Day 1: May 16, 2007 Arrived into Portland, Oregon (PDX) at 10:30am.
Our plane: An ex-[Delta]Song 757 that brought us to PDX from Atlanta.
The Columbia River Gorge is a spectacular river canyon cutting the only sea-level route through the Cascade Mountain Range.
It's 80 miles long and up to 4,000 feet deep with the north canyon walls in Washington State and the south canyon walls in Oregon State.
Dave's poor photographic skills shine brightly in this picture.
I-84 winding it's way through the gorge
Danielle and Dave at Crown Point State Park
Dave likes this pic.
An awesome view of the majestic Douglas firs on our way up Larch Mountain in the Columbia River Gorge National Recreation Area
The view from on top of Larch Mountain (elevation 4,055'). The mountain in the distance is Mount Adams, which is 54 miles to the northeast in Washington State and has an elevation of 12,307'.
Poking through the clouds in the distance is Mount Ranier, just outside of Seattle, Washington. Ranier is approximately 100 miles to the north of Larch and stands 14,410' tall.
Some neat rock formation on the top of Larch Mountain.
A stunning picture of Mount Hood, Oregon's tallest mountain. From the top of Larch, Hood is 22 miles due south. Mt.Hood stands11,235' tall.
The "peak" of Larch Mountain.
The mountain in the distance is Mount Jefferson, Oregon's 2nd highest volcano. Jefferson is 62 miles away and stands 10,497' tall.
An incredible view of the Columbia River and the Portland area from atop Larch Mountain.
Dave trying to be creative with the camera.
Another stunning view of Mount Hood.
A Trillium along the Larch Mountain hike. Did you know it is illegal to pick trilliums in several states, including Oregon? Picking the flowers of Trillium can seriously injure the plant. The three leaves below the flower are the plant's only food source and a picked trillium may die or take many years to recover.
Another Trillium, or perhaps the same one.
Our rental car: A Pontiac G6. Next to some snow in May!
A beautiful patch of Elephants Head along the road on the way down from Larch Mountain.
Elephants Head (look closely, and you'll see the resemblance between the flower and the head of an elephant)
Elephants Head
Latourell Falls along the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Highway. Along this highway, there are literally hundreds of waterfalls pouring over the canyon walls. It is really quite stunning.
A bridge...I think Danielle took this picture.
Dave, hiking somewhere.
Dave, returning from his hike.
Dave going across a bridge.
Bridal Veil Falls
The bottom of Bridal Veil...it was awesome down here. The sound of the waterfall...the lush green landscape...and water that was clearer than clear. Paradise.
Bridal Veil
A Coastal Manroot in the Bridal Veil Falls wash.
More creative photography with ferns and the waterfall.
I can't be sure, but I think this is a Anemone trifolia.
More creativity.
A wild Geranium (I think) along Bridal Veil Creek.
Danielle along Wahkeena Creek.
Dave along the creek with the falls in the background.
Wahkeena Creek.
I'm not sure what this ground covering was, but I am pretty sure they are wild Geraniums. Does anyone have a better guess?
Looking down the creek from the base of Wahkeena Falls. At the bottom, you can see a dot in the parking lot. That's Danielle.
Wahkeena Falls (242 feet high...compared to Niagara Falls which is only 173 feet high)
The bottom of Wahkeena Falls
Another view of Wahkeena
Looking under the stone bridge over Wahkeena Creek.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find any information for these flowers. Can anybody help?
Wahkeena
The granddaddy of the Columbia River Gorge waterfalls.....Multnomah Falls.
The falls drops in two major steps, split into an upper falls of 542 ft and a lower falls of 69 ft, with a gradual 9 foot drop in elevation between the two, so the total height of the waterfall is conventionally given as 620 ft, nearly three times the height of Niagara Falls. Unbelievable!
Multnomah Falls is the second tallest year-round waterfall in the United States.
The Benson Footbridge across the creek.
Beautiful!
Dave the videographer
I see you!
Dave & Danielle in front of Multnomah Falls.
Dave & Danielle again.
These next two photos are probably my favorite creative photos from the trip. With Multnomah Falls in the background, the main focus of these pictures is the Herb Robert blossom.
The Herb Robert is used as a remedy for toothache and nosebleeds. Also, if you rub the leaf on your skin, it is said to repel mosquitoes. Who knew?
Beauty!
This photo was taken in Cascade Locks, a small town along the Columbia River. The rhododendrons in Oregon were unbelievable. From magenta to red to purple to white to orange...they were brilliant.
Rhododendrons were everywhere!
"The Bridge Of The Gods" in Cascade Locks, Oregon.
Looking west down the Columbia River.
I-84, some railroad tracks, and the Columbia River.
Um, I think I just took this picture.
Dave & Danielle being silly in front of a massive rock formation.
It's now late afternoon and we are beginning the Mount Hood Scenic Byway that will take us through the Mount Hood area.
A gorgeous shot of a snow covered Mount Hood.
We're not sure what they were growing, but there were hundreds of orchards on this byway.
Damage from the glacial outburst of November, 2006. Basically, the outburst was caused by a rainstorm that occurred before the winter set in that allowed a large reservoir of water to form on top of a glacier on Mount Hood. It rained so much that the newly formed lake gave way and sent hundreds of thousands of gallons of water thundering down the mountain causing all sorts of crazy damage.
Yes, that is snow. Approximately 7 feet deep. On May 16.
Dave standing in front of the snow.
Danielle's turn!
Look closely and you can see the extensive damage caused by the glacial outburst.
This is an amazing shot. During the height of the outburst, the water of this normally tame little stream and all the debris that the rush of water brought along with it was flowing approximately 10 feet above the bridge I took this picture on. Can you imagine the scene that day?
I'm glad I wasn't on the bridge that day!
DAY 2: May 17, 2007 / We wanted to go to Seattle really bad, but we had to make the tough decision of not seeing Seattle in order to save time.
On our way to see Mount St.Helens, the volcano that erupted in May 1980.
A view of the Toutle River valley, which, to this day, is still covered in volcanic ash and debris. Believe it or not, this river used to be navigable.
Mt.St.Helens
On the road to the volcano.
A great view of the crater.
You can see the sheer devastation caused by the eruption, even though we visited approximately 27 years to the week from the event. All that clear land used to be forest. It will take many decades for anything to grow there again.
A birds-eye view of the crater from Johnston Ridge Laboratory, which is the closest you can get without a permit to the volcano. You can see steam still billowing from the lava dome inside the crater.
I believe Johnston Ridge is 3 miles from the mountain.
Unbelievable devastation...
Dave taking in the wonder of it all.
A great picture of the steam. It is interesting to note that this volcano is in the constant state of eruption right now, and has been since (I think) 2004.
In this picture, you can see the trees that were killed by the 1980 event. Mile after mile you could see literally thousands of dead trees, all on the ground and all pointing in the same direction.
It is interesting to note that in this age of "global warming", there are several glaciers forming on Mount St.Helens. In fact, the largest of the glaciers, Crater Glacier, is now larger and thicker than ALL of the glaciers on the mountain BEFORE the 1980 eruption COMBINED.
Dave and Danielle on Johnston Ridge.
Looking west over Johnston Ridge at the devastation.
Another view of the sheer power of the volcano, stripping away thousands upon thousands of trees.
A picture of Spirit Lake, which, prior to 1980, was a popular camping and boating spot. They say that during the eruption, the entire north face of the mountain came crashing down into this lake, causing waves over 800' high on this relatively tiny lake.
A nice view.
Another view of Johnston Ridge.
Another nice view of the steam.
Things are beginning to grow again, almost three decades after the event. The trees will always be a reminder of what happened that day.
The volcano looms in the background over Coldwater Lake.
Coldwater Lake.
A beautiful shot of Coldwater Lake and Coldwater Peak.
The water was crystal clear.
I wanted to jump in so bad! But it had just recently unfroze, so it was VERY VERY cold!
Pure serenity.
Oops, too close!
That's better.
Coldwater Lake beauty.
A beautiful picture of Mount St Helens being reflected by Coldwater Lake.
On the way back down (Johnston Ridge's elevation is 4,300'+)
A beautiful view of Mount St.Helens and Castle Lake (lower right)
Back on the Columbia River, but this time we are on the Washington side...making our way to the coast.
The Columbia River just gets wider and wider as it approaches the Pacific.
Look closely in the center left and you can see Mount St.Helens, over 90 miles away.
Wild lupines along the Columbia River. GORGEOUS!
More lupines.
A beach along this massive river.
Some lupines and driftwood.
Creative? Danielle doesn't think so.
I love pictures that have dead wood in them.
Lupines.
WOW, more lupines.
Lupines. Woo hoo.
We're getting closer to the ocean now!
This is where Lewis & Clark ended their transcontinental expedition.The mountains in the background are in Oregon and the town is Astoria.
A great view across the Columbia of Astoria.
An incredible long bridge. It took like 5 minutes to cross.
It's so crazy how big the Columbia River is.
The Astoria-Megler Bridge is 21,474' long.
I like this picture a lot for some reason.
We made it! The mighty Pacific Ocean; although today, it wasn't all that mighty.
Looking south down the Oregon Coast. Such stunning beauty.
Our favorite part of the trip: Canon Beach, Oregon.
Nobody on the beach but us.
Beautiful.
Some kind of bird on top of the rock.
The sun getting low over the Pacific.
Looks like a painting.
It was fun playing in the rocks.
Danielle's single goal for this trip was to find a starfish in a tidepool. We looked here, but all we came up with was sea anemones.
More sea anemones.
It's almost gone...
Unbelievable solitude...
I could have stayed here forever.
Danielle pretending to be warm, although the temperature was probably 50.
Nice colors.
I'm not sure which is my favorite pic. This one?
This one?
Or this one?
Hi! Look at us! We're on a beach in Oregon!
Such magnificent glory.
Uh, what?
Going...
going...
almost gone...
Haha.
Dave likes to get creative whenever he can.
The all-important driftwood.
Some driftwood on a deserted beach at sunset.
Gone.
This was a nice view overlooking a town called Manzanita.
Nightfall enveloping the northern Oregon coast.
See you tomorrow, sun!
This was a pretty awesome view, although the picture doesn't really do it justice. It was overlooking the town of Tillamook, which was our stop for the night on Day 2.
Uh, I must have changed settings on the camera. Same picture as before.
DAY 3: May 18, 2007 / Low tide in Tillamook Bay, just outside of Tillamook.
It's crazy how low the tide gets in this bay.
Driving along a dike in Tillamook Bay.
I believe these are called Yellow Bush Lupines. They were EVERYWHERE.
An alternate name for this shrub is called the Tree Lupine because they can grow so tall.
Danielle in the car on the dike.
Overlooking Tillamook Bay.
Same picture, zoomed up.
Cliffs at Cape Meares State Park.
Danielle walking towards the Cape Meares Lighhouse.
A funny picture of common murres and their parental habits. They usually nest in tight-packed colonies (known as "loomeries") and lay their eggs on bare rock ledges or ground. The eggs are pointed, so that if disturbed they roll in a circle rather than fall off the ledge. Eggs are laid between May and July for the Atlantic populations and March to July for those in the Pacific. The eggs vary in colour and pattern to help the parents recognize them, each egg is unique. Colours include white, green, blue or brown with spots or speckles in black or lilac. Both parents incubate the egg for 28 to 34 days, swapping in twelve hour shifts.
Cape Meares
More tree lupines at Cape Meares
Cape Meares Lighthouse. This little lighthouse stands only 38' tall.
Walking the trail on the top of Cape Meares. This was my favorite stop along the whole trip...and I loved the fog and low clouds. It was perfect.
I think these are either Evergreen Huckleberry blossoms or Bleeding Hearts.
Tree lupines on the edge of the beach.
Low tide.
I remember thinking this picture would be awesome...but now I can't remember why. Anyway, the town is called Oceanside.
Cape Lookout State Park, overlooking Netarts Bay.
Random sand dunes near the town of Sandlake.
Look at the fog up on the mountain.
Another fog shot.
An awesome little airstrip in the town of Pacific City.
It would be really fun to live here and own a plane.
Blurry pic, sorry.
I can't remember where this was...but it was a nice view.
Another nice view.
Our favorite food of the entire trip was eaten here. Fish & Chips for Dave...and we both had the best clam chowder we have ever eaten (hence the name of the restaurant: The Chowder Bowl).
The Chowder Bowl was in a section of the city of Newport called Nye Beach. It was pretty cute.
We thought these signs, which were everywhere, were hilarious. Three little waves followed by a giant wave chasing after a guy running up a hill. Haha!
Nye Beach
Newport Harbor. Notice the tall ship going under the bridge!
The Yaquina Bay Bridge in Newport.
Another view of the bridge.
Devil's Churn State Park. Apparently, during storms, this area provides incredible wave-watching. Of course, the day we were here, there were barely any waves.
This is a rather funny part of our trip...after Devil's Churn State Park, we drove up to Cape Perpetua State Park, which is bascially right above (literally) Devil's Churn. The cliffs are sheer drops of 802 feet in this area, and Danielle got a little bit spooked. So she started snapping pictures of a bald eagle that we saw flying around.
The eagle.
More eagle.
I wish the photo quality was better, but it was a beautiful bird...trust us.
This is the highest point on the Oregon Coast.
Looking straight down to the water from atop Cape Perpetua.
Me having a grand old time...but Danielle's not so sure about this.
I'm pretty sure this is a plain old lupine...adding color to an otherwise grey day.
Looking north at the town of Yachats from atop Cape Perpetua.
This is Neptune State Park where we continued our search for tidepools and sea stars. Still, nothing.
Highway 101 crossing Neptune Creek.
Creative shots. Or at least I wanted them to be.
Hm.
The Heceta Head Lighthouse, which is 56' tall and was built in 1894.
Heceta Head State Park.
We decided to stop at a little pulloff, and we were treated to this view of sea lions and what appeared to be a flock of common murres. If you zoom up in this photo, you can see one of the sea lions is injured.
A closeup of the enormous sea lions.
Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. It was weird, but I'm sure if we'd have explored, it would have been pretty awesome here.
More huge dunes.
DAY 4: SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2007 / This is a picture from the parking lot of the Bandon Inn, where we stayed overnight. The inn was on a hill overlooking the village and the Coquille River.
The village of Bandon-by-the-Sea. It was actually really quaint and cute.
The Bandon Inn.
Times two.
The Bandon Lighthouse.
Another shot of the lighthouse.
And a closeup.
And another one...
And another....
Beautiful rocks, offshore from Bandon.
Looking south from Port Orford.
Port Orford.
Beauty as far as the eye can see...
Just south of Port Orford.
Continuing south on the 101.
Looking north towards Port Orford.
The bridge across the Rogue River in the city of Gold Beach.
A beautiful view of the southern Oregon coast from atop Cape Sebastian as we approach California.
Looking north from atop Cape Sebastian up the Oregon Coast.
A Douglas Iris growing in a meadow at Cape Sebastian.
More Douglas Iris'.
Finally, at an area called Myers Beach, Danielle's dream came true. We found tidepools that were TEEMING with sea creatures, including sea stars. Our goal for the trip was now complete.
Another view of the sea star.
A sea star that we thought was dead, thus claiming it as our own, and now he hangs on our bathroom wall (it is legal to take up to 10 sea stars daily).
A sea star and a bunch of sea anemones.
Just look at all the mussels attached to the rock!
A tiny little crab scuttling along the sand in search of protection...
Dave holding a giant crab...but don't worry, it had already been pecked to death by birds.
Another beautiful sea star.
Incredible rock formations.
More mussels and other things...
A closeup of a rather ugly sea anemone.
An enormous sea star that we noticed hanging on the edge of a rock.
Fully stretched out, this thing would probably have been the size of a skillet.
You can get a perspective as to how big the sea star actually was.
See him smiling at me?
It was only a matter of minutes before the tide began to come in, and in less than an hour, this entire rock would again be underwater.
Our sea star "Star".
See the rock where I just took the pictures of the giant sea star? It's already surrounded by the water.
High tide comes roaring in...
Harris Beach State Park
We are officially in California now and the first stop was somewhere in Redwood National Park where the Klamath River empties out into the Pacific. There were sea lions everywhere down in the water and on the beach!
Looking inland over the Klamath River valley as the river winds through the coastal range mountains and the Redwood Forest.
This picture was taken especially for Rachel. We actually thought Zelda had come to join us!
A view from a dirt road that we took along the cliffs at Redwood National Park.
This tree fell on our car during a 4.9 earthquake.
Just kidding.
Danielle standing next to the "Big Tree". And it was indeed big. This tree is 363' tall, has a circumference of 53', and a diameter of 17'. AMAZING!
The average age of these virgin redwoods is 500 years old, with some being over 2,000 years old.
This picture does no justice to the sheer grandeur of this living things.
Little old me to put the grandeur into perspective.
The tree is this high!
Amazing.
It was like walking through an enchanted forest.
Beauty...
Incredible...
Moss envelopes almost everything because the trees are almost always shrouded in fog.
Dense forest...
Dave at the Giant Tree.
The tree was a bit bigger than Dave.
Looking out over mile upon mile of virgin Redwood groves...this view hasn't changed since Jesus was on earth.
Looking east in the Redwood River Valley.
We were prepared for high gas prices out west, but this was one of the most ridiculous things I'd ever seen.
A stereotypical western town...can't remember the name of this one, though.
The Avenue of the Giants. An incredible road that used to be a stagecoach route...and it literally goes right through the redwoods.
Dave took this picture to show how big that tree was, but unfortunately, you can't appreciate it from this picture, so you'll just have to go experience it for yourself.
Taken for my niece Miranda.
Night is falling on California fast...and it's time to find a hotel room.
DAY 5: SUNDAY, MAY 20, 2007 / After spending several hours the night before trying to find a hotel room, we were well rested and ready to begin our last day on the coast. You can see in this picture, taken just south of Fort Bragg, that the landscape is drastically different than that of Oregon.
We are now traveling on Highway 1, which, just like the 101 in Oregon, winds right along the coast.
The Navarra River emptying out into the Pacific.
Once again, very very close to the edge...Danielle didn't like that.
A random photo that Dave took in an outhouse at Greenwood State Beach.
Greenwood State Beach. In the distance, you can see the Point Arena Lighthouse.
I believe these are called "Beach Knotweed". Taken at Greenwood Beach.
A deer running through the brush at Greenwood Beach.
A gorgeous shot of the Point Arena Light, which keeps watch majestically over the Pacific at a height of 115'.
Same view, but zoomed out.
As we approached San Francisco, the landscape was still beautiful, but was most certainly less dramatic than it had been thus far.
Point Arena Light and some volcanic rocks.
Another beautiful shot of the lighthouse.
I think these flowers are called "Bush Mallow".
Didn't turn out the way I'd have hoped, but still pretty cool.
I love this picture of us...even though I (Dave) look like a wreck.
Danielle taking a picture of the ocean from our car.
Hmm...I'm not sure what this is supposed to be a picture of.
The face I make when somebody makes me try Shake 'n Bake.
More pictures from the car...
...and another...
Somewhere along Highway 1.
The view from the car...
No guardrail and about 2 feet of land separating the road from the rocky beach below.
This is what they mean by "coastal highway".
A beautiful view...
Another...
More views
A guardrail!
Climbing the hills...
Hugging the edge...
You can see where part of the road has had to be held up from sliding down to the water.
A choppy Pacific.
The long windy road.
An incredibly beautiful landscape.
Looking behind us on the road we had just come on.
Highway 1.
Another guardrail, but no further from the edge.
Danielle being photo-happy.
Just before we turned onto the road that we would take inland, we were treated to this beauty of a shot. This is the mouth of the Russian River.
The ocean was definitely getting choppier as the day progressed.
Zoom up and see the sea lions all over the sandbar. Incredible!
Approaching the Golden Gate Bridge on Highway 101.
It was surreal to think that we were actually about to cross the most famous bridge in the world!
Here we go!
Hope there's no earthquake while we're crossing...
In the middle of the bridge.
Almost on the other side...
Downtown San Francisco.
Danielle getting artsy.
On I-580 on our way to Modesto.
A wind farm on top of the ridge.
Notice how desolate the landscape gets just a few miles outside of Oakland! Crazy!
DAY 6: MONDAY, MAY 21, 2007 / After an afternoon and night of good rest and not driving, we set out on Monday for Yosemite National Park, about an hour and a half from Modesto.
We still aren't sure why this car was protesting Hershey's decision to move to Mexico...seeing that we were 3,000 miles from Hershey. But we appreciated the passion.
The Don Pedro Reservoir. As you can see, the weather was P-E-R-F-E-C-T!
A bridge across the reservoir.
This was a pulloff near the entrance to Yosemite that overlooked the Merced River Valley.
Here we are!
Same pic, I think. Sorry.
Inside the park at a viewpoint called Tunnel View; so called because you go through a tunnel and then, all of a sudden, the valley (which is what Yosemite is known for) is right there to your right.
I had to spend several minutes praising God and contemplating the unbelievable beauty that was before my eyes. It was a sight that brought tears to my eyes.
The river running through the valley is named the Merced River. If you zoom up in this picture, you can see Bridal Veil Falls pouring over the valley wall, which is the one of Yosemite's famous waterfalls. But one look all around the scene and you realized that there were many waterfalls all over. It was incredible.
An Asian tourist.
Notice the road going to the valley. It is the line that cuts through the trees on the valley wall (left hand side).
A better view of Bridal Veil Falls.
Bridal Veil Falls is 620 feet high. Compare that to Niagara, which, at its highest point is only 173 feet.
It's amazing to think about that waterfall being 620 feet high. It really puts the grandeur of everything around it into perspective.
The northern wall of the valley.
As you can see, I was infatuated with this view. I couldn't get over how amazing it was.
And another...
And another!
Dave walking at Tunnel View. Notice the waterfall to the right of Dave coming down the valley wall.
A closer view of the aforementioned waterfall. I think it was a creek named Cascade Creek.
I love waterfalls.
Driving down into the valley.
Finally on the valley floor along the Merced River.
The Merced River
Um, I'm not sure.
Yosemite Falls.
It's amazing that this tiny little stream creates a majestic waterfall simply by doing it's thing...flowing off the edge of a cliff.
I'm not even sure the water made it to the bottom before evaporating!
On the trail to Bridal Veil.
Bridal Veil Falls.
Bridal Veil.
El Capitan, a giant monolith (rock) standing 3,000 feet tall.
Sentinel Dome (8,122 feet)
This is Yosemite Falls, the most famous of Yosemite's waterfalls. It is an astonishing 2,425 feet tall, making it North America's highest waterfall and the sixth highest in the world.
By midafternoon, wind was making Yosemite Falls appear to flow sideways.
Our first good view of Half Dome.
I'm not sure what this waterfall was called.
The Merced River.
Dave trying to be creative again (but failing miserably).
And again.
The Merced in the foreground with the mighty valley wall in the background.
Approaching El Capitan.
I put my hand in the water...and all I can say is that ice is warmer than the temperature of this river.
I wanted to take another picture of this because the daylight had changed. LOL.
Now we are on our way up to Glacier Point. The road ascends for many miles, offering stunning views along the way. Here we can see Bridal Veil Falls and El Capitan.
A vertical of the same shot.
Dave overlooking the valley just before we got to Glacier Point.
Words can't describe the incredible beauty.
It looks like a painting.
What a view...
A great shot of Half Dome, which is a basically a mountain that was sliced in half by a glacier during the one of the ice ages.
A stunning view of Yosemite's grandeur.
The two waterfalls seen in this picture are Vernal Falls (closest to bottom) and Nevada Falls.
Awe-inspiring.
Here we are at the top of Glacier Point, a mind-boggling 7,214 foot high cliff that offers a view, the likes of which I have never experienced before. Notice Yosemite Falls towards the bottom of the photo. They are dwarfed by everything around them.
Half Dome and the valley that the glacier carved.
Looking 7,214 feet STRAIGHT DOWN.
A truly magnificent portrait of Half Dome.
Looking up the valley towards Nevada.
In this photo, you can see the two parts of Yosemite Falls that create the 2,500'+ drop.
Danielle's shirt and a tourist.
Again...looking 7,214 feet down into the Curry Village parking lot.
Looking east with Nevada Falls on the right and Half Dome on the left.
Another shot of Half Dome. I wanted to hike up Half Dome so bad. And you really can, too. ::sigh:: one day.
Dave being a tourist.
It was pretty chilly on top of the wall...probably a good 30 degrees colder than the valley below.
Half Dome and stuff.
A perspective shot showing Yosemite Village straight below.
Have I mentioned that that is a sheer 7,214 foot drop?
Lichen on a rock.
What I would have done to step out on to that rock. Unfortunately, you're not allowed to do that anymore.
A great shot of the valley.
Another one...
We're tourists!
Look at us take our pictures!
Ugh, stupid cone lickers.
A spectacular shot of Half Dome through some treees.
Nevada Falls
Too shadowy.
We tried, at least.
A closeup of both Vernal and Nevada Falls.
It is tough to put into words the feeling I had from on top. It was breathtakingly awesome.
Beginning our descent back down into the valley.
Another day is ending.
Incredible colors.
So beautiful!
Sorry about the blurriness, but these next few pictures are of a bear that we spotted in a meadow!
The day was officially coming to a close...
Bad photo? Or artsy?
Danielle, Scott (Colleen's husband), Trevor (Scott & Colleen's son), cousin Colleen, and Carol (Danielle's aunt).
Driving to San Francisco Airport on Tuesday the 22nd.
Sunset over San Francisco Bay.
Look at the horizon and you can see the mountains that surround downtown San Francisco. It was neat because we saw downtown through the fog, but these pictures don't pick that up.
I'm not sure where the sun went, but it's a nice photo nonetheless.
This fascinated me. This is the view from the entrance of San Francisco Airport...and you could sit there and watch the fog literally ROLL in off the Pacific and come over the mountains right along the coast. It was really neat to watch.
In case we forgot where we were...
More fog.
And more.
I'm mad this is blurry...but, obviously, it's the entrance to SFO.
The fog was really a sight to see.
FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2007 / After having been stranded at SFO for three days, we hopped on a flight to Los Angeles to see if we would have better luck there. This picture is of San Francisco Airport and the San Francisco Bay as we climb out of the Bay Area on our way to LAX.
A great shot of the Bay.
Looking north over the Bay Area.
San Jose
On our way to L.A.!
The air was noticeably dirtier...just like everyone says it is!
SMOG...gross.
Los Angeles, California.
Turning final into LAX.
On final approach into LAX.
I couldn't believe how HUGE Los Angeles was!
Danielle in Las Vegas (our intermediate stop before our flight to Atlanta)
Dave being weird in front of the Welcome to Las Vegas sign at the Las Vegas Airport.
A blurry view taken at the airport of the Strip.
Quite honestly, I didn't really care that we were in Sin City...we just were happy that we were able to finally go home.
