Gary and I spent most of our time in Yosemite Valley walking the easy trails to Lower Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil Falls, Mirror Lake Trail and at Tunnel View (just up a few hundred yards on the trailhead for a better view). But we did one major hike to Vernal Falls. This is a hike Carol & I did in 2022 and it’s pretty steep, rated hard on Alltrails. I think it’s moderate if you stop at the Falls and hard if you continue to the top. We wanted a challenging hike after such an easy time so far. Plus Gary said the top of the falls were worth the effort although he wasn’t feeling up to it today. So I continued up the trail and he headed back down. The trail above the falls is narrow, steep, and wet this time of year. Vernal Falls were flowing full force so there was a lot of mist. I used my iPhone and GoPro and kept my camera bag under my rain jacket. I felt quite the accomplishment making it the top. It has an amazing view of the valley.
Yosemite National Park is a ‘dark skies’ area, which means there is little light pollution from nearby city lights. This makes it a great location for star gazing and astrophotography. Since we’ve been having clear skies during the past week, I checked PhotoPills for the Milky Way position and its rise time. I wanted it rising over Half Dome and found I could setup on the pedestrian road (red X), near our campground at 1am. I e-biked over to the pedestrian meadow road which, when facing east, has a clear view of Half Dome. Setting up in the middle of the road was easy and level.
Gear used: Nikon Z8, Leofoto tripod w/ Benro geared head, Move Shoot Move star tracker, 14-30mm f4 & 20mm f1.8 Nikon Z lenses. The Benro geared head is great for fine tuning the star tracker position. Pointing the star tracker laser at Polaris is accurate enough for wide angle astrophotography. The Z8 has a ‘starry sky live view’ setting so I could make out Half Dome and compose my foreground easily in the dark. There were very few people out and I was spooked by the occasional noise in the nearby brush. We had seen a bear earlier in the day in Yosemite Valley although miles away. But using my headlamp, I did pan around from time to time. I used the 14-16mm at f4 and tried ISO settings from 1600-12,800. With the excellent noise reduction software available these days, I wasn’t too worried about high ISO noise. But most of my favorite photos were taken with the 20mm between f1.8-2.2 from 10-60secs, varying the ISO. I did not take flats, blacks, or biases which I regret when processing with Siril and Sequator. Next time, I’ll be sure to take some exposures with the lens cap on (blacks, biases) and with a white screen on my iPhone (flats).
I spent about two hours, doing a variety of ISO, shutter speed, and focal range combinations. In hindsight, I think I should pick one focal range, composing for Half Dome. Take several long exposures for the foreground without star tracking. Then readjust the composition to mostly sky, use the 20mm and one ISO setting. I can vary the exposure by changing the shutter speed from 60-120secs using the star tracker for multiple exposures to stack. After processing the foreground and stacked Milky Way images separately, I’d composite them into a final image. Overall, I had a great time and I am happy with the photos, but they can definitely be better.
Tuesday we drove to the Ahwahnee Lodge and had a wonderful breakfast in their historic dining room. Afterwards, we hiked to Yosemite Falls. It was busy, being one of the most accessible and beautiful falls in Yosemite Valley. Plus it was flowing full volume so picturesque. Again, we had beautiful blue skies and warm weather, great for hiking but not for photography. When you have such conditions, you have to be a little more creative with your camera. Long lens photography is a good option to isolate the wonderful detail in the falls and granite cliff walls. Gary also wanted to visit the Ansel Adams Photo Gallery. It was inspirational and is a must-visit location when visiting. Hiking both Yosemite Falls and especially Bridalveil Falls was a wet experience. Since we went straight from breakfast, I did not have my rain jacket. Also, I preferred not to test my Nikon gear weatherseals even though they are supposed to be great. So much of the waterfall photos were iPhone and GoPro shots & video.
Near Lower Pines Campground is the west-east traffic-free pedestrian road facing Half Dome. Gary and I had spotted some wonderful reflections of Half Dome next to the road. We figured the late afternoon light and sunset hitting Half Dome would make for some excellent photos. We were right, although again, the clear blue skies did not add to the compositions. Gary said the wispy clouds were plane contrails but at least they added some texture and color.
Gary and I broke out the bikes – his aluminum 28lb German folding conventional bike and my new Maui 40lb folding e-bike – and headed to Mirror Lake. It was a clear, warm, virtually cloud-less day so we were thankful we had some clouds the day before. Gary likes the workout of biking uphill; me, I enjoyed using the e-bike assistance on the steeper part of the road to Mirror Lake. Blue skies and bright sun are not the best conditions for photography but it’s great for biking and hiking. When Carol & I visited Mirror Lake in July 2022, the water level was really low. It was hard to find a reflection in the water during that visit as we cooled off in the shallow lake under Half Dome. This trip, all the waterfalls were flowing full volume and the lakes, rivers, and creeks were cold & clear. There were waterfalls on every cliff wall with snow melt flowing in every crevice.
We took a lunch & beer break at the campsite after a leisurely bike/hike to Mirror Lake. Then we drove up to Tunnel View in hopes of an epic sunset. Tunnel View was busy but we found parking and setup an hour before sunset. Unfortunately, the evening before, the beautiful clouds covered Half Dome. Tonight, Half Dome was visible but the sky was not very interesting. Still, with the great flow of all the Yosemite Falls this visit, we took photos till the sun set.
Since we got into the park around noon and setup camp quickly. We took advantage of the great afternoon light and drove through Yosemite Valley. Because it was the last day of the free National Park entry week, Yosemite Valley had a lot of visitors. Gary and I were anxious to get out and scout Yosemite Valley. The light was good and so were the clouds – the sun ducked behind large clouds frequently so the exposure changed quickly. Light on the valley walls changed every few minutes so if the light wasn’t good, I just waited several minutes for it to change. With this mottled, late afternoon light and limited color range, I found processing these late afternoon images as black&white to work particularly well. Black&white Yosemite photos are always a homage to Ansel Adams to me. He set the standard and his images are some of my favorite landscape photographs.
I was fortunate enough to be invited to Yosemite National Park by Gary Wellwood, a friend from the UCSD Photography Interest Group. He had a reservation for Lower Pines Campground for 4 nights and he was looking for another photographer to join him. Other than a couple nights in Anza-Borrego earlier this month, I have never taken our travel trailer on a solo adventure. Yosemite in late April is a perfect time to visit. The weather is ideal and the place isn’t as crowded as during the summer. It did take an extra long time to get into the park because April 28th was the last “free National Park entry day”. Many people in the queue were turned back because they had not made an entry reservation. Although entry into the park for the past week was free, the weekends still required an entry time reservation. I had made one just in case I didn’t meet Gary before entering and his documentation didn’t get me in.
Lower Pines Campground is a great location in the shadow of Half Dome by the Merced River. Campsite 1 is at the entrance and has room for two vehicles. As it turned out, with the travel trailer, we took every foot of the small parking area. We managed to squeeze in without issue since Gary was car camping in a tent. I had Howie, our 20ft travel trailer. This is dry-camping without hookups so I had to fill the fresh tank with ~10gals of fresh water. Electrical power was provided by a 1200w Anker battery pack I brought. I also brought a 500w Jackary power bank which Gary used to keep his camera charged. My Anker bank powered the Starlink, my coffee machine, and all my electronics and camera gear with no problem for the 5 days. Since our site was shaded, the solar panels did not keep the batteries topped off. But they were able to keep the fridge running and the beer cold.
We’ve dry-camped in Anza-Borrego State Park a few times and had a great experience. But we’ve always been interested in finding a site in the full-hookup section of the park. Mainly to be able to run the AC during the hotter part of the season. In late 2023, I was searching Joshua Tree and Anza-Borrego for a site for my grandson’s birthday in February. In February all sites in Joshua Tree and Anza-Borrego were fully booked. Not a big deal as it turns out as my grandson was going to be out of town on his birthday. But during that search, I got lucky and found three nights in the full-hookup area of Anza-Borrego Palm Canyon Campground for early April.
I thought with our rainy winter, there might be a good wildflower bloom this year. But by the first week of April it was already two or three weeks too late. March had a decent display of wildflowers according to the Anza-Borrego wildflowers web page. But by April, there were mainly later blooming Ocotillo and Cholla cacti. I did find some isolated blooms along Coyote Canyon but nothing in the usual areas.
In addition to photographing wildflowers, I wanted to practice dry-camping in preparation for my solo Yosemite RV trip at the end of April. We’ve dry-camped before but it had been awhile so I wanted to flush the freshwater tank, exercise the water pump, and check the health of the batteries. It’s good maintenance to use your water pump occasionally to keep it healthy and flushed. I need to remember that. I also wanted to practice hooking up and towing on my own. I’ve always had my co-pilot Carol to help me, double-check everything, and navigate. Since I would be towing to Yosemite on my own for the 1st time, it was good to practice traveling solo. I used the fresh water hookup to fill the fresh water tank and used the water pump for water. I also kept the electricity off for my solo stay but when Carol joined me Saturday night. I turned on the electricity for her visit so we’d wouldn’t have to worry about conserving.
On Sunday, we took a drive through Fish Creek Wash and Sandstone Canyon in our sister & brother-in-law’s Jeep. It was a fun adventure that they’ve done before so we got to join them this time.
Coincidentally, Monday April 8th was the date of the total solar eclipse. Since I couldn’t make it to an area of totality. I thought I’d be fun to at least photograph the 50%. I bought solar eclipse viewing glasses and a filter for my camera. Here is a composite of the eclipse from an Anza-Borrego location – great clear skies.
While camping at Cattail Cove State Park in Nov 2023, our Canadian neighbor had a compact, folding “Maui” e-bike. I was unfamiliar with the brand but it resembles the Qualisports Volador I was considering buying to replace our Lectric XPs. We love our Lectric XP 2.0s E-Bikes but at 65+lbs each, they are hard to travel with. So we often bring our much lighter conventional Zisso folding bikes. They are much easier to ride but work best on flatter terrain like Yosemite Valley. I considered the Lectric XP Lite but didn’t like it being single-speed. We prefer to peddle and only use the peddle-assist on hills, so having 7-speeds is important. Plus the Lectric XP Lite equipped is close to 50lbs and we wanted something closer to 40lbs. Unfortunately, the lighter the e-bikes, the more it costs or the smaller the wheels (14″-16″). Qualisports has several lightweight 7-speed ebikes around $1000. So when I saw the Maui e-bike, I had to check out its specs and compare it.
Maui Summer $1100Qualisports Volador $1200Black Zizzo UrbanoWhite XP Step-Thru 2.0Red Zizzo UrbanoBlack XP 2.0
The Maui Summer, from Canadian-based Maui Bikes, is their lightest e-bike at ~41lbs. It has 20″ wheels, 7-speeds, and a seat-post battery. No suspension, lighter frame and a 350w motor so it’s a much lighter design than the Lectric (the Maui Jack model has specs much like the Lectric XP, including the weight). The Maui ebikes have really good components (see list below) & are folding for easy transport. So the Maui Summer is perfect for our rv-lifestyle. Availability in the USA is via their US website maui-bikes.com with a Florida warehouse. Because of their excellent Black Friday pricing,we bought us two Maui Summers. We’ve tested them on some local trails and they performed great. There are some compromises compared to our Lectric XPs – we miss the suspension & fatter tires for trail riding plus the rear racks. But because they are 25lbs lighter, they were much easier to load/off-load. Plus both fit in my Tacoma truck bed without needing to be folded. We will definitely enjoy taking the much lighter Maui e-bikes in the RV on our next trips.
Maui Summer
Pros:
350W BAFANG motor
XD-E300 Hydraulic disc brakes
Removable battery.
Bike weight – 41lbs (19kg)
Misc: CHAIN – KMC Z7; CRANK SET – PROWHEEL, 46T; REAR DERAILLEUR – SHIMANO Tourney 7-speed; ROTORS – 160mm; TIRES – KENDA 20 x 2; MOTOR – BAFANG 36V/350W brushless rear hub motor; BATTERY TYPE – SAMSUNG 36V/10AH Lithium battery, integrated in the seatpost.
Cons:
Weight capacity – 250lbs (114kg) – not a con for us but lower than the Lectric by 80lbs
Rider height – 4’6″ to 5’8″ (seems short but that’s what they list)
Range: 22-32mi (35-50km), which is plenty for us but ~30% less than the Lectric
The coiled battery cable hangs down below the crank housing. I’ll zip-tie it so it can’t catch on anything.
Price when not Black Friday: $1100
Lectric XP 2.0/3.0
Pros:
Motor: 500W (850W peak) geared rear hub motor
Top speed: 28mph (45 km/h)
Range: 45mi (72 km), but actually less if not peddling a lot IRL
Battery: 48V 9.6 Ah (460 Wh)
Lockable battery
Max load: 330 lb (150 kg)
Rider height: 4’10” – 6’5”
Rear robust rack
Suspension: front fork suspension; optional seat post suspension in the Comfort Kit
fenders included standard, although Lectrics are sturdier/heavier
Folding Pedals.
Kickstand.
A few issues with the Maui Summer I’ve noticed that are not deal-breakers for me:
No mount holes for rear rack. Unlike similar ebikes, like the Qualisports Volandor, there are no threaded holes on the frame where you can attach accessories like a rear rack.
The LCD controller manual (King-meter K5317 LCD) doesn’t list the full settings. The manual lists settings from P01 to P13 and our controller has settings from P01 to P20. I contacted support & they sent me a link to a pdf of the same manual. Perhaps there was a firmware update?
On our trip to Lake Havasu we brought our dog Bodhi and Ollie, my eldest son’s dog. We’ve traveled with Bodhi before and he’s always been on-leash when outside the RV. So we decided to buy a fence like we’ve seen around other RV, so they could be outside without being on a leash. Ollie jumps high but we figured a 32″ high panel would be adequate. Plus we wanted to keep the weight down – a 16-panel 32″ high set is ~57lbs. The similar 16×40″ set is 72lbs. We’ve never used a fence pen so I looked for one with great reviews on Amazon & recommended by RVLifestyle.com. We bought the FXW Rollick Dog Playpen from Amazon. We would have ordered the FXW Aster 16×32″ but it wouldn’t ship in time for our trip. Both are very similar but the Aster is silver & $20 cheaper. The pen was easy to setup and we ended up using all 16 panels, placing the two gates at the front & back of the RV. Ollie escaped within minutes so we had to block under the stairs where there was a small gap. Using our Starlink carry bin & a shoe storage box kept him from escaping again. If possible, I’d create a complete enclosure and not use the RV as one wall. When I ordered the pen, I added two (rather-pricey) storage bags that hold 8-32″panel + 9 stakes. It’s a significant additional investment but unless you have a good storage compartment. A necessity for keeping your panels in good shape. The enclosure breaks down in about 15mins. The 8 panels fit snug, like a glove, in the well-constructed storage bag. Since one bag holds 8 panels/9 stakes, they weigh a little over 30lbs – manageable. Both bags fit in the bed of my Tacoma perfectly so that’s how we’ll carry them on future trips.
Dog Playpen (32″x16 panels)Ollie Locales enjoying the leftoversTwo storage bags fit Tacoma truck bed
The majority of the trails around Lake Havasu are for mountain biking or quads. There is a commuter bike path that parallels the highway and takes you into town. But we wanted to a more scenic bike ride, away from traffic so we picked the Havasu Island Trail. It’s a popular ~3.5mi walking and biking trail that circles the island.
The pavement is riddled with cracks so most of the bike ride was pretty rough & bumpy. Our Zizzo folding bikes do not have suspension so we appreciated the smoother areas near the residential sections. There are dozens of lighthouses along Lake Havasu. They are 28 scaled down replicas of well-known US lighthouses from all over the country. All of the lighthouses on the west side of Lake Havasu are replicas of famous West Coast lighthouses. The East Coast replicas are on the east side. The lighthouses around the island are replicas of lighthouses from the Great Lakes. We stopped at the Mudshark Brewery after our short bile ride. It is kind of out of the way but definately worth finding – beer, food, and the view were excellent. When we got back to the campground, we brought the pups back to the dog park. At Thanksgiving, they light-up the bridge ceremoniously – like the lighting of the Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center, so a crowd started to build around Bridgewater Channel & the London Bridge shoreline.
London Bridge from the Island sideBike Trail northsideFishing pier, parking lotLake Havasu lighthouseRough bike trailAfter Bike Ride LunchAfter Bike Ride LunchEvening in Lake Havasu CityBridgewater Channel Paddleboarders
