Day #6- Atkins Go West 2.0 –Adventure of a Lifetime Continued…(May the Forest Be with You)

June 14, 2017 – Kings Canyon National Park to Yosemite National Park

Atkins Go West 2.0 –Adventure of a Lifetime Continued…(May the Forest be with You)

Weirdest thing we saw: We saw this crazy travel van with a painted window with the couple itinerary for their honeymoon on it.  We actually ran into the couple when we saw the man’s Smokies Strong t-shirt.  Turns out they went to UT and had just gotten married in Cades Cove.  They were taking a cross country trip in this van for their honeymoon.  He was an economics professor and got his doctorate at UT.  She used to work for WATE.  We had the best chat with them.  I LOVE meeting other adventurous folks.

Funniest thing we heard: Joe-Nicholas’s alter ego, Sir Broomingthal the 3^rd Esq., “I stink because I only bathe in the blood of my enemy!”  He used this hilarious Scottish-ish voice for an entire adventure at Glacier Bay. 

Most memorable moment of the day:  Yosemite Falls hike as we stood below the falls and let the mist hit our faces and visiting the 150 year old chapel in the park.

Captain’s Log: So last night I stayed up until 1:00 local time trying to get all of our laundry done for the second half of our trip.  Unfortunately, other moms were doing the same thing so I had to go to another building to do our 5 loads of laundry in one little washer.  It really is amazing how much laundry my family can produce in just a few days!  We don’t even have Christopher or Katie with us!  The dryer in that building was broken so I washed all the clothes hoping to dry them next door but gave up… then hung them in the dark all around our hotel room as Chris and the kids slept.  We got up in the morning and loaded all the semi wet clothes back into the laundry bags and was able to dry it all in the other dryers while we ate breakfast at the hotel.  Joe-Joe’s eye looks so much better although he now has rashes on both legs! We got packed up and reorganized the van before heading off to Yosemite National Park! 

Leaving Three Rivers (a town that reminded us of Townsend) towards Fresno, we passed thousands of citrus trees that were growing on picturesque little farms along the roadside.  We saw lemon and orange trees in all different stages of growth.  

We also passed through the “Raisin Capital of the World” although I never actually saw any grapevines from the road.  The highway took us through Freson, which looked a lot like Knoxville from the interstate but with just a little yellow grass along the highway.  Everything is yellow and brown out here.  We finally made it to Oakhurst which was a small town at the foothills of Yosemite.  Our friend, Erin Clark, grew up in the next town over and had given us recommendations for lunch at the Pizza Station.  

It was delicious!  We had been on the run so much for our meals that it was so nice to just sit down and enjoy a meal together.  We left the pizza place and went ahead and checked into our hotel so we could carry in our luggage during the day.

It was finally time to hit the park!  Although Oakhurst borders the park, it was still a long drive to actually get to the official park entrance.  The park service is doing a ton of restoration and road construction so the lines were long at times.  We entered our 7^th National Park in 6 days!  

Joe-Nicholas always loves going through the park   We drove into the park and immediately enjoyed the views.  Our first stop was to Glacier Point .  When we got out, the kids were able to play in the snow a bit and enjoyed the natural tunnel that had been created by a spring that ran underneath a huge pile of snow. 

  After hiking to the top of the Glacier Point trail , we saw unbelievable views of the mountains that had been cut like a stair case by glaciers from the ice age.  We also saw 4 of the largest waterfalls that I have seen from a distance.  We could see Half Dome and other magnificent peaks towering above the valley below.  

Of course we had to have a short lesson about erosion and how glaciers shaped the valley below. You could see the deep cuts in the side of the rocks where the glaciers had dragged debris across them as they slowly moved down the canyon.  After hiking and exploring all around this stop, we went to the gift shop to get goodies, bumper stickers, and ice cream!  I saw an older gentleman in a wheelchair with his extended family here.  Again, I hope that I will continue to have fantastic adventures like this for my whole life.  Kayden had already promised to bring me along on her adventures in the future.

Our next stop took us to the beautiful Yosemite Valley.  We drove for about 45 minutes or so to get to this area of the park along winding roads with towering trees.  We drove through a very long tunnel and stopped at an overlook called

Tunnel View.  This was our first glimpse of El Capitan!  

It is a perfect name for the massive rock structure.  It was hard to judge the size when everything around it was also huge.  This was another time on our trip that was just awe inspiring.  What a perfect God to be able to create the most beautiful trees with this slab of rock as a backdrop.  We continued around the Valley road until we came to the Yosemite Chapel, the oldest building in the park still in use.  It was built in 1879 and they still have services there each Sunday.  

We explored the inside that was filled with pews and a simple pulpit.  As you walk out of the front steps of the historic church, you look up to Yosemite Falls.  Kayden said this would be the perfect place for us to renew our vows and Benjamin volunteered to be the minister.  We decided to wait on that for another adventure. 

(Benjamin’s writing) The drive around the valley continued to the next feature, the Swinging Bridge.  As you walk across the bridge, you saw swirling, rushing water beneath you and a giant mountain towering over you with a thundering waterfall running down its side. 

We continued on to the Visitor Center to get a photo with the sign. 

On the way, we saw a lean-to type hut made of sequoia bark. The kids instinctively ran in and explored it.

            We made our way to the trail to Yosemite falls. 

We truly weren’t prepared for what we saw next as we hiked up the trail along the small river. The gigantic Yosemite waterfall splashed down, spraying us with mist. Jennifer stood atop a rock for a quiet moment at the base of the falls.  Chris ran up to a rock and did his Titanic “king of the world” pose, and the kids soon followed. The falls splashed into a raging river that went under the bridge and continued on. 

Seeing it was amazing, and it was truly a wonder of god. (End Benjamin’s writing)

While on the trail, we also got an exciting call from Uncle Brad.  He had just landed back in California.  We are hoping to get to see him for at least a bit while we are out west.  We also met the honeymoon couple along the trail when we noticed his Smokies Strong  T-shirt.  We had a great conversation with them about therir adventures and their history in Knoxville.  Benjamin also tripped on a rock and accidentally dropped Kayden’s brand new IPhone down the trail.  Just as it was falling into the river, he trapped it against the side of the bridge.  It was actually really impressive! 

It was almost time for the sun to set and Chris had read that one of the neatest places to watch the sunset was actually looking to the East on Half Dome.  As the sun sets, you can see the light creep up the top of the peak.  

We decided to let this be our last view of Yosemite.  We rushed to the little park store to pick up some sandwich stuff (PB&J was getting old to some of our crew).  We parked alongside the main road with a perfect view of Half Dome and a small meadow to our south.  We used the back of the van as our kitchen and prepared ham and cheese sandwiches for everyone.  We found the perfect log to sit on as we watched the sun disappear on the top of Half Dome.  

The honeymoon couple walked by again and we talked to them in depth.  He was a professor of economics and was very interested that our own son was back home taking his accounting class at Pellissippi instead of making the trip with us. He got Christopher’s contact information so that he could get him in touch with a fellow professor friend that took the same path as Christopher.  They were just the neatest couple.  They were recently on the front page of the Sunday paper in Knoxville with their wedding photos.  I can’t wait to get back to Ktown to see their story.  We took pictures and enjoyed the sun setting in the valley.  We packed up and headed back to Oakhurst to our hotel.  We all went straight to bed!  Exhausted, but happy!!!

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