Day Twenty - Tuolumne Meadows and to Las Vegas

As one can imagine, this was a tough day. We had relished in the freedom this trip had offered: from work, from home, from news, from housekeeping, from yard-work, from regular meals, from nearly everything. It was challenging imagining walking back into my previous life, but then I remembered that this is my life. I create and define my life; it is not something that is entirely out of my control - laid before me by some other force. Life is right now, in the present, in each moment and decision - in the interplay between past and present that hints toward the future. Our travel back to Baltimore is not an exile from the past three weeks, rather a continuation of this life-trajectory. My morning reflection cemented this adventure as instructor and guide for the next steps in my life. I began stuffing my backpack with the wares of this voyage, organized and prepared for future use...

We drove through the gorgeous high-Sierras on our way out the north-eastern exit of Yosemite, passing through rolling Tuolumne Meadows, on which would have joyfully sat under a surrounding tree and simply gazed - solid green dotted with colorful flowers and small outlines of varying fauna - until pausing Little Red at the trailhead for Lembert Dome. This was a short, fairly quiet hike (most likely due to the time-of-day), straight up-hill, and plenty rocky. Lembert Dome, standing nearly 9,500 ft, offers stunning views of Tuolumne River and the surrounding, snow-dotted mountains - yes, there is still snow/ice on many high-Sierra peaks in August (which should give a sense of the temperatures and depth of snow/ice in the winter.

Satisfying one more fill of Yosemite, we boarded Little Red, asked her for one more good ride, and set off for Las Vegas.

We travelled along the east of Yosemite - through the Inyo National Forest - before hooking around Death Valley National Park and through sprawling desert land. Once again, the juxtaposition between forest and desert was stunning.

We arrived in Las Vegas safely and in a timely fashion, gave much thanks (and a kiss) to Little Red, repacked our bags for our flight tomorrow, and tried to fall asleep (I was way too eager for our final leg to get much rest).