Another day and we are still going strong. Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks border each other so today, we drive to Sequoia for our first significant hike of the trip. Little Baldy mountain is a 3.4 miles round trip, but straight up. Josh shared that this mountain was named after me. Why do we have kids again? Yes, now I remember, so they can harass us. It’s a tough hike at 8000 feet. Nothing slows Josh down so he and I reach the top about 25 minutes before Eli and Amber (he reaches it about 10 minutes before me).

The new day is a gift. Yesterday, we drove from Disneyland and struggled. Today is a new creation. The gift of a fresh start in God’s beautiful creation. California as a whole is not stunningly beautiful. It is dry and the landscape reflects it. However, everyday is sunny. As we travel through much of the state, I miss the lush green of Indiana (not the humidity though).

This was a rough morning. It was bound to happen. Everybody, except maybe Eli, is in a bad mood. The long days, continuously going, going, going, and then Disneyland, morning to night, wore us out. Today, we are supposed to drive to Kings Canyon National Park, but before we leave, Amber is trying to squeeze in laundry. Unless, we want to wear dirty underwear (and none of us do), it needs to be done. Because of grumpiness and being tired, we are at odds with each other.

Day 2 at Disneyland has begun, another early morning. We still make good time, but today, this morning we are dragging a bit, and don’t arrive to the park until about 7:35 am. Again, there will be a race. This time to ride Cars, Radiator Springs Racers. Somehow, we do even better than yesterday and are literally one of the first to ride.
We continue riding mostly big rides. Today, we add Guardians of the Galaxy. Here, you ride in an up and down, falling elevator kind of ride. Honestly, I am a bit nervous, not sure if my stomach will handle it.

Our first day at Disneyland, the 10th national park of California. What a change. After 3 national parks of hiking, hot weather, and God’s creation, Disneyland is drastically different, but we are ready. Here we get to celebrate the imagination. God granted humans the gift of creative imagination. In fact, through the parables of Jesus, we can use creative imagination to better see God’s kingdom in our midst. However, for right now, we are enjoying the imagination of Walt Disney.

It’s an early morning and we need to catch a ferry to Santa Cruz, one of the islands of Channel Islands National Park. The ferry ride is beautiful, but a bit chilly, longer than Josh would have liked. There are 5 islands, in the National Park. We chose Santa Cruz because we can sea kayak. Amber is a bit nervous. I am just excited!
After a 1 1/2 hour ferry ride we finally arrive, and the first glimpse of the island is beautiful. I am excited for this national park because I have never been to a park like this one, an isolated group of islands. Maybe we can pretend that we are on the TV show Lost. Nah, I don’t want that much adventure.

Today was another travel day. Los Angeles traffic is horrendous. Tomorrow, we will go to Channel Islands National Park and I am truly excited! For now, though, I have some reoccurring thoughts. First, last night was the second night that I had dreamed that I was preaching. What is that about? There was another dream of leading a wedding. God please take these dreams away. I am on Sabbatical.

Morning has come and the power is still not on. It is cooler outside in the 90 plus degree heat than it is in our room. Thank you for shade and a breeze. There is one building with a generator and the hotel is offering a free breakfast to everyone in that building. A/C feels so nice, but ironically the generator goes out as we are there. However, it still feels cool and the continental breakfast was not bad. We are now ready for the day even thought none of us slept well. Yes, we are dragging a bit, but ready. The first place we go is Zabriskie Point. The picture does not do it justice.

We are now in Death Valley National Park. Our first of nine. It’s hot here, very hot. Our first stop after the visitor center is Badwater basin, the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, 282 feet below sea level. We all hit low points in our lives. They are not comfortable. Today, as we walk this valley floor, It’s 111, yesterday reached 117. Thank goodness we came today. The hottest temperature on earth was recorded here, a blistering 134 degrees. The heat is oppressive.