs on Saturday morning while the kids hung out with my parents. We both noted the difference running at the higher elevation. It didn’t affect my breathing as much as it made it feel like I was running with weights around my ankles. We then decided to go to Pope Beach on the south side of the lake because the drive there would take us by Emerald Bay, one of the most scenic spots in Lake Tahoe. By the time we navigated all the traffic, gave up on getting lunch, and walked half a mile to get to the beach I regretted our plan. The beach was just as crowded as Myrtle Beach on July 4th. We talked to some locals next to us and they said that it was unusually crowded because there was a heat wave in the Sacramento Valley so lots of people had come to the lake to get some relief. Despite water temps around 60 degrees, there were lots of people in the water and our kids, Cameron and my dad all got in and swam. Annoyed with such a crowded beach I rallied everyone to leave and head back to the cabin we were renting near Tahoe City. Ada really wanted to try stand up paddleboarding and Jackson wanted to solo kayak so we walked down to the marina near us and snuck in an hour of paddling before dinner. Ada was a natural on the paddleboard despite some choppy water, while Cameron, Jackson, and I were all able to stand up and paddle for short stints. It is definitely something we want to try again on some calmer waters.
On Sunday, Cameron, my dad, and the kids played golf together while my mom and I spent the afternoon shopping and wandering around Truckee, a really cool town in the Donner Pass about 15 miles from Lake Tahoe. My parents left on Monday morning to get back to San Fran for their Tuesday morning flight. It was great having them with us for ten days, especially for the kids who don’t get to see them for such long stints. There are lots of inside jokes, including a new dictionary of words, made over those ten days that Cameron and I may never be allowed to know. Also, a big thanks for my sister and brother-in-law for watching our dog Scout while my parents came to see us. I know Scout was in heaven as my sister Jess loves dogs as much as she loves people.
After dropping my car off to get the A/C repaired and picking up our rental car, we decided to spend our last day in Tahoe being lazy on top of a mountain. We took the aerial tram to the top of Squaw Valley (8200’ elevation and site of the 1960 Winter Olympics) where we had a great lunch, laid around the pool, and soaked in the hot tub. The kids also checked out the Olympic Museum, tried roller skating, and played some corn hole. The disc golf course was closed because of snow. Apparently, they were still skiing there until early July. Since it was a Monday it wasn’t overly crowded, which of course made it more enjoyable for all of us.
We came down from the mountain in time to pick up my car only to find out that it wasn’t ready and they would need part of Tuesday to get it fixed. This wasn’t ideal as we had an 8.5 hour drive to Park City on the agenda for Tuesday. This was the first real hitch in our plans we had encountered so far this summer. Since it was out of our control we knew we would just have to leave whenever it was ready and hope the drive wasn’t too difficult. Luckily, they got the repair done by early afternoon and we were able to hit the road by 2:00. The drive to Park City ended up being the easiest 8 hours I’ve ever spent in the car. The only downside to leaving so late was that we didn’t have time to stop and check out the sites we drove by and it was dark when we drove by Great Salt Lake so we didn’t actually see it. The best part of the drive was going through the Bonneville Salt Flats as the sun set behind us. That’s a place I would have wanted to stop had we had the time. It was pretty crazy as the salt flats went on for over fifty miles on both sides of the highway. Definitely the flattest place I’ve ever been.
Sunset over the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.