Lower Yosemite Falls and the Ahwahnee

After walking around the village, we rode our bikes down to Lower Yosemite Falls (the first picture). Someday I'll do the hike to Upper Yosemite Falls, but its takes about 8 hours. As we biked back to camp, we stopped by the Ahwahnee Resort and walked around the inside. This place is known for being about $600 a night and great food. It sure was beautiful. There are also cottages that you can rent out, but I heard they can be as expensive as $1200 a night. If you are going to get married in Yosemite, this is the place to do it. You can see in the last picture where they set up the chairs outside. You have Upper Yosemite Falls as your backdrop as you say your vows and then you hold the wedding reception in the Ahwahnee off to your right.
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Yosemite Village

So, after our almost 3 hour round trip hike to the top of Vernal Falls and back down, we continued our adventures. We rode our bikes along the bike path from our campsite at Upper Pines to Yosemite Village, one of the main hubs of Yosemite. I was able to get my National Parks Passport stamped and check out the museum at the Valley Visitor Center. The picture shows you how huge the trees are there and they have the rings dated using historically significant events. We walked through the Ansel Adams Gallery, a photographer who became famous by showing off Yosemite. We also walked through the replication of an Ahwahnee Indian village and through a small cemetery where many pioneers (from the 1800s and early 1900s) are buried. There is also a deli there, the wilderness center where you get permits to hike off the trails, and a U.S. District Court.
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Top of Vernal Falls

Saturday morning, about 8:30AM, we started the 1.5 miles hike to the top of Vernal Falls. It wasn't an easy hike, its uphill ALL THE WAY with the last section consisting of steep stairs that can get slippery from the Mist from the waterfall. It took us about an hour and 15 minutes. (You can see the hike in the last picture.) Stopped to eat an early lunch there since we worked up the appetite! Its such a beautiful place up there-- forested with lots of rocks to sit on and the wonderful sound of the water rushing by. One warning though: Watch out for the squirrels! People feed them so they're not afraid and they'll even go in your backpack to steal food. Do your part and scare them away!

You can continue on up to Nevada Falls, but we headed back down because we had so much to do! The hike back down all those stairs was pretty scary considering the lack of hand rails and steepness, oh, and all the people making their way up. You just have to take it slow and be patient. If you look into the mist caused by the waterfall, you can see a rainbow much of the time. By the time we made it to the bottom of the stair section, we all had wobbly legs. But, the rest of the hike down is pretty easy from there! Much more to come!
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Waking up in Yosemite!

When asked to go to Yosemite at the last minute, one naturally says, "yes!" Especially when campsites book up like 6 months in advance (to the hour) and hotels and cabins are not cheap. So last night, my two girlfriends and I packed up my reliable hatchback with two bikes attached to the back and were off. Sadly most of our drive was in the dark so I did not get to witness that immediate gratification of seeing the Yosemite Valley open up in front of you. But I could definitely tell there were some big mountains towering over us on either side. On our way here a mountain lion passed the road in front... Crazy! First time for all of us!

We are staying in the valley near Curry Village... With everyone else. But it doesn't feel that packed... Yet. The air smells like pine and campfire. We are only here for today and tomorrow so we are going to pack in as much as possible! Much more to come!
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So Long Paradise- We Will Meet Again!

My time here in Maui was amazing! Yesterday was Ben's sister's wedding right on the beach in Makena, HI! It was a beautiful ceremony that began with the big Hawaiian minister blowing the Conch shell and it included a Hawaiian poem.

There is so much more that we want to do on this island, but it was also important to balance relaxation. Next time we come, we definitely want to stay in Hana for a few nights so we can really take the time to enjoy that side of the island! I also want to get an underwater digital camera so I can share my snorkeling trips with everyone too (yesterday I saw a long green eel and a black and purple fish with a hook like fun popping out the top, that I wish I could have shown everyone). I tried a lot of new stuff and had fun adventures! We will definitely return!

P.S. Quick warning for anyone visiting the island here: it does take a little bit longer to get through security and everything because you have to go through an additional scan of your bags for any plants or animals. You don't want to bring back any harmful parasites to the U.S. So when people on the island tell you that you can bring back Pineapples to the states, they lie!

Aloha until my next adventure!

Water Adventures Today!

After yesterday's crazy early trip to Haleakala, we really wanted to take it easy today and actually enjoy the beach! We still got up pretty early, about 7:30AM, because the water here in South Maui is much, much calmer in the morning. We met Ben's family at Cove Park where there isn't much beach, but it's the best place in South Maui for beginners to try out surfing and paddle-boarding. Its super shallow, you just gotta watch out for all the rocks and dead coral directly under you, so water shoes are definitely a recommendation. I tried out paddle-boarding and it definitely take leg and core strength to stay balanced especially when a small wave comes in. Paddling is also more difficult than it looks, but I was standing up after only 5 minutes out there, so just about anyone could do it.

After we turned the boards in (you can rent them right across the street for very fair prices), we went down a mile or so to Kama'ole Beach 2 to do some snorkeling and boogie boarding. Also two things I have never done! I was super nervous about snorkeling because I just couldn't understand how people could breathe through that little tube, but after a super quick lesson from Ben's brother, I was out there enjoying it! At this beach, off to the right, there is a cluster of rocks with dead coral under the water. We didn't even have to go that far from shore. I saw some really cool fish, one was even neon rainbow colors! I also saw a huge shiny blue fish (at least 2 feet long). The rest of the group went out further than me and saw an eel and octopus! You would never guess that these creatures are so close to shore! It was also fun to learn how to boogie board, but the waves weren't quite strong enough and they broke too close to shore.

We'll be going out again tomorrow morning before his sister's wedding! :)
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So where is the Crater??

You come to the top of Haleakala not only to see the sunrise, but also to see a huge crater right?! Well, it may not be what you pictured. It's not a smooth, bowl-like crater like we picture the moon to have. At one point the whole top did blow off, but after years and years of inactivity a valley eroded, kind of splitting the crater into two halves. The last few eruptions (most recent was 1790) were much smaller and you can see some mini-craters inside.

The craziest thing about Haleakala: you go up 10,000 feet in just 38 miles- one of the quickest, steepest inclines, but they did a great job of setting up the road so it feels pretty gradual.

Silverswords on Haleakala

More from yesterday! The pictures you are looking at here are of the Silversword plants, aka 'ahinahina. They are only found here on Haleakala! The plant can live up to 50 years, but only ever reproduces (blooms) once in it's life. The top picture is an image of one in old age after it is done blooming and the bottom picture is one of their youth. They are called silverswords because that huge stalk (almost as tall as me) grows out of the top. They traditionally bloom in June, but the park ranger said that one was blooming 3 miles into the crater erosion area. I would have loved to see it, but after waking up at 3AM to see the sunrise, a hike was not on our list of things to do. You should definitely look up a picture of one that is blooming on google!

Sunrise at Haleakala

We did it! We made it up to the summit in an hour and 15 minutes from Kihei, so about 4:45AM. Good thing we left early too because we were definitely in a crowd of cars coming up here and there are only about 30-40 spots at the summit and then they close the gate (just to the summit) when the lot fills. There is a big shelter up here to protect you from the cold and wait for the sunrise, but we are just waiting in the car until then. Its about 45 degrees here, so compared to where we were it is COLD! At about 5:10AM we could start to see the colors in the west change to a pink kinda color. So we hurried up to the viewing shelter where everyone else was. Watching the sun rise was beautiful, but it does feel like watching water boil sometimes. As soon as the first glimpse of sun cam over the ring of clouds in front of us, everyone got super excited. Ben and I just stood there taking in the glorious sight. It wasn't as colorful as I'd thought it would be, but that's because there weren't any super high clouds for the sun to play on.

More about our sight-seeing up at 10,000 feet after we get some sleep back at our hotel. :)

It's soooo early!

PROOF that we are up at 3am to go watch the sunrise at Haleakala Crater. It is currently 3:27AM here and in Kihei it is a nice 68 degrees. It is a 1.5 and 2 hour drive from South Maui here and I wonder if everyone else we see on the road (2 cars so far) are headed there as well. We are dressed SUPER warm since we will be going up 10,000 feet above the clouds. We'll let you know if it is worth it! :)
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Surfing Goat Dairy Farm!

We were originally going to go to Haleakala crater to watch the sunrise, but when we woke up at 2:30 in the morning Ben was still tipsy from unlimited Mai Tai's from the Luau and I was exhausted. So this will be tomorrow's adventure.

First, we had lunch at Pita Paradise here in Kihei, which was AMAZING! ... I seem to be saying that about all the food here. Then we (Ben and some of his siblings) went to the Surfing Goat Dairy farm... It really is called that! The farm is located on the lower slopes of the Haleakala crater in Kula. The 30 minute drive turned into 45 minutes because none of the streets are labeled and navigations don't work very well. We drove through Hawaii farm country and past the Maui dump. The farm was lined with beautiful white picket fences and huge palm trees. We didn't do any of the formal tours, but we fed some of the adult goats hay and watched the baby goats play on a surfboard! Then we did the cheese tasting which included their most popular flavors. They also had some unique mixtures like jalepeno and artichoke, smoked salmon, mango chutney, and olive oil and herb. I bought some of the smoked salmon one to put on my morning bagels here, as well as, goat milk soap (super moisturizing) and chocolates made with goat milk. Overall, it was a fun little place to visit and I would definitely go back to do one of their tours. Then we all just went to the beach. Sadly, it was super windy and pretty cloudy, but we did see some whales in the distance!

My First Luau!!

So as a reward to ourselves for surviving our adventures of the day, we attended the Luau at the Wailea Marriot, just 1.5 miles from our hotel. The tickets are pretty expensive but include dinner, alcoholic drinks, dessert, a show, tip, and fun company! The show is called Te Au Moana and includes the un-earthing of our pig from the ground. You arrive about 4:30 to take pictures with your authentic Lai's on, do a little shopping at the booths if you want, and meet your new friends at your table. Then, they unearth the pig and open the buffet line soon after. The sun sets as the show begins, where they share the history and origins of the Hawaiian people. Grass skirts and fire dancing included! A must-do for your first time in Hawaii!!

Driver Courtesy On One-Lane Roads

Quick driving tips:

1. Drive SLOW!
2. Honk your horn as you turn a sharp corner.
3. Take note of "turn-offs" or wider sections of the road you could potentially back up to if someone needs to pass you.
4. Uphill drivers have the right-away.
5. Be patient!

Orrrrrrr... You could just avoid long sections of one-lane roads... :)
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Narrowest Two-Way Road of My Life!

Whew... I'm still alive after the craziest road of my life. We were well aware that this section of the road heading back down to the Central Valley would have one-lane sections but it was pretty much one lane the entire 10 miles with very few and small turn-outs. Let's just say that our rental car had one tire almost hanging off the side of the cliff as we struggled to pass another sedan. (Sorry to scare you Mom...) It was definitely an adventure and we stopped at Julia's Banana Bread hut to buy some of the world's best banana bread (claimed by the authors of the guidebook), but I don't know that this road was really "worth it". Both Ben and I were so nervous about the road, we really couldn't enjoy the amazing scenery. We didn't pass that many cars, but when we did, you're heart just kinda stops for a moment. There aren't any "scenic lookouts" to stop at, but it is beautiful as you drive along the cliff/mountain side with the ocean off to your left. Personally, I would have just turned around at the Olivine pools and headed back toward Lahaina. There were a few hairpin curves where we could practically see the back side of our rental car!
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Nakalele Blowhole & Olivine Pools

Rounding the top of West Maui, the road starts getting MUCH windier. Following our guidebook, we parked on the side of the road 1/2 mile past mile marker 38 to see the Nakalele Blowhole. When you walk straight out to the closest cliff area and turn to your right, you see the coastline pictured in the first picture. Then you walk down the rocky "trail" to your left (wear shoes or water shoes) to get to the blowhole. The best time to go is high tide. There are signs reminding you to watch your distance to the blowhole because you could get swept away by a wave. One sign states "This is not a waterpark". The blowhole is AWESOME! There is an undercut in the lava shelf at the shoreline here that creates water pressure and shoots it up. You can feel the ground rumble beneath you as the powerful ocean slams underneath. I couldn't get a picture with my phone, but I'll post pics of it when I return to the mainland. I would describe this as Hawaii's Old Faithful, except much less crowded and probably not as "faithful" in timing.

About 4 miles up the windy road, there is another parking area by mile marker 16 (the road restarts here and counts down now). Looking down the hills side, you see the Olivine Pools. These are naturally formed lava pools in the lava shelf. Olivine is the name of the shiny gems you find in the lava rock here. We hiked down the rocky hill side, passing signs that try to scare you away-saying "Don't Go Beyond This Point". I definitely wouldn't go down there if the waves were really rough or a storm was coming in, but it was a calm day. There were about 3 main pools (last picture) that were very warm from the sun. One pool was even deep enough to jump off a rock into it! There were even little fishies in the pool to join us! Very relaxing!

Continuing Around West Maui

After Lahaina, we continued North on the main "highway". We stopped in Ka'anapali because our guidebook said it was a must-see. It was very difficult to find parking, but once we did it was worth it. The beach (first picture) is very long with super soft sand and relatively calm waves. The beach is lined with huge resort hotels. If you wanted to come to Maui and do nothing, this would be the place. Personally, I wouldn't want to stay there because its crowded and you don't get that small town, relaxed Hawaiian feel. We walked along the beach with the water running up to our feet in search of Black Rock (you can see it off the left in the distance). This is volcanic rock serves as a place that ancient Hawaiians believed that when they died, their soul left the world from there. Each island had a point like this. There is supposed to be good snorkeling around the rock. While at Ka'anapali Beach, we witnessed huge turtles mating right next to the shore. Ben caught the whole thing on video!

As we continued North, we found that this part of the island has a sort of evergreen tree similar to what we have in Tahoe! Who'd a thought?! We stopped at this turnoff point overlooking small Honolua Bay (second picture) where lots of people were snorkeling because there are some coral reefs down there.

Lahaina

One of the only towns with an actual "downtown" area, where we are right now. This is where people come to shop or go out in the water on whale watching trips or across to the island Lanai. Apparently its always crowded, but compared to the SF Bay Area this is nothing. I guess this is what the locals consider crowded.

We were going to eat at the famous Cheeseburger Paradise, but all the locals say its crap and its a rip off. They all recommend Cool Cats Cafe for a good burger or local fish. Every local we passed that heard us mention Cool Cats, just raved about it and continued us in the right direction! Well... It IS delicious!

West Maui today!

So today we are going to West Maui from where we are staying in Kihei (South Maui). We are going to drive clockwise around West Maui from the south to the north and back around. First, we are going to stop at a scenic lookout point to try and spot whales while the ocean is at its calmest. Then we are going to do a little shopping in Lahaina and then continue north. There are smaller town north of there and some beautiful beaches. The coolest thing we are looking forward to is the Nakalele Blowhole! And then a Luau tonight!!
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Where my "Insider" Knowledge Will Be Coming From

This is the guidebook that I'll be following while here! It's great! The authors of this book will actually live in different areas of Maui for months in order to really gain insider knowledge. It's an awesome read because they actually make you feel like you are on the island!

Map of Maui

Here is a map of Maui so you can better follow all of our trips!

Just Arrived in Maui!!

Woohhhooo!! Just arrived in Maui after about a 5 hour non-stop flight from Oakland. It's a clear enough day that you could see most of the island when we landed! And when you step out of the gate area after getting off the flight, you immediately pop right outside for your walk to the baggage claim area(pictuured above). It is currently 78 degrees, breezy, and slightly cloudy-- obviously they want to remind you why you came!

After grabbing our bags, we took the short shuttle ride to Enterprise where we are currently picking up our car. Our shuttle driver was super enthusiastic!! Next, we will make the 45 minute drive down to Kihei to check out our hotel.

Lots more to come! We'll be here til next Wednesday!

Night Walk on the Mesquite Sand Dunes

To end our second day in the park (Sunday, March 4th), we enjoyed the bar at Stovepipe Wells as the sun set and then headed out to the Mesquite Sand Dunes. We wanted to enjoy a Ranger-led program out onto the sand dunes. It was an extremely clear day that led into an extremely clear night, so we did some stargazing until the ranger got there. We bought one of those discs that shows you what constellations are out. Tip: Use red lights, not regular bright flashlights, because you will keep your night vision. The moon was so bright that night, that you really didn't need a flashlight to get around!

When the ranger arrived, she used the Star Walk app on her iPad to show us some of the constellations. Then we ventured out onto the sand dunes, where she showed us the tracks of some of the animals present on the sand dunes. First, we found the desert stink bugs' tracks which kind of look like dirt bike tracks. Then, we found the kangaroo rats' tracks which look like 4 teardrops and a line dragging between them. Then, we found the kit foxes' tracks which look like a house cats' tracks but with longer claws. She also showed us images of coyote and sidewinder snakes' tracks, but we didn't find any of those. She explained how all of these animals interact and survive in this ecosystem year-round! It is truly amazing that these animals have evolved to survive in such a dry climate that can reach 130 degrees Fahrenheit in the summertime.

My dad and I walked back to the car with no flashlight on at all, enjoying the serenity of the soft sand dunes. This was by far my favorite experience of all! I could have spent the whole night out there!

Piece of advice: We didn't take the time to do this, but the ranger was saying that the best time to go out on the sand dunes is an hour before sunrise. You will find the animals active still and full of tracks undisturbed by human tracks. Wish we would've done this!

Ubehebe Crater

Well if you are gonna make the drive up to Scotty's Castle, you need to drive 8 miles down the road to the Ubehebe Crater! Driving up to the crater, you can't even tell that its coming up. You are surrounded by black gravel hills, but then you drive up one hill and as you come around the corner there's a huge hole in the ground full of color. This crater is half a mile wide and 500 feet deep. You can even walk around the enter crater, but don't get too close to the edge!

The Coolest Thing Inside Scotty's Castle

This was the music room! This room features a HUGE Welte-Mignon theater pipe organ that is operated by these huge player piano musical rolls. This theater pipe organ features 1121 pipes, a grand piano, a glockenspiel (don't really know exactly what that is), xylophone, chimes, orchestra bells, sleigh bells, bird calls (I know... Right?!), and a drum and cymbal assortment. In 1928 this cost them $50,000 to purchase, deliver, and install! This thing is HUGE and plays beautiful music! You can youtube this to hear it, but nothing compares to being there in person!

The Inside of Scotty's Castle

In the second picture you can see a rock wall there which used to have a two-story waterfall flowing down it!

Scotty's Castle

So we drove 35 miles North (from Furnace Creek) on the second day in the park (Sunday, March 4th). We visited Scotty's Castle first- a huge house, a mansion it its time, built in the 1920's. You may just assume that the castle belonged to a man named Scotty, but this is not the case. It was built and owned by Albert and Bessie Johnson, made rich by a life insurance company. Scotty was actually, Walter Scott- a Con man! And the Johnson's were friends with "Scotty"!

This was not the kind of story I was expecting to hear upon starting the house tour here. As we continued the tour through this awesome home, the tour guide explained the relationship between Albert and "Scotty". Scotty had traveled all over the U.S. as part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. He decided to con rich investors into believing he had a gold mine in Death Valley- but there was no gold ever in Death Valley.

Years and years went by that people accepted his word that he had a gold mine in California, but after not seeing any profit from their investments, they wanted to send some engineers into the desert with Scotty to prove there was a gold mine. Scotty tried to con them into believing their was a gold mine, but something went wrong and he was exposed. Well one of those engineers was Albert Johnson!

Albert Johnson was told he would not live past 40 years old due to a train accident, but he noticed that traveling to the desert made him a little stronger. So even though he knew Scotty had conned them, he fell in love with the desert and was appreciative to Scotty that he was getting healthier. So he continued to come to the desert and got healthier and healthier. Since he was visiting frequently, he just decided to build a house out there. But he let Scotty tell people it was his home and it was protecting the entrance to his gold mine. Well the Johnson's let him continue this lie because they did not want the publicity connected to having a mansion in the desert.

There home is located just one mile away from a natural spring that produces more than enough water to supply their home and the surrounding buildings. He even used water pressure to make electricity for his home. The second tour we took allowed us to go under the house to see the tunnel system he planned on making (but never finished) and the tour guides talked about the innovations to build and power the house. Very Interesting and well worth the money!

This house was built all because of friendship and the tour guides did an amazing job of explaining how the desert brought true friendship and life to these people!

The Lowest point on the Continent!

Note: So this post was supposed to go between the "Entering Death Valley" post and the "Dante's View" post on Saturday, but something happened with the internet connection (go figure in the middle of the desert).

Badwater Basin- basically a salt flat like the area around Salt Lake City. This basin is 282 feet BELOW sea level. This means that if there is any sign of rain (which there rarely is heer), all the water will come flooding down to this point so you don't want to be around. There is actually a picture in their little newspaper of these huge boulders smashed on the hood of a car all because of a flash flood- pretty crazy!!

All the white you see really is compacted salt and sand. When you touch it, it is surprisingly pretty moist. Geologists wanted to know how deep the sand and salt mixture actually went and they found out its 900 feet until you hit rock!

No I Have Not Disappeared Into The Desert...

You might be wondering why I haven't been blogging every moment, or even every day. Well I have not disappeared into the desert, there just isn't much cell service anywhere here. Furnace Creek Springs is pretty much the only place with cell service so here I am! We've been seeing a lot and I'll blog about everything tomorrow and the next day!

Zabriskie Point

Our final stop for the day was Zabriskie point which is on the way to/back from Dante's View. This really reminded me of Badlands National Park. This is technically considered Badlands too, so I guess it should. The rock sediment looks slanted because the earth's crust is pushing up on one side. It really was cool to see all the colors in the rock sediment.

Dante's View

From Badwater Basin, we drove back up north the way we had come from, then we went east, and then we went south again to get here. Dante's View is about 5400 ft in elevation! Whew! (It was windy road to get there too!) But this peak overlooks all of Badwater Basin, where we just were at the lowest point in the U.S. So this is pretty much looking down a mile! Pretty amazing! This is not a sight to be missed!

Entering Death Valley

We stayed in Lone Pine, CA last night, which is situated about 45 min west from the edge of the park. Our hotel is approximately 4500 ft in elevation with the southern end of the Sierra Nevada mountains looming over us (first picture).

When you get to the beginning of the park you have come down to approximately 2000 ft in elevation(second picture). Then the road narrowed and became extremely windy as we dropped into Death Valley! You enter Panamint Springs (where we'll be staying tomorrow night and the next) which consists of a 12-room motel, a restaurant, a gas station, and an RV campground. Our goal today was to drive south to Badwater Basin and then go north and south again to Dante's View.

Past Panamint Springs, you now have to go back up and over a little mountain range to the main valley, getting as high as 4900 ft in elevation (third picture). Then you drop back down to 100 feet BELOW sea level in the middle of the park. Whew! My head doesn't know whether to have altitude sickness of not!

You get to Stovepipe Wells next, which is the same idea as Panamint Springs, but a little bigger and nicer. Just past Stovepipe Wells, you reach the Mesquite Sand Dunes that just seem to appear out of no where(fourth picture)! The sand is softer than most of the beaches in Northern California.

After this, we were on to Furnace Creek, the main hub of the park where all the activities are!