Je t'aime the valley, OH!

The confusion of everything starts to clear up throughout the day. I got up early to pick up the bus pass that the county of Mariposa bought for me to get back to my car. I got to look at the butterfly wall for a few minutes while I waited for the bus to take me to the valley.

I got to see dew instead of frost this morning, and the only real reason I ever saw frost before wasn't because it was early, it's because the mountains shaded the grasses.

I tried to call the garage and find it on the map in Yosemite, but google said it was in the middle of a mountain, which I figured wasn't true. Because of all the confusion in what the hell was happening to me I left my wallet and all money in my car. I was supposed to get a bus ticket and get my car yesterday, but the garage was impound was going to be closed whenever I got there so I had to barter and stay another night. My agenda for the day was to get to my car and come back and pay the hotel so I wouldn't get anyone fired. Bartering in a big city would have never flied.

I wasn't able to take any pictures during the bus ride because for a multitude of reasons I got terrible motion sickness. I hadn't eaten anything for 36 hours since I didn't have any money, so I drank a lot of tap water. I filled up my empty coke bottle and figured the water tasted and smelled funny because of that. The water smelled like orange peels, a sour citrus. I didn't think anything of it until after an hour on the bus feeling iffy what little was in my stomach came up. I have never had to swallow vomit, and three times was no pleasure. But then there was that wonderful after vomit feeling! I have never gotten motion sickness so something had to be up with that water.

I'm not sure if the bus usually stops at the garage but the driver stopped and got out to deliver a package. That made finding the place easy. I got there expecting to pay $150 to get my car out of impound. The fact that I was taken into custody against my will and still made to pay for having the car towed is beyond me.

Cold starting my car took a while, but I'm used to it. Everything in my car was moved around so I figured it had been searched for weapons, drugs, cash or whatever else. Turns out it was to take inventory, but I suppose it could have been both. I didn't think of my wallet not being there, but it wasn't. Damn it. The valley is beautiful, even from the dirty car window.

I looked around and didn't find my wallet so I had to turn back. The valley's roads are mostly one way so it took a while to get back. I though since I had asked for my wallet when I was in the medical center it may have been taken out but was somewhere else. I was back at the law enforcement office and inquired, some calls were made and it should have been in my car so I went for a second look. I caught Park Ranger Sean (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm terrible with names) on his day off and we went to look for my wallet. Thankfully I found it in my glove compartment under some papers.

Since I wasn't able to go for a long hike I checked out the touristy stuff. I could not imagine being in the park during the summer, it is packed even now. The museum, theater, and Indian Village were pretty nice. I always enjoy documentaries so the movie on Yosemite was great, and in visitors center there was a three-dimensional map of the Yosemite Valley with trails and roads marked. That was so great, unless you get an extremely detailed map of just one trail it's hard to make out how hard a trail would be, seeing that the trails in the valley were either flat or STRAIGHT UP made me think of where I'd go. Old cemeteries look so great overgrown.

I always enjoy simple architecture and the bark covered shelters were great.

Granite was everywhere.

The sheer cliffs settled as I got out of the valley and gave way to trees.

It's nice to see areas that haven't been logged, on fire, or developed.

The road out was one hell of a lot better the ride in. I saw things I remembered from the morning when I was able to open my eyes and not vomit.

On the way there are single lane bridges crossing the river. On the other side of the river I could see the very substantial amount of rock fall on the roadway. The entire side of the cliff had fell onto the road. Not sure how long ago it happened, but putting in the bridges didn't look like they went up that fast.

I'm still gassy and it still feels like the tap water is coming up. I asked a local what the hell was up with the water, but she had no idea what I meant because she got her water from a well. The valley looked great from my car so I can't wait to finally hike a bunch. Traveling is great, but being off the road is and onto the trails is wonderful.

Be on the lookout for.

DISCLAIMER: Before this situation I was completely fine, and because the Park was notified of my presence I was taken into 5150 protective custody.

Oh what the difference a few minutes can make. I had intended to leave for the night and come back tomorrow. Since my car is...sick I can't reverse as well as I would like so I got to a pull off that allowed me to turn around. A bunch of people were in what looked like a snowball fight and i got to the exit of the turn around and it was blocked by a Park Ranger. I sat patiently while I thought she making sure that those people were not pelting each other any longer when she got out of her SUV and came for my window.

I knew then what was going on and it involved me being patted down for weapons and being taken into protective custody.

I sat in the back seat warming up and waited for a few Rangers among others to go through what my options were. My options were pretty much either agree or be taken anyway, so I chose to get this shit over with. My lovely ex-girlfriend that cares SO MUCH about me notified the park that i was a danger to myself and it went from there. Meeting the Ranger in RMNP surprised me, and I had forgotten about that.

I was driven to Yosemite Valley to the medical center, my car was towed, and I was pretty much screwed for the rest of the night. The black KKK cloak in the corner added a sense of intrigue and wonder to the room.

As the pictures of Yosemite being in Yosemite left something to be wondered. So everyone was really nice and notified me that they were following my blog. I wanted to quell worries that everyone has and be on with my trip. After being away from my car (not being on edge that I had any weapons) I was in the hands of everyone else and they made me feel like I was among friends and not just people doing their jobs. For those of you reading that are curious about the art I have made a few examples can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/neonlumberjack/

There's one of the pine cones fully open, how wonderful. I was taken by ambulance to the town of Mariposa to be evaluated by by a mental health professional and be decided upon whether I could be released. I had to give a urine and blood sample for them to be sure I wasn't trippin balls or drunk. I waited around to be evaluated until 2am and had to reminisce my entire story after I graduated until now.

I don't like to be reminded of what I had lost, but I had no choice. I wanted to be checked out and on my way as soon as possible. At this point all I had my ID, computer, camera, and a lunchables graciously given to me by a Ranger. I was evaluated, and around 4am I was able to leave. I had to be driven my the Sheriff to a hotel that the county was going to pay for, and a way to get me back to my car was being figured out.

Now while I do not understand the light switches in this hotel room, I enjoy them. Well I woke to loud hammering outside my window as the place was being renovated outside. After that was pretty much pure inconvenience. I didn't want to go with Rangers to the medical center knowing that I was ok, and knowing the hassle getting my car would be. Being transported outside the park, and not having been given a bus pass, not having my wallet, I was stranded with no food. Luckily I arranged an agreement to pay for the room tonight at a later date and figured out what was happening with everything else later on. I do not want anyone to worry about me. I am an honest and open person, and by what has happened here is going to make me hide even ore from everyone. Ani, if you're reading: If you care about me, thank you, but I could have really used you as a friend right now.

Look at the size of those pinecones!

On my way to Yosemite I saw some of the ugliest towns I have seen thus far.

A sculpture yard full of large steel works caught my eye. There was a full size triceratops on the other side of the business that was wonderful.

A lot of green still.

The hills rolled in and out, sometimes letting a glimpse of the snow capped mountains behind them.

The rock formations looked like buttes sometimes but with greenery all around.

The incredibly steep sides of some of the hills were great.

This part of the roadway was packed with cars along the road and sledding kids all around.

The steady green on the mountains made me feel like I could get lost in there just looking at it.

I couldn't see whether the hill everyone was sledding on had a backside or not, but it would be wonderful to get the speed down a hillside this steep.

Every once in a while a tall red tree trunk poked its way out of the green.

I love this image. The sun being subdued and the silhouettes of the trees was magnificent.


I got to Yosemite and damn that's a large pine cone! It makes the cones of the white pines I had used in works look so tiny.

Off of the road there was a surprise ahead for someone that took the time to explore. Oh what a good start the park was off to. Sadly I got there late and was going to turn back and camp outside the park when...

Drowning Duck

I am spending my days sleeping as much as I can and watching movies. There are plenty of suburbs on the way to Yosemite so I am exploring them all.

The highways here are crazy busy even in the middle of the day. There is so much green along the roadsides and drainage ditches.

The Coast Ranges gradually gave way to the Sacramento Valley.

Townhomes, or whatever they are called, snaked throughout the land and up into the mountains. Seeing single family homes snake everywhere is very familiar to me, but the density of these homes was very different.

December in California. Some plants know what's up and take a break for winter, but a lot of plants are just in high gear for the winter.

California's landscape is beautiful everywhere I go. And it mad even more amazing because so very much of it is highly developed and polluted. The mountains are brimming with wind turbines and dirty air.

The turbines were so beautiful in the sunset.

As it was Christmas Eve I was nearing the end of the cities before I got into the Sierra Nevada's and onto Yosemite. I found one of the onlt things to do in the city on Christmas (a movie theater) and found a nice quiet place to sleep. As this street was quiet and suburban, the homeowner noticed me there that night. I was up after noon greeted by the man of the house bringing me warm sandwich and some questions. He had checked my car out before I woke and though it might have been someone from the insurance company trying to get him off workman's compensation because of an injury he had. He was really nice and I felt bad freaking him out all night.

The area the movie theater is in was a mall being built. It had a Cabella's with outdoor landscaping and what I can't even call ironic set of deer.

The theater had a pond that attracted wildlife that had ducks. There were fountains and what just looked like pumps in the middle. I watched a duck head dive around one of these pumps. It was drowning.

The light made rainbows on the bottom of the clear pond water.

This duck was getting rained on by the fountain.

The ducks were fake. I guess they were there to attract real ducks. The pond is naturalizing and I would hope they keep it that way.

I'm proud of my 5,000 miles of dirt. THESE COLORS DON'T FADE! I'm at the point that I'm not sure if other people can see my brake lights, but they can hear my brakes so we're even. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and time with their families. What I had to give up in family I tried to make up for in great weather.

Gimme the cheapest room you've got.

Pleasanton and Dublin are suburbs of Oakland. Since I have gotten a really bad response from the girl I love I am waiting out the end of my trip.

In Indiana I always took pictures of singular objects and almost never the landscape. I realize why that is now.

The land in Indiana isn't that diverse, and most of it is either farm or city and doesn't do much for me. Since I've been stalling I notice smaller parts of the land and cityscape.

I was going to see 2012 before it totally left the theaters. I hung around a Clay Terrace like outdoor mall in Dublin and ate at a taxi themed hamburger joint. How ridiculous is having an outdoor mall in Indiana? It's not below 50 degrees out here and people are actually outside.

For those of you that would never know, that is a three wheeled BMW.

Outiside the theater I waited.

And because the movie started before 3 of course it was dark when I got outside. Ugh, the darkness is getting to me.

I was done for the night and found the easiest place to my hotel to have dinner. My waitress was intrigued about my journey and maybe she's reading it! I could imagine how confused one would be not knowing me, but the images of the landscapes are just beautiful enough to enjoy without my input, right?

I saw another white Sunfire outside. I hope that other cars like mine don't have a hard FAIL. I could never sneak up and run over a pedestrian though.

I've been thinking a lot lately about...everything. I don't know that my being alone out here is the best for me. I don't know if I want to be without everyone anymore. I know that a lot has changed in my life, and I've learned a lot: when you ask for a hotel room ask for the cheapest room they've got, and when a restaurant asks for your name, say something funny that they will have to repeat. But I still don't know.