Pacific Grove, ButterflyTown, USA
A beautiful quaint touristy town with spectacular ocean views. The butterfly sanctuary was a little underwhelming, the butterflies had not yet started to arrive. Lana’s photo made me look like a butterfly.
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| Pacific Grove, CA aka Butterfly Town, USA |
Unfortunately, due to CDC guidelines the
lighthouse we visited was closed. We did get a plethora of information from one
of the volunteers on duty.
Click the link for more information on Butterfly Town, USA
When traveling one would like to travel
light, however, that was not the case in my car. To remedy the situation we took a detour to a Target
in Hollister, CA to buy bins so we could repack the car. Organization makes a
huge difference! It changes your whole demeanor, like finally being able to
drop a load.
Feeling better about the way the car
was packed we headed for Kings Canyon and the Sequoias! Despite the eminent
danger of wildfires lurking in the forest threatening to overtake these
beautiful national parks we were determined to see the spectacular giant trees
and walk the trails leading to other magnificent sights. With nightfall looming
we searched for a place to sleep. Hotels for miles around were packed. We finally
found a vacancy near the parks in another quaint little town called Three
Rivers at the Western Holiday Hotel, pristine is not the word I would use to describe this
hotel with such a festive name… (the name and the experience did not match).
The good part, praise God, is we found a place to rest.
As we settled in we took a moment to
remember the tragic events of this day 9/11/01; and pray for the families
affected by the tragedies in Afghanistan.
Day Three - Sunday, Sep 12, 2021
Sequoia and Kings Canyon
Wildfires…trail closures…and
restrictions.
Morning brought despair when we learned the entrance to Sequoia near where we were was closed along with some of the trails; and the nearest opened entrance was a little over an hour away. Still determined we set out to see the entrance and photograph the sign even if we couldn’t enter. As we approached the sign it donned on me how we and the other people parked outside the entrance was taxing the park rangers by still trying to visit the park as they dealt with protecting the forest AND the curious visitors that couldn’t take no for an answer. They were gracious in not shutting down the entire park and allowing us to still enjoy the natural beauty of God’s creation in certain areas...oh but how much easier for them it would have been if they had not had to man the closed entrance and tell us to move our vehicles so we would not block the path for emergency vehicles that may have to come through. How we sometimes push when we want what we want even in the most dire circumstances.
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| Seqouia and Three Rivers |
After deciding not to push (as some visitors did) or take the
hour+ drive to the open entrance to Kings Canyon we headed toward our next destination where for the first time we had reservations and knew where we would sleep. We took a rest break in Bakersfield, CA and enjoyed a leisurely picnic lunch in a serene park called
The Park at River Walk.
The California Desert and Death Valley
Leaving Bakersfield led us to another roller coaster ride...this time
through the desert! When we reached the most thrilling parts guess who’s turn
it was to command the controls…yes, lead-foot Lana.
The temperatures fluctuated in the 90s and 100s going as high as 111, sitting mostly at 101 degrees. Praise God for air conditioning which we had to turn off for 10 miles as we ascended the elevation changes. It was an interesting (boring) ride traveling through a furnace and a stovepipe…WAIT! those were actual names of some of the places we passed through—Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells. Stovepipe Wells had a visitors’ center and a museum…both about a minute big. We also passed a sign leading to Hell’s Gate, fortunately, we did not have to experience that route.
We crossed the border
into Nevada around 7:09pm where we lodged for two nights in the desert town of
Beatty at The El Portal Motel; we made reservations here sight unseen but found it to be very prophetic right down to the flag on the side of the building that gave us confirmation and peace. There we took a moment to rest, regroup, debrief, repent, and reflect
on the lessons learned thus far in the way our trip had gone.
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| Donkeys along the highway was a common site in Beatty. They even stand in the middle of the road. |
Beatty offered a plethora of
information and itineraries for visiting Death Valley. Unfortunately, arriving
in Beatty meant Death Valley was in our rearview and the thought of returning
to the stovepipe furnace for a hell’s gate experience was not a very refreshing thought.
Stay tuned for more days to come...
The Purple Roadtrippers 💜
