Yosemite 优胜美地国家公园
Sep 18 - 28, 2025
I had the idea of going somewhere in Sep. I thought about going to the country of Georgia, but due to many reasons, I ended up planning a trip to Yosemite and some other places nearby. It turned out that I really really needed this break. But, I will see if I can truly unplug from my life in NOVA for a week.
心里早就想九月出去玩，本来想去格鲁吉亚，但种种原因，最后决定转几个国家公园。最近工作上有复杂的事情处理，希望这周假期可以放松换个心情。
Sep 18, 2025 flew to Fresno. Uneventful.
Sep 19, 2025 Sequoia national park 红衫国家公园
It was about two hours drive from Fresno to the park. After working in the morning eastern time, we left the hotel. It was raining and foggy in the mountains, which reminded me our trip to Mt Rainer.
18号飞加州，19号一早上了半天班儿，就出发去红杉国家公园。宾馆到红衫2个多小时，下小雨，山上全是雾。
The park is beautiful even though it was not what I expected. I thought I would see sequoias everywhere, a giant tree park! But in reality, they are here and there among all other pine trees. They are still amazing to look at, the size, the color, and the thousands of years of the nature they represent.
我以为公园里全是嵩天的红衫，没想到它们只是这儿、那儿的，在阳光、土壤和其他环境全具备的地儿才成长。不过，看到它们还是很震撼的。
We stopped by big tree trail, tunnel log, hanging rock, Moro rock, and General Sherman tree which is the biggest in the world.
打卡了几个景点，最壮观的还数世界最大的红衫General Sherman, 2200-2700年的历史。
Seeing the biggest sequoia was a nice experience, but the highlight of the day was our chat with the motel owner Gena in the evening.
看风景美，和小店老板聊天更是我们珍惜的经历。小店在公园外，就几间房，但出于地理位置好，很抢手。房子小的几乎转不开身，但有床有厕所，还有啥苛求的…
A quick greeting turned into an hour long chat where she expressed to us her strong opinion against Trump, that she got this place more than 20 years ago and it is her baby, and she have six kids among whom five were adopted, that her kids didn’t get alone with her, that she just got married again less than four years ago to someone once worked for her, that how she helped many of her family and friends financially, that she wanted a hug when she was talking about her son got murdered…Her life is definitely a tough one, and she is a tough lady. I love how she is so real, being comfortable with who she is, good or bad, and her trying to do good things as much as she could. She is a lady with generous heart.
老板叫吉娜，以为过来打个招呼，没想一聊就是一个多小时。这个老板可不一般，六个孩子五个是领养的，现在都和她关系不太好。这个小店是她二十多年来的心血，为她很多朋友提供工作机会，赚的钱供她妹妹读书，给她父母养老。她比老艾大一岁，但岁月的沧桑让她看上去要老很多。她的生活阅历不一般，但她很坚强。她讲起特朗普恨之入骨，讲起她儿子被枪杀就要我抱抱她…我太喜欢她的真实，毫无隐瞒的讲述她的故事，好的坏的，一切都那么坦然。
Sep 20, 2025 King’s canyon 国王谷
The trails were ok, but we enjoyed the drive in the ranges of mountains with all different shapes and colors.
山里开一个多小时，看不完的美景。
More sequoia trees and huge stumps and roots. 大树根。
J-pot in Fresno 晚餐热锅烧烤
Sep 21, 2025 Yosemite Day 1 优胜美地国家公园
We drove north to Yosemite and did Sentinel Dome and Taft point hike, which is 5 miles with 1100 elevation. It was one of the best hikes we did. The view on top of the Sentinel dome was amazing. The famous Half Dome stands out among the ranges everywhere in the park.
我们开车向北前往优胜美地，走了 Sentinel Dome 和 Taft Point 的徒步路线，全程大约 5 英里，上升海拔约 1100 英尺。这是我们做过的最棒的徒步之一，走走停停用了快四个小时。站在 Sentinel Dome 顶端的景色令人惊叹，著名的 Half Dome 在公园群山之间格外醒目。
We also stopped by Glacier point, from which you can see a breathtaking panorama of Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, and Yosemite Falls, along with distant peaks like Clouds Rest. The viewpoint also offers views of Vernal and Nevada Falls and other granite formations such as Sentinel Rock and North Dome. On the way back. We stopped by tunnel view and bridal falls. It was dry season, and the falls were just ok.
我们还顺路去了 Glacier Point，在那里可以看到壮丽的全景：Half Dome、优胜美地山谷、优胜美地瀑布，以及远处的 Clouds Rest 等山峰。这个观景点还能看到 Vernal 瀑布、Nevada 瀑布，以及 Sentinel Rock、North Dome 等花岗岩地貌。
回程时，我们在 Tunnel View 和 Bridalveil 瀑布 停留了一下。因为是旱季，瀑布水量不大，景色就比较一般。
Tonight’s hotel had a jacuzzi! After steak and ribs and all you can eat salad, hot tub and TV were enjoyable before bed.
Sep 22, 2025 Yosemite Day 2 优胜美地
We had an easy day today with three short hikes: Mirror lake, more like a pond; Yosemite lower falls, barely any water, and Cook’s meadow.
我们今天安排得比较轻松，走了三个短途步道：明镜湖，更像一个池塘；优胜美地瀑布，几乎没什么水；还有 Cook’s Meadow。
It is interesting to see El Capitan and Erik spotted mountain climbers!
还看了El Capitan, 老艾看到攀岩的。
I think I am still recovering from yesterday’s hike. Aging is real. A short day with a lot of sitting down and relaxing worked for me just fine.
还能感觉昨天徒步的疲惫，明天4个多小时的登山徒步还要去吗？
We were staying at curry village inside the park today in a heated tent, and we were lucky to get a tent close to a bath house. The village was full of tourists. It has lounges, restaurants, and bath houses. Busy and crowded. It was a different experience.
我们今天住在园区内的 Curry Village，住的是带暖气的帐篷，很幸运分到一个靠近浴室的帐篷。营地游客很多，有休息区、餐厅和浴室，非常热闹。算是一种别样的体验。
We had chicken dinner, hung out around the lounge for internet, and had pizza for snacks before heading back to our tent for the night.
帐篷没有网，我们吃过饭就在休息区坐着，上上网，看人来人往。 又买了比萨，吃了点儿就回去睡了。
Sep 23, 2025 Yosemite Day 3 优胜美地
What a surprise, we slept the best in this tent! We went to bed early since there was nothing to do and we slept more than 11 hours! The temperature was just right during the night. It wasn’t noisy nor very bright in the morning. It turned out to be a lovely stay.
虽然是帐篷，我们睡的却是出乎意料的好，十几个小时。哇，马上感觉又精神充沛！
I was hesitant to hike the vernal falls today, because it was more than 5 miles with over 1500 feet elevation via John Muir trail. But, the other team member was up for it. Alright, after a good night of sleep, I guess we were good for any hike! After our leftover pizza for breakfast, we headed out.
我本来对今天去爬 Vernal Falls 有些犹豫，因为走 John Muir Trail 来回超过 5 英里，海拔上升也有 1500 多英尺。问老艾还要不要去，他竟然义无反顾的说可以！既然老艾都说好，我还有啥犹豫？吃了昨晚剩下的披萨当早餐，我们就出发了。
Straight up the mountain for more than 2.5 miles until the falls. Then straight back down. My hiking sticks were the savior of my knees. It was one of the busiest trail we hiked. We took many stops on the way up, but barely any on the way down. We saw both Nevada falls and Vernal falls up at the top! It was a nice hike, except the elevation. However, I was so happy we did it.
这个徒步直上直下，路上人很多。我的徒步杖可是派上大用场，尤其下山，让我的膝盖好很多。爬到最高处，看到两个瀑布，我们就下山了。也是4个多小时…羡慕那些可以每天徒步7、8个小时的啊。
Sunset at Mono lake with the tufas. These tufa towers are formed when calcium-rich freshwater springs bubble up into the carbonate-rich, alkaline lake water, causing calcium carbonate (limestone) to precipitate. This solid builds up around the springs over time, creating irregular, spiky towers. Their jagged shapes come from uneven spring flow, layered deposition, and later erosion, and they became visible when the lake’s water level dropped.
傍晚开到莫诺湖（Mono Lake）欣赏日落，可以看到湖中的石灰华（tufa）奇景。这些石灰华塔是由含钙丰富的淡水泉涌入含碳酸盐、强碱性的湖水中时形成的。两者相遇会产生碳酸钙（石灰石）的沉淀，随着时间堆积在泉口周围，逐渐形成不规则、尖刺状的塔。它们参差不齐的形状源于泉水流量的不均、沉积的层叠以及后期的侵蚀。随着湖水水位下降，这些石灰华塔才显露出来。
Dinner at Whoa Nellie deli. Fish tacos and bison meat loaf.
Sep 24, 2025 June lake 六月湖
Beautiful people hiked beautiful trail in a beautiful weather to see a hidden gem, or tired people hiked strenuous trail under the hot sun to see a hard to reach lake? Different people always see the world differently, even though they are couples.
Parker lake trail, one of the best trails that we hiked, which I can hike in any day. The mountains, fall color of the aspen, and the creek, everything was perfectly set together, especially the Parker lake at the end of the trail, the view was just stunning!
今天徒步了Parker Lake Trail， 一路好美的景色：山峦、白杨的秋色、小溪，一切都完美融合，尤其是步道尽头的 Parker湖，景色美得令人屏息！
日末小结，哪个是我的，哪个是老艾版本？
快乐的人，在阳光明媚的山间漫步，只为发现那个隐秘的宝地；
疲惫的人，在炽热的烈日下跋涉，只为抵达那片难以到达的湖泊。
Mexican food truck for lunch. Chicken quesadillas and loaded nachos. Never buy again kind of place. 👎 午餐墨西哥餐车，墨西哥鸡肉饼和墨西哥玉米片，至今吃到最难吃的墨西哥饭了。
Sep 25, 2025 Lake Tahoe Day 1 太浩湖
After debating with myself if we should rent a bike or not, I decided not to, but to walk the east shore trail. We are happy with the choice of saving more than $120.
很多人租自行车，想了想还是算了，湖边走走看风景应该挺好的，事实证明确实不错！想走到哪走到哪。
The trail was nice, but no shade. We walked counter clockwise from Sand harbor and came back after about a mile. The water is so clear.
Erik and I are no beach person. So we drove around the whole lake and stopped by some view points after. We toured the whole lake in one day, ahead of our schedule.
太浩湖的水清澈见底。
A nice and relaxing lunch by the lake, with a good burger and street tacos at Gar woods grill and bar.
我们走了走，又开车绕了湖一圈。午饭湖边看风景、吃汉堡。
Sep 26, 2025 Lake Tahoe Day 2 太浩湖
Not much on schedule today. We got up late. I researched and decided to try a Thai restaurant called My Thai. I didn’t order very well today. Two dishes, curry duck and tom yum soup, were both creamy and kind of sweet. Fried rice with crab meat was good, except they mixed in fried eggs with crab meat to make it look like a lot of meat.
今儿没啥具体计划，看小红书，找了家泰餐，点的不太好，两个菜都偏甜。蟹肉炒饭还好，只是蟹肉掺了炒鸡蛋，$22一份性价比太低了。
We went on a hike at Taylor creek to Fallen leaves lake. Nice and quiet hike without much elevation. Very enjoyable. Too bad that there were any spawning salmon. The river is too low for them to come back to.
吃了午饭，找了个地儿徒步，走到Fallen leaves湖边，徒步也很美，主要是很宁静，只有风声、鸟鸣，小溪流水，还有松鼠的吱吱声…
回到住处5点，这也有喷水大浴缸，泡澡、写游记、看旅游视频，好不放松…
Sep 27, 2025 Sacramento 萨克拉门托
Guilin noodles in Sacramento. $13 a bowl with free toppings and no tips! It was very tasty.
老桂林的桂林米粉，和牛腩米粉，不要小费，浇头随便吃，好好吃！
We visited railroad museum after. 饭后去看了铁路博物馆
Sep 28, 2025 Fly home 回家
Safely home.
下午四点多安全到家。感谢神！
Lodging during the trip 旅途住宿
We stayed in luxury resort with indoor jacuzzi, and we stayed in a tent, and motel, and hotel…
一路住宿各种档次，我和老艾这点好，啥都能适应，尤其老艾，我安排啥是啥，啥都满意。
God’s words 神的话语：
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
“不要惧怕，因为我与你同在，不要四处张望，因为我是你的神。我必坚固你，我必邦助你，我必用公义的右手扶持你“—以赛亚书41:10