Yosemite Part III

After lunch we decided to do some exploring, saw Lake #3:

Then climbed below the lake to some white granite cliffs...

and ran around the cliffs...

Mary, Collin & Matt hiked all the way down the cliffs, they wanted to see where they would end... and saw this spectacular view:


Ellie and I decided to conserve our energy, we would be hiking 6.8 miles out the next day after all...

We did some more exploring and found Lake #4:


and then decided to head back to camp. On our way back we came across this redwood growing out of the white granite cliffs. It's trunk was maybe 12 ft. in diameter and it has probably been alive since the time of Christ.


So naturally Matt decided to climb it:

As he climbed the branches he was holding onto kept breaking, and Mary yelled at him for killing a 2000 yr old tree.

We got back to camp and we decided since it was our last night we would have closing ceremonies and make our fire as big as possible. Also, we were very cold so getting as warm as possible as quickly as possible seemed like a good idea.




We hiked out the next day and the sun finally decided to come out... ironic...

and then we drove home. The drive took us through the most barren part of Nevada, not the top, not the bottom, the middle where there is absolutely nothing. There were 3-4 towns on the highway which were big enough to sell gasoline. The most memorable was a place called Toponah, where everyone is drunk by 12 in the afternoon and they have a clown themed motel, that's right a CLOWN THEMED MOTEL. It was magical.
And eventually we made it back home. The end.