Whew! I’m tired. The road trip was fun and RWA was unbelievably exhilarating, but I’m glad to stay in one place for at least a week. My sister and I went to Yosemite via Ashland where we caught a play, then Lake Tahoe to avoid the smoke from the fires in northern California. Didn’t see much of Mount Shasta because its upper slopes were wreathed in smoke. If you’re ever at South Lake Tahoe and looking for a nice meal, try The Getaway Café. The food was delicious and their wine list was quite good.

In between stays at Yosemite, we managed to attend the Gilroy Garlic Festival. I have to say, the garlic ice cream was surprisingly savory. I got distracted by a couple of cooking demonstrations, so I forgot to try the garlic chocolate. Maybe next time.

After RWA National, we spent four days at Kings Canyon and Yosemite National Parks. Naturally, there were huge—no, humongous!—trees and hiking. My thighs finally figured out complaints were futile.

From there, we drove to Great Basin National Park in Nevada. The Lehman Caves were awe-striking, as were the bristlecone pines that are the park’s centerpiece. Naturally, the pines weren’t in some readily accessible place. There’s a theme going on here.

On the way back to Portland, we stopped at Bruneau Dunes State Park in Idaho. Hiking the dunes was different, what with shifting sands and 10mph winds. Bruneau also boasts dark skies, so my sister and I did some stargazing and meteor watching. It was windy and cold and great fun! We must have seen more than 40 meteors in less than two hours.

Oh, yes. I’ve put up pictures from RWA National here. Travel pictures will go up after I finish the copy edits for Endangered, which arrived while we were gone.