We finally arrived at Yellowstone! After first learning about it in December 2015, in one of the museums in New York, we were determined to visit the oldest National Park. But we never thought it would happen so soon!

After leaving Grand Tetons at 5:00am in the morning, we crossed the Yellowstone National Park checkpoint at 5:30am. There was no one at the point so we grabbed a map and drove in. We noticed the landscape had changed, it was flatter now. And although there was some light at dawn, we could see steam rising in the distance. We were in hot springs country.  We were in the place where we can see, hear and feel the Earth breathe!

The Mighty Yellowstone

Yellowstone is officially America’s oldest national park. In fact, it is the oldest national park in the world! It is a massive 2 million square miles area and spreads over two states. Having been to Yosemite already, we knew we wouldn’t be able to see it all. But we decided to spend 5 days and see as much as we could!

Entry and West Thumb

Considering the distance between campgrounds within Yellowstone, we decided to stay at first come first serve Lewis Lake campground, which was close to the south entry. After reviewing the map of the park, we come up with a plan. We decided to split our excursions within the park based on our campground.

West Thumb was the closest geyser basin and further east was the Fishing Bridge. We decided to cover these spots while we camped at Lewis Lake. As we parked at West Thumb parking, we realised there was steam escaping from protected holes within the car park itself. Of course that got us excited! Moving on, as we got to the basin area, it smelled like rotten egg. Of course it was foul smell but what lied ahead of us was just amazing. There were colourful hot springs, small geysers and other volcanic plumbings!

The temperature of the steam was extreme and could burn us. Luckily it was still cool weather and we quite enjoyed the hot air touching against our skins. This was nature’s beating heart and it was there to see.

The basin was adjacent to Yellowstone Lake and water from the hot springs was flowing straight into it. We spotted a small heart shaped geyser within the edges of the lake. It look like it had popped out of the ground which actually is not uncommon in Yellowstone! What a start!

Fishing Bridge

We drove from West Thumb to Fishing Bridge area for a few walks. Shruti was sound asleep and I took a wrong turn for the camping area. Good thing I did as there was a big male Bison standing 20 yards away. He was busy eating grass and didn’t care. We managed to get a nice photobomb photo with him. Having said that, this was not the closest we came to a Bison in Yellowstone! Read on for another epic encounter!

At the Fishing Bridge, there was a traffic jam of Chinese tourists but the bridge was spectacular over the Yellowstone river. We parked at the visitors center, bought a junior rangers book for me and managed to catch a “animals in Yellowstone” talk. Shruti went to the bathroom while I waited near the car and upon returning she told me this:

Ladies queuing for restroom
Lady 1: oh look! Buffaloes walkin past.
Lady 2: *African American accent* Thats a buffalo!! Where ma man? Stevennnnnnn! Come quick take a photo! Grab your camera! There is another one coming. I ain’t never seen one! Ermaghard!

Failed Hike

We then decided to walk to a trail head instead of driving. We had miles to watch and Shruti wanted to walk. We walked around 8km up and down a road and a little through a forest but never made it to the trail head. Fortunately, never saw any bears but we did see a walking trail of Bisons. Their hoof tracks were everywhere and so were there rubbing pits.

On return to the campsite, we got stuck in an animal jam! This is basically like normal traffic jam but caused by an animal. This time it was elk stags with beautiful antlers just grazing along. They were definitely loving the attention. The issue was getting out but we eventually managed and saw more elks. This was just day 1 – hard to believe!

Old Faithful

The most famous Geyser in the entire world is Old Faithful. It’s has been so consistent that it is named accordingly. We arrived to the basin, and the enormity, and the popularity dawned upon us. The carpark was the size of a Walmart carpark, there were 6-7 strong wooden buildings, and even hurts for glamping.

We visited the visitors center where we learnt a little about why Yellowstone is the way it is. There were huge volcanic explosions millions of years ago and a supervolcano still exists underneath the surface at Yellowstone. The heat from the magma coupled with rain and snow melt causes geysers, hot springs, fumaroles and mudpots. As we finished, we realised that the time for the next Old Faithful eruption was almost there. Bring it on!

The old faithful geyser is the most consistent of the big geysers. It is so popular that there tables for hundreds of people to watch it erupted. Like others, we grab a spot and waited. The eruption time had 10 minutes buffer however we waited past 10 minutes and nothing happened. People around us were assuring the kids that it will happen.

Occasionally, there were spurts of water and we would think “is that it?”. Finally, it erupted! It went on for 10 minutes and as high as 100 feet. We could see, hear and smell it! Exactly what we were told in the documentary we watched.

There were many other geysers and hot springs in the area. Castle geyser was going off when we saw it while Grotto geyser looks like its about to pop anytime.

There were some famous springs like the Morning Glory, which sadly is turning green from a cool blue. There were many other springs in the basin and its hard to remember all of them. Each of them were magical in their own way and represented the power of nature.

Biscuit Basin

Biscuit Basin, a 15 minute walk, from Upper Geyser Basin was another unbelievable area. There were only 5-6 geysers and springs but the amazing things were the colours. Some were bright orange, aquamarine and steel blue.

Another great thing was we spotted a in the area! At first, we thought it was a wolf but a ranger corrected us. It was a coyote. They are the poor cousins of the wolf and have taken over many areas. Afterwards, we walked back, grabbed some American fast food and headed to see Mother Earth.

Eye of the Earth

Midway Basin is a collection of several springs not far from Upper Basin. The most famous of these is the Grand Prismatic Spring also known as the Eye of the Earth. The spring was the biggest we saw in Yellowstone around 379 feet in diameter. It is popular due to its colors. Blue in the middle, yellow, orange, and green at the edges. Being on the boardwalk around it, we were hit by the warm steam. It was a pity we couldn’t see the entire spring as a whole from the top but it definitely was our favourite volcanic lake.

Walking back to our van, we spotted a couple of massive birds in the sky. Hoping they were bald eagles, we watched them for a while. After taking a few photos through the binocular, we went to the rangers and asked them to name the bird. Turns out we were watching ospreys!

We even managed to squeeze in a hike to the top of a hill! Though it was only 2 hours hike, it was mostly up the hill. Such a strenuous hike but the view was rewarding!

Norris Campground

Our two days in Lewis Lake campground were coming to an end and we had to move so we could explore other parts of Yellowstone. We picked Norris Campground, another first come first serve spot. We knew Yellowstone is very popular during the summer so the only way to get a spot would be to get in early! We found our how long it would take us to drive and prepared for an early morning next day. We left our campsite at 4:30am and were on the road for 1.5 hours before we got to Norris. Driving in the National Park at night / dawn is scary. We didn’t want to hit any animal of course. I had my lights on high beam while Shruti had a close watch on the side of the roads.

Arriving at the campground, we noticed some people sitting in front at the ranger station. There were already 3 people with their sleeping bags and quilts waiting to get a campsite from 5:15am! It seemed like a line to buy an iPhone honestly. We sat along with them on our chairs with our blanket and waited. The queue got longer and people from different backgrounds, places and of different age waited patiently while chatting away. Cars started driving out of the campground from 6:30am and we were getting excited. It felt like winning food during rationing but that shows how popular camping is in Yellowstone!

At 7:50am the camp host got to the station. We were explained how the allocation worked. Luckily we were 3rd in queue and had our campsite by 8:30am! Planning ahead and waking up early definitely worked in our favour.

Norris Basin

Norris Basin was around the corner from our campground. After parking at our spot, we relaxed a little. Post breakfast, we slowly got ready to walk to Norris Basin. As we entered, we first thought we had stumbled upon a desert in the middle of a forest. The sand was all white but the springs were blue, saffron and green colours. The water was spilling out into the ground and it made for a great start!

The basin is so toxic that the colors in the springs are stunning. Some colours, quite rare in other basins, were prominent here. We walked along the boardwalk and stopped to occasionally to watch and observe the springs.

The tallest geyser in Yellowstone, steamboat, is also in this basin but it didn’t go off on the day we were there. Well that was alright with us. In all, we spent a few hours walking around Norris Basin and were just overwhelmed at nature’s game play.

Mudpots Basin

30 mins drive from Norris Basin was the mudpots basin. A unique geothermal feature that exists in the Hayden Valley. Here the water from the springs mixes with mud and forms mudpot. Over time and depending on the season, it looks like mud boiling. As it hadn’t rain and snow had already melted, most of the pots were dry. Having said that, we did see the Mud Volcano which was a scary boiling natural vat of mud boiling. If the Grand Prismatic Spring was the beautiful spring, mud volcano was the scary spring.

The best thing though was a Bull Bison sitting next to a hot spring. It was so close that we could have touched it. But of course we didnt! And just across the basin was Hayden Valley, a meadow home to plenty of animals.

Wildlife Spotting in Hayden Valley

We made it a habit to visit the Hayden Valley early in the morning and late in the evening from Norris Campground. Wildlife watchers with hi-tech equipment sat for hours watching wildlife activities.

One morning, we parked near an animal jam and next thing we knew, we were watching a grizzly bear walking around. Luckily we were a 50 meters away from him!

Another morning, we were photographing a huge bull Bison when he decided to walk towards us. It was getting close and for our safety we ran inside the van!

Our favourite moment in the Hayden Valley, though, was when we were watching wolves with a family from Utah. Yes, you read that right! Wolves! The family had a hi-tech monocular and had attached their phone onto it. This meant, more than one person could watch at the same time! As it was getting dark, we spotted plenty of wolves jumping around and a grizzly bear walking around a hill! It truly was an amazing experience. We had seen quite a few exotic animals of the lower 48 USA!

Gooodbye

Sadly, all good things come to an end, and so did our time in the Yellowstone. We decided to leave from the western entrance. On the way, we picked up a Slovakian hitchhiker who we dropped to the nearest town outside. We drove along the meadows and could see Grand Tetons in the distance. We knew just then that we would never forget this place and our experience.

After successfully extending our campervan for another 5 days, we were on the way to Grand Tetons and Yellowstone from Bryce Canyon! Flat tire and no campsite booking on Saturday but everything was working out well. It almost seemed like the world was making it happen for us – Bollywood reference from Om Shanti Om right here!

Wyoming

The drive from outskirts of Ogden to Grand Tetons was one of the prettiest. The landscape reminded me of South Island of NZ, minus the lakes.

We stopped for coffee and spotted a cowboy family! The dads and sons were dressed appropriately and Shruti couldn’t help but snap them from the car.

As we got closer to the Twin National Parks (Grand Tetons & Yellowstone), the hills became mountains and eventually we were seeing the most beautiful mountains I have ever witnessed!

Grand Tetons National Park

We drove towards Jackson Hole which is the epicenter for angling and other sports in Wyoming. The town is at the edge of the National Park. With hundreds of people visiting the area, the town was bustling with energy. What a pity we had to skip the town as we had to rush for a campsite.

Upon entering the park from Moose entrance, we were surprised to see that most of the campsites were full. We hit the accelerator and rushed towards Coulter Bay at the northern area of the park and hoped they had a spot.

The drive was through some of the best mountainous country that we had seen in the USA. In the winter, the place would be in several feet of snow. We went past several lakes before arriving at Coulter Bay. Again what a pity we couldn’t stop anywhere. Well it all paid off. Upon arriving at the campground, we realised that only a handful campsites were available. Alas, we were here and thats all that mattered. Oh and the camp host told us not to leave anything outside unattended as bears lived in the area. What!!!

The first day, we checked out the lake itself, the visitors centre and the facilities. Unlike many other national parks, this place had paid showers, internet and laundry but no shuttle service. Moreover, this was serious bear country. Both Grizzly and Black bears lived in these parts along with wolves, bisons, moose, ploghorns and elks. This was real America and we were quite pumped. We decided to buy a pair of binoculars. But first we had to go get cleaned up.

Ranger Talks

After being at a few National Parks, we wanted to take full advantage if ranger talks and their knowledge. The first talk we attended was on an American animal sometimes called Buffalo. The ranger was a little nervous as we sat around the ampitheatre. She explained how White Americans nearly wiped out the Bison off the earth. 1000 were saved and now there are 30,000 wild bison. The next talk was about photography in Grand Tetons. We realised during the slideshow, that we had missed the best scenic parts of the park as we rushed towards North for campsite. Bummer!

The final talk the next day was eventful. We scheduled to attend another ranger talk on predator and prey. We reached 5 mins late and the talk was underway. It had only been a second in the talk when a little girl pointed to a bear 50 metres from us. Next, the crowd went wild. Everyone clapping to get the Black bear away from us especially the kids. That had no effect on the bear though, and he kept looking for food. He wasn’t scared which was scary, though he eventually left. Phew!

PS, this was probably the only time Shruti didn’t carry her camera :(

Hikes in Grand Tetons

We did a few hikes in the area. First, we went up a hill in the area early in the morning which would give us a view of the entire region and the mountains. We had been told that there were a couple of grizzly bears in the area. I was shit scared for obvious reasons! We drove down a dirty road to the entry of the trail and started walking up a steep quiet trail. The entire time I was knocking things, making sounds, and trying to make sure we don’t run into a grizzly looking for breakfast.

Once we reached the top, the view was enchanting. At the top, looking east, we could see two elks peacefully grazing in the distance on the paddocks, while looking west, we could see the mountain range in all its might. A true paradise!

We also did a 4 hour walk around the Coulter Lake. It was mostly a pine forest walk with a few lakes, though we lost our way along with many others. The forest was thick, and we were struggling to talk loudly to avoid bears again. However, once the forest opened, the view was picture perfect. The Grand Teton mountains were only across the lake. Incredible!

Wildlife Spotting

On the last day, we wanted to see more animals, especially wolves. We had heard from rangers that wolves hang around young Elks. We arrived near the Elk calving area at 6:30am sharp and stayed til 8am but we couldn’t see any wolves or bears. But nevertheless, the massive herd of elks provided enough entertainment!

Later on, we focussed on spotting a bison. We had heard from people that a herd usually grazes at a ranch nearby. The herd was too far from the road, though we could see the iconic American animal with our new binoculars. On return, we again tried to find wolves to no avail.

Finally, it maybe a bit offtrack, but one of the best things about this NP was that there was internet. We could sit there and plan out the next few days while also working on our blog. It provided some downtime so we could recharge our batteries. This NP was one of the prettiest in our trip. We would love to return someday!

But right now all we could think about was – Yellowstone, here we come!

Our plan after leaving California wasn’t set in stone but we knew that we would be heading to Las Vegas, crossing the Mojave desert in Nevada and finally making our way to Grand Canyon, the pride of Arizona. Plenty of planning happened alongside doing and the journey turned out to be epic!

Mojave Desert

The bollywood film, Anjana Anjani had scenes from the Mojave desert when the characters drive through the desert and have their car stolen. It was Shruti’s dream to drive through it and as luck would have it, we drove through parts of it. We started our drive from Joshua National Park and next stop was Vegas baby.

First thing to understand is that it is incredibly hot in this part of the world. It was so hot that Shruti had to buy a new “sun shirt” just to avoid the sunburn. Second the scenery is stunning but it can be incredibly boring to drive through a desert.

Although we were checking an item off the list, no one had warned us about how tough the drive could be. The roads were pretty much empty and nothing to be seen till the horizon except for red mountains. To top up, certain parts of the road was covered in sand and we had to avoid gliding off!

However, there were also some amazing moments when we drove on some parts of the original Route 69 – an iconic road. Americans over generations have used this connection to get to California. We were able to kick that off our bucket-list too.

Las Vegas

We drove into Vegas through the Mojave desert which was a very tough drive. Shruti and I had to swap drives quite a bit to avoid dozing off on the wheel. As soon as we crossed over to Nevada, something changed. Shruti quickly handed me the wheel and asked me to continue. That’s when I realised what was going on – crazy winds!

Several times, I nearly lost the control of the Beast. After being very alert for the remaining drive, we finally made it to Vegas in about 4-5 hours. Normally we would stay in an RV Park away from the city centre but Circus Circus had a RV Park. We were living on the strip for $40 a day. Only possible in a campervan!

While the location was great, the weather was not. Vegas is white hot! It was easily 40 degrees during the day. The problem was spending time on a budget. The entire city is catered to night time gambling/partying or day time shopping/rides which in our case meant $$$. We showered and got ready for our first night out in Vegas. We started with White Castle burgers, something I had seen in my teen years, Harold and Kumar films.

The burgers were sliders really but we didn’t mind. They even had beer on tap, how good is that! The rest of the night there was a blur. There was drinking, more food and a couple of casinos. We found the city unbelievable. It was safe as houses and night was as good as day. Shruti and I aren’t the biggest gamblers so we didn’t have to worry. Somehow there was a limo ride and few more drinks at the end of the night.

The next morning though was a killer. When we woke up it was already so hot that we had to open all doors of the camper and sleep again. Not the best place for a hangover! The challenge was what to do in the day given our condition. We got ready, went out to have breakfast and then walked around casinos and malls. We spent several hours in starbucks drinking ice water and iced coffee. Somehow, we spent the day on the strip, had a quick swim then got ready for the night. This time there was only casinos, no drinking. We visited the Bellagio and a few other famous casinos. We gambled a bit in our small budget and had good fun. Who says you need drinking to have fun?

The next morning we had to check out. We grabbed a quick dosa from the Indian restaurant in a nearby mall and left Vegas with promise that we’ll be back. Before leaving though, we visited Escape Campers to check the fridge of the Beast. Turns out, the fridge found it too hard to cope with the desert sun. The kiwi guy at Escape, Kevin, gave us an eski, extra bits for the car and changed the back tyres when he heard we were heading to Yellowstone. What a legend!

Hoover Dam

The drive from Vegas to Grand Canyon was a long one. We split it into two with one night in a campsite 11 miles off the main freeway with no paved road and on top of a mountain. On the way there was one of America’s most famous landmarks: Hoover Dam.

The dam is on the border of Nevada and Arizona in black canyon of the Colorado river. Before we got to the Dam though we had to go through security. Seeing two brown people in a campervan was an obvious terrorist signal so we were checked by the security. It wasn’t anything too bad and they took hands off the guns as soon as they realised we were from Australia! Ah Mate!

The dam itself was in a very windy location. We had to hold onto our hats as we crossed through the bridge overlooking the wall of the dam. The amazing thing is that this wall has been in so many films, Hollywood, Bollywood and others. Surprisingly, the dam is built on the border of two states, Arizona and Nevada. The view though is spectacular, no matter which state you’re in.

After the wall, we went around the other side to see the water storage itself. However, the parking rates were ridiculous, the sun was harsh and the free parking was far away from the dam. We parked, took a few photos and we were out of there.

Night on BML Land

Our campsite for the night was 11 miles off the highway connecting Las Vegas, NV to Flagstaff, AZ. We weren’t meant to drive the campervan on dirt roads and would not be covered if we broke down. However, the drive to Grand Canyon in fast desert wind was too much for us and we had to make this stop. The gravel road was rough and the drive was hardly over 10 miles per hour. We were also going up the side of a mountain so it was an adventure in every sense of the word.

Finally, we made it to the first “primitive” camp, which meant, it was free and no one looked after it. We drove 2 miles down the road to our less primitive site which meant there were flat campsites for only $4 a night. Well $4 was optional really, no one was coming around to check. There was absolutely no one in the campground and we had top of a mountain to ourselves for $4.

We took some photos of the night sky while watching out for snakes but there was practically nothing there. It was really a different experience being in the wild by ourselves. Really was Into The Wild experience.

It was time to say good bye to the California Coast and head inland to the wineries and National Parks in California. We were definitely devo to say good bye to the coast, but we couldn’t wait to get to Yosemite either!

Pinnacles National Park

We headed to Pinnacles National Park from Big Sur. After a long drive, we finally got to Pinnacles late afternoon. It was our first National Park and it happened to be the newest National Park. We were at the youngest National Park in USA!

We arrived at our campsite to see boxes. We thought out loud – bears? After spotting a ranger doing his rounds, we waved at him and quizzed him. He alerted us that there were no bears but mean and scary raccoons. He warned us that they usually creep out at dark and we were instructed to store everything inside the car or the box.

Not to long after sun down, the raccoons were out and doing their rounds. They were attempting to enter every campsite for food. The ranger caught a few for relocation but he said, “they will soon be back”. The next morning we did a few hikes in the park and headed towards Napa Valley.

Napa Valley

Napa Valley is a famous wine region near San Fransisco. We should have loved this area and enjoyed the wine but we were stung by the wine tasting and wine prices in Saint Ynez Valley. We never stepped inside a winery. Instead we spent the night at the state park, did a hike and drove out.

Central Valley

Driving from Napa to Lake Tahoe, we passed through the food bowl of California. And I must say, it was incredibly beautiful. We stayed in a town called Lodi and had a crazy encounter with the locals. We walked into a bar to have a drink before dinner. As soon as we stepped in, we were a little sacred and I won’t lie, the thought of walking out alive did go through my mind! The people hanging around were rough looking. We ordered our drinks and appeared to be enjoying the moment when a lady walked out and walked back in with a cobra! WTF, cobra! Well, at least she was nice about it – she let us pet her cobra!!!! We walked out laughing and promising we were never doing this again.

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is an American institution. It is where a lot of people take their kids for summer. We drove from the town of Lodi to Tahoe early in the morning. Luckily, we were able to get a campsite at the campground by the Lake.

There was a summer festival going on the lake with music, bands and “no beer” even though everyone was drinking their own. We took a drive out away from the crowds and ended up in a state park on the beach of Lake Tahoe. Kids were swimming but for us the water and the wind was too cold. Therefore, we put up chairs and had a couple of beers with our feet in the sand. We were in the middle of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Paradise.

Yosemite National Park

It was finally time to drive to Yosemite. We didn’t have any bookings because everything gets booked 3 months prior! And, 3 months earlier we weren’t even sure if we were going USA. So to secure a campsite in Yosemite, we left Tahoe at 6am. We were making good time curving and winding through the mountains when we noticed fire in the distance. Getting closer we learnt it was a bush fire and the road was blocked. We waited for almost an hour before we were allowed to go through.

The drive to the park entrance was already breath taking! We wished we didn’t have to rush for a campsite as every bend was a magnificent view of the mountains and valley. But we had to keep going and upon finally reaching, we were told that the campsites were all full. It was not even 10am. Disaster!

After thinking through our options quickly, we decided to turn around and get back on the Tioga Pass to find a campsite in the National Forest. After wasting some time at two campgrounds, we finally came across one that had some campsites available! Praise the Lord we said and booked it for next 3 nights. Below is the photo of the clear starry sky we watched from our campsite.

Because of our campsite location and mileage restriction of the campervan, we spent most of our time in Toulmne Meadows. Very quickly we learnt that it was impossible to see the entire park in one trip, so we planned the next 3 days and focused on areas within our reach.

We trekked to Cathedral Lake, Elizabeth Lake and Dog Lakes and were constantly wowed by the amazing view. The sight of domes and peaks were just so common in the park but oh so spectacular.

Wildlife in Yosemite

At first we failed to see any wildlife in Yosemite though there was always signs of it. While walking up to Dog Lake, Shruti noticed something on a rock. It was a marmot one of the cuter animals we saw. Another time, we were walking to Soda Springs when we saw an entire family of deer. We were busy taking photos from a distance and just then a deer came only 20 yards away. The prize was obviously a black bear and we were lucky enough to see one across the stream!

Yosemite Valley

While driving to the valley, we saw a group of cars stopped, more or less in the middle of nowhere. This is called an animal jam and Shruti was quick to scream out that there was a bear. We parked at the next pullout and Shruti ran down to the previous pullout to see the bear. Sure enough, there was a cinnamon colored black bear on the other side of the river searching for and eating mostly bulbs and berries. It was a big bear with a huge bum, pretty much the same as all the bear films. We were glad to photograph it and glad it was on the other side!

On our final day in Yosemite, we headed to the valley and spent the entire day walking around and exploring another part of the park. The valley was equally stunning. The granite peak of El Capitan, Half Dome and other tall mountains were mighty and breathtaking. We hiked to the Yosemite Falls and it looked outstanding. Somehow the Yosemite Upper Falls reminded me of the falls in Telugu film Bahubali!

On our day out of the park, we saw the Bridalveil Falls and the Tunnel View of the Yosemite Valley. The falls really did look like a bridal veil but the tunnel view was sublime. I can imagine the people in 1800s coming to this area for fur trapping and being blown away by the beauty of the valley. Yosemite is a must visit if you were in California!

Kings Canyon National Park

Our next stop after Yosemite was Kings Canyon National Park. Our plan was to head to Sequoia National Park but the ranger at Yosemite recommended us to spend at least a night in Kings Canyon. So here we were!

We never imagined what the next day would be. It totally blew our minds. The Sequoia trees were magnificent! We never thought we would be so blown away by trees. Sequoias grow to almost 300 feet tall, 100 feet in circumference, can protect themselves from fire and diseases and can live up to 3000 years. No wonder they are the National Trees of USA. Even in death, their wood doesn’t decompose for hundreds of years which provide shelter for animals, plants and humans. Blown away of the mind!

We went to see ‘General Grant’, the third biggest tree in the world. We parked at the Grant Grove and started seeing the biggest trees of our lives. We were wowed already! But when we got to the Grant Tree, we couldn’t believe our eyes. It was the biggest thing in that area. It was over 250 feet tall, 100 feet round at the base and 1600 years old. It was so big that Shruti had to shoot it vertically panoramic.

Our next stop was the Cut Grove. Without Science and much awareness, the ignorant and money hungry people cut down many of the big Sequioa’s. It was a sad sight seeing the bases of huge trees some thousands of years old. The saddest though was the Mark Twain Tree. It was the biggest tree of the time, and if it lived, it would have been the biggest tree of our time. The base still exists and could easily fit 30 people on it. However, it was a great sacrifice as its portions were taken to New York and London where people couldn’t believe it was real and that led to the protection of these mighty trees.

Sequoia National Park

Later that day, we drove 30 minutes to the Sequoia National Park. We used the park shuttle the next day to visit some of the attractions. The Sequoia Museum was definitely worth the trip but General Sherman Tree took our breathe away. Standing tall among other tall trees, General Sherman was a reminder that humans are just a speck of dust in this universe.

We decided to hike a little and we ended up reaching Moro Rock. What. A. View! Walking up the steps along the edge of the balancing rock, we got to the top for a 360 degree view of the National Park and Central Valley. I’m sure we are not going to forget that never.

Los Angeles

The drive from Sequoia to LA was a short 3 hours but a tricky one. The park warns people not to use the D gear in automatic cars while descending as you can lose your breaks and land in the cliff. Therefore, I drove the descent and Shruti drove until the traffic started getting heavy before LA.

We met Suyash again in LA and stayed with him. Our first stop together in LA was of course Hollywood Blvd. At first, we didn’t think it was much and then we encountered the crowd after 2 blocks. The place was as touristy as Cusco, Peru because “you have to see it”. There was the Hollywood sign in the distance, some people dressed up as characters from films talking pictures for tips. Shruti and I felt claustrophobic but Suyash was over the moon to get his Facebook profile pic.

We next walked down Hollywood Blvd into Hollywood Hills in search of Ari Gold’s house. Suyash followed Entourage religiously and was way to excited but Shruti and I were worried that someone would call the cops on us.

We then walked down Sunset Blvd which is another iconic road in LA. It was lively with bars and restaurants all over the place. Suyash took us to a bar named Whisky A Go Go. This is the place where some of the most famous bands in rock history started or played. We were at a place where The Doors and Led Zeppelin had jammed! We bought tickets to go inside and watch some young rock bands. The vibe was amazing and we could only imagine when Jim Morrison came on stage or Led Zep played Kashmir. After a lot of rock music and drinking we took an uber back to the hotel while we heard the sad story of the driver not having health insurance and her daughter having cancer. Not all is right in USA!

The next day was shopping day. We drove out from LA for an hour to arrive at a huge shopping complex which was a factory outlet. All the brands were there and the markdowns were unbelievable. If we weren’t backpacking and took an empty bag to USA, we would have filled it up with a quarter of the cost of Australia. On the way back, Suyash got to see the Malibu beach, albeit in dark.

On our final day in LA area, we went with Suyash to San Diego. We visited a lake in the region and chilled with beers along its shore while Americans celebrated 4th July Independence Day. It capped off a great trip in LA and a great time with Suyash again.

Joshua Tree National Park

We left San Diego and headed towards the desert. Along the way, the scenery became drier and drier and we stopped at a native American petrol “complex” built on native land. Calling it a petrol station would be wrong as it had space for poker machines, car wash and a super market. The taxes were less and it was one of the cheapest fuel stops in USA for us.

As we reached Joshua Tree National Park, we walked into the visitors center. We only wanted to know how we could get the awesome sunset shots and a campsite. We were assured not to worry about either. Our only worry would be to avoid thirsty bees. If they see water or sweat, they will attack. Oh, scary!

The park is famous for another amazing tree. Joshua tree grows only in the Mojave and Colorado deserts in USA. It looks like a cactus has grown into a tree, kinda similar one being in Galapagos. Its shape and features made it look remarkable against a setting sun. As the sunset came close, we took photos from a great vista point on top of a mountain overlooking palm springs town.

Our next destination was the tallest Joshua Tree in the world. After the sun had set, we finally reached this tree. Though we weren’t quite sure where to find it, the ranger assured us that we won’t miss it. It looked like a funy power pole in the middle of the desert! Shruti finally got the perfect shot with it. The colors in this park were unbelievable, it really was like nature at play. The conditions were just right but the colors – we never saw those colors anywhere again!

We heard noises outside as we prepared to sleep. A bike, a truck and two voices. It seemed weird. Shruti wanted to wake up later to photograph the sky so we had to sleep. But when we woke up, we realised that the two voices were sky gazing with a huge telescope in the truck. Despite their rough looks, they were awesome people. We had a great time watching stars, planets and galaxies with them.

The next morning we drove to Skull Rock and climbed over some rocks in the park before it got too hot. At another place, the rocks had many shapes and it was up to each person’s imagination on what they looked like. It was an amazing experience being in this park and a great entry to the Wild Wild West! We were now prepared to leave behind California and head to Nevada.