We spent several days staying at the Ranch Cottages at Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park. During our time in the park, we visited numerous overlooks and scenic areas including Dantes View (which towers over 5,500 feet above Death Valley on the ridge of the Black Mountains), Zabriskie Point, Father Crowley Vista Point, Devils Golf Course, and more. We also visited Badwater Basin (the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level) and hiked through Artists Palette along the Artists View Drive to see the natural array of colors and rock formations.
After hiking the short loop around the Harmony Borax Works mining site ruins, we drove the scenic Mustard Canyon Drive. Another scenic drive, the Twenty Mule Team Canyon Scenic Drive, took us through one of the areas used for filming scenes from the Star Wars movies.
We spent a morning exploring the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, which Elizabeth loved, but Miles was not a fan of being in the sand. We also toured the artifacts at the Borax Museum, and hiked the trail to Natural Bridge, which was surrounded by some impressive rock formations.
West of Death Valley, we took a day trip to visit other sites and attractions. At Manzanar National Historic Site we toured the visitor center and several of the historic buildings to learn more about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. At the nearby Alabama Hills National Scenic Area, we hiked the Mobius Arch Trail and saw Heart Arch, Mobius Arch, and Lathe Arch. Over 400 movies have filmed scenes in the Alabama Hills and the area was incredibly scenic. Before leaving the Lone Pine area we stopped at the Eastern Sierra Interagency Visitor Center and took in views of Mount Whitney and the Sierra Mountains.
Our stay at the Furnace Creek Oasis Resort was very nice and we enjoyed dinner at the Last Kind Words Saloon, made several trips to the old-fashioned ice cream parlor, browsed the shops, and had our own private cottage on a palm tree-lined pedestrian street. Elizabeth enjoyed earning multiple Junior Ranger badges, and we all enjoyed the various hikes around Death Valley.
Entering California along the north shore of Lake Tahoe, we drove to Truckee and toured Donner Memorial State Park where we saw the large 1918 Pioneer Monument. We then drove the scenic route of the original Lincoln Highway through Donner Pass. Donner Summit has been called the most important historical square mile in California and is the site of the first wagon train to reach California, the first transcontinental railroad, the first transcontinental highway, and the first transcontinental telephone line. We enjoyed spending time at the scenic Donner Lake Overlook, seeing the Donner Summit Bridge, watching several rock climbers, and exploring the remnants of the Transcontinental Railroad such as the 'China Wall', snow sheds, and tunnels (we were even able to walk through one of the original tunnels).
Heading west, we drove through Tahoe National Forest to Roseville where we watched trains from the viewing platform and saw Southern Pacific Steam Engine #2252 and a rotary snowplow that were on display. The next day we drove the Golden Chain Highway south to Sonora where we toured Railtown 1897 State Historic Park at Jamestown. The park preserves the facilities of the original Sierra Railway, and we all enjoyed exploring the grounds and seeing the roundhouse, turntable, shops, steam engines, and movie props.
We spent the next few days around the area of Yosemite National Park and the town of Oakhurst. Some of the highlights of our time in the area include hiking the Lewis Creek Trail to Corlieu Falls in Sierra National Forest, riding the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad along the old logging route through the forest, and seeing the artifacts at the El Portal Transportation Museum. Within Yosemite National Park, we were able to hike the Grizzly Giant Trail through the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, which is the largest grove of giant sequoia trees in the park with over 500 mature trees. On the hike we saw several of the named trees including the Fallen Monarch, Bachelor and Three Graces, Grizzly Giant, and the California Tunnel Tree. We also drove to Glacier Point and enjoyed the views of Half Dome and the Yosemite Valley on a beautiful clear day. During our time near the park, we had a wonderful stay at Inn the Woods Suites.
Our plan was to drive the Tioga Road across Yosemite to the east, but unfortunately some early winter weather caused the pass to be closed right before we started our drive. Since Tioga Pass was closed, we instead drove north to Sonora Pass. This drive through beautiful Stanislaus National Forest ended up being a highlight of our trip. Sonora Pass follows the route of the California National Historic Trail and is the second highest mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (rising to an elevation of 9,624 feet). Along the drive we stopped and did some hiking at Donnell Vista and the Columns of the Giants, saw several nice waterfalls and overlooks, and drove some 26% grades over the summit to the eastern side in Toiyabe National Forest. While we didn’t see any wildlife and the weather was a but suspect at times, we all thoroughly enjoyed the sights, sounds, and smells of this unexpected detour.
On an unusually hot spring day (almost 100°) we appropriately stopped to see the world's tallest thermometer in Baker. We then drove through Mojave National Preserve where we saw the Kelso Sand Dunes and toured the historic Kelso Depot. Elizabeth enjoyed seeing the Joshua Trees and many volcanoes.
We spent several days visiting Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim. The parks were celebrating the 100th anniversary of Disney and we were able to meet many of the Disney characters and ride all of Elizabeth's favorite attractions like Dumbo the Flying Elephant, the Casey Jr. Circus Train, Mad Tea Party, "it's a small world", Autopia, Jungle Cruise, Jessie's Critter Carousel, the Pixar Pal-A-Round Ferris Wheel, and many others. Benjamin's sister also joined us on our vacation.
After several days at Disneyland, we then drove to Long Beach for Tiffany to attend a conference at the Long Beach Convention Center while the rest visited nearby attractions such as the Aquarium of the Pacific, the Queen Mary Ocean Liner, USS Iowa Battleship Museum, Lomita Railroad Museum, ShoreLine Aquatic Park, and the Lion Lighthouse. Our final evening in Long Beach we all enjoyed a nice dinner at Parkers' Lighthouse.
Before leaving California, we stopped in Barstow to tour the Western America Railroad Museum and visit the only McDonald's restaurant inside passenger train cars at Barstow Station.
We flew to California over the Labor Day weekend to attend a wedding at the La Cuesta Ranch in San Luis Obispo. We also stopped at Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa and we toured the remains of the Paramount Ranch in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, which was recently burned in a wildfire. One morning was spent in Morro Bay and we enjoyed some fresh seafood overlooking Morro Rock. Before leaving California, we drove through San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.
Over the St. Patrick's Day weekend, we flew to Sacramento where we toured the California State Railroad Museum, ate lunch at Fat City, saw the ending point for the Pony Express National Historic Trail, and viewed other sights within Old Sacramento State Historic Park. We also visited the California State Capitol and the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.
Leaving Sacramento, we drove to Santa Rosa where we toured the Charles Schulz Museum. In Sonoma we visited the Sonoma State Historic Park and Sonoma Plaza. We drove through Napa Valley and had a gourmet meal aboard the Napa Valley Wine Train. Finally, we visited Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument and drove around Lake Berryessa.
We spent a long weekend in the bay area where we toured San Francisco in a vintage VW Bus with Vantigo. The tour took us to all the highlights of the city including Coit Tower, Union Square, the Sutro Baths at Lands' End, the Palace of Fine Arts, Fort Point National Historic Site, Golden Gate Park, Twin Peaks, and more. We also took a night tour of Alcatraz Island, enjoyed a meal in Chinatown, and toured the Walt Disney Family Museum at the Presidio of San Francisco.
On the east side of the bay, we toured the Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site and attended mass at the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland. On our final day, we drove north of the bay and visited Point Reyes National Seashore where we did some hiking and wildlife viewing before stopping at the Marin Headlands of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area on our way back to San Francisco.
We flew to Burbank and toured the Griffith Observatory at Griffith Park. We also visited Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale. We then drove north through Bakersfield to Carrizo Plain National Monument, Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, and the Tehachapi Loop.
Heading east we drove through Mojave Trails National Monument, stopped at the Amboy Crater, and hiked at the Big Morongo Canyon Unit of Sand to Snow National Monument. In Palm Desert, we enjoyed a meal at Fresh Agave then drove the Palms to Pines Scenic Byway through Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument.
We flew to Sacramento where we visited the California State Capitol before driving to Whiskeytown National Recreation Area near Redding. We then drove across the mountains, along the Trinity River, through National Forests to the coast where we visited Redwood National Park. In the park, we hiked through the Lady Bird Johnson grove of Redwoods, hiked along the beach, drove the scenic parkway, and stopped at several overlooks along the ocean. We enjoyed a great seafood dinner at the Chart Room restaurant in Crescent City.
The next day we visited Lava Beds National Monument, where we explored Mushpot Cave, and drove to the Tule Lake Segregation Center, which at the time was a unit of World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument. We stopped at Captain Jack's Stronghold where we had another excellent meal.
The next weekend we returned to California and visited Kings Canyon National Park, Sequoia National Park, and Giant Sequoia National Monument near Fresno. We saw the General Sherman tree and the General Grant tree. We also hiked to the top of Moro Rock for some great views of the Sierra Mountains and Mount Whitney. We also visited the town of San Juan Bautista where we had a great lunch at Jardines de San Juan, toured the historic Mission, and toured the San Juan Bautista State Historic Park. The sites around the town of San Juan Bautista are also sites on the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail.
We flew to Oakland and then drove to Yosemite National Park where we spent the weekend. In the park, we hiked to a grove of giant sequoia trees, took in the fall colors of Yosemite Valley, drove to the top of Glacier Point, and spent a night in the town of Mariposa.
On the final weekend of July, we drove around Lake Tahoe, stopping and hiking at Vikingsholm State Park and enjoying a seafood dinner at Morgan's Lobster Shack and Fish Market in Truckee. We also visited Lassen Volcanic National Park where we hiked to the Bumpass Hell geothermal area and drove the scenic drive through the park.
The final weekend of April we flew to San Diego. While there, we visited Cabrillo National Monument where we saw the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, the Cabrillo memorial, and the coastal tide pools. We spent the rest of the day at Sea World, where we saw the dolphin, sea lion, and orca shows, rode the rides, and saw the animal exhibits. To finish our first day, we crossed the Coronado Bridge and enjoyed some time on Coronado Beach before heading to our hotel on Shelter Island.
The next day, we attended Mass at Saint Joseph Cathedral and then visited the San Diego Zoo. We spent many hours exploring the zoo, and we really enjoyed seeing the Koala and Panda exhibits. Finally, we drove through Balboa Park before returning to the airport for our flight home.
We flew to Los Angeles for a weekend. While there, we drove to Joshua Tree National Park where we did some short hiking and saw where the Colorado Desert meets the Mojave Desert. We then drove through LA to the coast and took the Pacific Coast Highway north through Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to Ventura.
After taking the Island Packers ferry from Ventura Harbor to Scorpion Ranch on Santa Cruz Island, one of the islands that makes up Channel Islands National Park, we then took a Caves and Coves Kayaking Adventure with Channel Islands Outfitters. On our ocean kayaking adventure, we explored inside several of the natural caves along the cliffs of the island, examined the kelp forests, and watched wildlife. We also hiked to Cavern Point to enjoy views of all the islands.
Before flying home, we also toured the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley and the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda.
During the first weekend of May we visited Death Valley National Park. While there, we took a guided tour of Scotty's Castle, climbed the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, drove the scenic Artist Drive, and viewed the Devil's Golf Course. We also went to the lowest point in North America at Badwater Basin, which is 282 feet below sea level. During our time in Death Valley, the temperature topped 107 degrees Fahrenheit.
We spent the final week of the year in California. After flying to San Francisco, we explored Fisherman's Wharf and ate at the Hard Rock Café. The next day we took a bike ride from the wharf to the Palace of Fine Arts, through the Presidio to Fort Point National Historic Site, rode across the Golden Gate Bridge to the town of Sausalito and took a ferry back to San Francisco. We also toured the historic ships at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, and after watching the sea lions at Pier 39, enjoyed a seafood dinner and Ghirardelli sundaes.
The next day we drove past Lombard Street and the Painted Ladies, did some hiking in Muir Woods National Monument, toured Rosie the Riveter WWII National Historical Park, and visited John Muir National Historic Site which is also a site on the Juan Bautista De Anza National Historic Trail.
We took a very scenic drive south along the Pacific Coast Highway where we took in the scenic views of the ocean, stopped to view the Pigeon Point Lighthouse, enjoyed a great Mexican dinner at The Whole Enchilada in the small town of Moss Landing, then finished the night by driving to Monterey.
In the Monterey Bay area, we explored Cannery Row, toured the Monterey Bay Aquarium, drove the scenic 17-Mile Drive through Pebble Beach, and saw quite a bit of wildlife including whales, seals, sea lions, and sea otters along the coast. We also drove south to Big Sur across the famous Bixby Bridge.
Finally, we headed back north and stopped at Fort Ord National Monument before spending the day hiking in Pinnacles National Park. Before flying home from San Jose, we visited the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum and the Computer History Museum.
Tiffany traveled to Anaheim where she visited Disneyland Resort and toured Universal City in Hollywood. She also took a guided tour that included downtown L.A., the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Rodeo Drive, the TCL Chinese Theater, and the Hollywood Sign.
Benjamin traveled to San Jose to attend a graduation. While there, he drove through Silicon Valley to see the headquarters of many technology companies. He also drove to Santa Cruz to see the lighthouse and the beach and drove to San Francisco to see Fisherman's Wharf and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Reuniting with family members, Benjamin also visited Yosemite National Park where they saw, among other sights, Glacier Point, Yosemite Falls, and the Yosemite Valley.
Tiffany traveled to San Diego. While there, she visited the San Diego Zoo and Coronado Beach. She also attended a San Diego Padres hockey game.