Mariposa Grove

Unfortunately, the previous day in Yosemite Valley had drained my camera battery so I had to photograph the giant sequoias with my phone. Could be worse though, we had spent the night in Camp 4 surrounded by European climbers and attempted to make smores over a smokey campfire. Early in the morning we headed out to see the famed, enormous trees in south Yosemite National Park, in Mariposa Grove. Some of the larger trees are actually located outside the park but we sadly didn't have time to adventure there...there's always next time!

Welcome!

The Grizzly Giant

Tunnel Tree! 

Tree Zen...

It's almost unbelievable how huge these trees were....also frustrating to take pictures of, because you need people in the shot for scale, but you don't want to ruin the beautiful tree photographs with people...

Endless forests, fresh crisp air, birdsong...

Clothespin Tree!

Pictures just cannot convey the majestic size of these ancient beauties...

We had to leave the trees behind and head to the city for the night, but I still can't wait to get back to Yosemite, and it's been months...

Yosemite Valley

Hello first Park campsite of the trip...nothing like packing up your home night after night. By the end we could do it in less than a minute it seemed.

Tree pose

(getting some campsite yoga on!)

Yosemite Falls

Rocky, slippery, beautiful Mist Trail up to Vernal Falls

Vernal Falls

Rainbow!

Vernal Falls...if only pictures could capture the sound of water rushing over the edge

We made it to the top!

And that's where the water goes...

The epic granite cliff faces the valley is famous for

Rock stacking with Nevada Falls in the background

Venturing off the beaten path is where it's at...

After the falls hike, we headed to Mirror Lake

...and climbed some rocks along the way ;)

Laura is braver than I am...although at that point we would have all welcomed a 

slip into the icy mountain water 

Saying a sad goodbye to Yosemite Valley at a breathtaking overlook 

on the drive down to Mariposa Grove to see the giant sequoias...

Driving to Yosemite National Park through Southern California Deserts

After the festival, Sean, our friend Laura and I rented a car and headed north from the Los Angeles area with the GPS set to Yosemite...

After we finally escaped the grips of suburbia, we encountered a rocky desert 

that seemed to stretch forever...

Despite the car thermometer reading 102 degrees, some of these mountains 

were still topped with snow. We were driving through a dry basin between

two mountain ranges, and the only direction we were going was up!

As the sun set, we powered on towards Yosemite, arriving near midnight. Let me tell you, there's nothing quite like driving a loaded up rental car through winding mountain roads in the dark!

Lightning in a Bottle 2012

We began our trip at Lightning in a Bottle, the most amazing music festival I have ever attended. Flew into L.A. after midnight, was greeted by a seemingly infinite glowing carpet of streets and highways, and spent a few days getting used to California (coming from Florida, that's saying something).

4 nights and 5 days of music, workshops, speakers, community, fun, dance, new friends, and a growing vibe of sustainability...

The DoLab Foundation is responsible for this beautiful gathering of art, music, people, and general awesomeness.

Goodbye, LiB...see you next year!