Revelation 12:11: National Parks Galore!

Hello! We are back in civilization after spending four days in California’s beautiful National parks. We parted from Megan on Sunday and drove to Yosemite National Park where we stayed for two nights. Then we traveled south to Sequoia National Park for two nights. We had neither wi-fi, nor electricity, nor clean bathrooms. And at times, no showers. Needless to say, I am very excited to be sleeping in a hotel tonight.

It’s going to be hard to sum up the beauty we’ve seen in these parks. Yosemite’s beautiful half dome took us by surprise after we drove nearly 30 miles on twisty-windy roads to Glacier Point in the park. It was breathtaking. And the giant Sequoia trees in Sequoia NP were just as awe-inspiring. To think our God created such amazing trees… that have lived since before Jesus walked the earth. Amazing.

We also really enjoyed seeing stars again for the first time in months. And it was warm enough to sit outside and gaze at them! We were lucky enough to see a couple shooting stars together, and clumsily try to point out constellations. “See the end of my finger? It’s right there… no a little to the right, above that branch. No, the other branch…” You get my drift.

As I mentioned, we have now driven hundreds of miles on twisty, windy roads up and down the Sierra Mountain range. I don’t think I’ve mentioned our “road food” system yet in my blog. We have an electric cooler in the FJ to keep our lunch cold while we travel. We make sandwiches every morning… it has saved us loads of money. It’s placed vertically on the seat behind me, with the door opening towards the driver’s seat. To access it, I have mastered quite the maneuver. Pull front seat forward. Adjust back seat forward. Twist my body around. Open door with left hand. Awkwardly reach into cooler with right hand, searching for the right shaped object I am looking for. Close cooler. Twist back around. Adjust seat back to it’s previous position. Enjoy sandwich. All without unbuckling my seat beat! I swear, I should get a co-pilot’s medal or something.

This morning’s drive out of Sequoia NP was a bit unnerving as the road we had to take even advised against vehicles over 22 feet in length. Our whole rig is 30 feet. That’s 8 extra feet of risk-taking my friends. An hour later, my knuckles whiter than I ever imagined possible, and a some brake dust fumes later, we were safely to the bottom of the High Sierras. PTL.

I’ll be honest and admit there were times my head was shoved down between the two front seats as I took deep breaths and prayed for safety while Jordan gracefully handled roads no wider than our car. I am very grateful for the straight, desert roads we are going to be driving through the next few days.

A couple “Did you really just say that?” moments from our travels:

While up at Glacier Point admiring the gorgeous scenery, we heard a young girl say to her friend, “Well, it would be kinda cool except we’ve already seen this view from 13 different angles. Seriously, I’m so bored.” It’s too bad her parents took her all the way to this national park to appreciate nature, where cell phones don’t work, and your Instagram photos on Facebook won’t really do justice to the amazing experience you were given.

While sitting outside the visitor center in Sequoia, we heard another young girl say to some friends she was walking with, “I just want to know when he actually got fat. I mean, I’ve seen pictures of him when he was little, so I just want to know when he actually got fat.” Her friends nodded in agreement. My jaw dropped in sheer shock.

Once again, Layla-doo has proven to be such a source of joy and entertainment on this trip. We can hardly go anywhere with her without a handful of people stopping to ask if they can pet her and tell us how cute she is. We know, thanksJ Our campsite in Sequoia was right next to the bathrooms, so it was pretty much a highway for Layla-admirers all day long. And she loved every minute of it.

She has her routine though, and don’t you forget it. We get woken up at 7am sharp every morning, whether we went to bed early or late the night before. Pup let’s us know she has to pee with quiet, “ever-so-subtle” whines that warn you if you don’t get up and let her out, it won’t be her fault. One morning, I think she had to go so bad she started shaking. I didn’t know dogs and people were so alike!

She’s a great traveler though, and so we are rewarding her with a two-night stay in a five-star doggie hotel in Vegas while Mom and Dad get to play. She’ll get an entire day tomorrow to play with other dogs, her own room with bed and TV, and all the attention she could desire. Lucky dog.

Here are a few of our favorite pictures from the past few days!