California - Death Valley, Yosemite, Sequoia

We've been having a wonderful time touring California and visiting with friends for the past two weeks or so. California seems to have something for everyone, with a full range of different environments (coastal, desert, mountain), vibrant city life, and a fair amount of natural fauna (from sea otters to slow motion road crossings of tarantulas)

From left: Ben, Ricky, Sophie's mum, Sophie, Joe, Karen



And...best of all (as Karen states) this is where Jelly Belly jelly beans are made! Paying homage to their mighty governator with one of their famous jelly bean mosaic pictures was only half the attraction! But this was a great free factory tour and we had a really fun time - they even let us keep the hats!



Between staying with friends and seeing the JB factory, we also managed to squeeze in a few national parks - here are the highlights:

Death Valley - The hottest and driest location in the US. However, we experienced the park after a huge rainstorm, which meant that many of the roads were flooded. Imagine that - flooded roads in the desert. This park wasn't as outright visually impressive as other parks (admittedly, our enthusiasm was somewhat deflated by the oppressive heat), but there are several gems tucked away in this massive desert landscape. Unfortunately, the unpaved roads in this park were the worst we've yet experienced, which limited the depth of our exploration, yet one of the highlights had to be hiking in Mosaic canyon - a slot canyon carved through great expanses of polished marble.




Yosemite -
We were shocked to find this park still crowded in the middle of the week at this time of the year. The scenery was beautiful, but somewhat lessened when it's you and 50 other people taking the same picture or walking the same trail. However, the glacier-carved faces of El Capitan and Half Dome never fail to impress. FYI - Yosemite Falls are not falling at this time of the year, though other park waterfalls still contain some water.



Kings Canyon / Sequoia -
Lured into Kings Canyon by the promise of seeing black bears (we've been in bear country for 2 months and haven't yet seen one....the closest we've come is bear scat.....at least we think it was bear scat), it turned out to be a very scenic trip into true wilderness. Very few people shared the park with us, which was a welcome change from Yosemite valley. We wandered alone through alpine forests, crossing pristine streams next to towering granite cliffs.....but still no bears.



Adjoining Kings Canyon to the south is Sequoia National Park. Sequoia trees are amazing - not only tall, they have a massive girth....they look like something out of a cartoon. These trees are beautiful to look at, with rounded tops and warm red bark (which can be up to 2 feet thick!). The General Sherman tree, which Ben stands in front of, is considered to be the largest living tree on the planet (by volume). Some stats: ~2200 years old, 275 ft (~84 m) tall, with a base diameter of 36.5 ft (11 m). Unbelievable.



Not that anyone ever reads this (you're allowed to make comments, you know), we're headed back east along interstate 10 towards friends in Texas. Then it's the long haul back to PA.

PS - if you know anyone interested in a 2001 red Chevy Blazer.... let us know!