Back to Nature

James woke up and worked out again, and came back to three snoozing girls.  We packed up and headed out as we were ready to get back to nature.

On the way out, I gave another twenty a try, and turned that baby into $60.00!!

Today we drove through the Mohave Dessert, which is not the most scenic, but I am pretty sure that Utah spoiled all future drives.  On this drive we saw the largest solar plant in the world (literally), golden rolling hills, lots of dessert, huge oil fields, vineyards, and lush green orchards.

Foothills to the Sierra Nevadas

James downloaded the audio book Salt that he has wanted to read.  This is a nonfiction book about, yep, salt.  Riveting.  I am learning about the history of salt and how ancient cultures discovered and used salt.  Riveting.  I guess this is why my husband is smarter than me – he truly finds this fascinating.  Meanwhile, I’m just knitting and enjoying the scenery.  La la la.

We stopped for lunch at the Pizza Palace – right off of Route 66.  From the outside, it looked rather sketchy but once again we trusted Yelp.  It was great and cheap!!

We made a stop by a Target to grab some groceries and few items (such as a non mesh laundry bags – those things are for the birds).  It was odd how comforting the Target was.  It was laid out just like our Target and felt familiar and normal.  They had kids movies 3 for $10, so we stocked up on a few for the girls. 

Our GPS told us 6 ½ hours.  Let's just say it LIED!  We left Vegas at 9:30 and we pulled into our lodge at 7:00.  As we got closer to the park, we thought something must be wrong  - we could see no big trees, we were at 400 feet elevation and it was 98 degrees.  James did not believe me that the high in Sequoia was in the 60’s.  I was starting to think he was right (but of course would never admit that).  Less than an hour later, we were driving by the biggest trees imaginable, at 7,000 feet elevation and the temperature was a cool 68 degrees.  The last hour of the drive was just a little over 20 miles but on the curviest and steepest road of the trip yet – speed limit 25 mph!

Just as we were starting to think we couldn’t be wowed too much more by landscapes, we began seeing these enormous trees.  They look like they are straight from a science fiction movie.  I cannot wait to go exploring tomorrow.  We saw waterfalls, streams and an endless forest we want to explore. 

We moved into our room, ate dinner of cereal and oranges, and off to bed to rest up for hiking tomorrow.