We hiked up to this little alcove and a guy was playing a wind instrument. By the time we left a couple of drummers had also joined in to create beautiful music.
Just after I took the picture above, I turned around and saw the General Young Women's President Emily Freeman. Wow what a powerful spirit she holds. Lou's favorite part of the hike was playing in the sand...and making a sand angel.
After the hike we headed back to Sarah's place for lunch and to hit the pool.
Millie loved trying out cousin Rachel's mermaid tail.
The kids also had fun having chicken fights.
After the pool the kids played lots of card games.
We ended the night making s'mores.
Sarah and Joe's headed home the next morning. It was a short visit with them but so sweet. After watching our sacrament meeting on zoom, we headed out on another adventure. We hiked to Scout Cave in Snow Canyon.
Then we headed over to play at the sand dunes.
We spent the afternoon back at the pool. The kids loved going down the slide and jumping off the big rock.
The next morning we were up early again. We loaded sleepy kids into the car and headed to Death Valley. We drove near Area 51 in Nevada and found this missile instillation outside the gas station.
Death Valley was so different than any other National Park we have been too. We loved the Mars like views from Zabrinskie Point.
Then we hiked in Golden Canyon. Part of Star Wars was filmed in this canyon. It reminded me a lot of the canyon before Petra in Jordan.
Our next stop was Badwater Basin which is the lowest point in North America.
We started the walk out to the water.
Millie's shoes were hurting her feet so I turned around with her, Silas and Lou.
Millie loved the purple shades on this scenic drive.
Our final stop was the sand dunes.
We were hoping to be able to "sled" down the sand dunes on cardboard...but it didn't quite work.
We drove on to our hotel in Ridgecrest, California. We got cold drinks at a gas station and some Little Caesar's pizza.
Then we chilled out watching shows and relaxing.
This hotel included breakfast and the kids were fascinated with this pancake making machine.
After a stop for lunch at the Costco in Fresno, we made it to Yosemite. Our first stop was at the Yosemite history center. We were able to see a cute little covered bridge and some historic buildings.
The kids were so excited to get to Yosemite...they commented that they liked the trees and mountains way more than the desert.
We had a little bit of time to kill before checking into our cabin for the night. So we went on a hike to the Swinging Bridge.
Then we headed to the Mariposa Visitors Center. We were sad to hear that the shuttles up Mariposa Grove were not in service for the season yet. It would have been about a six mile round trip hike to go see the giant Sequoias trees. So, we got some information about our adventures the next day and then headed back to our cabin.
The next morning we were up bright and early. It took about a half hour to drive into the heart of Yosemite. We loved the view as we drove through the tunnel into the Yosemite Valley. The first viewpoint with the fog and waterfalls was breathtaking.
Our first stop was Bridalveil falls.
Then we hit up the Gift Shop for a magnet and the Main Visitors Center to get more information. I didn't know that Yosemite relies on shuttles for visitors to get around. So our next step was to catch a shuttle to the Vernal Falls trailhead.
Vernal Falls was so majestic and we got quite wet in it's mist.
We caught the shuttle back to the Ahwahnee Hotel and treated ourselves to a very expensive ice cream.
Then we caught the shuttle down to Lower Yosemite Falls.
The shuttle back to the Visitors Center was packed...so we rode a few stops and then got off and cut across the park.
Yosemite was so beautiful. We had to stop at the main viewpoint again on our way out.
Back at the cabin the kids played games and Silas watched The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
The next morning we drove on to San Francisco. Our first stop was at the Costco in San Francisco. I had the directions for the hotel in my phone and Seth put directions for the Costco in his. Somehow his audio was off...so I kept hearing the audio directions to the hotel but could see the map to Costco on the screen in the car...needless to say we did quite a few turns but finally made it to the most unique Costco we have ever been to. We drove into a large parking garage and then went up to the Costco on one of the top levels. We bought some items for breakfast and had a quick lunch.
Then we made a quick stop at the Painted Ladies...and wished we would have watched some Full House with our kids before the trip. Driving and parking in San Francisco was crazy! I knew there were hills but it seemed like constant up and down streets. There was pretty much a stop sign on every corner and it was very slow going.
The park across the street from the Painted Ladies was a nice break.
Then we headed down to Pier 39 to explore.
We had fun watching the seals.
We also loved walking along the shops on Pier 39.
Silas would have loved this Luigi that was as big as him.
Our next stop was Alcatraz. The ferry over to the island was crowded. We decided to visit the outside of the island before going to the cell blocks which helped reduce the crowds. We read all about Elliott Michener, the gardener of Alcatraz.
The cell tour was an audio tour. The kids each had their own headsets which kept them quite entertained. They were quite shocked at just how small the cells were.
It was fun to learn about the escape attempts and the successful escapes.
After the tour we headed back out to the recreation yard after the tour. These steps are pretty famous in the Escape from Alcatraz movie. Apparently if you sat near the top of the steps you had more power.
It was fun to get some good views of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Silas loved all the birds nesting on Alcatraz Island.
Then we caught the ferry back to the pier.
We bought a street hotdog to share.
Then we got some mini-doughnuts at Pier 39.
We found a fun magic shop. The cashier showed the kids a fun card trick and then Silas bought a trick wand.
We headed down to Fisherman's Wharf. Phin thought these street bathrooms with automatic doors were pretty slick.
We went into Boudin Bakery and watched all the sourdough being made.
Then we headed to the arcade: Musee Mechanique. We gave each of the kids some quarter to play games.
Millie loved this Harry Potter sorting hat. It gave her a little fortune and told her what house she was in.
Our final stop for the night was Ghirardelli Square.
We shared a couple of very expensive sundaes.
The next morning we headed out to pick up our e-bike rentals. Sadly the shop didn't open until 9 AM. So we had some time to explore and play at a little park.
I have to say the e-bikes were a favorite for every member of the family...except maybe Lou who cried when we first put her in her seat. We biked down to and then over the Golden Gate Bridge.
We made a stop at Golden Gate Vista Point.
Then we biked down to Sausalito.
Then we biked back to the Vista Point for some hot dogs and fresh fruit.
We also had some yummy street corn.
Then we biked back over the bridge and all through Golden Gate Park. Phin and Millie shared a bike.
Silas joined me on the piggy back bike.
Lou was in a seat behind Seth.
After returning the bikes and cleaning up a bit we drove over the bridge to Muir Woods.
Muir Woods was quite a surprise. It was just about 25 minutes outside of San Francisco and so beautiful. We couldn't quite believe there could be giant Redwoods so close to the city.
When we got back to San Francisco we were quite tired so instead of trying to ride a Trolley car we decided to drive down Lombard Street.
Then we drove through China Town.
We ended the night back at our hotel with some pizza.
We drove all the way home the next day. The kids loved playing a little pinball machine at the KFC in Winnamucca.
What an amazing week we had together.
