Enjoy the real California Adventure!

Crowds, I do not like crowds, so I avoid certain parks certain times of the year. But I'm guessing many people must like crowds because they tend to stick together in relatively tight places. For example, Yosemite National Park is one of the most beautiful places on earth, so many people vacation there including myself. As a matter of fact, that's where I took my beautiful bride on our honeymoon some 27 years ago. Yet of the 3.7 million guests a year that play here, a vast majority spend their time in the 7 square miles of Yosemite Valley, and yet Yosemite comprises 1,190 square miles! However, having said that people seem to want even more folks around them, they still want the Yosemite experience; river rafting, flying, and a host of other California Adventures in a small time frame and have all this artificial fun along with 17 million others! Yes, that is a real number,17 million guests a year play in the roughly 100 acre theme park of Disneyland Resort at a cost of some $100+ a day just to get in!

So what's my Point,? It is this, enjoy the real California and as crowded as that state is, there's still so many secret places to see and explore without the massive crowds. So where are some of these places? Well if you hang around with us here on our Bests Natural World  we will not only tell you about these places in California but also just about everywhere else West of the Mississippi River.

But for now let's wet your appetite and I'll start with California. You wanna see giant trees but don't want to deal with crowds at Sequoia National Park?  Then head North to the Redwoods National: a park with a fraction of tourists. You want to experience the beautiful Sierra's without all the mayhem?Then head out to the east side of the mountains to places like Lone Pine, Bishop, and Lee Vining. These quaint small towns are a great base to head up to the high country with a fraction of the crowds. Then there's my favorite "secret" California Park: a place with a little over 123,000 guests a year in their 46,000 acres that has over 700 caves! Yes, that's right 700 caves and almost everyone of them are open to the public! They even provide free flashlights for you to use. I'll write about this Park in the near future, but for now stick around with us as we write and show you pictures of some of America's most beautiful places.

In Yosemite there is a beautiful place that few visit known as Hetch Hetchy Valley. Maybe some day they will remove the dam and the valley can return to nature. This and the other pictures of  Yosemite were taken in 1989 by my wife during our honeymoon.

Back when I was young and pretty LOL I'm standing at a tunnel at Hetch Hetchy dam

The unmistakable Upper Yosemite Falls

Before and after pictures from 1976 and 2011 of same intersection in Lone Pine California looking at Mt Whitney, which is that jagged peak right of center. In 1976 it was 14,494' tall the highest mountain in the continental US and now in 2011 it's 14,505' courtesy of GPS. Of course this is a story within itself that I'll have to relate soon.

I love those California Redwood trees!

One of our secret places that I will reveal in the upcoming months, including some videos. Say "Hello" to Albert!

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