Sequoia National Park

Hey Y'all, Elizabeth here!

Before I begin I want to not only thank my parents, for allowing me to go on such and amazing adventure where I have been given the opportunity to explore the country, but God, for protecting us and continually reminding me, how amazing He is, not only with the things I have experienced with my eyes, but in my heart. I am so, incredibly blessed.

We finally got out the door this morning a little later than planned, (as usual) and arrived at the park and into the gift shop, where my little sisters, by instinct immediately began looking for things they wanted. After leaving the gift shop, we received the "Bear Talk" where the new park ranger informed us about bear safety and how to protect our food for them. Although my dad, who as it seemed was not inspired by the talk, opted to leave all of our food in the car. We piled back into the oversized van and continued up the mountain where we were immediately greeted by giant Sequoia trees.

After about 20 minutes of looking for a place to park our giant car, we finally found a spot and hiked up to to where a shuttle would eventually come to pick us up.  We took the shuttle up to Crescent Meadows where we hiked about 2 miles. Although, as my brother and I like to joke, we wouldn't be the Clements if we didn't take a family picture every 5 feet we walked. So in the end, this hike took well over an hour. But I wouldn't take back any part of it, even the pictures. We had a blast climbing on rocks, walking across fallen trees and admiring the views. 

After returning to the car, my dad whipped us up some PB and Js and got us all settled. After we finished fighting about whose turn it was to sit where, My dad and I tried our best to convince the family to take the next hike which would lead us to The Sherman Tree, which is known as the largest tree in the world. But my siblings would have none of it. They were eager to get back to the house and "rest".

Some of my favorite parts of this trip include, stargazing, hiking the Grand Canyon, and exploring LA. Sequoia National Park is right up there with them. It definitely won me over with the beautiful views, the big rocks, and the GIANT trees!

The Cost of Fame

Exercising when traveling isn’t an easy feat, but we try.   This morning the man child and I went on a morning jog.  To be perfectly honest, in effort to make this trip not ridiculously expensive, we try to find more affordable lodging when we can.  Since we were only spending one night in L.A., we opted not to roll out the red carpet.  While on our morning jog, the boy and I saw some of the homeless already up and starting their day and others were still sleeping.    L.A. has a large homeless population and, frankly, it makes me sad.

After getting ready for the day, we headed out towards north Hollywood.   Runcie had booked a two hour tour for the late morning.  Traversing through the Hollywood Hills on our tour, we peered through the hills, trees, and gates in effort to get a glimpse of various stars homes…   Here were some of our sights…

Hollywood Sign

Ice T's home... Ben Stillers is next to it

Who can remember this movie fire escape scene?

Beverly Hills Hotel

  

Umm... Smog ... gross

This is where the Academy Awards are...

Michael Jackson gates..

To say L.A. is an interesting place, would be an understatement.   When here, there’s an energy you can feel;  it’s like a hunger… a desire.   Many flock to L.A. in effort of the ultimate goal:  fame.   Often, many will gamble, sacrifice, and give all they have in effort to gain that ultimate goal of fame.  On our tour, our guide, Caesar, told us about how many celebrities would buy their home, but when other homes around them went for sale, they would buy them up in effort to provide more privacy.   Also, he shared how many would put up ornate fences and spend thousands on trees to hide themselves.  Caesar proudly told us the various cars each celebrity drove - and he would recount how the celebrities had different reactions when being spotted.   Some would act like they didn’t register being spotted.   Some would even go so far as to cover their faces so no one would see them.   What I found so ironic today was how those who reached their goal of ultimate fame spent ridiculous amounts of money and effort to be private.  In my inner soul, I felt silly spending money and time on a tour to spy on celebrity homes.  Aren't we all the same in our Maker’s eyes?   

End of story:   I’m so thankful for my home in Nashville where the code of spotting a celebrity is to act as if you have no clue they are famous.  

After our tour we headed north to the Sequoia National Forest.   Honestly, the great outdoors is where I feel home the most - the hunger for fame, the drive of L.A. was a little too driven for me.    As we moved out of L.A. and into more remote areas we noticed orange orchards and grape vineyards.  We also noticed oil rigs too!  

Once we arrived at our home for the next few days, we were thankful to some open air to enjoy life.   I'm not going to lie, the girls made our Mystery Machine more like Romper Room on the ride up here.   Although they were happy, our ride was extremely ... rambuncious.   

We are thankful for an outdoorsy home with a fun creek in our backyard for the next few days.   Life is very good.  

our sweet boy serenading nature with his songs...

Hey Ho - To L.A. We Go!!

As we said earlier, most of this is new territory for us.   While we've both been to Las Vegas, and years ago (pre-children), we traveled to San Francisco, but ultimately we have spent very little time this far west.  

Early this morning, we left Laughlin, Nevada.  To make things easy geographically, Laughlin is in the very bottom tip (point) of Nevada.  

Before we knew it, we were rolling into California.   Much of the day was spent in the Mojave Desert - and little did we know how desolate it would be.   After almost 75 miles without a single available stop for gas or food, we were grateful to finally see one lone convenience store.  What made this shop a bit nostalgic was that it was located on the old "Route 66."  Throughout the store, signs were hung defending their hefty prices:  "Please Don't Complain About The Prices - Delivery Charges to This Location Are Extra - You Make a Choice To Be A Customer."   Just to give you an idea of the prices, gas was $5 a gallon... and I found a great "Route 66" mug I wanted, but when I saw the $24 price tag, I realized I didn't want it that much.  We did indulge in a few cheaper trinkets.. Considering we spent hours trucking through this wilderness one might think we would have captured a picture or two... but alas, no pictures of the Mojave Desert or the pricey - yet cute - shop.  Sorry.   

Honestly, we are a tad bit road weary and bewildered today...  We realized that we have been not only quite nomadic this week but also traveling through the desert heat left us pretty much zapped.  Our road blues were quickly lifted as our beloved Mystery Machine journeyed into the oasis of Los Angeles (see our first post for Mystery Machine reference).  Although our entrance via I-10 and the 101 Freeway almost caused a coronary for Runcie and me.     

While at Baylor, Runcie traveled to L.A. with friends for a very short day trip to see a fraternity brother participate in the $25,000 Pyramid, this part of California was completely new to me.  Considering Runcie's short trip here, it's safe to say that LA is new territory for us both.

Setting our navigation to Beverly Hills, we enjoyed seeing the beautiful sites in the area.    Between the shops, homes, cars, and unique vegetation, we spent the rest of our afternoon in the van taking in all the sites.  

The famous Rodeo Drive

Wilshire Boulevard.   Swanky.

I tried to get a pic of the famous Beverly Hills Hotel, but got this instead.   Behind all this vegetation is a very famous hotel.   If those walls could talk....

Instead of driving out to Malibu for our hotel, we opted to stay in the Beverly Hills area for dinner.   Luckily, we were able to score a table at RockSugar... and a parking place.   Locating a spot tall enough for the Mystery Machine wasn't easy.   We did need to walk about a half mile to dinner.. but who could complain about that with such glorious weather?   Mid 70s with a delightful cool breeze, I was thankful for our "far away" parking spot.   Here are some pics from tonight's fantastic dinner...  

Elizabeth and Runcie protested another restaurant selfie... and Francey quickly followed their uncooperative footsteps - but Gigi was happy to photo bomb our selfie... little rascal....

After a happy walk back to our car in this indescribably glorious weather, we meandered north on the famous Highway 1 alongside of the Pacific Coast.    Here were some of the views...

Santa Montica Pier

Tomorrow will be spent exploring tourist traps and a possible tour in the area and then by early afternoon we will travel north to Sequoia.  Considering we have rented a house there for the next few days, we are quite thrilled about the prospects of staying in one location for a bit...   

Grand Canyon part II and Nevada

When we visited the Grand Canyon late yesterday afternoon, I asked if there were any last minute cancellations.  To our surprise, we were able to get a room which allowed us to stay in the park rather than driving to and from Williams, AZ where our other reservation was.  Unfortunately, we had to eat the cost of the other room, but it was worth it.

I brought my star gazing binoculars on this trip, and the dark confines of the Grand Canyon National Park did not let us down.  One of the clearest nights I've ever seen.  I believe we saw a couple of shooting stars.  The binoculars just filled any viewpoint with an incredibly dense cluster of stars.

Donna woke up early this morning and jogged on the Rim Trail while the rest of us rested.  When I came out, the views were vibrant.

selfie at the Kolb house deck on the Rim Trail

I must admit that I purposely did not want to spend a lot of time at the Canyon because of the dangerous heights and my children' proximity to them.  As fun as a short hike into the canyon looked, when I looked down several switchbacks and saw the trail going alongside a cliff wall with no guard rail and what looked like just enough room for 2 people to pass, there was no way I was going to let my children walk on that.  As Barney would say, i nipped it in the bud.

Although my kids think I was being way too overprotective (no argument from me on that), they were fine with moving on with our travels around lunch time.  They actually would prefer hanging out in a hotel and watching cartoons to a hike anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbH_qJg1Sas&feature=youtu.be

I think it also worth mentioning how much wildlife is right around the village at the south rim.   We saw what looked like several large elk just walking around.

After lunch, we headed south toward Williams, AZ and I-40.  Williams is actually in a beautiful forested region of AZ about 20 mile from Flagstaff.  Williams is known as the last town on the famed Route 66 to allow completion of I-40.  Because of pending lawsuits, it wasn't until 1984 that I-40 was completed around Williams, thus bypassing Route 66 and making it a relic.

Upon leaving Williams, we began a steady descent from 6,500 ft and 2 and a half hours later arrived in Laughlin, Nevada at about 550 ft.   About 1 hour and a half out, we were driving in torrential rain in 63 degree temperatures.  After entering clear skies and descending into the Colorado River valley of Laughlin, the thermometer in our car read 119 shortly before our arrival.  We went walking after dinner around 8:15, and it was still 109 . . . so much for a stroll on the riverwalk.  It was very breezy outside, except it felt hotter when the wind blew.  I am not exaggerating in the least to say that it felt like we were walking alongside a giant hair dryer.  The low for today is supposed to be 91.

Dinner was somewhat novel for us tonight.  We had our first dining experience at an In and Out Burger.  The menu has about 4 things listed . . . cheeseburger, double cheeseburger, fries, and shakes . . . but there is a complete secret menu known to its loyal patrons.  Donna was able to get her veggie burger, and we also had cheeseburgers both regular and "animal style."  Animal style comes with sautéed onions, tomatoes, pickles, and a special sauce kind of like 1000 island dressing.  French fries also come regular, crispy, soggy, and animal style on any of these variations which means cheese, sautéed onions, and the sauce.  I'm sure there were plenty of other unlisted items we could have ordered.  What was really kind of ironic to me was that in the middle of a small town lined with fancy casinos, the employees at In and Out were the most clean cut group of kids I've seen working anywhere.  There must be parts of this town we haven't seen.

selfie at In and Out Burger

We're staying at the Tropicana for about $39/night.  We sprang for 2 rooms, and they're pretty nice.  Here's Francey sitting in the window before dinner.

There may be a change of plans in store for tomorrow.  We had originally planned to stay around the hotel until lunch time and then head to the Hoover dam.  The kids, however, have very little interest in the dam, so it looks like we'll be heading out first thing in the morning to Los Angeles/Beverly Hills.  We'll have most of the afternoon and evening and the following morning.  Need to get busy finding a hotel since tomorrow night was the one flex night we have left with no reserved accommodations.

The Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote Show

I'm not going to lie, growing up - every Saturday morning at 9 a.m. I was up and ready for the Bugs Bunny Road Runner Show.   Now a days, kids are spoiled; twenty four hour cartoon networks??  When we were growing up, we only got a few hours a week, and everyone knows that Bugs, Daffy, the Road Runner, and clever Wile E. Coyote were, hands down, the best. 

Why am I bringing up all of this, you ask??  Driving from Moab to Monument Valley and then to the Grand Canyon, Runcie and I joked about how we imagined we were driving through a set from the Road Runner and Coyote scenes.   At any given moment, we expected to round the curve and see a bulls eye on the road with an anvil falling rapidly towards it.   

http://fazewp.fazemediainc.netdna-cdn.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/coyote-1.5-2.jpg  

Jokingly I say all this, yet I hardly want to diminish the beauty we took in today...   Leaving Moab mid-morning, we chose to take our time driving to the Grand Canyon today.  Fascinating, the geography moves from the red earthed mesas in Moab, to greener and softer lands in southern-mid Utah.   As we got closer to the Grand Canyon and Arizona, we saw a shift back to the extreme bluffs and buttes that lurched over us.

Rolling through Utah, we saw the signs for Mexican Hat, Utah.   As we came into the town, we quickly learned why it is called Mexican Hat. 

Stopping about 150 miles before the Grand Canyon, we pulled off the highway and were awed by the beauty of Monument Valley.   Deep in the territory of the Navajo Nation, we were able to experience some of their culture by visiting the Welcome Center and artisan dealers camped by the main road.   Traveling part of the the main loop, we saw some of the featured bluffs:  3 Sisters, The Elephant, and Mittens.   See if you can figure out which is which...  

We quickly learned in Monument Valley, the gravel roads were a little too much for us and although the loop was 17 miles it would easily take us over an hour to travel 17 miles.   We made the unanimous decision to turn around and head to the Grand Canyon.  

Little did we know what beauty waited for us.   Until you see the Grand Canyon in person, it's hard to explain its beauty...  I'll leave you with the sunset images we enjoyed...