Southern California

Here I was, in Sequoia National Forest. We drove through the windy roads to get to The Needles trailhead. About 10 miles out, we came to a road closure. We turned around and went a different way, and came to another road closure. We some saw men fishing and asked what the situation was, and it hit me - it's only the first week in April... the trails aren't open! My heart sank. I came to California for a lot of reasons, but that moment when you rise to the peak - how could I leave without having that? We drove down through the park, hoping to find another trail, and I kept telling myself - sometimes diversions are for a purpose. I don't have control over this, so I can accept what I do have in front of me.

We ended up pulling off when we saw a random trailhead, and the above photo was a moment on the trail where I stopped to meditate for a few minutes. It was lusciously fantastic.

We left that day and that was all I got to see of Sequoia. But it filled me up. And now I want more.

The following day we headed over to Death Valley. Honestly, I was there a bit begrudgingly - I wanted another day in Sequoia. Death Valley is made up of a lot of driving through and stopping to see sites. And it gets hot, even when it's not that hot. Also, it's pretty wild how close things look despite their distance.

I played a bit in the rock formations and cheered up. We went to the lowest point in North America - Badwater Basin. We trekked through the sand dunes (above), and overall it was an adventure. If you're in the area, it's pretty neat. But I wouldn't rank it with my favorites.