Some beautiful places - trip photos!

I arrived back to my hometown at 3 AM this morning and have been busy getting ready to head back to school tomorrow and wishing I was still out west. I just thought I'd share a few of the photos - we saw some absolutely stunning areas. I won't bore you with the million stories from the trip - just the basics. I've already got the tales from the trip down the Grand Canyon up on my blog and will be adding some of the other hikes soon, so check there (link at the bottom of my sig) if you so desire.

Here goes.

Stop number two following a relative uneventful night in Phoenix, AZ was the Grand Canyon. We hiked the Bright Angel trail down, camped at the bottom, and hiked back to the rim the following day. Doing the 20 miles with over 20 pounds on my back in two days was enough to make me walk like a penguin for the next five, but it was absolutely worth it. One word: magnificent.







me hiking








Devil's corkscrew






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sunrise over the canyon rim on our very first morning before we started the descent


an elk by the lodge on the first morning




Our next stop was Las Vegas. We splurged here and got a room with an AMAZING view of the Bellagio fountains.



We then headed to Joshua Tree National Park. Quite a change of scenery from the Grand Canyon, but still pretty crazy. I'd never want to live there in the middle of the desert, but it was pretty incredible to visit.





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A cactus in Joshua Tree



After the desert, we booked it to the coast to LA. Honestly, LA was my least favorite of all of the places we went, so I'm going to bypass on those photos and continue onto those from Santa Barbara.

These next two are for you, Caliterp:

Rusty's Pizza! It was sooooo delicious. Thanks for the recommendation!




little art show


On our way to Pismo Beach, we spotted an animal shelter, and me being me, had to stop.

I wanted this little guy


And onto Pismo Beach!









if anyone wants to enlighten me as to what these birds are, I'd appreciate it!

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After a night there, we left and stopped in a town called Cayucos on our way to Cambria, CA. There, we wandered along the boardwalk and spotted these brazen little guys.





In Cambria we went to a cool beach with a million awesome pebbles instead of sand. I could've stayed there forever.





sunset at Moonstone Beach





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The next stop was Yosemite. The word for this place? Breathtaking.

Half Dome


Sentinel Dome


Famous tree atop Sentinel Dome


chipmunk


View of May Lake from the Mt. Hoffman Trail


Yellow Bellied Marmot


some weird bird. Know what he is??


View from near the top of Mt. Hoffman


May Lake again


Rainbow at Vernal Falls


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More Vernal Falls




Tuolumne Meadows


Mule deer in the meadow






the river water was crystal clear


And although I was sad to leave Yosemite, we still had cool plans ahead. We met up with my sister near the base of Mt. Whitney to do some day hiking there before her and my brother and law attempted to summit Mt Whitney (the highest peak in the contiguous 48 states).

Getting lost on the way with a flooded road and some spectacular views




Our day hike - Lone Pine Lake


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another mule deer




Finally - I'm DONE! Hope you like the scenery - I know I sure did. It was the trip of a lifetime and I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to visit some amazing places!

Gorgeous! Thanks for taking me along through pics.

YOU ATE RUSTY'S!!! AND SAW PELICANS!!! (Now I'm homesick).

You totally just made me relive my childhood. Our summer vacations were dragging the pop up tent trailer all over, camping in national parks. Glad you had such a good time!

Those are all such gorgeous pics! Man I miss the grand canyon. It's really an amazing sight to see!

Glad you all enjoyed the photos - with classes quickly approaching, I'm wishing I was still there! I hope someday I have the means to go back to CA - especially Yosemite... I don't think that we even scraped the surface of all there is to see there.

Oh Joshua Tree... that's one of my favorite places on earth.

That looks like an amazing trip.

Ptarmigan?

thank you!