Intrepid tour: Real San Francisco to LA

18th May-

Day 1 of the tour. We got  up and out of hostel into our mini van/ bus. I got to sit next to KK the girl from Germany which was fun. Everyone was talking to each other and asking lots of questions. We then got to go shopping at Walmart which is always a fun experience!! More talking in the bus getting to know each other before arriving at Yosemite campsite. We set up our tents, my tent buddy also ended up being KK. We then took a 30 minute group walk at the national park before going back to have a cooked dinner by 4 of the group members and then going to bed.

19th May-

Day 2 of tour.

We were Up at 6am, in Van by 6:30am to have a full day at Yosemite. We ate Bagels at the bus once we had arrived and most of the group then enjoyed doing the lower Yosemite Falls walk and Moomeadows, which had a views of two waterfalls.

Carys and I then took the shuttle bus ride all over the park.

We then headed back to the group to have our picnic lunch at  El Capital- one of the most famous rock climbing places. It was great to see just a few climbers us there and have a chat with everyone about what they had done that morning.

We then stopped for a short walk at Mirror lake before sitting and waiting for the rest fo the group to return. I then cooked with 3 others dinner at the campsite which  was pasta, spinach and mince.

We then also had a campfire with smores and spoke about our Rose, thorn and bud. Best thing about the day. Worst thing about the day and what we're looking forward to tomorrow...

20th May-

Today we were awake and out of the tents at 6am and had to be in the van by 6:30am. I finally got a window seat on our way into Yosemite again. Today we were all doing the must trail together. It was a 6 hour walk which lots of waterfalls. We managed to eat our sandwhiches at the top and it was a beautiful view. My sneakers weren't grippy enough so Ash had me linked under her arm and escort me down the mountain, bit embarrassing but at least I didn't fall!

After we finished we went for a cold plunge in the Lake. We were not in there long as it was very cold and the current was strong.

We then had pizza in the park for dinner and got back in the van to the campsite.

23rd May-

Want to a Neon light musuem that we had waited all day to go to in the group and it was terrible. It was very small and they didn't have any information about them. It was like a junkyard for neon signs that most didn't even light up anymore.

27th-

This was the Best day at the grand canyon. We got up had breakfast all together, they made eggs. One of the girls braided my hair. Carys and I then got a photo with our camp t-shirts and tattoo and that made it onto the Camp America social media.

We then started walking the walk down the Grand Canyon. Apparently this walk takes 2 days to walk down and up again and people camp at the bottom. Well I didn't make it very far before I slipped over and cut my knee. Thank goodness for 2 nurses that were right near me. Carys and I then took the shuttle bus to Hermit Point- west point of canyon. We sat together and enjoyed the view before eating our packed lunch with everyone which was wraps. We then went back to the campsite for a nap before going back in and watching the sunset at the Canyon and eating pizza. What a great time that was! Highlight of the trip. It was very emotional. We then did a constolation talk about the North star, Mars and we saw shooting stars. Before settling into our tent for the night...

28th:

We were up at 7am, packed up camp and on the bus by 9am. We drove to Lake Havasu and got to swim. God I've missed the water!! We played played marco polo- they had never played before. We then had two young girls come join us. We Walked back aftwr the swim, over the London bridge the Americans mistakenly bought thinking it was tower bridge.

We then chilled in the pool, had a Mexican dinner and nice walk. Then watched the movie cars and finally got to sleep in a real bed again.

29th:

It's the end of the era. 13 days ago these were complete strangers. A camping Backpacking tour is not only a great experience but also an eye opening one as we get to know everything about each other with barely anytime separated. There were highs and lows but my favourite thing about this group is that majority of the group were always happy to be woth each other. They sucked it up hearing my terrible singing in the bus and apparently my snoring... whoops.

Today we woke up at 5:30am, a very early morning to pack our bags, eat a quick breakfast and rush to the bus. It was a great feeling not having to set down a tent.

I sat at the front of the van today. First stop was buying lunch at safeway. Then we went to Joshua tree national Park. Now all the National parks we have visited have been different but this one was by far the most unusual for me. It was in the complete desert, With cactus and Joshua trees and was hot, with rocks, it was flat land with small hills of rocks. Not much green or water. Complete desert, not something I am used to seeing at all.

We enjoyed our lunch there then continued our long drive to LA!! Of course listening to party in the USA by miley Cyrus... can tick that off the bucket list. Didn't manage to see the Hollywood sign. That is next week's task.

We the  all huddled on the side of the road saying goodbye to each other. My amazing tent/ hotel buddy is from Germany so I've booked into seeing her in September before my next Intrepid tour. And one of the other guys on the tour has offered to be my tour guide in Belguim when I'm in Eureope in October. Apparently they have the best chocolate .... I can't wait to compare it to Switzerland's!!

3 of the group were also from Melbourne so no doubt I will see some of them again and 2 were from NSW so hopefully a catch up will be made!

All in all a fantastic experience, it allowed me to go with the flow and enjoy  trip I wasn't managing/ in charge of. It allowed me to see sights of America I most likely wouldn't have on my own. I got to see one of the most well known places in the world- The Grand Canyon. I got to meet so many amazing people around the world. I got to laugh, cry and smile throughout the 13 days. So thank you to my amazing group lead Ash for a great trip!!! ❤️