A Couple of Minutes in One Moment

21.08.2017
Kristaps writing:

On the road, something grabbing passes by and wakes me up, it’s already over 6am, light and very dusty. For a change I slept in the car tonight. I did not want to get cold again, yesterday someone had seen a rattlesnake and warned us about it when coming from the Painted Mountains, and there are also fire ants here. Full set. Besides, we returned to the camp late last night, when many of us had gone to sleep very early before the day of the climax of the trip, and I did not want to disturb them in the dark by rustling around in the tent when setting up my place. Enough of excuses. I did get cold anyway, the warm hills of yesterda had cooled the air down to + 15 ° C in the morning. (I train looking at the thermometer at regular intervals.)

Yes, I have a thermometer! Agnese had by the way sent information about NASA Citizen Science project on the eclipse, called GLOBE Observer, where every wannabe scientist can participate by recording data on natural processes on the eclipse day. I left the preparation up until the very last night before the flight, when I decided that if I had the opportunity once, then why not try and I adjust one of my UKHAS.net nodes as a thermometer – I put the display, the solar panel, fixed code, then again and then again, and ready, works. Because DIY is better than buying!
With the GLOBE Observer, however, there is a problem, the application requires the internet, but of course there is no such in a desert. Well, ok, I’ll record the data just for my joy.

The sky is clear, just a thin band of clouds in the southern side. While still sleeping in the car, I looked at it, trying to figure out where it was going, and decided that everything would be fine, as it looked like it calmly slided past and would not approach. Daumants, however, investigated it more critically and expressed pessimistic comments on how everything will be bad.

It’s only half past 6, but the road to the park’s parking lot and the parking lot itself is already full, but the stream of cars is just flowing and flowing, till there is an endless line on the road. The idea was already mentioned yesterday that some might not go up in the Painted Mountains in the morning, but will stay to observe the eclipse right here at the camp site. I like this more and more, as almost all the drivers and passengers of the visible cars will go to the mountains, but there really is only a road and a small roadside on the hill where to stand, so it smells like a crowd for a couple of hours. It can be that the solar eclipse is a very social happening, I do not know yet, but it doesn’t tempt me. Salvis and Laura will stay here, yay. I courtesy ask again if this will not be a private event for them, but no, and the three of us stay at the camp, take mats for laying down and climb higher up the hill – closer to the Sun.

At 9:07am the moon begins to bite in the cheek of the Sun, which from a round pancake slowly transforms into a classical [Latvian] patty. Meanwhile, it has slowly become dark and much cooler. The two others even put on their jackets, I was not so provident. 22 minutes after 10am is THE moment. As we look through the special glasses that hold off 99.99% of the light, we see how the sun disappears completely, and removing the glasses is woooww .. It’s so unusual, it’s dark around, there are three or four stars or planets visible in the sky, I think they are Venus, Pollux and Capella. It seems that you can see the sun’s crown – something there looks like three huge rays.

It is not completely dark or black night, it is quite deep dusk – Ilgonis later says that it is due to the same clouds that dissipate the light from outside the shade. Yup, even at the place which by statistics should have the slightest chance of clouds, there are clouds. At first they were on one side, but now they have already taken over all the sky. They are thin, transparent enough to see the darkened Sun, do not interfere too much.

Two minutes and four seconds pass in one moment. Too fast. Although my camera does not really allow it, I am still trying to capture in pictures the darkness in the middle of the day for memory, until Laura suddenly exclaims: “Kristap, look!” And this is the best view – a diamond ring, a moment when the Moon still covers almost the whole Sun and only the very edge of the Sun has gone past. There is still visible the pale ring and the brilliant Sun, which for people in ancient times has probably looked as a diamond. Impressive and thrilling view. Was it worth it? Yes!

Well, and beyond all in the reverse – once again it becomes brighter, warmer, the world is waking up, cars start to drive, the masses dissipate, and all the eclipse-tour participants gradually return to the camp to share their impressions, gradually gather their belongings and prepare for the road.

After this only entering Washington is in today’s plan, where a visit of LIGO Gravitational Wave Observatory is scheduled for the evening, but there is still a ride of several hours to Richland.

It turns out that a congestion is possible even on such a outskirts and in a desert. Back to Mitchell to send out postcards we get fairly quickly, but there are many miles after that which we do in a walking pace. This is not Yosemite, here nobody offers carrots while being in a traffic jam, a shame. When traffic finally disperses, one of our drivers lets his feelings wild and then talks to the local police about the consequences of speeding. Nothing too bad, just a warning.

The following road is fairly smooth and runs along the Columbia River, which separates Oregon from Washington, but we don’t get to cross the river that soon. The bridge has been narrowed and there is an accident somewhere, resulting in another giant congestion in which we spend more than an hour. In this way we may be late LIGO! In fact, this is the case, because we have to be there at 6pm, but we are there only at 7:30pm. The second team has already managed to check out everything and leaves when we just arrive. Fortunately, the tours are still going on. It is quite interesting in LIGO Gravitational Wave Observatory. Comments on how meaningful it is to throw in such a money in order to have only two validated gravitational wave occurances and another potential one within these years I will keep to myself, but it is interesting enough anyway. LIGO is a very sensitive instrument (although not the best in the world), its resolution is less than the the size of an atomic. A large instrument seeking to measure vanishingly small. It senses both the wind-induced pressure on the walls of the building and even such distant events as the ocean waves off the coast far away in Alaska. True story.

After the excursion we visit the local amateur astronomy club’s star-watching event at the car park for a bit. As far as I understood, they do that on a regular basis on Mondays or so. They have two telescopes, through which one can look at Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter is as usual, but I have not seen Saturn this year yet. It’s always interesting to look at the planet with ears, and here in the south, it is much higher above the horizon than in our latitudes.

We find the city of Pasco and our motel quite easily, and, hey, even here they have a pool! If it is there, then it should be used, but the water in it is coooold. This is no longer the hot south. Bit by bit also other people who are awake come around the pool to simply sit and talk. The first team, unfortunately, did not reach LIGO, they had to spend about two hours in that huge congestion to Washington. Well, maybe tomorrow morning?

The evening is spoiled a bit by Rihard’s arguing with Agnese about me and my arguing with Agnese about it. I expected something like this all day long, it is not a surprise. The problem is apparently that Rihards is not getting to drive enough, but in turn I have reservations about his driving style and attitude. And also, both me and Agnese have rebuffed him without even knowing it. Not sure why other main drivers can drive when they want, and I need to be some sort of exception. At the end, we reach an agreement that he will be driving for two hours in the morning. Gleb says that I have to bear “for only three more days, three days!” Someone else adds that it’s a bit of a feeling that everyone is fed up with everyone and we just need to wait the end of the trip. Oh, well.

The Day Before the Eclipse

20.08.2017
Māris writing:

We woke up in chilly Oregon’s morning near the lake in camping (in the vicinity of Baker City). It was supposed to go to Mitchell. Day was quite sunny, it became warmer, as the time went by.
For some time we were driving roads in deep forests. Then forests ended. We entered a dryer Oregon region. We could enjoy a nice view of mountain range ahead of us (in the west). A stop is made, and group’s photo is created at the old style looking carriage.

After a couple of hours we arrived in Mitchell. The town was full of cars of eclipse observers. Some buildings looked like those seen in western movies. A discussion was taking place what to do. There were doubts about whether we should go to Ochoco National forest (as was initially planned). While in town, some conversations with local people were made as well (about education, guest students etc.). There were expectations to meet arriving fellow Latvian E.Veide in Mitchell, but we did not meet him. The action plan for the eclipse was discussed. In the end it was decided to go directly to Painted Hills site. After visiting it, a place outside the parking site where to spend the night, was found. It was very close to Painted Hills area (within a walking distance). In early evening Ilgonis played harmonica and sang. There was a nice sunset, but clouds raised some concerns.

We were hoping for a good weather the next day.

Hell’s Canyon in Idaho

19.08.2017
Dace writing:

We woke up in little town Weiser Idaho at Colonial motel. We ate breakfast in Senior center for 6$. Here was a breakfast “party” in honor of Solar eclipse with live music. One old man played piano, others were singing. All this was very kind and lovely.

After we were in market in honor of eclipse. Our team played a local game against American guys who were working there. Our players Gļebs and Niks Jānis got a T shirt as a gift for good playing. Then all cars went to a little hot springs swimming pool in a campground. Here was a group meeting. Madara told her strong opinion about driving speed on the road. After that our course we went to Hell’s canyon.

A boat trip was great. We saw a young bear on cost area. This was a wonderful adventure in the wild nature. Snake river, as in other places as well, was diverse, beautiful and wild. The captain of the ship did his job great. He knows the river perfectly, reads the current and leads the ship through serious rapids. The canyon which the river flows through has high cliffs which highlights the natural flow of the river. During the trip we stopped on a small sandy beach where we were offered water or lemonade. Some of us went swimming. Gļebs built a mini dam which he lowered after. When getting back on the boat, we had to wash our feet in a bowl to not bring sand in the boat. This trip was very inspiring, exciting and fun.

In the evening we went to a campsite where we prepared supper and build tents. This was a nice day.

Spring in Bryce canyon

16.08.2017
Inese writing:

Morning. Pine Lake Camping. After cold night (+6* Celsium) people with different state of freezing come out of tents. After breakfast we go to Bryce Canyon.

Bryce Canyon. Its situated 1829 – 2438 m over the sea level. Indians who were hunting in this region named the canyon’s cliffs – red cliffs. The colour of cliffs and landscape is changing. Its depend on composition of rocks and amount of light on different places of Canyon. At Bryce Canyon the forces of weathering and erosion never rest, not even for a day.

We enjoy the Canyon for about four hours. The cars we leave at a parking place and ride the free shuttle.

After Bryce Canyon – about 400 km in direction of Salt Lake City – night in SLC suburban town called Lehi.

Monument Valley. Antelope Canyon. Powell Lake Boat Ride.

15.08.2017
Rihards writing:

Our run continues. We wake before 5 a.m. to watch the sunrise in Monument valley. There were many like us, both in personal cars and driven in tourist trucks by locals.

We drive on bad dirt road, behind the sign that says “Drive at your own risk”, sometimes scratching the bottoms of some cars, but it was certainly worth it. We saw the rock “monuments” from all sides, but soon the clouds covered the Sun for a pity- the views would have been even more photogenic.

We are leaving at 9 a.m. sharp, as we have reservation to Antelope canyon and we can not be late. We are glad that it was possible to see it at all.

Antelope canyon is impressive, though – it is one of the rare places that look even better in photos than in reality. The place was as crowded as the railway station tunnel in Riga, but in much narrower way. The canyon itself is just couple of hundred metres long, hidden in the ground. When we arrived in visitors centre, I did not even notice it. It looked as a gap in the ground. But from inside- it made a long lasting impression. Well spent USD33.

Later we take a boat trip in Lake Powell for leisure. In an hours ride we go to see the lake and one of the canyons. Later in evening we get one more superview- Colorado river canyon Horseshoe bend.

We continue our run- this time to Utah, to mormons. After almost 3h drive, we arrive in camping in woods after 10 p.m., well after sunset, wishing only to grab something to eat and fall asleep. It later turns out that the first three cars have arrived at a wrong camping area in the darkness, but as the tents are already on- we stay where we are. Agnese’s suggestion to move gets ignored. When we arrived in the camping there was no reception either. In addition to that- it was chilly, ~6°C. But otherwise: “А в остальном, прекрасная маркиза, все хорошо, все хорошо.”.

Supersightseeing objects are now done, if we don’t count the Total Solar eclipse itself, of course.

Agnese comments:
We had booked a tour to the Lower Antelopes canyon as it was said that it’s visited by less people than the Upper one which can be crowded. After those masses and queues that were waiting for the lower one, I don’t even want to imagine what happens at the Upper. We had reserved the tour for a particular time, but in reality we got in about an hour or one and half later – at the beginning we were waiting for half an hour for our guide and then half an hour or an hour we had to stand and wait at the entrance to the underground.

With reservable campgrounds in the US National Parks everything is very easy. When arriving at the campground, need to find your number or the name in the map or on a post where you will also find a sheet of paper with your surname and the date till which the reservation is valid. Of course, the note is not reflective so in the darkness a torch will be useful.

The Day of Grand Sceneries

14.08.2017
Jānis writing:

On the 14th of August we woke up at the very reasonable hour of 6 o’clock. However, this time we were pleasantly surprised by being offered breakfast. In all honesty we knew that breakfast was hoped for, but it being edible was still a pleasant surprise. After eating, packing and washing we were ready to get going by 7:20.
This day we had a single stop planed – the Grand Canyon. I must say that the Grand Canyon is not a case of marketing or sarcasm. I can truly say that it is one of the most impressive, beautiful and unique natural objects that I have ever seen and the 6 hours that we spent there where nowhere near enough.

It is quite indescribable. Now, one can overhear a lot of interesting things if one keeps his or her ears open. Two quotes by a ranger comes to mind, as I am writing this. Number one: “a picture will never do it.” No matter where or how you may have seen replicas, pictures or movies containing the Great Canyon I can guarantee that they did not do it justice. Number two: “I came here when I was eight or nine and just never got over it.” The quote makes perfect sense after visiting the canyon.

It is exceptionally hard to put in words the steep, broken cliffs promising a slow and painless death to anyone who ventures to close to their edges. The shear history contained in its slopes, uncovered by millions of years of erosion, wherein a billion years of Earth’s history are laid bare. The rare views of a muddy river hiding in the depths of the canyon slowly, gradually continuing its age old duty.

Anyway, we did not have the time explore the whole canyon and had to satisfy ourselves with only a couple of viewing platforms and a, comparably, short walk to the shuttle bus by the edge of the canyon. Still, the walk offered several opportunities and angles from which to view the canyon, as well as several exhibits, for example several rocks where placed along the path displayed with their names and information about how long ago they were formed.

After exiting the canyon we visited two more points. The first was Grand view vista that provided an impressive view of the Grand Canyon, but nothing truly unique after the day we have just had.
The second was a place called “Desert view” which had a tower that, while not the tallest building, provided an excellent view of the canyon. Although, the experience was slightly ruined by the mass of people trying to get into, as well as take pictures from the same small room.

After visiting these viewing platforms it was time to head to our campsite in the stunning Monument valley. Before I finish, I feel it appropriate to mention that August 14th is the birthday of Inese, so we had ourselves a little celebration.

Our campsite had two major advantages. Number one – it was located on a slight slope facing the Monument valley with its rustic beauty and awe inspiring peaks. Number two – it is located ever so slightly in the middle of nowhere giving us a very clear sky. Despite the biting wind and the ever-present red sand we left the top of our tent off and slept under the clear sky.

Everything is Big in America

05.08.2017
Kristaps writing:

I woke up around 6am. Cold. I was cold in the night, the sleeping bag failed. If it was too hot previously then now I was missing heat and woke up with a sore throat. When the Sun rays hit the tent at 7am, I decided to wake up and quietly left the tent trying to not wake the others as the plan for the day allowed them to sleep for another hour. Only 9 degrees above zero. It had been raining more in the night and the forest was wet. The sun enlightened the rain drops that were caught by leaves and needles.

As long as I had stood firmly on my feet and looked around, already two girls asked if we are leaving today. Exactly how we did it yesterday. Only they did it already at 7am! This campsite is really demanded! It’s not exactly clear why so, though, as it was possible to stay somewhere lower down at the base of the mountain where it’s much warmer. They were happy by the answer that we are really leaving today already, asked where are we from, why. I told again that we will be chasing the eclipse. I didn’t try to explain where Latvia is – they were already surprised that we have come from Europe. So that the campsite would be safely “booked” they left their equipment in the site which was still for now ours.

To feel a little bit more live I decided to wash my hair and shave. Probably those are not the most typical actions of campers, but the decisions made early in the morning can be not as wise. Then I went to walk around the area while others were still waking up. In many places campfires were lit and breakfast prepared, here and there music was playing already, It looked like many people arrive here for several days – camper car (RV), sleeping bag, drying clothes, … And so many people. What’s the joy and nature here if all those neighbours are so close.

In the morning briefing Agnese says that “today we have only one thing in the plan, even though yesterday there was only one as well”. There’s a round of laughter as everyone remember the adventures in the mountains yesterday where we had to do “just one” round-trip to the Glacier point and back.

We gathered our things, got ready and left for the road. I already gradually started to get used to the winding roads of mountains, did not have the anxiety as in the first times of driving. I started to enjoy them. Really. The roads to the park, from the park and inside the park, those are simply really unreal, they are as in the game “Need for Speed”, only wit that difference tat the stress is real as there is no space for mistakes. Turn to one side, to the other, back to the first, downwards, a bend, more downwards, turn while going up, besides those are all one after another without any straight sections in between, they are not flat, but made as race track bends with an actual slope inwards. There are also no barriers, only trees – if you let the car go straight, then it’s for forever. And the sights behind the trees and past the edge – mountains, far away and other impressive sceneries. It’s fantastic to drive on such roads, and usually I don’t really like to be at the wheel.

The American road signs seem quite weird, they like to write all kinds of texts on them, and there are quite small amount of pictograms. Some signs are similar to the European ones, for example “stop” and “give way” (yield), but the speed constraints are completely different – those either work from one sign to another (zone) or for a particular distance which is depicted on another sign, for example – the 2 following turns. They are writing all kinds of texts on the signs, for example, “Report drunk drivers, call 911″, “Please don’t drink and drive”, “Two left lanes go to X city”, “Fasten safety belts, state law”, “Right lane must turn”, and some more variations. Besides, those are really standard road signs not informative posters.

It was hard to get used to three more american traffic features. They are allowed to tur right on a red if the road is free, They can put “stop” signs in the junction on all the roads which join here – then it’s as suspected – who comes first, stops and continues the first. And also on the highways they pass also on the right. Must be careful for this one. I don’t know if it is really allowed but my suspicion is that is because the highways go through cities, and cities are merged, and it is easier to not differentiate what’s happening in the part of populated place and what outside it.

When we got to the Wawona village, those who had the least gas, filled their tanks by a couple of gallons so we could safely reach the next fueling place. The fuel in mountains is, of course, much more expensive than outside the Yosemite, but it would be much worse to be left somewhere on the road.

Then we went to Nelder Grove to the big trees – sequoias – some of which are still growing there. Already by the parking we notice two stumps of the former giants. They seemed unbelievably big. We did a small, a couple of kilometres long loop along forest path to find sequoias. There were not many of them, but the view was impressive. Those trees are huge, even hugely huge. “Everything is big in America” somebody will say later. It’s, however, not really possible to photograph that hugeness by taking a simple picture, they look like quite ordinary trees, but when a person is put next to them to understand the scale, the person in the photo will be tiny. They must be seen in the real life to realise the grandness. Sequoias are growing for many thousands of years – it is sad that many were cut so quickly and without much reason.

We continue our route to Los Banos and feel that the air and everything else get hotter and hotter. On the way on the straight highway the ones in front suddenly brake and turn off the road to the roadside gravel. I wasn’t at all excited by this maneuver but I must admit that it was worth it – we have stopped at figs plantation, they were very delicious – as normal for a forbidden fruit..

This time we are in the motel very early, late afternoon. And it’s very hot, the temperature is more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit or around +39 degrees Celsium. Hot. We spread out the wet tents in the yard, and those got dry in one moment,

We turn into a petrol station (Circle K, by the way), where we fill our tanks full this time, and again visit Walmart, to prepare for the long drive tomorrow and also a party tonight – a week has passed by since we started the trip.

The Second Day in Yosemite Valley

04.08.2017
Kristīne writing:

We wake up in 6 a.m., because we plan to leave at 7 a.m. We have to start early, because we don’t have reservation for next night. Most of the camping places need reservation, but there are some available upon arrival. So the earlier you get there, the bigger chance to get camping place. 5 minutes long team meeting and discussing of plans, and we are on our way.

At 7:50 a.m. we arrive in Bridalveil Creek campground. It occurs there are no instantly available camping places. All the campground is full. We are suggested by volunteer ranger to walk around and ask to people whether they leave today. It works and we find two camp places that will come available during this day. Ilgonis and his companions succeed to arrange co-camping with some German campers. They are only two persons, but the limit is six persons per camp place (and 2 cars). At about 9 o’clock we have camp places for all. As we are suggested to place some of our belongings there, we build up our tents before leaving. Cost for one camp place for six people is 18 dollars. I must say we cheated a little bit and lived more than 6 people in every place. As one of reserved camp places is set free quickly we all gather there for breakfast.

At about 11 a.m. we are ready to leave for hiking. There are thirteen of us who are going to do the hardest route to Glacier Point and back to valley. Other five are going to take the easiest route – Mist trail.

Route to the Glacier Point is 7.5 km long with elevation of 900 meters. It’s pretty steep and all the way is going up. Most of us move quite quickly and are up in some two hours or little more. It’s not so easy for me, Māris, Ausma and Inese, and we reach the end of the route in 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Finally we all are on the top of this mountain and can enjoy the view, the fact that we did it, cold drink and ice cream. It was worth to hike up, the view from the Glacier Point is beautiful. And I think this is one of the better reasons to climb mountains – to enjoy the view. We can see the valley down and higher mountains beyond it, including the Half Dome.
And yes, there is a shop up there, and pretty much of civilization, because most of people don’t hike up there, but arrive with cars and have to walk just some five hundred meters to the Glacier Point reaching of what was quite hard hiking for us (at least for some of us).

After some thirty minutes we are ready for the next 13.5 km route to get back to the Yosemite Valley. It is called Panorama trail and it takes the hikers along Vernal Falls and Nevada falls. Almost all the way it goes down except part of the route in the other side of the valley which goes up again.

We hike without rush enjoying the view and taking a lot of photos. Thirteen kilometers seem nothing to us. Somewhere at the Nevada falls we realize that it’s still some 5 km to walk down and it’s already pretty late. Twilight sets at about 8 p.m. and it gets dark at about 8:30pm there. It means we really have to fasten our pace to get down, because it’s pretty dangerous to hike in the darkness on the wet stones (it’s also raining from time to time).

So three of us decide to hurry down – me, Ausma and Inese. Others still decide to go till Nevada Falls and then down taking the longer route. We are down from the mountain little before 8 o’clock making it in the twilight still. The last 750 meters along the valley we walk in the darkness, but we have one flash light, so there is no problem with walking. Soon we are at the road where shuttle bus goes. It goes along the valley and is free of charge. We are happy to be down from the mountain, but are little worried about our group mates, who are still somewhere in their way to the valley. While we are waiting for bus, we succeed to contact them on radio (walkie-talkies). They are fine and will be on the shuttle road in a while.

Bus arrives in ten minutes, and after some round along the valley we finally are at the parking place where we left our cars. We get a text message from others that they succeed to catch next shuttle bus.

At about half past nine we arrive in campground. Our tent is wet and not only from outside – in the morning rush we did not fix the outer layer well. We dry it as we can, then some late supper and sleep. It was long day and everyone is quite tired.
Officially both routes together should be 21 km long, but our GPS navigation says we made 26 km.

Going to Yosemite Valley

03.08.2017
Laura writing:

Departure from the motel is shortly after 8:00. Today the weather is with us, in the morning already + 31°C degrees.
The first part of the day goes by arranging everything we need – the camping mats that Walmart did not have in stock at 23:00 and gas canisters.

Some travelers are concerned with the count of the camping mats for the tent (we will spend the next two nights in tents). Therefore, the excited ones are comforted: “Do a deep breath and take up the form of a bowl”. Without having found everything needed, Salvis’/ Imants’ cars went to Target to look for butane gas canisters but they did not find them, so the road leads back to Walmart, where they bought 2 of another type of camping stove and propane cylinders.

Waze tells us to drive 100km straight. On the road there are fruit trees that are not familiar to Latvians. If you will not try it, you will not find out what is it! It turns out that those are almonds! Everyone got one, Salvis tried out the skin and threw it out – bitter. The almond lies inside the stone :)

Hay grows on both sides of the road. It is not necessary to dry it. A little bit rugged fields with dead brown grass. The impression is not as expected from the USA. Rather Tunisia/Morocco. If a green tree appears, it’s like a miracle – in a brown wilderness. At 11am the temperature is F°99 (to make it easier to understand: 38°C).

Mariposa is a small town on the way to Yosemite National Park, in the middle of nowhere. On both sides there are souvenir shops. Look! This is the American glamour that fits the expectations.

Gleb is not coming with us today – he does not feel well, so both his relatives in LV and the US have arranged for him a plane ticket to Los Angeles to be there for a few days and heal.

Yosemite National Park
Latvian thinking points to “opportunities” where it would be possible to cheat. Also when entering the National Park.
Impressive rocks and a two-lane unidirectional road. Impressive.
Parking is truly overwhelming. There are armies of cars but the park can not accommodate everyone. For more than half an hour we were looking for a place to park.
Lower Yosemite Falls – with an opportunity to come close to the waterfall.
On our way to Mirror Lake we were reached by a bit of rain that cooled the air and made it easier to breathe.
Mirror Lake – gave an opportunity to swim and enjoy the views of the beautiful cliffs.
To get to our camping site at around 18:00, we spent 5 miles in a traffic jam. USA without congestion is unthinkable!
We are going to the 1h far camping site along serpentines, reaching it when it is already dark.
We have dinner and then go to sleep to get started early in the morning.

Agnese comments:
To buy a butane gas canister in California for the instant stoves we had got for ourselves was almost impossible. That is – we managed to get one whole 8oz canister even though we were looking for them in every shop that we visited. We were also thinking of ordering from amazon.com, but it turns out that in the state of California ordering gas online with delivery is not possible at all. There were no such issues with the propane gas canisters – those were available in every shop that we visited.