Autumn in Arkansas and Trip to Ponca

October 18, 2012---Thursday,
,
One nice thing about being retired is that we can take a trip during the week when places are not so crowded.
The leaves have started turning to their fall colors so we decided to drive to Ponca, Ar (by the Buffalo River) for the day to look at leaves and take a short hike.  It was a very beautiful fall day, eventhough it became very windy by day's end.

The pictures are some of the ones I took during our outing.


This is one of the pretty hill sides in Boxley Valley

Don and I on the Hidden Valley Trail going to Eden Falls.

 

Some of the Trees along the trail..

 

Looking up from the valley floor.

Pretty bluff and trees.

A little water dripping off of a plant.

 

Just a little water was falling from Edan Falls.

 

 

Another pretty tree.

 

 

 

Views along the highway on our way home.

 

The last picture of the day.  We had a great time with great weather!  I can't wait for our next day trip.

 

 



Day two at Yosemite

October 4, 2012--Thursday

We have been away from home 4 weeks today!  WOW!!!

Today we are up early and just had coffee and a power bar on the road.... We have a lot to see today.

Our first stop today was what they call tunnel view in Yosemite.....

Pictures are a little hazy because of the fire, but still beautiful...



El Capitan in fore ground and half dome peaking out in the back.

 

 

 

After viewing this for a while, we went on up to Glacier Point!  Even more beautiful than this.  It over looks the valley with interesting views of half dome and of Vernal Falls, which was the only falls we saw running while in the park.

 

 

Half Dome from Glacier Point.

 

 

View of the valley..... at the bottom is where mirror lake would be.

 

 

Here we are!!

 

 

 

View of the waterfall viewed from glacier point.

 

 

This interesting view is of the back side of half dome.

 

After staying at Glacier Point for a while enjoying the views, we are on to the Meriposa Grove where the big Sequoia trees of Yosemite park are.

 

 

Big trees, bigger than the redwoods.

 

 

 

Standing tunnel tree.  People used to drive their old cars through this tree.  Now just people go through it.

 

 

This is the fallen tunnel tree.  It fell in 1962 after many years of wagons and cars passing through it.

 

Don and I beside the fallen Tunnel Tree.

 

After viewing these big giant trees, we drive back towards camp, stopping at the Tunnel View one more time.  The view was a little clearer this time.

 

 

We then went on down to the valley floor for a last look at El Capitan!

The interesting story here is that rock climbers make their way up the face of the mountain.  It takes them about 3 days to get to the top so they have to spend the night on the face of the mountain on cots that hang from the mountain!  It is said that at night you can look up the mountain and see the lanterns from the climber's cots along the face of the mountain.

 

We saw about 5 or 6 climbers this time around. 

 

 

Look closely and you can see one of the climbers going up the face of the mountain.  That below him is his gear that he will haul up with him.

 

We have had a great day here at Yosemite National Park.  Tomorrow we will slowly start for Arkansas.  It has been a great vacation and we have seen many wonderful places and things.

However, great as the trip has been, we will be very happy to sleep in our own bed.  There is truly no place like home.

 

Until the next Journey through Life!!!



On to Yosemite

October 2, 2012--- Tuesday

After a good night's sleep in a nice Motel 6 in Willows, California, we drove from Willows to a KOA about 23 miles from the entrance of Yosemite.

We drive through Sacramento to Stockton on highway 99.  This was a very busy, busy stretch of highway that Don did not like very much. 

We got to the campground about 2:30 ish.  After checking in and setting up camp, we drove the canyon road to the park for a look see.

I said it was 23 miles to the park entrance... but it took us 50-60 minutes to make it inside the park. 
The is a narrow, well traveled road along the Merced River.  It is a very beautiful drive, but somewhat narley.

One place we had to stop at a stop light to go on a one lane road because the road we were to take was under a rock slide.

The closer we got to the park, the bigger the bolders in the river got.

We entered the park at arch rock entrance where we went under outcropping of rocks.

 

 

Next, driving about 10 or so more miles into the park, we see El Capitan..... hard not to notice!!!

 

 

I will write more about this mountain later.

 

We drove on into the village to check out bike rental for tomorrow.  We noticed that there were a lot of people here.  Can't even think how it is in the summer.  Also, there are a lot of foreign travelers speaking several different languages!  We felt like we may have been in another country!

 

We drove back to camp to rest and get ready for the next day's adventure.

 

October 3, 2012---Wednesday...

We got up pretty early because we decided we would ride the commuter bus into the park this day.

Turns out that many people ride the bus to work inside the park daily.

The bus came about 8:15ish.  It took us a while to get into the park because it stoped several times along the way.  Don enjoyed the ride because he could enjoy the views. 

 

We got off at Yosemite Lodge and rented bicycles for the day.  These are "old fashion bikes"  with foot brakes and no gears, but very fun to ride.  This was a good way to explore the valley.  We rode the entire loop of the valley, about 12 miles.

 

You could get off your bike and hike a few trails and no one would bother your bike.  We hike a couple of trails.  One going to lower Yosemite falls, which was not running and to Mirror lake, which did not have any water in it.  It had been a really dry year here.

There were, however very good close up views of "half dome".

 

 

 

Don is pointing where lower Yosemite falls would be if it were running.

 

 

This is a view of half dome from the mirror lake location.

 

We rode on  into Curry Village where there is a "tent city" but we decided that was not for us.

 

 

Don and I with our Bikes....

 

 

Another view of half dome.  It was a little hazy this day bacause there was an active forest fire in another part of the park.  Still impressive!

 

This is a buck deer we saw while riding around the village.  He totally ignored us.

 

 

 Here is a coyote that we saw while on our bikes.  He was crossing the road when we caught site of him.

 

Then just as were about ready to turn in our bikes and catch the bus back to the campground, we happen upon a black bear right in the valley. 

 

 

The bear decides to climb a tree.

 

 

Here he is starting to climb the tree.

 

 

He ended up climbing to nearly the top of the tree.

 

After watching him for a while, we decide it is time to turn in the bikes and catch the bus back to camp.  We really had fun riding around Yosemite Valley.

 

Tomorrow we will drive into the park and explore points outside the valley.

 

 





Leaving highway 101

October 1, 2012--Monday continued.........

Just before getting to Eureka, we headed east on Highway 199....... We are cutting across California and will rejoin I 5.

This was a very beautiful drive, but with steep and curvy mountain roads.  We went from near sea level to over 3000 ft passes.

We also went from a morning temperature of around 50 degrees to a high of 104 near Willows, California, where we spent the night.  Quite a difference.

 

More views on H 199

 

 Pretty slow going on part of this highway with delays because of consturction work.  Not a fan of having to stop on the down hill side of a mountain.  We finally made it to I 5 where the going was a little faster.

We passed several olive groves.  If it had not been so late, we might have stopped for olive tasting.

 

 

California has a lot of people (some rather wierd) and they grow just about everything here.  All along the highway there crops of all kinds.

 



Redwoods, Day 2

October 1, 2012---Monday

After spending the night, we drive on south through the part of the Redwoods that are along the highway. 
After driving not too far, we stopped to view the "Big Tree"

 

Don and Amy in front of "Big Tree"

 

This sign speaks for itself.

 

 

"Big Tree"

 

 

After viewing the big tree, we continue on down the highway.  We get to an area where there are many cars pulled over so we stoped to see what everyone is looking at.  There is a group of Bull Elk walking in a lagoon.  Very interesting.

 

 

 

Just down from where this group of bulls were, we found a bull elk with his group of cow elk.

We continue viewing the elk then continue on down the highway 101 before taking off on Highway 199 just before we got to Eureka....