The Return Home: Elephant seal sex and government warnings

Acrobats from America's Got Talent, really really talented

Day 1:

•  Free circus show at Circus Circus! Also some arcade games. I discovered that I suck pitifully at motorcycle racing games and Guitar Hero but that I am Supreme Champion of the World in Air Hockey.
  
  
• Alien Jerky Store
  
  
• 'Ghost Town': We wanted to see it, but we ended up getting there circa 4pm and it closed at 5pm. Also it cost $8/adult to get in and since we figured it's something super touristy and rather gimmicky, we opted to avoid it. 

• World's Largest Thermometer
  
  
• Failed Mitchell Caves: Wanted to see these so bad! But didn't get a chance too because roadtrippers gave the wrong location and in fact the caves were 109 miles (2.5 hrs) inland. And we just didn't have 5 hrs round trip + 2-3 hrs of exploring there to kill.

So. Much. Emptiness.

Day 2:

Picture from the internet of the plane. We couldn't actually
see it.

Slept in the car (didn't want to pay for a motel), stopped by Grace Bible Church because my bladder was exploding in the morning and nothing nearby was open.

Ended up being surprised by meeting Joann, one of the kindest and most genuinely awesome people I've ever met.
She not only showed us where the bathroom was, but also gave us coffee/tea, pastries and sun chips. Also wifi and a place to sit down and eat/get our bearings/deal with real life stuff that we've neglected with the lack of internet over these past few weeks.
We talked about the interesting lifestyles of people in Helendale (where the church is located). On top of being absurdly kind, Joanne also has an incredibly colorful and interesting history. (She's 50 but I swear she looks no more than 35).
Overall, superb start to the day.

Also met the Youth Coordinator of the church, very cool guy.

Helendale = one of the most "remote towns in all of the US"



Moral of the story: Talk to people. Throughout all of my journeys I just keep learning how important this is to making an experience more enriching. Talk to people. Be friendly, even if they're grumpy. Don't be afraid to say 'Hi' or just smile. Don't be shy. If they reject you, so be it. The possibility of them being awesome and friendly greatly outweighs any detriment you'd derive from them being jerks.


After Helendale we visited the very very cool Bottle Tree Ranch.
Definitely worth a look-see if you ever find yourself near Helendale on Route 66. The man who built the whole thing has been collecting stuffy essentially his whole life. Very kind and warm fella, certainly a lovely addition to our trip home.

Elmer (the owner of the ranch) even had his own facebook page!

Casual ex-missile

Also casual car.

https://www.facebook.com/ElmersBottleTreeRanch

Oil rigs right on the freeway?!

Then we tried to get to Snoopy, an old abandoned aircraft but when we drove (2 hours off the road) there and finally arrived, there was a big sign that essentially said "US GOVERNMENT PROPERTY. DO NOT ENTER."

It was very very tempting to just go anyways. But we figured it was best not to trespass on US Government property...I kind of like my life.

The rest of the day was just driving to the coast, we slept in the car again. Hurray for church parking lots. Also apparently hospitals and Walmart allows you to sleep in their parking lots (thanks to Joann for the tip!!)

Day 3:

Driving up the beautiful California coast.

Nitt Witt Ridge: A house built completely from trash

Lawn decorations at Nitt Witt

A ZEBRA FARM IN CA?!
Found out it was part of Hearst Castle later

Mating season for Elephant Seals!
So noisy but very cool too see them fighting and interacting.
Saw a male almost kill/suffocate a baby seal because he
accidentally rolled on top of it and the baby couldn't get
out. The massive male couldn't even feel the baby underneath
him because of all his blubber.
All was good in the end :) Mama seal helped save the baby

Most delicious Kombucha I've ever had. And
I've had quite a few.

Started the morning at Nitt Witt Ridge, a house built entirely out of trash. Then headed to the Hearst Castle which was very very touristy. But the exhibits were incredibly interesting nonetheless.



After Hearst Castle we went to see the elephant seals mating.

Big Sur

Sunset at Carmel

Then drove through Big Sur and stopped at Carmel (so quaint and cottage-y) for lunch/dinner/the sunset.


Day 4:
Eating all the finest foods of Berkeley.

At last we are back!

Icis = best gelato I've ever had in my life (including those I had in Italy. Second best would be this one place in Florence where we ended up paying $5 euros per ice cream -_- . That's about $6.80 USD for one ice cream.)

Why is this a thing.

Sliver = best pizza ever (again, including pizza I had in Italy, although to be honest, I only ate pizza once there. And yeah it was delicious, but nothing really novel like
Sliver/Cheeseboard's flavors).
Cinnaholic = Delicious, but meh, wouldn't go back.

Zion National Park! The coolest park/natural landscape I saw

While in Vegas we stopped by this store
because it said "Organic Produce" on it
or something like that. Anyways, it's totally
a front for a marijuana store. Also it's got a bar
in the back.

Day 1: Watchman trail hike
Arrived to Zion midday, the town, Springdale, that leads into the park is just so cute and quaint and cool! Everything is just so nifty. 
Did the Watchman trail hike, very easy, but very beautiful.

Day 2: Woke up to ice covering the tent/car/table/everything.
Didn't do much this day but wait for the sun to come out from hiding behind Watchman peak. Bought 2 things of firewood and had ourselves a nice campfire from 8am - 12pm.
Cooked oatmeal on the fire, man legit fire cooking is so inefficient.

View from Watchman Trail

Katniss wannabe

Went down to the visitors center to read more about Zion and ended up fighting with blow up punching gloves and shields that I bought from the dollar store in the vistor center parking lot. Also shot our crossbows and slingshots.

We killed time until about 8pm by exploring the very nifty town of Springdale until the person we were couchsurfing with, Kirstan, came home. We spent this night and the next at her house.
Man, she's a seriously awesome person.
We are so incredibly thankful for her hospitality, warm bed and showers. (When we reached her, neither of us had showered for about 5 days).
She has a goal of visiting all of the national parks in America. Cause, you know, there's only like over 400 of them.

Just cause we're living out of a car, doesn't
mean we won't eat healthy :D

Anyways she was definitely a superb addition to our roadtripping adventures and I loved listening to her crazy stories about her various travels (like when EVERYTHING was stolen from her car on her last day in New Zealand. Passport, camera, everything.)

I highly recommend couch surfing, it's a great way to meet some really amazing people.
Or rapists disguising themselves as amazing people...
oh well, it's a risk you should take.
Just bring a leatherman :P

If I ever had the opportunity to do so, I will definitely lend out any extra rooms/couches to some couch surfers.

Kirstan recommended  Observation Point and Hidden Valley for tomorrow, so that's what we did.

View from Observation Point

En route to Observation Point

Part of the trail to Hidden Valley

Literally had to use this 'snow jug' to rock climb over
a wall

Day 3:
Started the morning with Observation Point hike, which was definitely very cool. The mesas and plateaus of Zion are awesome. We hiked up about 2, 200 feet or so and then completely leveled out to flat ground and walked to Observation Point. On top of the plateau is a whole 'nother world, completely different ecosystem and a trippy combo of sand and snow.

The path to Hidden Valley has some really
steep cliffs, so they provide you with a chain
to hold on it. VERY handy. Probably would
be dead right now if that chain wasn't there

After Observation Point we hiked to Hidden Canyon which was the most fun hike I've been on during this entire trip. A close tie with Dragonback Ridge in Malaysia in terms of most fun hike ever.
Some very serious scrambling is required to continue on with the trail (definitely for the athletically inclined because there are some very sketchy and slippery rocks that you have to propel yourself over).

Essentially completely vertical drop.

But honestly it just makes it more fun, so if you're not physically decrepit, at least try it. 

Death Valley National Park

• Day 1: Camped in the car at Emigrant (free) because we arrived very late at night. Surprisingly comfortable. Drove down to Stovepipe Wells which is a very nifty place to see (super Old Western) but has absolutely abhorred wifi, seriously. Might as well not have any wifi. There is service at Furnace Creek however (we discovered this later). However there is no service anywhere else in Death Valley. 
• Day 2:  Saw the sand dunes - boatloads of fun, make sure to come early in the morning. Circa 10am, hoards of people show up. Prior to that, we had the dunes essentially to ourselves. Went sand dune surfing. The dunes seem very very far away from the parking lot, but when you start walking you'll be surprised at how fast you actually get there. Death Valley really messes with your perceptions of distance.
  
  There is a cool museum in the visitor center.
  
  Went to Dantes Peak to have ourselves a picnic. Very cool view, highly recommend.
  
  Then to Artists Drive to kill time before heading to a program lead by a Ranger about the Dark Skies (why light pollution is really so bad). Did you know that birds in Las Vegas die because the skylights confuse them (since they, like turtles, scorpions and many other creatures, use moonlight and starlight to navigate). So they can't orient themselves and will fly in circles until they die from exhaustion.
  
  Saw Jupiter from a telescope also!
• Day 3: Badwater Basin - very cool, literally plains of salt.
  
  Stopped by the Borax Museum. It had lots of awesome rocks and info about the 20 mule team (which was actually 18 mules and 2 horses typically). Mules were better than horses because they ate less and drank less and could stand the heat better. Also they were sterile. However horses had to be used to help the team deliver the borax because they were easier to train and would follow instructions better.
  
  

  

  Day 2 morning brought us this beauty :) (NO EDITTING)

  

  Classy

  
  Ubehebe Crater (very long drive there). Learned about the similarities of deserts and Mars! Who knew that clay was so awesome. 

Everything is super far away from everything else. ALSO GAS STRAIGHT UP EVAPORATES. We used over a tank of gas in one day. For a Prius. It was ridiculous. Gas is $5-$6/gallon in the heart of the park. 

Sand Dunes at Stovepipe!

Climbing Dantes Peak

Climbing at Dantes Peak

Lowest elevation in the US!
Also the hottest place in the US (134 degrees F)

Just grabbin' some salt for tonight's dinner

SO MUCH PORN IN VEGAS

Yosemite National Park!

So majestic and beautiful

En route we saw this fluffy white bull. He didn't want to be
my friend :/

Out of my entire trip, Yosemite has had the best views by far. 

Winter camping is freezing, I don't recommend it unless you are awesome and can brave the cold no problemo. I'm just not that awesome.

We hiked Nevada Falls (really lovely hike) and tried to go on a closed trail but had to turn back because it was just way to sketchy. Very very real chance of us dying because the ice was not only covering the entire trail (and leading into a massive drop off a cliff) it was also melting. So extra sketchy.
We decided to live another day and take the non-novel way back down the mountain.

Also hiked Upper Yosemite Falls (about 3.4 miles, 2,5000 ft) and Yosemite Point (4.4 miles, 3,000 feet).
That extra mile to Yosemite Point is so worth it. Do it. Best view I have ever seen. Also the climb up is a ton of fun and is beautiful because you go over the waterfall.
There is a legit trail way to get up to Yosemite Point and a non-trail, not recommended way.

Super sketchy ice.

We took the non-trail up (lots of fun, not that sketchy, I recommend it), and then the trail way back down. Also beautiful although it takes 3 times longer.

El Capitan! One day I'll be good enough
to climb this

People live in here!

View from Upper Yosemite Falls

Half Dome in the sunset!

View from Yosemite Point. The picture does it
no justice.