Finally, we made our second trip to Yosemite, this time to spend
an entire week (7 nights) camping in Lower Pines, right next to the river.
It was amazing, with the greatest view of Half Dome.
Going to sleep
every night, listening to the sound of the wind rushing through the trees, was
like a dream. The best $20 a night, I ever spent.
We had brand new
tents from Costco, and an amazing air mattress to keep us as comfortable as
possible. Actually I am a backpacker, and love to sleep as close to
nature (sometimes) as I can. I have had great nights on a $10 pad from
Walmart, and also horrible nights.
Tip: Remember when
camping in tents, to find the flattest place possible to set up your tents and
beds, or you will slide down the hill, all night long.
As a native from
California, I usually drive from Santa Clarita, through Bakersfield, then
Fresno. Then we travel through Oakhurst, and Sugar Pine (the railroad and train
ride, is awesome there). Only this year, we live in Payson, and it took
us 10 hours to drive there. To be truthful, I enjoyed the drive, and the
roads were very nice, and cared for.
My first day was
amazing, as I took notes and thought of places for Paul Bunyan to hide and live
as a Giant. Everything fit so perfectly.
The next few days,
we looked at the Jr Ranger program (My children have all been Jr Rangers since
they were tiny.) It was not much different than when they participated, the few
times before.
Here is one of my
favorite pictures, taken on top of Glacier Point.
The seven nights went by too quickly. I was able to finally omplete all of the missing gaps, in the story. $140 (total) for the campsite, and $245 (total) for the gas.
I wrote this book, hoping to motivate kids to love Nature and our National Parks, also to become Jr. Rangers, taking pride in the world around them. Picking up trash that someone else dropped. Not because they were told, only because they want to help keep this world a cleaner place.
I can't tell you how many times I have been picking up trash with my children and see others begin to follow our example. That is another reason that the Jr Ranger is as cool as ever. My boys are almost Eagle Scouts, and I love the fact that they take pride in setting the example.
Amazing views are everywhere. In the top picture, you can see the glacier where Paul Bunyan lives (In the book)