Day 36 - A Flash Flood is 'Probably' going to happen

A good friend had recommended a Zion hike called The Narrows - named for the fact that the hike is in a narrow slot canyon through a river.  It sounded amazing so we made sure to save time for it. 

Day 35 - Good morning Zion! (July 17th)

Each national park is unique and carries it's own superlatives. One could argue that Zion was the most beautiful but when it comes to organization, there is no debate, Zion takes the cake.

Day 34 - Hello Southwest Utah

Our plan of staying nearby to the entrance of Zion worked out great.  We were able to leave Mesquite at a reasonable hour, stock up on groceries and get to the park in time to secure a campsite.

Day 33 – Mesquite, NV AKA "Sin Village" (July 15th)

Joshua Tree was beautiful but I'd be lying if I said we weren't ready to leave the morning after we arrived! Here's why:

Day 32 - From the City to the Desert

Even though we only spent 2 nights in LA, we woke up feeling like we had spent a week in the city and were itching to get back to some nature.

Day 31 – No More! (July 13th)

Lauren and I woke up feeling surprisingly spry considering what we'd put our bodies through the night before.

Day 30 – downtown LA in a day (July 12th)

The next morning Lauren and I got some exercise paddle boarding in the harbor (so much fun!) and afterwards headed north to LA to stay for a couple of nights with my good buddy Gerald at his loft downtown.

Day 29 – Newport Calfornia! (July 11th)

Doug and Katy headed off early to their big-kid jobs. Lauren and I woke up late and headed to the beach.

Day 28 – July 10th

From Santa Barbara we were headed south to Newport Beach to visit my good buddy Doug and his wife Katy.

Day 27 – Second day in beautiful Santa Barbara (July 9th)

Tuesday morning Lauren and I dressed and hoped in the car. Lauren had been highly recommended a visit to Carpenteria, just a few miles south of SB. Not knowing exactly where in Carpenteria we should go we got off at the first exit that had a sign advertising "Beach Access".

Day 26 – On to Santa Barbara (July 8th)

We were slow to get moving Monday morning. Lazily enjoying our last few hours on the vineyard seemed too good to pass up (even if that meant we'd never make it to the Firestone Brewery in Paso-dang!) We stopped at an amazing multi-generational deli before heading south and picked up a couple fresh-made cold cuts for the road.

Day 24 and 25 - Into Wine Country (Again)

We got an early start out of Kings Canyon and headed West back towards Fresno.  As much as we were hoping to avoid going through Fresno again, it was the most direct route to get us back towards the coast.

Day 23 - Exploring Sequoia National Park

Thursday morning Dan took over breakfast duty and made delicious egg sandwiches.

Day 22 - Happy 4th of July! (Day 2 at Kings Canyon)

The next morning we woke up early to drive to Cedar Grove.  After the debauchery of the previous night, we decided to go check out the campgrounds over there and consider moving if they were good.  We had only paid for one night so we had until noon before we had to commit to another night.

Day 21 - One Campground to Another (Yosemite to Kings Canyon)

We woke up a little sad knowing it was our last day in Yosemite.  We had so much more of the park we wanted to see and our campsite at Crane Flat was one of our favorites.  But we were also looking forward to visiting nearby Sequoia and Kings Canyon Parks and doing some more camping.