Yosemite National Park!

Charlene and Ed at Tunnel View with El Capitan, Half Dome, and Bridalveil Fall behind them.

Charlene and Ed at Tunnel View with El Capitan, Half Dome, and Bridalveil Fall behind them.

We finally made it to Yosemite National Park! For Ed, this has been the number one national park that we have not been to that was at the top of his bucket list. We have tried a couple of times in the past, but something came up preventing our visit (like a snow storm or change in vacation days). However, all that ended today. We celebrated our drive through Yosemite!

The quintessential photo (as reported by Michelle) is taken at Tunnel View looking down Yosemite Valley where El Capitan, Half Dome and Bridalveil Fall can be seen. This seems to be the ultimate “selfie” photo to always be treasured.

Bridalveil Fall was spectacular!

Bridalveil Fall was spectacular!

Yosemite is simply beautiful. The huge granite cliffs, the powerful waterfalls, the beauty of the trees. All combined together, Yosemite is wonderful to enjoy!

Charlene stands before Yosemite Falls.

Charlene stands before Yosemite Falls.

We loved all the waterfalls. John recommended Yosemite Fall. We were standing outside the Visitor Center and realized we could see Upper Yosemite Fall. We drove a short distance and hiked the very short trail and saw both the Upper and Lower Falls. We could feel the spray from the Lower Fall as we took pictures.

Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls.

Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls.

Charlene in front of Lower Yosemite Fall.

Charlene in front of Lower Yosemite Fall.

John also recommended El Capitan and we were awe struck with its majesty. You just have to look up and stare at its huge magnificence. It is so mighty and impressive!

El Capitan

El Capitan

As Ed placed his tripod to take photos, we realized that thousands of others have placed their tripods in the same spot. However, it was special to share in the wonder of such a magical place. Yosemite is certainly a special treasure.

The afternoon sun made these rocks look like nuggets of gold.

The afternoon sun made these rocks look like nuggets of gold.

Upper Yosemite Fall

Upper Yosemite Fall

This is a merged panorama photo of 5 different photos across Yosemite Valley

This is a merged panorama photo of 5 different photos across Yosemite Valley

Odd Day

Today was sort of strange. It started off with Ed giving a lecture through the Internet beginning at 6:00 am. The unique feature about this is that a group of the audience was in London, England and another group was in India. His colleague giving the lecture with him was in North Carolina. So, sitting at the table in our motorhome in a very tiny town, Ed used his cellular phone to create a hotspot to connect his laptop to the webinar. He used headphones with a microphone to lecture and answer questions from the people in India and London. It is amazing because this would not have been possible only a few years ago. Cellular phones and the Internet have really facilitated communications and have enabled people to travel and still be very connected. This RV life is so nice.

When Ed concluded his lecture, he called a local dentist since he got a chipped tooth in the past week. A disadvantage of traveling is that you cannot just run over to your local dentist. The dentist office said they had an opening if he could be there in 10 minutes. The dentist said he needed a crown and that it could be made TODAY. We agreed and Ed walked out of the dentist office 3.5 hours later with a brand new crown. No temporary crown was needed. The computer technology used by the office took electronic photos of his mouth and then designed a crown. The dentist office had a milling machine onsite that actually made the crown from a small block of material. He said the technology to make crowns that quickly in their office has only been on the market for 2 years. It was quite amazing to see the second episode of technologies’ improvements before noon today. We are in a tiny town in the High Sierras and were able to get a new crown without an appointment, only dropping in as a walk-in patient. Amazing.

The white square in the middle is my new crown being milled in the dentist's office. Water is spraying on it to keep it cool as it is being milled. Simply amazing technology!

The white square in the middle is my new crown being milled in the dentist’s office. Water is spraying on it to keep it cool as it is being milled. Simply amazing technology!

We received a packet of mail from the last several weeks and discovered that for some reason our health insurance policy had been incorrectly cancelled. That is a scary realization. We together then spent over 3 hours on the phone re-signing up for a temporary and permanent medical insurance policy that will begin tomorrow. It was a hassle to go through, but we are certainly glad to know we have health insurance again.

Happy Anniversary!

Charlene likes the Coarsegold wood carving

Charlene likes the Coarsegold wood carving

Today is our 35th anniversary. That sounds like a big number, but it sure does not seem like it has been that long. We gave each other anniversary cards and then packed up the motorhome, hit the road and drove through Fresno and stopped in Coarsegold. It is a small town, but beautiful with many, many trees. We absolutely LOVE our campsite. We have been in some RV parks where the sites are crammed together. This site is unbelievably large and roomy. We are on a cul-de-sac with only one other rig (the owner of the park). After Charlene set up the outside mat and chairs, we had a beautiful outdoor “living room.”

Charlene loves all the privacy and space of our new site.

Charlene loves all the privacy and space of our new site.

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Charlene’s first agenda item after seeing such a beautiful site was to head to a hardware store where we bought bird food to set up next to our rig. We also bought some cookies and two cupcakes to celebrate our anniversary from a veterans group selling items outside the hardware store. We next walked through the quirky, fun antique shops in Coarsegold.

While in one of the shops, we met a woman (Gina) from Oregon that has been a solo RVer for 3 years. She is a member of Escapees and we compared Escapees parks which we had each visited. She described some RV rallies in Georgia, Florida, and Arizona that she had attended. She kept saying over and over how much she loved traveling in her motorhome. Although we had never met, we knew a number of the same people. She will be a camp host this summer at an RV park just outside of Yosemite National Park. We do not know when, but I am sure we will run into her again at an RV rally or RV park someplace in the future.

Using her smart phone, Charlene found a barbeque restaurant in Oakhurst (a nearby town) that was highly recommended in some reviews on the Internet. Barbeque pork is so yummy!

Sequoia National Park

Enjoying a beautiful day in Sequoia National Park!

Enjoying a beautiful day in Sequoia National Park!

We completed the circuit today of visiting the national parks near Fresno. Today we drove through Sequoia National Park. It has been nice to visit all the nearby parks and monuments that have groves of giant sequoia trees.

Ed is dwarfed standing in front of General Sherman!

Ed is dwarfed standing in front of General Sherman!

Today we saw probably the most famous giant sequoia. It is General Sherman. There is a big plaque in front of the tree. It is the largest tree in the world. It is not the tallest or the widest, but with its height and width, it has the largest volume of any tree in the world. It is certainly impressive to admire it.

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By volume, the largest tree in the world

By volume, the largest tree in the world

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We liked seeing the giant sequoias in all 4 locations we visited (Giant Sequoia National Monument Southern Unit, Kings Canyon National Park, Giant Sequoia National Monument Northern Unit, and Sequoia National Park). However, our favorite was the Trail of 100 Giants in the Sequoia National Monument Southern Unit. This had a large number of giant sequoias close together that you could actually touch and walk around.

Wineries and Fruit Stands

Charlene celebrates by picking two wines after our first tasting today. A red for Ed and a muscato for Charlene.

Charlene celebrates by picking two wines after our first tasting today. A red for Ed and a muscato for Charlene.

Today was a day of unplanned discoveries. We started by going to one winery and had so much fun enjoying a flight of wine samples that we had to try a few more.

Another tasting at a second winery.......nice!!

Another tasting at a second winery…….nice!!

Along the way we discovered fruit stands with freshly picked strawberries and blueberries.

These fake fruits are placed out front to encourage drivers to stop. The real fruit is on the other side.  Notice the sign.

These fake fruits are placed out front to encourage drivers to stop. The real fruit is on the other side. Notice the sign.

We were amazed we could buy 3 packages of fresh strawberries for only $5

We were amazed we could buy 3 packages of fresh strawberries for only $5

Yummy blueberries for a great price

Yummy blueberries for a great price

We are so famous buying wines and fresh fruit that they named a street after us!

We are so famous buying wines and fresh fruit that they named a street after us!

Charlene is enjoying FREE strawberries and cream. This winery was giving it away to people visiting their store

Charlene is enjoying FREE strawberries and cream. This winery was giving it away to people visiting their store.

At a third location called Simonian Farms we bought more strawberries and also tried fruit wines like pomegranate, blackberry, mango, apricot, and plum. Ed really liked the blackberry so we bought a bottle. Charlene tasted and picked a bubbly Moscato D’Asti, an import from Italy. Now we have enough wine for at least a day.  😉

Kings Canyon National Park

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The national parks east of Fresno are simply amazing. Today we went to Kings Canyon National Park which is part of the High Sierra. We were amazed at the beauty of the Sequoias and the vistas of the canyons. There are many places for wilderness hiking – but not for us on this trip.

We cannot get over the Sequoias. They are larger and wider than any tree we have ever seen. Everyone stares in awe of their majesty. They certainly stand out in a forest!

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Downtown Kingsburg, California

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For our wedding day 35 years ago this month, a wise person gave us a great cookbook called More With Less. It is a Mennonite cookbook and for years we enjoyed Liza’s Tomato and Rice, Pakistani Kima, and Sweet and Sour Soy Beans. Somewhere along the way, we lost our cookbook. We went into a Mennonite Quilt Shop today and lo and behold we saw a new edition of our old favorite cookbook. It still contains some of the exact same recipes. We had to buy a copy. It was like getting a wedding present 35 years later!

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Kingsburg, California has a strong Swedish link and is well known for their water tower near downtown being in the shape of an antique Swedish coffee pot! We have never seen that before.

Sun-Maid Raisins

A lovely bonnet for Charlene! Would you buy raisins from this lady?

A lovely bonnet for Charlene! Would you buy raisins from this lady?

We visited the headquarters of Sun-Maid in Kingsburg, California today. They had every type of raisin you can imagine. Many were covered with chocolate, caramel, or yogurt. Free samples of many types were available.

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Chocolate covered walnuts are hard to find, but they were available at Sun-Maid!

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All kinds of Sun-Maid items were available. Mugs, pins, and yummy snacks were everywhere. After extensive negotiations, we left with 5 different snacks to share.

Giant Sequoia National Monument

The width of the Giant Sequoia trees is incredible!

The width of the Giant Sequoia trees is incredible!

We had the opportunity to drive to the Giant Sequoia National Monument today. We started off less than 300 feet above sea level in our RV Park and climbed to over 6,000 feet to see the Giant Sequoias. We were NOT disappointed! Check this off the bucket list!

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Charlene found a huge pinecone.

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Although it was over 70 degrees on the mountain, there was still snow in many areas.

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The width of the Giant Sequoia trees was simply astounding. They are huge. The oldest trees are certainly tall, but their width is enormous.

Charlene is the little person on the lower left of the photo.

Charlene is the little person on the lower left of the photo.

When the trees have fallen over, their roots form a maze of pathways.

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Moss grows on the north side of many trees.

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The bark of the sequoias is reddish and the striations run vertically with deep creases.

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Relaxing on a bench admiring the beauty of the Giant Sequoia trees. It is simply amazing to stare at them.

Relaxing on a bench admiring the beauty of the Giant Sequoia trees. It is simply amazing to stare at them.

Great Food!

Arizona cafe

With a name like the Arizona Cafe, we had to stop and have a bite. There are many great Mexican food restaurants in Bakersfield with the large Hispanic population. Wish we could try them all. 🙂