Day 25, Wed Aug 24, Yellowstone

No drive today - we are staying right in the park.  The Pearl is nestled in the trees and the night sky last night was fabulous.  Bella and David both saw shooting stars.  The milky way is visible here as well.
The site we are in allows us to set up the tent - yeah!  We were careful not to leave any food out to attract bears.  There is no internet here, no electricity, and, in our camp area, no showers - Ewwww!

Today we explored more of the park.  We drove to different areas to hike trails that lead to the upper falls, the lower falls and a petrified tree.  On the way we saw some furry friends.

Evidence - Elk or Bison patty?

Ah! There they are!

Traffic jam - Yellowstone style

This little guy was a bit confused - Dad (behind him) tries to help

The brink of the falls - an imposing sight!  It was a steep trail down to see this...but I think it was more steep on the way back up :)

where the buffalo roam

Day 24, Tue Aug 23, Jackson Hole, WY to Yellowstone, WY

The drive to Yellowstone took us through the Grand Tetons, a beautiful destination in its own right.  Oh, if only we had another month!

The drive wasn't long (a couple of hours) so after we set up Pearl, we headed over to Old Faithful.  Just in time to see it erupt over 100 feet into the sky.

We walked around the upper geyser bason.

"Daisy" erupted with perfect timing

We headed over to the Old Faithful Inn, a rustic lodge whose main house was completed in 1904.  The wings were completed in the teens and twenties.  We entered the lobby to see the massive fireplaces and high vaulted ceiling.  I could live here!

Day 23, Mon Aug 22, Wells, NV to Jackson Hole, WY

Today we drove to Jackson Hole, Wy.  The day began when we stopped for gas and noticed that the front tires were worn down to dangerous levels.  In fact, the right front tire had pieces coming off of it.  Not a good recipe for going over the Rockies, so we purchased two new tires and went for breakfast at Bella's Espresso House across the street.  The windows were lined with little vintage aprons and the food, including the pastires were all made from scratch.  The food was exceptional and the portions - huge.

When we got back on the road, we had a long drive through beautiful country.  We went through Idaho (land of the potato) and saw many acres of potatoes growing.  The terrain became much more mountainous as we approached Wyoming.  We drove along a river and the views were spectacular.

After arriving at the Jackson Hole KOA, we unhitched and went into Jackson Hole for dinner and to do some sightseeing.  Jackson Hole is a charming town lined with restaurants, shops and art galleries, ringed with an elevated wooden sidewalk.  It has a decidedly Western flavor.  We actually saw a gentleman walking down the sidewalk with spurs on!  This is a place that I would love to come back to and ski (but I'd stay in one of the many lodges).

There was a car show nearby and we spotted a couple of these fiats - I don't think this could tow the Pearl :(

Idaho - approaching Wyoming

Jackson Hole, Wy

Day 22, Sun Aug 21st, Carson City, NV to Wells, NV

Today started out a bit rocky.  After breakfast, we hooked the Pearl up to get on our way and it appeared to be listing to the side.  Remember our little "cam over" problem from day one?  Well it was back - but worse.  This time the "thingy" that attaches to the spring was completely detached from the frame.

I'm not exactly sure when it sprang loose from the frame.  However, if I flash back to the 11,000 foot elevation, winding, steep as heck, without guardrails, road that we had driven on yesterday - I don't think that I want to know.

And it was Sunday.

Again.

So I started calling around and got to the letter M for McQueen before we found a welding place that could fix this on a Sunday.  The campground was very nice and let us stay longer for free while we waited for our noon appointment with McQueen.  In fact, the kids and I went swimming in the pool while Dave took it to be fixed.  Turns out that McQueen was a very nice guy and was able to weld the thingy back on and have us on the road in less than an hour.

We were leaving 4 hours later than we had planned, so we drove until 8:30 and then called it quits in Wells NV.  Not too bad.

On the way, we passed through Reno, NV 

A tractor with 3 oil trailers piggy backed - you don't see that on Route 6

Day 21, Sat, Aug 20, Mariposa, CA to Carson City, NV

We spent more time in Yosemite today and did some hiking.  It really is an incredible place.

This photo shows the road going into the park - buried in rocks.  The road was closed and the traffic diverted to the opposite side.

A coyote crossed right in front of our car.

Yosemite is home to the highest waterfall in North America, Yosemite Fall

Dave, resting his head :)

We left Yosemite around 3PM and drove to Carson City.  We'll have a long day of travel tomorrow.

the ride to Carson City

Day 20, Fri Aug 19, Santa Cruz, CA to Mariposa, CA

We left Santa Cruz fairly early and drove to Mariposa, which is just 6 miles outside of Yosemite National Park.  After unhitching the Pearl and setting up the tent for Christian and Joshua, we drove into Yosemite.  This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.  The weather was hot and sunny, so we stopped at a waterfall (downstream) and took a dip.

very inviting

Bridal veil fall

Feeling refreshed, we drove to see the Giant Sequoia's

Joshua and Bella are dwarfed by the roots of a fallen Sequoia

Fire damage

We ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant outside of the park and headed to the campground, sleepy eyed.

But wait - we arrived to find a note taped to the door of the Pearl - "Please take down your tent, there are no tents allowed on RV sites".  Ok, 5 people in the Pearl, that's pushing it....

This here Shasta ain't big enough for the 5 of us....One of us is gonna have ta leave.  And it ainta gonna be me!

Well, we did take down the tent - and somehow squeezed 5 of us into the Pearl.  Its a good thing we like each other. :)