This morning we head to the Grand Canyon... a  5 hour drive.

For a brief moment we were on Route 66..

and I saw something I’d been waiting to photograph a Saguaro cactus... there wasn’t a place to stop so I snapped a picture out the window at the stop light.

I was thinking that driving up the area would be a desert... but an hour from Grand Canyon this was the view... looked like it could be anywhere in Montana.

We stopped for gas, a treat, and to stretch our legs and I saw these “candy corn” flowers.

I asked a local what they were and he said. Indian paintbrushes... not the Paintbrushes we are used to seeing. He also said that were also called Red Hot Pokers... that made better sense to me.

Our first view at Grand Canyon... it’s beautiful, the light and colors change often.

More Grand Canyon pictures...

We went to a Star gazing program tonight and it was AWESOME! They had a talk first and then we went out to the parking lot where they had the AZ amateur astrologers and their telescopes set up, a variety of different shapes and sized pointed to different areas of the sky. Talking to people who are really excited about their hobby makes you equally enthused.   We saw SATURN including rings and it’s Titus Moon... how cool is that?  He saw the Hercules star cluster, Nebulas, 2 other galaxies in the Leo constellation, a binary star and more awesomness which I can’t remember. It was truly an unbelievable experience... one I will treasure and remember always.

This morning we were up early for a tour of Scotty’s castle in Death Valley. Had breakfast this morning before we left but could only take a sip of coffee since it was already HOT outside. The castle was an hour away and with the stops of having to pull over for “urpiness” we just barely made the tour. Little story about the castle..

“Scotty” a cowboy from the area convinced millionaire Albert Johnson to invest in his gold mine. There was not a gold mine and when Albert came out west to check on his investment he found out what a fraud Scotty was. He went back East to work vowing to never giving Scotty another dime. When we returned home however he got to thinking about his dream of living out west and how much better he felt while he was in Death Valley. He decided to come back and have Scotty be his personal tour guide. They formed a friendship and Albert Johnson not wanting anyone to know that he was a wealthy man built a castle for himself but let Scotty take all the credit for it. The castle was to mimic a Spanish Colonial home.

The tile was gorgeous... some imported from Spain and some mass produced in Los Angeles in the 1920s.

I loved the curtains... so detailed and made from calf skin.

The organ was outstanding it still is working and when played sounds like a whole orchestra is playing with it.

I was so looking forward to taking pictures of large cactus in Death Valley and have only seen these small ones...

Other pictures from Death Valley...

The whole time I was taking pictures all I could think was that it looked like a sand and gravel business.

Our time was short here, Ainsley didn’t feel well and with temps at 104 we decided hiking wasn’t in hers or our best interest and opted for ice cream on the front steps of the general store before heading to Las Vegas.

Luckily the Jr. Ranger program was a short one and the kiddos got badge #3...

Vegas was a time to cool off in an air conditioned room, do laundry (that was interesting doing it in a hotel), order room service and just chill.

One week on the road and we are still loving the adventure. Hard to believe that this is our last day here in Kings Canyon/Sequoia NP. We decided to squeeze in a few stops this morning before heading to Death Valley.  First stop was the museum…where I was most impressed with the floor... how gorgeous is this?

I’m sure the Ranger doesn’t get asked my question of what type of flooring it was. It is Fir.

Next stop the tunnel log…it's one of those things you have to get a picture driving through.

On the way to Death Valley the road was lined with orange and lemon trees. We saw a little fruit stand and pulled over…the smell was oh so yummy and sweet.

We came away with quite the selection... apricots the size of my fist, the sweetest oranges ever eaten, nectarines and peaches. Also got some dried mangos and cashews.

Saw this town along the way in California and had to stop for a bite to eat. Decided we would NOT want to live here... too big... too hot... too much of us being the minority.

Back on the road and saw the biggest wind farm around Mojave, CA…was almost alienish with so many of them.

We pulled into Death Valley late... around 10pm and the temp was 100! Excited to see exactly what it actually looks like in the morning.

Today we headed down to the Sequoia part of the Kings Canyon/Sequoia NP.

Previous day was spent up in the Kings Canyon part of the NP. We watched a movie on black bears and a movie on the reconstruction of the General Sherman area. In the early stages of the park they had over 200 buildings and it was made with some of the most awful materials know to earth, asbestos etc. The before and after pictures are like night and day... the park looks like it was always this way…so natural.

Here we also climbed up to Moro Rock... which had extreme heights... 400 granite steps up... so yes I did count... most of the way with the kiddos each shouting out what number they were on I lost track in the 300s. Towards the end it could have been 4000 steps.

I loved these flowers that grew from the rock ledge...

I didn’t think I had a fear of heights but I was so not looking down over the edge.

Here’s the view from the highway of Moro Rock... hard to believe we stood on top!

We also saw the biggest living Sequoia, the General Sherman. So big that I could not get the shot of the entire thing even with me getting as close as I could to the ground.

It is as tall as the Statue of Liberty and if you laid it down it would be just 9 yards short of a touchdown. Truly wow... just overwhelming.

The Congress Trail we walked along has some of the largest Sequoia in the forest (again I took a picture I think of every single tree... with mouth completely opened in ahh).

As we were rounding the corner of the trail we came upon some hikers that had just walked back slowly from seeing a bear cub and a Mama bear nowhere in sight. We sat and watched the cub for a bit (at a safe distance) and watched him settling into what looked like a nap.

We decided to do the same and go back the way we came and leave “Little Bear” to snooze. We LOVE this park and wished we had a few more days to explore and hike. Kiddos also earned another badge...

This morning we are up and out early and headed to a Ranger program at Grant Grove a cluster of Sequoia trees. It was unbelievable... by far one of the best Ranger talks we’ve ever been to. It had history of the park, info about the Sequoia trees and it was an hour long stroll through the grove with us oohing and aahing at each tree. Love these couple of pictures... hard to believe the scale until you add a Daddy and kiddo..

I think I took a picture of every Sequoia in the park…just loved them, the size, the smell and the interesting story associated with them.

These trees are fire resistant, pest resistant, the bark is light like Styrofoam and when you tap on them they are hollow sounding but solid on the inside.

You’d think that big trees produce big cones…right?

Nope this is a picture of a sugar pinecone a tree that is also plenty in the park.

The cone of a Sequoia is this cute thing…

These are the seeds... about the size of oats. Crazy how mother nature works.

We walked through a downed Sequoia that was once a cabin that a couple of brothers turned into a hotel and saloon.

The side view:

We ended up doing 1 more hike and a really good one... it was very raw, it hadn’t been cleaned up by the park service yet since the snow had just started to melt. We were the only ones on the trail and we felt like we were explorers climbing over downed trees to keep going along the trail. This hike showed the devastation that occurred when the loggers clearcutted the Sequoias in the hopes of using it for wood. The Sequoia tress actually “explode” when they are cut and hit the ground. The loggers tried and tried to cut them without the product ending up to be unuseable but it just couldn’t happen. The devastation just makes you feel sick as you walk through the “graveyard”.

We were able to walk up onto the Mark Twain tree...

And to think, these aren't even the "big Sequoias" we will see those on Day 7.

This morning before we left we headed up to see Hetch Hetchy... we figured you have to see what the controversy was all about during the time. We were surprised that you could walk out on the O’Shaughnessey Dam.

The moment we arrived in Kings Canyon/Sequoia NP we LOVED IT!

We had a cute little cabin from the 1930’s... complete with shower a very much needed shower... as night time fell the carpenter ants... an inch long... no joke, started coming in as well. So yeah... squeamish kiddos already with bugs outside were now freaking out with them inside. So glad they were extra tired and zonked early because there would have been NO WAY they would have stayed there. Us parents were up til 3am scooping ants into the toilet... they even crawled out of it?!?! We then crammed Kleenex into all openings and seemed to keep them at bay and dozed off sometime in the night.

Definitely has been an adventure!

Next morning I let the management know and they are helpless in the fact that the ants are considered animals of the park and no harm can be done to them under the park protection. Am glad to have a campsite the next couple of nights... where we have mesh covering us.

Today is our last full day in Yosemite... and we are ready to leave... the traffic and people are starting to get to us. It really irritates you when you wait in long lines like everyone else and then people behind you start to drive down the “wrong way” and get a spot ahead of you!

Bridal Falls was first on our list... as we tried to get closer the wetter and windier it got. Stewart braved it with the kiddos and they thought it was pretty awesome to get soaked by a gust of wind.

Next stop was up to Glacier point to get an overview of the park. It was another winding road... really am looking forward to getting off of these... can we say urpy... again! We stopped at Washburn to get a breath of fresh air... amazing!

The vistas are unbelievable... could have stayed sitting here all day soaking up the sunshine, the fresh air, the quietness, and birds chirping.

Of course there was snow to be played in again!

At the top of Glacier point (it’s 7000 ft high in elevation) you can hear the roar of the falls down below!

So Walker is big on "rock climbing" here... wants to constantly show you his rock climbing moves and hopes to climb Half Dome... was very disappointed that the cables were not in place for the year yet... yeah like the parents would be taking them to the top of that! Cute little Bug in his hat!

Our last hike for our time here was to Lower Yosemite Falls and we decided to eat early again and hit the hike around 6ish again... it paid off again the crowds had died down.

It was a favorite hike of the park... the closer we got to the falls... the wetter we would get from the mist..

here we are... feeling like we are reporters in a hurricane...

Ainsley and Daddy headed closer for a picture... Walker was gripping onto Mama and wanting to leave.

Got back to the campground into bed and shortly after Ainsley started throwing up... interesting dealing with that in the dark…and in a tent!

Good bye Yosemite...

Today is our 12^th anniversary. Went to Crane Flatts in Yosemite for coffee... nothing better than coffee and heated seats first thing in the morning in the wilderness.

Went straight to the visitor center and was able to figure out that the best way to get around the park was through the shuttle system.

We watched the Yosemite movie... it always gets us ready to see the park and excited to explore. Kiddos and John Muir.

First stop was to see Vernal Falls. It was a steep climb up but it was worth it to feel the mist spray onto us from the bridge.

There was also a drinking fountain and Ainsley said it was the best water she’d ever tasted... in fact it was her highlight of the trip. The kiddos finished up their Jr. Ranger booklets while we visited the Indian Museum and watched arrowheads being formed. I loved the baskets that were made by the Ahwahnechee Indians. (sorry thought I had a photo)

We squeezed in a ranger program about Black Bears and visited the Ansel Adams gallery, which I could have spent the rest of the day in admiring the photos.

This deer was just hanging out at the visitor center... munching leaves and watching everyone...

We started catching on to Yosemite and found the best time for a hike was around 6ish (while everyone was eating dinner) so we took one more hike up to Mirror Lake and were pleasantly surprised at how much more relaxing it was.

Picture of half dome with mirror lake...

Half dome reflecting in Mirror Lake.

We decided to splurge on dinner... in the Mountain Room it had a view of the falls and was pretty fancy for us campers. You know cloth napkins and real silverware... something not seen at our campsite!

I had the Halibut with carrot and cauliflower puree on a bed of hash browns with crispy onions and bacon…mmm…Stewart had Prime Rib with a southwestern corn puree and green beans also mmm.

Kiddos had spaghetti and were most excited about the ice cream and wafer cookie. ..we had lemon blueberry cheesecake... tart and not very sweet but refreshing.

A great 12^th anniversary and a better day in Yosemite.

Just as we got the kiddos into bed after day 1 and had just turned out the lights... the smoke detector started chirping... the battery was dead…good thing we know how to change a battery since they front desk couldn’t change it until they had another person present... lovely.

This morning we were trekking our way through the rest of Nevada and were really glad that we had borrowed “Madge” aka the talking map because we found ourselves in the midst of Carson Valley days and the main roads through town were closed!! Plus it tells you expected arrival time... which helps with the asking of “Are we there yet?” We did quite a few detours but finally made it to California and had to go through an Agriculture inspection…

it was here that we noticed that the pass we were to take was closed…and were told to take another route. (found out later that there was an avalanche and the pass is under 40 ft of snow)

Along the way we went through a town called “Walker”..

where everything from the stream to the general store was named Walker. Our little Bug though that it was super cool…and couldn’t believe so many things were named after him.

The pass that we went over was 9624 ft at the top... the snow along the sides was taller than the car... we stopped for a stretch, a feel and a quick picture.

Was interesting to see  a Marines camp up there as well, it literarily feels like you are in a war area seeing the soldiers with guns... and tents set up along the way.

The pass was very winding ..in fact 3 out of the 4 McFarlands were feeling sick... one more so than the rest... resulting in socks being thrown away at the very next available garbage. Most used word so far along the trip…Urpy!

We made it to Yosemite Valley had an “Oh My” moment when we first saw Half Dome... nothing beats that first glimpse of a National Treasure... I get goosebumps every time.

Grabbed the kiddos Jr. Ranger books at the visitor center and headed for a bite to eat…the view out our window... OMG

It took us 2 hours to get through the traffic and finally get a bite to eat…there are gobs... and gobs of people here. I feel like we are at Disneyland more than at a National park…and most of the cars are from California. Before we got into the traffic we did have an exciting moment... a bear walked right across the road in front of us... was one of those surreal moments... he was there one minute and gone the next.

The Campground was a bit of a trek in and out of the park…over an hour away but setting up the tent this year was nice... a huge difference in ages this year the kiddos were willing to help out an listen!!

Today we were so excited to get going that we were all up early... had breakfast... finished packing and hit the road just a little bit after 7 am. We were feeling pretty good about getting out on time…

About 2 ½ hours into our trip we realized in all the excitement of the morning we left ½ of our breakfast and lunch items in the FREEZER!!! Not too much of a biggie, a trip to Walmart will be able to fix it... but it was all the yummies that were left... homemade monster cookies, Costco muffins, etc.

We had a stop in Twin Falls to check out the canyon…it's large... and I can only imagine what the Grand Canyon will feel like in a week.

It was a relatively short drive for the 9 hours spent driving today. We made it through just about all of Nevada... which is covered mostly with sagebrush, but Wells, NV was beautiful with big snow covered mountains.

The stop for tonight was in Fernley, NV... the 9 hour drive went pretty quick… and the kiddos were super excited to head to the pool, have dinner in bed with a Disney movie and lounge…