[prasadee]

This year we decided to combine our camping trip and the MotoGP trip. My 7 yr old son and 5 yr old daughter showed interest in seeing real bikes. This time we had to take our dog as it wouldn't have been a family vacation otherwise. Almost every campground, every lake, and every bus/shuttle we took allowed dogs :-) This time my wife did most of the driving, & I decided to put my camera to work. Its hard to screwup when driving through these parts.

Our rig for the 8 day trip. Our good old Toyota with a rooftop cargo box, and a bike rack.


The meandering highway 395 to Mammoth lakes


Sight of some remaining snow.


Shadows of clouds on the mountains



Paradise indeed


Closer we got to Mammoth the greener it got



Lake Crawley



I will create another post Sequoia, Yosemite, and the MotoGP pics

[prasadee]

Rainbow falls


Mowgli resting after a 3 mile hike to Rainbow falls


June Lake


Silver lake


Silver Lake, we got a motor boat and paddled for a short while


Mono Lake


Pretty huge, but barren


Salt mounds in Mono Lake


A place to rest, felt great after a long day


And a bone for our guy, while the kids were still unloading their energy riding bikes

[ampere]

The beast sure looks great! Great snaps. What was your route profile?

[sindabad]

Hey Prasadee! nice to see some camping gear there. Would love to know what all gear are you carrying for your camping needs and other camping specific preparations you did.

[sami316]

Hey Prasadee,

Nice to see a different side of US, the lakes and meadows. Waiting for more. Mowgli looks really cool.

[prasadee]

Bridal veil falls in Yosemite valley

Another view of Bridal veil falls


Mowgli & kids playing fetch in Merced river


Shaking it off


Relaxing after playing fetch


Entering Yosemite


Campfire


Yosemite valley view


Chopper doing fire drills

[prasadee]

Unfortunately, we were riding our bikes a lot in Sequoia and I did not get to take much pics. We did see a black bear and lots of mule deer around here. We headed to MotoGP by the end of the week from Sequoia.

Kids thinking these bikes are a lot faster & louder than daddy's bike


Eye candy


Custom Busa


AMA superbikes












I tried catching the doctor in action, never got a good one.

[prasadee]

Originally Posted by sindabad

Hey Prasadee! nice to see some camping gear there. Would love to know what all gear are you carrying for your camping needs and other camping specific preparations you did.

We have a huge list of 50+ things everything from a fork/spoon to a air bed & pump. Ton of necessities, wood, axe, lighting, water, food, chairs, tent, sleeping bags, pillows, bicycles, helmets, pump, & chips etc. That cargo box is packed pretty tight

[prasadee]

Originally Posted by ampere

The beast sure looks great! Great snaps. What was your route profile?

Thanks.
The best part about my SUV is the ability to roll the rear window down for Mowgli. This feature is unique to 4runner.


It was a 8 day trip with couple days in each place. We visit Yosemite and Sequoia regularly, so ended up skipping all the spots or areas that are potentially crowded. (except MotoGP)
San Diego - Mammoth lakes - Yosemite - Sequoia - Monterrey - San Diego

[kraft.wagen]

perfect vehicle for a weekend. Waiting for the pics of the moto gp
and looking for more tips on camping, planning to hit Death valley the coming week

[prasadee]

Originally Posted by kraft.wagen

perfect vehicle for a weekend. Waiting for the pics of the moto gp
and looking for more tips on camping, planning to hit Death valley the coming week

Unfortunately, I only took pics of the AMA bikes, was too busy eating icecream during the MotoGP races.

Camping tips - Not sure, you cannot go wrong doing anything. If you take fewer things, you just end up driving more often to the store. There is no limit to creature comfort you can carry. Just give yourself ample time to relax, and (as its death valley) take a big cooler with you. Fill up the cooler often with the 7lb bag of ice. Keep the cooler filled with goodies (not half full). Try to geta campsite with shade such that you can relax at the campsite even in late afternoon, or early evening. Take things to grill on the campfire, I find that to be a lot of fun. Are you going there with kids?

BTW, have you camped at Joshua tree?

@Admins, did not know about this back to back posting rule. Thanks for the enlightenment.

[kraft.wagen]

Originally Posted by prasadee

Unfortunately, I only took pics of the AMA bikes, was too busy eating icecream during the MotoGP races.

Camping tips - Not sure, you cannot go wrong doing anything. If you take fewer things, you just end up driving more often to the store. There is no limit to creature comfort you can carry. Just give yourself ample time to relax, and (as its death valley) take a big cooler with you. Fill up the cooler often with the 7lb bag of ice. Keep the cooler filled with goodies (not half full). Try to geta campsite with shade such that you can relax at the campsite even in late afternoon, or early evening. Take things to grill on the campfire, I find that to be a lot of fun. Are you going there with kids?

BTW, have you camped at Joshua tree?

@Admins, did not know about this back to back posting rule. Thanks for the enlightenment.

Nope this is the first camping trip, going with friends. I heard that its around 100 in Death valley even during the nights, and hence we are planning to go up TO Mahogany Flat.

Yea have picked a cooler need to fill with required things
Got to buy the tents next.

Sorry for the OT, I will PM you

[aargee]

Wow Yosemite, I'm eagerly waiting for the pics on Yosemite.
Nice sets of pics on roads, its never tiring to watch the huge stretches of roads in USA. Keep them coming.

[greencity]

Can you tell me where exactly is this place located?
Pics are to good especially the pic of road.

[prasadee]

Originally Posted by greencity

Can you tell me where exactly is this place located? Pics are to good especially the pic of road.

The pics of roads are hwy 395 near Mammoth lakes. Others are from all over Central California, we drove around 2k miles. (round trip)

Originally Posted by aargee

Wow Yosemite, I'm eagerly waiting for the pics on Yosemite. Nice sets of pics on roads, its never tiring to watch the huge stretches of roads in USA. Keep them coming.

The Bridalveilfalls pics below are from the Yosemite Valley, the pics of our dog playing fetch were all in the Yosemite valley in the river Merced. We did not stop by the usual places like half dome, and the Yosemite falls. They are always very crowded. I certainly have pics of those places from our previous camping trips, just need to find them :-)