From Orinda we took off to Yosemite national park which is probably one of the most famous (and the 3rd oldest) national parks worldwide. And for sure there is a reason why, you will recognize it clearly in the pictures. However, approximately 4 million visitors per year ask for entertainment why the main part, the Yosemite Valley, looks more like a theme park rather than a national park. There are free shuttle busses to the important spots, shops, grocery stores, restaurants, child care, evening entertainment, bus tours next to several hotels, motels and campgrounds. This even became a little problem. We already heard that it’s not the best idea to be spontaneous in Yosemite in terms of accommodation but we were quite shocked when we actually saw it. All camp grounds were completely full and we were put on a waiting list. Then a few spots were drawn from the list, but unfortunately we weren’t lucky, but the nice ranger organised another camp ground for us only a few miles outside the main area. We were, however, quite lucky as it would have been possible that we get a spot outside the park either. Anyway, we saw Mirror Lake which mirrors the cliffs of Half Dome (where we saw our first American snake) and walked to the famous Yosemite Falls, which marks the highest water fall in northern America with 700m. Very impressive!
Even camping in Yosemite is quite an adventure, as there are brown and black bears in the park, who enjoy robbing food of campers. That’s why each camp spot has its own bear box, where one has to store everything with a nice smell, like food or shampoos. Honestly a bit scary, but also really exciting. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to spot a bear and that’s why we took off the next morning to one of the best hikes we did so far. We wanted to see the Vernal Falls, which overshadows most of the falls we’ve seen so far. Just breathtaking! Unfortunately this walk is so famous, that too many people who shouldn’t do such a hike do it anyway. So we had to overtake, stop or wait for some daydreamers, inconsiderate Chinese and chatting teenagers. Even though definitely a recommendation for everyone who might be in the area! If you have the choice, avoid peak season. The best time to be there is probably March – May or October/November, but sometimes roads are closed due to snow…
However, it was already time to say good bye to the Yosemite Village and we drove through the much less crowded north east part of the park towards Mono Lake. Even in summer this part is not too crowded, so it might be a good hint! The drive is an adventure by itself. We camped at Mono Lake (a very very salty lake) in order to drive towards Death Valley the next day. Unfortunately it started raining in the morning, while our tent ended up being in a huge billabong. Hoping to await a break of the rain, we first drove to the visitor centre and left our tent in the rain. The nice ranger helped us figuring out our route and it stopped raining afterwards indeed, why we could store the (extremely dirty) tent in the car. So we were able to see the petrified salt springs in the lake and another totally weird stone formation close to Mammoth Like. Devils Postpile was formed through Lava and glaciers and consists of sometimes perfect hexagonal stone piles. Another strange example of nature‘s forces…
We spent the following night (this time without rain but strong wind) in Lone Pine to (finally) take off to the deepest and hottest spot in Northern America. The Death Valley developed when the northern American and the pacific plate shifted apart from each other, which basically left a huge crack between two high mountain ranges (we learned that while watching a 30 minute movie in the acclimatized visitor centre 😉 ) It is the largest National Park of the States, outside Alaska. The deepest point is 85m (330ft) below sea level and there were 105°F (appr. 45°C). Just too hot to get out of the car and walk, why we basically drove through the valley while doing a few stops on the way and jumped back in the car as soon as possible. Death Valley is absolutely gorgeous and if you’re around in spring it’s definitely worth a longer visit! Just driving through is breathtaking with a lot of panoramic views on different mountain formations in different colours. Red, orange, yellow, violet or green, you name it you see it. We wouldn’t have thought that a desert could be so beautiful. We stopped at the sand dunes, the Golden Canyon, Devils Golf Course (which basically looks like a place where the devil had a few trials punting), Zabriskie Point and of course the famous Badwater Point, as already mentioned 85m below sea level. Additionally, the highest temperature in the US was measured here (56,7°C = 134°F).
After this beautiful experiences, we left Death Valley, that is to say California, and drove to Nevada. But we just crossed this state and the beautiful Red Rocks and the Hoover Dam on the way, because our actual destination was Arizona, the state of the Grand Canyon. Again, we drove through a landscape which doesn’t look real, which gave us a good first impression of the Grand Canyon. With this trip we saw 3 states in a day (3/50 of the US). What waited for us in Flagstaff, where we found our next host for 4 nights, is once again another story.