Forestiere Underground Gardens in Fresno, CA

One of the first things that comes up when you search "Things to do" in Fresno, CA on Yelp is Forestiere Underground Gardens. When I first read about it without seeing pictures, I thought it was basically plants growing underground, but it turned out to be so much more!

The place is full of history, amazing citrus trees and more history. The guides there are truly incredible. Latishka, our guide, was articulate, passionate and knowledgeable. The tour took a bit over an hour in pleasantly cool temperatures underground. There is plenty of light, so you will never feel claustrophobic.

Here are a few pictures I took:

High end electrical system

Yosemite National Park

During my cross-country trip I intentionally decided not to visit any places in California because I would have plenty of time to do that while living here. So now as a resident of Fresno, a city located within an hour of Yosemite National Park, I felt compelled to visit it once again (yes, I was lucky to have been here a few years back). 

For some reason, I did not remember much from my last trip, so everything appeared somewhat new. The views at Glacier Point are absolutely stunning and seem almost unreal:

Unfortunately, the shuttle system is absolutely awful! The buses only go every half an hour with a line on weekends extending so far, that you have to wait for 2-3 buses until your turn comes. Because of this poorly organized shuttle system, we were not able to visit the Yosemite Valley and headed back to Fresno. 

But we were lucky that day. On the way out of the park towards Fresno we saw a group of people standing by the side of the road taking pictures of something. We stopped and saw a bear!!!

Summary of my cross-country trip

My trip ended up to be exactly 4600 miles. I spent a little under $250 on gas start to finish, which ended up to be much less than I expected. I used Roadtrippers.com to find attractions along my route, which ended up to be this.

As I look back on the cross-country trip I just completed, I feel I have accomplished a lot. In fact, I was told that I was getting a bit spoiled by the beautiful scenery that I don't recognize the beauty around me any longer. This will change...

Among my favorites were Bryce Canyon National Park, Arches National Park, Chicago Botanic Garden, Magical History Segway Tour of Minneapolis and Badlands National Park.

Overall, it went well regardless the minor car trouble I had. There are only a few things that I would have done differently. Here are just a few notes to myself and anyone who would like to go on a cross-country trip:

1) Consider at altitude change when booking hotels or AirBnb

2) When you pack your car for your big move make sure you have all necessities nearby so that you can take them in and out of your car without much difficulty. I had an issue where I couldn't find what I needed because my car was so filled.

3) When you book your AirBnb make sure you check the reviews first I would never book a room at a person's house without reviews mostly because of their inexperience with AirBnb and expectations from guests.

4) If you want peace and quiet make sure that the Airbnb host does not have small children. Sometimes parents are not aware of how much their child cries, yells, screams or just talks loudly.

5) If you like driving with the windows open or with an open sunroof make sure you apply sunscreen prior to even sitting down in the car. I drove over 4000 miles and got pretty tan in the first couple of days just because I forgot to apply any sunscreen. Didn't feel that good.

6) If you decide to visit national parks and Parks make sure to buy a yearly pass. This would be worth the investment for example Bryce Canyon charges $30 per car as an entry fee. And the Arches National Park charges $25 per car. If you are like me and go to multiple national parks during road trip, spend the $80 and get a yearly pass. Besides, it's always good to contribute to maintenance and organization of our national parks. They certainly provide peace and quiet and the beauty that is indescribable.

7) Bring a cooler a larger one and make sure to buy at least 4 to 5 large refreezable ice packs. They will save you money on ice and I'm much less messy. Also it will save you money on food because you won't have to dine out as much. I would go to Whole Foods or Sprouts, buy a bunch of sandwiches and wraps for one or two days and keep them in my cooler refreezing the ice packs every night at my host's freezer.

8) When you drive in the Midwest or anywhere in the rural areas make sure you stop at a gas station every half a tank. I noticed that sometimes there no gas stations for miles and miles.

9) Do not completely rely on GPS or Google Maps, first review the route and then follow it. It sounds like common sense but I failed to do so and drove down a poorly paved road only to find out that the GPS wanted me to turn around at the dead end. Now I had to drive back...

Speaking of GPS, the GPS signal is generally available pretty much in the whole country whether you are you using a specific GPS device or your phone. If you're using your phone, the maps might not be available to you in some areas because you might lose your network internet connection. Always have a designated GPS, do not rely on your phone 100% of the time.

Cross-country trip DAY 18: Washington, UT to Fresno, CA - FINAL DAY

My trip was coming to an end, so the last part was getting to Fresno, my final destination and a new place to live for the next 12 months. I decided to get breakfast at Zion Blues Cafe based on reviews on Yelp. It did not disappoint. Friendly service, great food - I decided to order my lunch sandwich there as well.

Here is their Angel's Landing delicious breakfast sandwich:

Another 8 hours of driving, and I was in Fresno. Need to schedule another trip to a mechanic, but at this point I will worry about it later.

Cross-country trip DAY 17: Zion National Park

Straight from my AirBnb in Brian Head, UT I headed to Zion National Park, only 2 hours away from Brian Head. Parking in Zion National Park is not great, so two lines of shuttle service is offered: one in the city of Springfield and the other is within the park itself. I parked in the town, took one line to the visitor center and then switched to the other one. The shuttle system is not as convenient as in Bryce Canyon, but is certainly efficient time wise.

The temperature today was brutal 95 degrees Farenheit, so hiking was not as easy as yesterday. Yet I decided to start out my day with the Watchman Trail that originates from the Visitor Center. And yes, I saw a cute rattle snake crawling peacefully up onto the mountain:

Just look closely, he blends in...

The rest of the way up I was looking and listening for rattle! But no, that was the only encounter. The views were quite impressive:

After the 2.7 mile hike on this trail, I took the bus to the Zion lodge to hike the Emerald Pool Trail that became Kayenta Trail and stopped at the Grotto shuttle stop. Again, very nice views:

The next trail was only half a mile uphill and was called the Weeping Rock Trail:

I then headed to the Temple of Sinawava bus stop to complet the Riverside Walk Trail, an easy paved trail leading to the Narrows. It is wheelchair accessible and is lined with natural gardens on one side and the river on the other.

I was not planning to hike the Narrows because it is completely in the water and I did not bring any water shoes, but it was so miserably hot, and I really felt like putting my feet and hiking shoes in the water, so I went for it!

...what an amazing experience to feel the strength of the water stream pushing you forward. Next time I am going to be better equipped for photos and video.

Cross-country trip DAY 16: Bryce Canyon National Park

After a restless night of sleep because of altitude, I headed out to Bryce Canyon National Park, which was about an hour and 15 minutes away from the AirBnb in Brian Head. Luckily, the weather was beautiful, no snow. I could not find an open breakfast place in Brian Head because of the off-season, so I stopped by a local General Store (yes, I love how there are general stores in small towns!) and got coffee and amazingly delicious pastries that were just out of the oven!

Bryce Canyon is a nice place. I originally did not even plan to go there when I began planning the trip, but I am glad I did, because it was my favorite place out of all in this trip.

I decided to go on real hikes...
I started with Navajo Trail, on to the more strenuous one, Peek-A-Boo Trail and finishing with Queens Garden Trail. Overall, a bit over 8 miles :)

But the views were worth it:

There was a sign not to feed wildlife, so I obeyed:

Finally, I headed back to my place in Brian Head. On the way, I admired the wilderness of Dixie National Forest.

Cross-country trip DAY 15: Salt Lake City, UT to Brian Head, UT

I decided I wanted a separate place after all these rooms I rented through AirBnb. Brian Head had an apartment on top of the mountain, 10000 feet elevation... This is where I headed when I left SLC after a delicious breakfast carefully prepared by my host. I found out she is a cook! One of the best AirBnb experiences!

Yes, I was literally alone in the whole building, and I liked it!

And this would be the view from my window... Yeah, I did not expect snow...

I relaxed for a while before starting to feel mild altitude sickness. Who would have thought about altitude causing trouble!

Unfortunately, it was snowing that day, so I had to stay in the hot tub... How unfortunate ;)