Grand Canyon & Yosemite Intro

After Sedona, we headed up to the Grand Canyon for a day of adventure. It was gorgeous on the drive in.. huge full pines, some residual snow still melting off from a particularly cool Spring season, huge puffy white clouds and a bold blue sky. After about 15 minutes at the south rim of the canyon, the skies changed just as quickly as they do in Texas. Apparently there is a well-known season called 'monsoon' in AZ. I learned quickly what the term meant.. over a period of 5 to 10 minutes, the skies went cloudy, temperature dropped from 85 to 65 degrees, rain poured down, follow quickly by hail and brutal winds!

We took a wet stroll along the rim when the lightning subsided long enough for us to gain some confidence about the safety of the activity.. We checked out the museum and information center where we imagined ourselves actually hiking down into the canyon.. It seems so funny that my fear of 108 degree temperatures on the canyon floor was met with a 65 degree monsoon reality! While it wasn't quite what we expected for our day trip, adventure was still had!

After our canyon adventure, we headed to Flagstaff then out to Yosemite. Opting for the 13 hour route (with an approach from the southeast) meant that we could be driving between Death Valley and the Mohave Desert! It was quite a visual treat. Some parts of the desert were white sand, others rolling foothills of orange dirt and brushy stubble, still others shorter green trees and more mountainous views.

Our approach dropped us north of Mount Whitney (the tallest point in the lower 48 states - approx. 20,000') on the east side of Yosemite National Park just before dark. We were able to see more than 2 hours of the most spectacular mountain views on the drive in. Clearings in the pine groves revealed sneak peeks of serene, sleepy lakes which projected mirror images of the surrounding mountains.

On Thursday, July 22, we hiked Half Dome! We charged up a 4800' elevation gain over a 7-mile path up to the summit where we met 400' of vertical cables which led up apex of the granite boulder that is Half Dome. Several thousand weekend warriors take the Half Dome challenge each year, we were happy to be counted among the percentage that made the ascent. The views were well worth the trip up and we enjoyed reflecting upon them during the 7-mile return hike!

On Friday, July 23, we had a picnic lunch then swam in the Merced river at a spot just outside of Curry Village in Yosemite. Then we explored the Mariposa Grove, home of some of the largest trees in California. The sequoias we saw were more than 3,000 years old and were truly spectacular. One of my favorites, the Grizzy Giant sequoia, was 98' around the base, its limbs measured 6' to 8' in circumference and it was taller than a Boeing 747 jet!

After a wonderfully memorable southwest adventure road trip, I dropped Phil off in Fresno to fly back to Dallas then headed to church on Sunday in a town near the Hostel I would be staying at the for next month and started prepping for the beginning of my Wilderness First Responder and EMT course (W-EMT)..