It’s nearing the end of our second week on the road, and we have a routine down now! After waking up to amazing dawn light, we made coffee and breakfast and broke down camp. We stopped to gas up and resupply in Sacramento and enjoyed the California sunshine as we headed toward Yosemite.
As we neared the park, it became obvious that there was a wildfire. Turns out that staff were conducting controlled burns in the park. We didn’t get the classic picturesque views of Yosemite Valley, but rather a unique smoke-tinged view instead!
As we were suspecting, first-come first-served campsites in the park were completely full. We ended up finding a better and more remote site at Lone Sequoia Campground south of the park. We have really been enjoying the free US Forest Service campgrounds! Sometimes they can be remote and hard to get to but there really are some gems for adventurous souls willing to travel off the beaten path. Some campsites we booked in advance, but for the majority of this trip we’ve been finding them as we go with the app iOverlander. It’s a great worldwide resource that lists crowd-sourced campsite information!
After winding down a narrow dirt road, we arrived to the campground just after sunset. Several other campers had already set up their sites for the weekend and were enjoying a campfire when we pulled in to join the party.
The next morning, we made breakfast and packed up camp. Today was the day of the annular solar eclipse! As we hustled to get the car packed, we intermittently checked on the status of the eclipse with our solar glasses.
By 9:30AM, we left the campground and found an open viewing spot on the side of the road. Since we were in southern CA, we didn’t have the “ring of fire” effect, as it was only a partial view for our location, but still very cool to witness the sun become a sliver as the moon passed through!
As we were enjoying the event, another couple pulled over and parked behind us on the side of the road. They looked curious, and as I walked toward them, they rolled down the window and asked what we were looking at. I explained that there was an annular solar eclipse happening and offered my glasses so they could take a look. “Wow!!! That’s amazing!!” the driver exclaimed. “Look at that!” he said as he passed the glasses over to his passenger. She was equally as impressed. Even though our interaction only lasted a few minutes, I really enjoyed that moment on the side of the road. It’s so fun sharing in the excitement with others as they observe cool science things!
We got back on the road and continued making our way to San Diego. By the time we arrived at Ethan and Hannah’s place, the sun was quickly sinking toward the horizon. We felt so lucky to end our second week on the road spending time with friends in a new place! Ethan and Hannah were so gracious and warmly welcomed us into their home and showed us around all their favorite spots in town.
We had such a great time exploring a new city and sampling some of the best Baja-style tacos, ceviche, and beer from the many San Diego breweries! It was great to have a couple days to rest. Cheers to great friends and new adventures!