Redwood and Yosemite National Parks
- michellepfeiffer
- Nov 1, 2025
- 3 min read
Hey friends! So happy you are here! We are Pat and Michelle, born and raised in Minnesota, and currently taking our 'GAP' year in our 50's. We have decided to leave normal life behind in search of something different... We recently launched full-time travel life in our Brinkley travel trailer with our dogs, Indie and Louie.
September 2025
Redwood National Park
For the love of trees!
We really enjoyed our time exploring the Redwood Forest. Under a canopy of green, we smelled the forest air and absorbed the quiet of these big breathing beauties! We spent a big day in Redwood National Park, admiring the the tallest and largest living things on planet Earth. Only 5% (110 acres) of old growth redwoods remain. To be in their midst is a wonder.
It is just so amazing how ALIVE these trees really are. Hiking through the old growth forest, there is a quiet like no other. I think I said 'look at this one!' about 200 times. But REALLY - each tree seems bigger than the next, and the cool branches and knots and roots (and of course sheer size) are just so incredible.
We did a lot of driving through the park, and it is much bigger than we initially realized. Because we had quite a drive from our campsite to the park, we opted to bring the pups along for the day. This meant little/no hiking as pets are not allowed on most National Park trails. It is the tricky part of traveling with dogs within National Parks. We were able to see a lot on the scenic drives, and with cooler temps we were able to leave the dogs in the truck for a couple of short hike-ins at key points along the way. All in all, an incredible experience.
I think we took several hundred pictures :) but will try to just share a few...
Yosemite National Park
After the awe of the Redwoods, we continued on the National Park train and spent a week just outside of Yosemite. This place is just, magic. I don't know what we were expecting, but the reality of this natural phenom absolutely stunned us.
It is difficult to capture the grandeur of Yosemite like Ansel Adams did, but we sure tried. We had quite a bit of haze from the California wildfires on one of our big adventure days, so you will see some of that in our photography. The natural beauty everywhere confirmed what we are out here to see and do. We were completely blown away by Yosemite and felt so lucky to have a whole week to explore the park from different angles, walks, lookouts and scenic drives. Half Dome and El Capitan did not disappoint. But there was so much more. And the park is HUGE. Like - a few hours driving and you are still in it - huge. Waterfalls and clear lakes and layers of mountains of every texture. The scale was surprising and we absolutely loved every eye-popping view we were granted while visiting.
We were surprised how many people came from far away places (other continents!) to see this park. All around us, people were expressing awe and wonder in their home languages. I don't know what they were saying exactly, but the tone and excitement echoed our own and it was such a reminder of the draw of the natural beauty of this place. It made us grateful for our National Park System and preservation efforts by those before us.
If you have not visited, place Yosemite on your bucket list. It is a must see!
Every day life happenings:
We added the state of California to our travel map!
We celebrated our 100th day on the road!
Looking forward to Las Vegas adventures and celebrating Pat's BDay in October!
Plans for November/December coming together! One month booked in Southern Utah and then on to Bozeman for Thanksgiving with the kids.
Up NEXT...
California California California
It's HUGE! We spent over a month in Cali and didn't see anywhere near the whole state. We had a lot of fun, drove a lot of miles, saw beauty one can only find on the west coast, and definitely left lots on the table for our next visit. Updates and pictures coming soon.
Thanks for sharing in the adventure! x o x o
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