- Author: Jenni Dodini
At the beginning of June, we took a very long road trip to South Dakota in order to see Mt. Rushmore and the surrounding wonderful national monuments. It was a very memorable trip for two reasons. #1-- The country and scenery were amazing! We had a history lesson about the Native American Indians of the area, told by actual Native Americans, passed down from their ancestors. The picture below is what the Crazy Horse monument will look like should it ever be finished. #2-- The weather along the way was beyond belief! I have not seen a rain of such a torrential nature since I was a kid living in the tropics. I thought that we got a lot of rain this past winter, but it was nothing compared to what we encountered along the way. Then, there was the wind... Warnings for 70+ mph gusts and sustained winds of more than 40mph! Made our winds seem like gentle breezes.
The trip from which we just returned is the one that I wanted to dwell on more because it is more local, although not a day trip. We took a week off to go to Yosemite. It has been almost 10 years since I was there last, which was my first trip there. Steve has not been in much longer than that. Since then there have been several massive fires and a big rebuilding/renovation of several parts of the park. What impressed me greatly is the way the forest has regenerated. There was a very good article from CAL Fire about how and why fire is essential to the life of the forest in the tourist magazine that we received at the camp area where we stayed. I would recommend going to their site. It is very informative.
Another day trip that we took was to the Yosemite Sugar Pine Railroad and museum. We rode the steam-powered, very old train into the forest that had once been decimated by the logging industry way back in the day. 30,000 acres we're COMPLETELY cleared of all the trees!!! Then there was the destruction caused by the fires. The narrator during the train ride told of how the workers worked alongside the firefighters to save the museum building and depot building as well as where the trains are kept. As we traveled through the forest, the narrator spoke about the trees and flowers native to the area and how they have come back from the fire. It was a very informative and pleasant train ride that I would recommend to anyone.
The other attraction which we enjoyed immensely was a day trip to Bass Lake. The wild sweet peas were still blooming all along the roadside. It was a lovely drive on a beautiful day then time spent on the lake, which is something I have missed since Lake Berryessa was made less accessible to the public. We actually went there twice!
I think that I'm game for another trip there soon, but it definitely will be after the tourist season finishes.