Yosemite

After the heat of Death Valley we continued into California to Yosemite National Park. We enjoyed five fabulous days in breathtaking scenery. Even the amazing photos taken by Ansel Adams fail to do this wonderful place the justice it needs. Our photos don't relay the scenery but it was still WOW, WOW, WOW!

We did some great walking, and due to lovely weather, enjoyed stunning views. Much of the northern area of the park was inaccessible due to snow blocking the high level passes. At least we have a good excuse for a return visit! On the other hand the time of year and melting snow was great as we enjoyed the HUGE waterfalls. Incredibly noisy and exherting great power they really were beautiful.

More soon.

Adam & Claire xxx

New Mexico to California

Early on Saturday morning we left New Mexico and headed west. We drove more than 500 miles, much of it through empty, but stunning, desert landscape.



After hours of tarmac we arrived at our planned destination of the the Grand Canyon, Arizona. Our first thoughts were "WOW" . Picitures in geography textbooks just don't do this natural wonder the justice it deserves. We were amazed by the shear size and scale. But we didn't just gaze in wonder. Yesterday we hiked into the canyon and were further impressed with where we were and what we saw.




We were fortunate enough to stay at the National Park Campsite on the South Rim. Lovely big pitches, lots of shade and firepits made it great spot. All we needed were mashmallows and we would have been back at Scout/Guide camp!


Today we drove on through Arizona and Nevada. Many more miles, much more desert. Had it not been for the difference in vegetation many of the mountains could have been in the English Lake District or Scotland, if a little taller.


This afternoon we arrived in Death Valley, California. Stunning geology, full of colour and pattern. We stopped at Badwater, at 282 feet below sea level it is the lowest point in the USA, and the location of the highest recorded temperature in the USA (56 degC recorded in 1913).


Adam and Claire xxx

Summer Road Trip

Today we started our vacation to explore some of the US of A. First, we had to get out of Texas! Travelling west on the I10 the changing landscape was interesting; from the flatness of Houston to undulating countryside and finally to mountains on the Tex-Mex border emerging from the plains.

After almost 800 miles we reached the Texas-New Mexico border. Yeah! A much easier journey than we had anticipated with good roads, and very little traffic. The rest areas were great and reminded us of the "aires" in France.

We've now stopped in New Mexico for the night. After all that driving it's time for sleep before lots more miles tomorrow.

Adam & Claire xxx

Since the MS150, to be honest, there hasn't been much to blog about. Adam has been back in France and that's about it. We've also been busy preparing for our vacation so you might see a few more blogs. More soon.

Adam & Claire xxx