A full week of throbbing music, dust storms, midnight bike rides and art exploration at Burning Man made returning to the regular world feel a bit dull. So little neon, few enormous sculptures, no steam punk octopus cars shooting flames. The only obvious antidote to all that human-powered stimulation was to immerse ourselves again in the much more humbling beauty of nature. So, after a quick stop in Eagle Point to deep-clean the Minnie and a whirlwind tour through the Bay Area visiting friends, we set off to Yosemite and the majestic Eastern Sierra.

Views like this are what the word “awesome” was intended for.

We hiked up the Mist Trail past vernal falls, and ascended the Lembert Dome. Then, it was off to Bridgeport, CA for a few days of relaxing at the beautiful Buckeye and Travertine Hot Springs.

At Mono Lake, we walked through sage brush and tufa towers and stared out at the briny lake. Then, we hiked to Rainbow Falls and Devils Postpile, marveling all the while at the diversity of scenery and the power of volcanoes, glaciers and water over eons of time.

Our next big destination is Southern Utah, where we plan to explore Zion, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Arches National Parks.