Sequoias... Because Size Matters!
Sep. 14th, 2021 10:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
waitingmanOur 2nd day in Yosemite... & then heading east
Sept. 18 Tuesday - Yosemite to Barstow
The start of our second week
Another one of those early risings for communal breakfast at 8am. We sat with George & Sue & found out that he was a retired Agent for the IRS... no wonder he tells most people he’s a retired cop instead. Pork chop, scrambled eggs & smashed potato, with that good brewed coffee, was a meal that would keep me going for most of the day. After an extended farewell of new friends & soon-to-be-ex-hosts, we loaded Steve McQueen - the great Escape for our trip through the south of Yosemite & then onwards, with Death Valley & Las Vegas in our sights
All went well ‘til we reached Mariposa Grove, where the Giant Sequoia trees grow. The area’s car parks were full, so we had to backtrack four miles to the town of Wewona & catch a shuttle bus up to the Grove. When we finally got there, we discovered that the main Grove of trees was either a three hour walk or a two hour flatbed trucktour away. However, there were a couple of decent specimens on the ‘Lower Grove’ where we’d arrived, so we had a look at ‘Bigfoot’ – a 1500yr old tree & its near neighbour which was only 800yrs old, so didn’t warrant a name, apparently. While not as tall as the Redwoods of Muir Woods last week, the sheer mass of these trees is incredible. Plant one in the back yard of someone you don’t like & wait for it to take over... it needs hundreds of litres of water each day & its roots will go anywhere to find it
A lone Sequoia, growing at altitude up near Glacier Point. This is the only photo I have of a whole tree... & it was taken from quite a distance!!
This tree fell down 300 years ago... I can only imagine (because I can't remember!!) how old it was when it fell...
The base of 'Bigfoot
The base of 'Bigfoot', with a 5'11" Narrator & Photographer for scale...
'Junior' - only 800 years old
Leaving Yosemite via the south gates, it transpired that this would make getting to Death Valley a huge, time-eating loop that would consume the whole day before we even arrived, so the decision was made to push for Las Vegas instead. Down a long, large freeway which took us close enough to Los Angeles that we could see the smog & there were palm trees planted everywhere, before an off-ramp took us eastward & into the Mojave Desert. Another amazing landscape, with those tree-like cactuses popping up & little hillocks & mounds doing the same all over the desert floor. We detoured to the town of Mojave for fuel & along the way, found where planes go to die...
Fuelled & watered & back onto the main road through the desert. As the sun set behind us, the reds & purples in the sky & on the taller hills were a beautiful sight
Thank god we were driving east... that would be a bugger to have to look into while dodging trucks & traffic!!
Las Vegas looked to be a little out of range for we pair of weary travellers, so Barstow was nominated for an overnight stop. By the time we arrived we had been buffeted &, in one case, bullied, by large trucks on the road & dazzled by the headlights of others, so we were quite glad to reach the turnoff for this larger-than-expected town – when we saw its lights in the distance, they were so bright we thought it was Vegas in the far distance. We arrived at the local Motel 6, a chain of hotels across the country that, whilst budget-priced, aren’t too bad bed & bathroom-wise & this one was located close to shops & a variety of food outlets & restaurants (Note the distinction between the two). We chose an Italian place & were served more salad, bread & pasta than we’d expected... No one can say they underfeed you over here
After a long day of driving today, we’re heading into Vegas tomorrow to sample the opulence, absorb the ambience & hopefully resist the lure of the dreaded slot machines. Who knows what else may happen?
Sept. 18 Tuesday - Yosemite to Barstow
The start of our second week
Another one of those early risings for communal breakfast at 8am. We sat with George & Sue & found out that he was a retired Agent for the IRS... no wonder he tells most people he’s a retired cop instead. Pork chop, scrambled eggs & smashed potato, with that good brewed coffee, was a meal that would keep me going for most of the day. After an extended farewell of new friends & soon-to-be-ex-hosts, we loaded Steve McQueen - the great Escape for our trip through the south of Yosemite & then onwards, with Death Valley & Las Vegas in our sights
All went well ‘til we reached Mariposa Grove, where the Giant Sequoia trees grow. The area’s car parks were full, so we had to backtrack four miles to the town of Wewona & catch a shuttle bus up to the Grove. When we finally got there, we discovered that the main Grove of trees was either a three hour walk or a two hour flatbed trucktour away. However, there were a couple of decent specimens on the ‘Lower Grove’ where we’d arrived, so we had a look at ‘Bigfoot’ – a 1500yr old tree & its near neighbour which was only 800yrs old, so didn’t warrant a name, apparently. While not as tall as the Redwoods of Muir Woods last week, the sheer mass of these trees is incredible. Plant one in the back yard of someone you don’t like & wait for it to take over... it needs hundreds of litres of water each day & its roots will go anywhere to find it
A lone Sequoia, growing at altitude up near Glacier Point. This is the only photo I have of a whole tree... & it was taken from quite a distance!!
This tree fell down 300 years ago... I can only imagine (because I can't remember!!) how old it was when it fell...
The base of 'Bigfoot
The base of 'Bigfoot', with a 5'11" Narrator & Photographer for scale...
'Junior' - only 800 years old
Leaving Yosemite via the south gates, it transpired that this would make getting to Death Valley a huge, time-eating loop that would consume the whole day before we even arrived, so the decision was made to push for Las Vegas instead. Down a long, large freeway which took us close enough to Los Angeles that we could see the smog & there were palm trees planted everywhere, before an off-ramp took us eastward & into the Mojave Desert. Another amazing landscape, with those tree-like cactuses popping up & little hillocks & mounds doing the same all over the desert floor. We detoured to the town of Mojave for fuel & along the way, found where planes go to die...
Fuelled & watered & back onto the main road through the desert. As the sun set behind us, the reds & purples in the sky & on the taller hills were a beautiful sight
Thank god we were driving east... that would be a bugger to have to look into while dodging trucks & traffic!!
Las Vegas looked to be a little out of range for we pair of weary travellers, so Barstow was nominated for an overnight stop. By the time we arrived we had been buffeted &, in one case, bullied, by large trucks on the road & dazzled by the headlights of others, so we were quite glad to reach the turnoff for this larger-than-expected town – when we saw its lights in the distance, they were so bright we thought it was Vegas in the far distance. We arrived at the local Motel 6, a chain of hotels across the country that, whilst budget-priced, aren’t too bad bed & bathroom-wise & this one was located close to shops & a variety of food outlets & restaurants (Note the distinction between the two). We chose an Italian place & were served more salad, bread & pasta than we’d expected... No one can say they underfeed you over here
After a long day of driving today, we’re heading into Vegas tomorrow to sample the opulence, absorb the ambience & hopefully resist the lure of the dreaded slot machines. Who knows what else may happen?
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Date: 2021-09-14 03:11 pm (UTC)