(Belated) Halloween Holiday Throwback Part 2: Exploring California's Natural Wonders
Welcome back folks! In the last blog post, we spent the week in downtown San Francisco exploring the likes of the Golden Gate Bridge, Oracle Park and Alcatraz Island. However, in this blog post, we will be leaving the jungle of San Francisco and instead, we'll venture out of the city and spend our time visiting several different national parks, taking in the natural beauty California has to offer. The main stops on our journey this week include Muir Woods, Yosemite, a quick pitstop in Bodie and finally ending our adventure at Lake Tahoe.
Muir Woods
The first stop on our adventure this week was Muir Woods, home of the incredibly impressive coastal redwood trees. The coastal redwoods are a species of tree that are native to California and cannot be found anywhere else. Coastal redwoods are also sometimes confused with giant sequoias, another species of tree that is very similar to redwoods due to the fact that they share a distinctive colour, they both grow to enormous heights and are both only found in California.
Our visit to Muir Woods made me feel as if I was on the planet Endor from Star Wars and if I'm being completely honest I was a little disappointed I didn't see any Ewoks! Fun Fact: Originally, filmmakers did want to use Muir Woods to film many of the iconic scenes from the movie, however, they were quickly shot down (pardon the pun) when the use of pyrotechnics was brought up.
Yosemite
Next up was Yosemite National Park, one of the largest national parks in the United States and definitely one of the most beautiful (in my professional opinion!). Yosemite is so large that it was around an hour's drive from the entrance to the visitor centre and our accommodation. It is home to a number of popular climbing destinations including Half Dome and El Capitan as well as beautiful scenic views and waterfalls. Despite not being a fan of heights myself, I would still like to attempt Half Dome sometime in my life, as long as there is an escalator that goes straight to the top!
Fortunately for my fear of heights, we decided against climbing these mountains (that put the likes of Cavehill and Slieve Donard to shame!) and instead stayed firmly on solid ground. We spent the day walking the grounds of Yosemite, seeing the extremely impressive waterfalls and Merced River. Even though I would consider myself a strong swimmer, I wouldn't want to dip my toes in the Merced River as it would certainly sweep me off my feet with it's strong current!
Bodie
A quick pitstop in a quaint bed & breakfast was the penultimate stop on our journey. Just outside the old abandoned mining town of Bodie, we spent the evening in a stereotypical American diner (we had to at least once on the trip!) and then finished off the night playing cards and board games.
Lake Tahoe
Finally, we reached Lake Tahoe, probably my favourite place on earth. The weather was fantastic and we spent the time kayaking on the lake and splashing about. We also took time to explore the area around our "cabin" (it was more like a mansion and calling it a cabin is a HUGE understatement!). The last few days of our trip were spent chilling out by the lake, kayaking or going on different walks or adventures near our accommodation. Despite bears being quite common in Lake Tahoe, we unfortunately didn't get a chance to see any while we were there. We did however get a chance to see a wild mountain lion on the security cameras as it was snooping around near our cabin on the final night.
Overall, I couldn't recommend California enough, it is hands down the best trip I have been on and I cannot wait to get the chance to go back. The scenic views and amazing weather make it such an enjoyable trip and I'd highly recommend for anyone to go visit if they have the opportunity.
Thanks for reading folks, all the best now!
Comments
Post a Comment