Arriving in Yosemite

As soon as I got to Yosemite, I found an empty parking lot, cracked the windows, locked the doors and fell asleep in the back. It was not very comfortable. I hadn't bothered putting all my food in a bear-box either, so I woke up to every sound, imagining that a bear was trying to get in.



In the morning I hiked the Mariposa Grove of the Giant Sequoias. It was much like hiking in Sequoia National Park, only there were more people. The one good thing was that I could get someone to take a picture of me near the trees so it's possible to tell how big they are. These were definitely the biggest roots of the sequoias I saw anywhere.



This is a famous tree known as the California Tunnel Tree.



I hiked up to Wawona point, then took the outer loop back to avoid as many people as possible. I really liked this iron sign.

Climbing in Fresno

Thursday night I was in Fresno with no place to stay. So I did what any reasonable young woman would do--I found a bar and drank a Pina Colada. I told some people my story and hoped they might offer me a place to stay...but alas, no luck. So I began walking around the parking lot, getting the alcohol out of my system so I could drive to a parking lot near to a 24-hour bathroom, because it's weird peeing out in the street in the middle of the night.

And then I saw this:



And this:



There was a guy, Mike, showing videos of his trips around the world climbing things. That's what he does for a living--he climbs. It was pretty funny at times, and it was nice to just lean back and watch the show, which I'm not used to doing anywhere, nevermind on the road. There was a huge group of people all around. I sat down next to the lecturer's niece. I thought to myself, these are my people, a climber will give me a place to stay, maybe I'll ask this guy after.



While I was in the bathroom, (there's tampons, shampoo & conditioner, and even a hair dryer in there!), I met L. She's a 20-year-old college kid taking a semester off from school and staying with her parents in Clovis. I told her my story and she said, "Oh, maybe you could stay with me. I'll call my parents." So she did, and then I stayed at her place--after getting Mike's e-mail so we could maybe go climbing the next day.

She was hanging out with guy who made me very uncomfortable. He got in my face and mocked me and my state and everything he could. L said it was because he was mad that she was giving all of her attention to him. By the end of the night he'd thrown her carabiner clear across the gym and took her climbing gear with him. "He was drunk," she told me later. He was the first asshole I'd met my entire trip. How had I avoided them so far? L said she's known him for years, but I still don't think that she should hang out with him, even though I knew her for a day. If a guy treats you like that, it's time to get out.



I gave her cat a box to play with.

L and I hung out pretty much all day. I got to wash some clothes, take a shower, and talk to someone my age for the first time in a while.



Later I went out with Mike. We went to this park and walked around a Japanese garden, which was not nearly as cool as the greenhouse garden we have at UMass Amherst.

Every job that Mike's had has involved climbing. He worked for 5 summers in Yosemite, think it was?, just so he could go climbing all the time. "I only climb previously unclimbed rocks," he told me. I can't really imagine climbing for a living. He writes his own grants too, and writes about his trips. He has an 8-year-old daughter who plays piano and does a sport and some other things too. He lives in Salt Lake City and had come to Fresno only for the lecture. He was staying at his mom's house while here. I have no pictures of him here because I thought I'd left my camera at L's house. later I realized it'd just been hidden under some clothes in my very messy car.

Mike got me dinner at a pizza joint at the mall. The mall is like a cross from beach and mall. It's weird. There was live music outside, a ton of people, and places to walk around between the buildings, like wide alleys. He almost offered me a place to stay for the night, but said something that made me uncomfortable. When I dropped him off at his mom's later he said he'd call me in a while to see what I was up to. "Nothing," I said, "I need to go to sleep." I was getting pretty tired.

He called me two hours after I dropped him off. I had passed out in my car for an hour, but now I was on my way to Yosemite. "I'm going to the bar with a bunch of my high school buddies," he said, "you can come if you're bored or something."

"Will I have a place to stay?" I asked.

"Well, I have to get up at 4 a.m. So I'll be pulling an all-nighter." I asked the question several times and got the same answer. I was confused because he'd seemed so open earlier, but now he wouldn't give me a straight answer.

"I need to sleep," I said.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. You're a strong, independent woman," he said.

And I thought to myself, why am I waiting around for this guy? I said, "Nevermind, I'm going to Yosemite." And at 10:30 p.m. I drove to one of the most famous national parks in the world.

Sequoia National Park

As soon as I get to Sequoia National Park, I see a bear.



The Sequoias.



I like how they all seem to have faces.



Log cabin. This kind of gives you an idea of how big the tree is. It's like a school bus with no wheels.





That's my walking stick. In the beginning I had to hunch over a little bit, but halfway under the tree I could stand fully upright.




Mammoth pinecones.

300 couchsurfers

On Tuesday night I stayed in Bakersfield with Francine and her family. From left to right: Rosa, Becca, Francine and Carl. They were all very nice. Francine has had 300 surfers in three years! She told me a few stories about amazing people she's had stay at her house. One was a young man who lost a father, a brother, and his only child, and was wandering the country in search of some kind of relief. She told him to go to Yosemite and it really changed him; she said she keeps in touch with him to this day, and he now has a girlfriend, a job, and a life. That was the best story. She's also had cyclists, people searching for themselves, and more.

She keeps a golden leatherbound journal, which she asks each surfer to write in. It's amazing to see so many thank yous in so many different scripts and colors, and with different things stuck inside: little cards, drawings of flowers and people, and more. It was beautiful.

When her daughter turned 10, Francine started taking her on road trips--"I took her to one new country and one new state every year," she said, "and nothing bad ever happened to us."

The two girls in this picture are from Korea, and are staying with Francine and her boyfriend while they attend school in California. They hope to stay with her family all year.



The smiley faces mark all of the places Francine and her daughter have visited together.

Lake Powell

I forgot to include this somehow...it happened after my stay in Dixie National Forest, on my way to Arizona.



This is what I saw of Zion. The other side. I accidentally drove 30 miles past the turn and decided not to turn around. I did see something very cool though...



I thought this was a mirage at first, until I drove up to it. It's Lake Powell! Greatest lake EVER. About 185 miles long, it sits in the southwest corner of Utah. It's SO BLUE.





This dam is almost as large as the Hoover Dam. I would not want to be there if it broke open, that's for sure. It's holding A LOT of water. When ice is melting in the springtime, it all runs into Lake Powell. One vacationer told me that during the month of June the lake rose a full foot every day.



I asked someone where was the one place I could swim where there would be no other people and I was directed here--to the Coves.



The water is DEEP. I'm not sure how deep. At least 30 feet, I assume. That looks like an adult tree standing underwater. In the heat the water so nice. It was my first time swimming in a body of water other than a hot spring all summer. It was also terrifying, with the depths, and not knowing what might be down there to grab hold of my ankle and drag me down...if I had more time I could have written some intense fiction stories. Maybe an erotica or two included.



It almost looks like this guy is walking on water--is he Jesus? Look closer!

Venice Beach

Here are some pictures of Venice Beach. Enjoy! And stereotype as you may...







Our two greatest California stereotypes caught passing each other! The movies and the surfer dude. Love it. By the way: California is not so different from Boston.



I met the redhead in this picture (I have to look up his name later, can't remember now) while I was walking to Venice Beach. He was too. Neither of us had ever been there before. He was from Nebraska, a state I avoided on my way to Idaho. He works summers at his family's ranch in Oregon. I wanted to watch the street performers, so we stopped to watch. They took forever to get started, and when they did almost-start they were just insulting to anyone and everyone. They gathered a bunch of unwilling volunteers to create a wall to jump over. Redhead and I parted ways soon after this. I played on the bodybuilding park by myself, as it should be.

UCLA

The Powell Library was beautiful. It has carvings and tiles in the walls, and carved staircases too.



These columns guard the front door to the library.



Yes, this is an adorned water bubbler. It was in the Royce Building.



Of course I explored the library. I randomly found some books of poetry written by western women. I like this poem. Read it and you'll learn why.



If I were there longer I would have climbed this tree.