What an uncomfortable night last night. It was a doable thing to sleep in the back of the PT Cruiser, but their design has serious flaws to render the cargo compartment useful for that purpose! I did sleep some, as I think my body just absolutely had to succomb to the exhaustion of my long day... but I was really relieved when the birdsong and the first light of day finally arrived.
This morning, I drove into Kings Canyon National Park and straight into General Grant's grove. The visitor center and related facilities were not yet opened. I set up my stove, and brewed my morning coffee right there in the parking lot.
I took a stroll through the paths taking some photos of the remarkable giants that occupy this space of the world. I was feeling a bit frustrated photographically. I don't know if I'm just burned out, or if it is sensory overload, but I found it really difficult to come up with any compositions that did the subject any justice at all.... and at the end of my time in the park today... I'm disappointed with my photos of this amazing subject... It's like I have one composition that works and I kept using it on every tree... blahhhhhhh!
Knowing that I had to drive all the way to San Diego tonight, I really limited my sight seeing in the park. I drove around and was definitely in awe of the sights, but at the same time, I was feeling pressure to get back on the road. I did see a bear and I took alot of photos; although, I discovered after the fact, that my cameras auto focus setting was wrong. There is not a sharp shot in the bunch.... so so so very disappointing!
I headed up toward Mono rock, but figured that is not the place to go on crutches. So instead, I went up past the autolog (which I thought was stupid in 05, and is still stupid now). Just a tree with a big flat spot shaved on the side of it. I just don't get it. But, I continued up the road aways, and came to the tunnel log which I drove my car thru. I can't believe we didn't find this in 05. Twas a short lived thrill, as I really had to be moving along. There is construction on the road in the park, and the delay can be one hour long. There is a pilot car that will lead you thru the construction site and it leaves every hour on the hour. There was so much more that I wanted to see, but it was time to go.
Traffic was great until I hit rush hour just south of LA.... uggggh! I don't think the slow downs or backups were any worse than in Seattle per se, but really annoying when you just want to be done driving. I arrived here in San Diego at my friends' house at around 9pm. I ran a load of laundry and took a shower (finally!), but organizing my gear and
repacking is going to have to wait until tomorrow!