Day 26: Yosemite & Sequoia National Parks

We got up early and headed out as fast as we could. In the light of the morning, we could see the campground a little better now. EVERY site except for the one they wanted us to be in was LEVEL!!!!! I guess they don't pay much attention to their reservations.....Because we had packed the night before it was easy to get out fast. It was about 50 miles to Yosemite and we saved $20 on our card when we got there. They didn't give us a map so we tried to figure out where we were going by the signs. We figured the visitors center was a good place. So we kept going and going...eventually we saw a pull-out and stopped because Devin needed a break. It just so happened to be the El Capitan overlook.

We got back on the road to try to go to the visitors center. We made it to the parking lot but it was a far walk to the center (we couldn't even see it. the signs said it was a far walk). We parked illegally long enough to go to the bathroom and then tried to get out of there. I had taken a map while there at a small information desk. I say took because there were about 400 people in a 50 sq ft info tent and after 5 minutes still didnt have the chance to even ASK if they had any. I just saw, grabbed, and ran. The big stuff all sits on a road loop. We had come in on the bottom loop and were trying to get on the upper part of the loop and still got off and into the restricted parks area where they have all their offices. It wasn't a bit deal, but I want to reiterate how hard this place is to navigate. We eventually stopped and picnicked at a site right under El Capitan, enjoying PBJ & Salad. Leaving was supposed to be easy. We get back on the loop, hang a left to go to the south side of the park, and keep on going. We missed the left and had to turn around. By this time we were ready to get outta there. As we were leaving we got some good pics though.

We stopped in town just outside Yosemite for a refill on gas & water, Devin had said I had black stuff all over my face...when I went to the bathroom he was right! We were both covered in road grime. We loaded up and kept on south to go to Sequoia National Park. It was about a 100 mile detour to our site. It took a really long time to get there and it was really hot, but once we started getting up into the mountains (Sierra) it was nice and cool. We got into the park and saved another $20 on our card...it's paid for itself now! We made it to the highlight, The General Sherman. It is the largest living tree (based on volume). It's about 2, 250 years old:

Mini-B was completely dwarfed by it. This was the first time anyone had asked about him. We were taking pics a little further up the path and I got one of him and some people asked about him. Surprising we got this far without people wondering why we taking pictures of a stuffed dog!

We also saw the twin sequoias. There's the twin with the twins:

One of them had a big burnt out area. Fire helps them get so big:

There was a cross-cut of one cut down in the 50s. It was also several thousand years old:

They had a tunnel going through one that had fallen:

We then had to, of course, get a pic with the bike:

We had a really good time in Sequoia National Park. It was spectacular. The trees are enormous and their growth cycle is quite fascinating. This is the only place that they live. Anyway, it was getting darker and we were ready to go. We exited the south side of the park that led right into the town we were staying at. In true Miles Across America fashion, we hit unpaved road coming down the side of the mountain. For several miles.

After the dirt it was twists and turns, 15 mph. It was great riding. We eventually made it to our KOA just before it closed and were able to set up our tent before it got dark! We went to In-N-Out burgers for dinner. A fave of Devin's and one of the things he wanted to do while out west.

After we came back to the campsite we started a fire. The camp store sold little s'mores packets and we bought one. We made s'mores before going to bed.

Today we traveled 320.1 miles for a total of 7389.9 miles across America