The Adventures of Sock Monkey Season 2 Episode 1: Hotel California...sort of...ish...not really... Day 8

   And I am back with more epic ninja sock monkey-ness! Totally ignore the fact that this is for June 6th and I am so behind. Enough dawdling. Forwards and onwards with the adventures!

   We all got up as soon as it got bright (or for me, as soon as my mom woke me up) and ate breakfast outside, which was nice, but kinda cold in the morning. Note: Bring jackets. After breakfast, I stopped by the visitor center and got a Junior Ranger booklet and while my parents got trail advice, I filled out the booklet. I'll include some educational stuff later. Anyway. After filling the booklet out, I returned it to the desk and got sworn in as an official Kings Canyon Junior Ranger. The ranger was super nice and let me where his hat while he proclaimed to the entire vicinity that I was officially a Junior Ranger. It was fun. After that, we hiked up the North Grove Trail (its a loop) and basically saw lots of sequoias and squirrels and the like. See below for pictures.

Trees.

Feel so short now...

Nature at its best.

Dogwood flower bath.

The hiiilllls are aliiiive with the sound of sock monkeeeeeysss!!!

Fun facts...

...statistics...

...now put it all together.

After the hike, we still had lots of time so we decided to take a scenic drive around. See below for map.

Drive to highlighted route.

We drove, admiring the scenery, before stopping, once at Boyden Cave, once at Grizzly Falls. See below for pics of amazingness.

Peek-a-boo!

The South Fork Kings River.

Sock at Grizzly Falls...

...Spock at Grizzly Falls.

The drive took roughly 3-4 hrs. We drove back and went to go eat dinner at the (only) restaurant that they had in that part of Kings Canyon, but we were about 45 minutes early and the cashier told us that the restaurant didn't open till 5 so we went to the lodge and did some electronic gadget-y stuff. When 5 o'clock struck, we headed back to the restaurant to have dinner. The food was really good. I suggest this place if you stop by John Muir Lodge or its vicinity. After that we headed back to the lodge where it rained sugar pine cones. Let me get this straight first. Sugar Pine-cones are usually around 13 inches long. And when it got windy, these cones started dropping off the trees. I have to admit, it was rather entertaining to watch. See below for pictures.

Pine cones...

...and pine cones...

...and pine cones.

Sock Monkey and Spock on, you guessed it, more pine cones.

After the sugar pine cone rain of terror (just kidding) we took an astronomy tour that had a grand total of three people. Four if you include the guide. Four people. The guide, my mom, my dad, and I. And maybe Bigfoot. Just kidding. I think... The tour was nice and at night you could see Bakersfield from the spot where we were (called Panorama Point). And Bakersfield is, like, 93.9 mi (151.2 km) from Kings Canyon. So it was cool. And really awesome. That just about sums up Day 8 of 10 in our vacation to California and the sorts. If you have anything to ask, comment about, talk about, etc, use the comment board. Well, I think I'm just about done so thanks for reading!

Sorry. Forgot about the educational stuff, Here you go!

Tree Scramble

Unscramble the letters at the end of each sentence to form a word in the blanks. All words relate to trees.

1. Several kinds of _ _ _ _ trees grow in the mid-Sierra zone. (nipe)

2. The _ _ _ _ _ of a tree anchor it in the ground. (sorot)

3. All trees need sunlight and _ _ _ _ _ to grow. (rawet)

4. A giant sequoia cone can hold over 200 tiny _ _ _ _ _. (edses)

5. The giant sequoia tree has a _ _ _ _ the size of a chicken's egg. (noce)

6. Bears, woodpeckers, and other animals like to eat the _ _ _ _ _ _ from the oak trees. (nacors)

7. The _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ is the largest kind of tree on earth. (tagin aqesiuo)

8. The _ _ _ _ of a giant sequoia tree is very thick and helps protect it from fire. (krab)

9. Some trees grow in all three _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ in the parks. (feil nozes)

10. Pine trees have skinny leaves called _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

Now, write the letters in the highlighted boxes in order to fill in the blank with a word: 

Sometimes rangers start a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ fire to keep the forest healthy.

(*Borrowed/Adapted from the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Junior Ranger Booklet*)

The Adventures of Sock Monkey Season 2 Episode 1: Hotel California...sort of...ish...not really... Day 7

   Here I am, once again! I'm super delayed already. This is for, like, June 5, and today is, what, June 24? Whatever. On with the super awesome epic ninja (Not really. Sorry.) adventures!

   We got up early to pack up all of our stuff and checked out of our (last time I'm using this phrase...) tent/cabin/tabin and packed up before driving to the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees. Which had, you guessed it, big trees. Sequoias to be exact. We took the trail all the way to the Grizzly Giant (the tree). The hike was nice, though you had to take a bus there or get really good parking real early in the morning. I suggest the bus. See below for pictures. 

The roots of a sequoia tree. No wonder they grow so tall...

Tall trees. Short me.

The Grizzly Giant. *DUN DUN DUUUUNNN!!!!!*

Up close. Makes me feel even shorter...

...not to mention Spock here.

After the hike, we took the bus back to the parking lot and started driving to Kings Canyon. Kings Canyon is south of Yosemite and in the central east part of California. After several hours (not really) of driving, we stopped in Fresno for gas, groceries, Chinese buffet, etc. After our rest stop, we drove up over hills and through woods (Yeah. Really.) and finally arrived at the John Muir Lodge, where we were staying. And it was raining. Slightly. But it was still super awesome. You can buy your own 2 yr old sequoia sapling in the gift shop. Note: Unless you live somewhere cool, outdoorsy, and very roomy, don't buy one. These things can grow up to 40 ft (12.19 m) in diameter and up to 275 ft (83.82 m) tall. It might not fit in your living room, so I do not suggest them as houseplants. Okay. Botany lesson done. On with the fun! After putting all of our stuff in our cabin (after the drizzles stopped), we headed down to the lodge to borrow their WiFi and their heaters and their fireplace and things like that. I'll include all pictures at the end. After it got dark, we headed back to the cabin, brushed our teeth in the (public outdoor) bathrooms, and went to bed. Note: Bring a sleeping bag. They have sheets and mattresses but it gets cold like 40 degrees Fahrenheit and this is June!! Summer! Okay. Now. Picture time.

Our lodge.

The meadow. To think that this was in California...

The meadow.

Kinda Lord of the Rings-ish.

The cabins...

...and our cabin.

And that concludes Day 7! If you have any questions, comments, other things, comment board is that way! Until the next post...thanks for reading!

The Adventures of Sock Monkey Season 2 Episode 1: Hotel California...sort of...ish...not really... Day 6

   And here we are again with the sixth installment of Season 2 Episode 1! Well, here goes! Onwards, dear reader!

   We left our tent/cabin/tabin in Curry Village after a quick breakfast to drive to the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. That is such a cool name. I'll include a picture of where we drove below.

Anyway. We drove over the river (I think?) and through the woods and out of Yosemite National Park and back in Yosemite National Park to get to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir (and had some park pass issues on the way, but no worries. All good.). The drive took around 1.5 hrs, just like pretty much any drive from Yosemite Valley to any other major place will take. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir was made by a dam, the (let me get this spelling right) O'Shaughnessy Dam. Nailed it. We decided to take a "relaxing" (sure...) walk through the tunnel (yeah, there was a tunnel. It was cool. See below for pics.) and see what was on the other end. So my mom, Sock Monkey, Spock, and I went through the tunnel and adventured while my dad stayed behind and was boring. His loss. Pictures, now.

World's Highest Pressure Shower

Can I go read that dam sign?

He's supernatural...extraterrestrial.

Sock Monkey glows!

Chill.

After going through the tunnel, walking a bit farther, turning around, going back through the tunnel, and back out, we took a few more pictures before heading back to Curry Village and Yosemite Valley in general. On the way back, we stopped by a campsite of some sort, maybe called Mather Ranch? Either way, we stopped there and had a cold pizza lunch with the remainder of yesterday's dinner. Also, on the drive back, there were these purple-ish flowers that I thought was lupine but I have no guarantees, so if you know what it is, please comment and tell me. I'll include the picture below.

Smells like jasmine and unwashed sock monkeys (okay, just kidding)...

We stopped by the Swinging Bridge on the way there to get some pictures and whatnot. And, yes, it was a swinging bridge. Genius people who named this thing. See below.

Waterfalls in the distance.

Who says you can't have a beach in the middle of California?

Afterwards, we drove past and decided to stop at El Capitan Picnic Area and go climber-watching. We met a lady whose husband was actually climbing El Capitan at the moment and she pointed him out and showed us a few other cool rock-climbing things, like what to pack, what to carry, how the climbers carried it, etc. And it was raining. After that, we headed back to Curry Village and had Ramen Noodles for dinner as opposed to pizza. We "borrowed" some hot water from the restaurant and basically had noodles with ham and other goodies for dinner. After dinner, we headed for the Internet cafe. I take that back. We were already in the Internet cafe. So we pulled out our tech-y stuff and did things/played board games because they had them :D. So, I think I am about done, so questions, comments, etc, comment board is somewhere below this post so check that out, please! Until next time, thanks for reading! 

The Adventures of Sock Monkey Season 2 Episode 1: Hotel California...sort of...ish...not really... Day 5

   Hallo, dear readers! And I am back with more amazing flying-ninja-sock-monkey-ness so read on, dedicated readers, read on! ;)

   We got up the next morning and I actually managed to not ace-plant on the bottom of the stairs as I went down. I blame my sore legs. And I am blame my sore legs on the hike yesterday. But it was worth it. Anyway. We stopped by the lodge and had a breakfast of blueberries, yogurt, oatmeal, and other things, while we watched mule deer have their breakfast of various tree leaves. See below. 

Gotcha!

After breakfast, we took the shuttle to the visitor center and I bought the Junior Ranger booklet (Bought!! Refer to the over-commercializing comment on Day 4.) and after filling some of the booklet out, we headed to the theater to watch the two movies about Yosemite and how it was created that they show. After watching both of the movies, we decided to take some "relaxing" hikes (*cough* yeah right *cough*). We took a shuttle to Lower Yosemite Falls Trailhead and we hiked the 1 mi (1.6 km) loop trail. See below for pictures. We headed back to the visitor center after that to get my Junior Ranger badge. And my dad got one. The badges were made out of (I think) recycled wood. But it's cool anyways. I'll add the educational stuff at the end. We still had some extra time after that so after some various shuttle hopping, we headed off to hike to Mirror Lake. Which actually isn't a lake. But I won't get into specifics. The Mirror Lake Loop itself is 5 mi (8 km) but we only went to the lake and back so that's around 2 mi (3.2 km). The hike there was nice and cool (temperature-wise), but keep in mind that the trail is shared by horse-riders also. See below for pictures. And I'll add a trail map of them both so you can get a glimpse of what we hiked. After the hike to Mirror Lake, we took a shortcut across the improvised bridge of tree branches and headed back to the trailhead via the road. We were on our way back when we saw a bunch of people pointing at something in the trees so we stopped to get a closer look and it was a bear. Well, two bears, actually. A mother bear and her cub. But still!!! It was super cool. Ok. Pictures, now.

Lower Yosemite Falls

Chillin' like a (not so) villain...

Spock at Mirror Lake...

...Sock Monkey at Mirror Lake.

Sock on rock...

...Spock on rock.

The monkeys go flying one by one...

Wanna piece me?!

Staring contest!

What we hiked and the main places we went are highlighted in yellow.

We shuttle-hopped back to Curry Village afterwards and had pizza (yet again) for dinner. Because its good. Especially after hiking. So, I'm getting to the end of this post, so check the comment board and actually put stuff there, please. Other than that, thanks for reading! Sock Monkey and Spock wish you well!




Ok. Now, for the educational part. Borrowed/Adapted from the Yosemite National Park Junior Ranger Handbook. Mostly.

1) Black bears can only be black.  True/False
2) Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant, which set aside Yosemite Valley and its vicinity as protected land.  True/False
3) The native people who lived (and some still live) in Yosemite Valley call themselves the Ahwaneechees.  True/False
4) A Sugar Pine cone is usually 11 inches or shorter.  True/False
5) Giant Sequoia cones are very big.  True/False
6) Sock monkeys are very epic  True/True 

Ok, the last question wasn't in the booklet. But you can still answer it. That concludes the informational section of this post. For more information concerning Yosemite National Park, click here.
Thanks for reading, people of earth and intergalactic space!

The Adventures of Sock Monkey Season 2 Episode 1: Hotel California...sort of...ish...not really... Day 4

   Here I am again with the latest post of The Adventures of Sock Monkey Season 2 Episode 1. Latest, that is, until next post. Never mind. Enough said, on with the super epic sock monkey-filled adventures!!

   We left our tent/cabin/tabin super early in the morning because we had to catch a shuttle to the Yosemite Lodge and catch a shuttle there to bring us to Glacier Point from which we were going to hike down from. As I mentioned in Day 3. The tickets were $25 each (and this park was made to stop over-commercializing...) and the drive took approximately 1.5 hrs to reach the top. But the view from the top was most definitely worth seeing. See below.

BASEAASF! (Best and Super Epic Awesome Amazing Sock-y Friends)

Where one goes...

...the other follows.

After taking pictures and getting pictures taken of, we started off down the trail. I'll include the trail map below.

Been there, done that!

The trail itself is around 8.5 miles long, give or take about 0.3 miles, and is mostly downhill with a bit of uphill stuff. Or, as the hiking guide says (*ahem*) "As its name implies, this trail offers some incredible panoramic views of Yosemite Valley. The trail crosses Illilouette Fall after 2 miles (3.2 km) and continues partially uphill along the Panorama Cliff. At the top of Nevada Fall, the trail joins the Mist and John Muir Trails to Happy Isles. In the summer, hikers may purchase a one-way bus ticket to Glacier Point ($) and hike down." Which we did. See below for pictures from the hike. 

I seeee youuu!

Nevada Falls

Vernal Falls

Shower time!

The bottom of Vernal Falls and the beginning of the Mist Trail.

The Merced River

We started hiking around 10 AM and got to the end of the trail at Happy Isles at around 5 PM, so the hike (on our time schedule) took about 7 hrs. Probably because we took a lot of breaks and had a picnic on the top of Nevada Falls. :) Anyway. After we finished hiking down from Glacier Point, we took the free shuttle back to Curry Village, where we were lodging, and ordered pizza for dinner. Because, yes, they had a pizza place there. It was very good. Expensive, but good. There was also an ice cream place in the restaurant they had there and the ice cream was also good. Expensive but good. After dinner and dessert, we headed to the lodge (aka the only place in Curry Village with decent WiFi, although if there are too many people on it, you can't sign in) and caught up on the technology things that we had missed the past few days (like blogging!). Well, that just about concludes Day 4, so questions, comments, answers, typo alerts, comment board is that way [insert arrow pointing towards comment board so check that out, please! I'm pretty much done now so thanks for reading!