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And yes, we are going trough Death Valley on our way to LV.
Our plan is to spend the night in Lee Vining. Will Lee Vining to LV via Death Valley be an OK day trip? Do we have to plan for a layover? We will not have internet between the time we leave here tomorrow and reach LV, so quick replies are highly appriciated. Don't wan't to be stranded in DV :)
It's a reasonable day trip. But, personally, I would prefer getting stranded in Death Valley any day of the year!
Mark
As Mark says, it's doable but a long day. I think you should be prepared to stop over so not to be rushed. Once you point that camera at the landscape [and there are lots of opportunitys] the time will soon pass by.
Furnace creek is a popular resort and close to Badwater, the lowest point in the U.S.A. [and western hemisphere I believe].
Look forward to your updates, and I am especially looking forward to your pics of Yosemite and D/V.
Howdy!
This report is coming in a bit late as we did not have internet access in Lee Vining.
Well, first things first. A happy birthday greeting to my kid sister!
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The day started at Best Western in Mariposa. After a filling up on gas we headed directly for Yosemite. The breakfast at the Best Western was probably the worst we have had so far this trip, so we went straight in to Yosemeti Village for an early lunch. The weather was exceptional, with a clear and sunny sky, so for the first time this trip we changed into to shorts and toured the valley. Great stuff!
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After a round trip of the valley floor, we headed for Glacier Point. A much longer drive than expected, especially since road works are going on at the moment. But we got there, and the view both on the way to and at Glacier Point is definitely worth the drive!
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Half way on the walk out to the viewing point I heard a loud thunder. Could not place or understand what it was, but it turned out that it had been a rock slide on the wall facing the valley!
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As we were leaving Glacier Point it was already 3 PM, so we headed straight for Tioga Pass, hoping to see everything before the sun went down. We just made it.
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I guess fall is here and winter is on the way. We actually found snow along the road, and could see even more along the mountain sides. Talking to a local cowboy, it had rained in the area last week, and in the highest areas it had come down as snow. And if we can trust the Scotsman (now living in BC) the highest point on our trip today was actually 9945 feet (3300m) above see level. That’s passenger planes flying altitude!!!
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Coming down from Tioga, we arrived at Mono Lake and Lee Vining were we are spending the night before taking on Death Valley on our way to Las Vegas.
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We did Yosemeti, well Mariposa to Lee Vining, in 8 hours today. We got to see lots of great stuff and took lots of pictures. But if I have any recommendations for people planning to go there, it is to make it a two day experience! We made it, but just barely. And we do feel that to get a better feeling of and have more impressions when you leave, you should take on at least a couple of hikes, to smell, see and feel the amazing environment just outside your car door!
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Drove 7 hours yesterday. Trough som high planes and Death Valley. What a total contrast to Yosemeti!!!
We are currently in Las Vegas, so no time for writing! Please enjoy the pictures instead.
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Vegas! Baby!
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Amazing pics, thanks so much.
Great advice !!Quote:
We did Yosemeti, well Mariposa to Lee Vining, in 8 hours today. We got to see lots of great stuff and took lots of pictures. But if I have any recommendations for people planning to go there, it is to make it a two day experience! We made it, but just barely. And we do feel that to get a better feeling of and have more impressions when you leave, you should take on at least a couple of hikes, to smell, see and feel the amazing environment just outside your car door!
Howdy!
We are back on line! Well the last reports have not been going out because we have been busy, to tired or without internet....
So, we had two days in Las Vegas. Which is not nearly enough, but we squeezed in as much as humanly possible… And feel we got a pretty good feeling that we came pretty close to getting the full Vegas experience… Surprised that the hotel price ($100 at the MGM Grand) was about the same as the other places we have been staying at, but it did not take us long to understand that this is not where Vegas pulls in the bucks…
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After Vegas, we headed for LA. The trip took about 4 hours. We kept to the highway and took the straight route to Santa Monica. No traffic problems on a Friday! Think we were pretty lucky. Stayed at the Holiday Inn just a couple of blocks from the Santa Monica Pier. Great location.
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As with Vegas, 2 days in LA is not nearly enough time to see the all the things we should have seen. But something has to go when you visit 4 states in 3 weeks…We did some mandatory trips.
Cruising Mullholland
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Checking out Melrose and doing some more shopping
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Cruising Sunset Blvd.
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Ole had his best burger ever at Mel’s Drive In. Order the Sunset Burger!!
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Later in the evening we came back and partied at the Viper Room. Good stuff. Great city. But 2 days for LA is not enough. Just enough that you know you have to come back…
The next day we checked out of the hotel and drove over to Venice Beach for some breakfast and sightseeing.
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After that we left LA and headed north along the coast, with Pismo Beach as the goal for the day.
Some more mostly non roadtroap related pictures
Up at 8 AM today. To early, but it turned out that the estimated 3 hours trip to Carmel actually took 10 hours... Lots to see.
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Our first goal for the day was the world famous Hearst Castle. We decided to be full on tourists, and took one of their may toured guides around the castle. If you don’t know it, google is your friend. Stay here for the pictures.
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For the rest of the day, the plan was just to see the nature in Big Sur. A picture says a thousand words. Check it out.
The Elephant Seals are in
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The whales are on the move
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Could see the smoke a couple of minutes later
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The weather was NICE
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The money shot (to bad about the low pressure)
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Making an effort
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With no definite plan for where to stop for the night, it was dark when we came to Carmel, so here we are. Found a best Western on the GPS, and they had vacancies. Pricey, but we were ready to just check in so that we could look for a place to eat.
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Keep 'em coming. I love Hearst Castle! Hope you enjoyed it, too.