Wait... forgot to mention something from yesterday's experience. Natasha had this genius idea of soaking our jello legs into the cold lake water, best idea ever. Our campground was walking distance from the lake, literally walk out of the campground, cross the street and there was the lake all for ourselves. Both of us walked until the water was on our waist line and stayed there for a little while feeling the good pain of the sore muscles relaxing.
Fun fact about me: I love to jump into lakes, rivers or ocean to recharge myself and I do not care how cold it is... I will find a way to get in even if it is for only a few seconds because the water might be freezing. I enjoy the cold water feeling on my skin, makes my lungs expand, my brain gets sharper, wash of the bad energy that is around me... so many good reasons to do so. If I were you I would not get intimidated by it, as soon as you get in the feeling is priceless.
Anyways, after staying there for a few minutes I was really "itching" to get my whole body into the lake. I hesitated for a little bit and finally went all in and it was fantastic. We felt so much better afterwards, we were even able to walk like normal people, lol!
Now, the waking up part on Sunday was a different story. We were so, so, sooooo sore was ridiculous. We slept for 11 hrs straight and took our time to get the day going as we didn't have no plans more than do whatever we wanted to. We thought the Tioga Pass in Yosemite was open, so we planned to go for a car ride and take our lunch and yoga mat with us to do a picnic by the lake and stretch a bit. Before we hit the road we indulged in a nice hearty breakfast: gluten free almond flour tortilla, bean dip, scrambled eggs, grass feed hot dog, avocado, lots of hot sauce and of course a cup of coffee!
Cleaned it up, packed the car and drove away. The weather was great for driving with the windows open, music playing and a good talk... what I can say? Just a good day, another good day I must say. On our way to the Tioga Pass we drove down the Wawona Road and on this road there is a must stop place called the Tunnel View. There you will be able to lose your breath when you see this:
Absolutely stunning! When I see something majestic like this gives me a better understanding for life... appreciation for this beautiful nature we have around us... keeps me grounded... makes me smile... breath a little deeper... makes me HAPPY!
We drove all the way down to the Tioga Pass and the entrance was closed because the weather and in that side of park got snowed in and they had to delay the opening day. But, right where the gate was there is a meadow and an empty road that we could walk to. So we parked the car right before the gate and got our food to eat by the meadow instead of the lake that we planned originally. Not bad to eat with this view...
Right?!
We stayed there for a bit... and went for a quick stroll in the empty road. Don't know about you, but I kind of like walking in the middle of the road if I can. So for sure we did walked and laid in the middle of the road!
On our way back, we stopped by the Wawona Campground which have the Merced River running by it to meditate, to do my 185 squats for the challenge, soak our sore legs in the water and I manage to go all in the cold river water... one more time... lol! So worth it, all the time... Can't wait to go camping in a few weeks in the High Sierras, hike to some lakes and dip myself in it.
On our way back to the campground we started to crave some camping basics as we didn't pack trying to be good and not bring munchies with us, but that didn't last to long, lol! We stopped at the gas station to get some marshmallows to do some smores, but Miss Natasha went in... Bad good idea... she came back with chocolate fudge (we had dark chocolate in the campground, guess that was not enough... lol!) and marshmallows, we skipped the crackers...
Back in the campground we hangout, planned the next day adventure and started making dinner. I had made quinoa and baked veggies (zucchini, squash, butternut squash and asparagus in olive oil), Tash brought chicken tenders and some curry sauce from Trader Joe's. I got the cast iron skillet into our camp stove, added some butter to pan fry the chicken, in a pan on the side we heated up the quinoa and veggies in the sauce. Dinner was ready!
While I was cooking, Natasha got the fire pit going and after dinner we indulged ourselves with some new way to do smores: chocolate fudge, peanut butter and perfect roasted marshmallows (light burned, crispy on the outside and smooth in the inside. Confession: If it's not in smores I will never eat marshmallows... not a big fan, but smores while camping is a must and they are delicious!).
Good day... Good dinner... Good munchies... Let's call it a GOOD DAY!
Right?!
Do you have a good camping experience that you would like to share? I would love to hear it. Or food ideas... or anything... bring it on people !