Travelogue

Herb Enjoying Furnace Creek Ranch PoolAs I mentioned in the previous stop, I was not particularly thrilled about heading into Death Valley where the forecast was 105 to 110 degrees for the next few days. But it wasn’t just the oppressive heat that made me want to avoid this place. It was the horrible memories I had of losing our brake lines on the way out of the park in 2007 on the very road we would now be driving in on.

Route 190 into Death Valley from the west is extremely steep and twisting and doesn’t have just one mountain pass to cross, but two. However, we had just had the brakes completely redone again in 2014, so Herb felt confident that with proper downshifting we would not have a problem, and he was right. We didn’t. It just was a little nerve wracking. Plus, unless we planned to live in Death Valley, we would have to come out again.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Death Valley. It is breathtakingly beautiful and can be a wonderful place to explore – under the right conditions. The operative phrase is “right conditions,” and last November we had them – beautiful sunny skies with daytime temperatures in the upper 70s and lower 80s, dropping into the upper 50s at night. We were hiking and photographing all over the place.

Lolo Relaxing in Furnace Creek ResortNow, however, the air felt like you were being blown by a giant hairdryer on maximum heat. Fortunately, the Furnace Creek Campground where we would be staying the next two nights (it was originally three, but I negotiated Herb down to two) had a lovely warm spring fed pool, surrounded by palm trees and mountain vistas. It was truly lovely.

Within 10 minutes of checking in, we were at the pool and I had absolutely no plans of leaving it except to eat and sleep. Fortunately, we were able to get two lounge chairs that were at least partially in the shade.

Although I might have thought this was the absolutely worst time of the year to be here, European tourists do not. In fact, they prefer it because they want the “real” Death Valley experience, so the hotter the better. There were lots of them at the pool, looking a lot happier about it than I was. I would say that at least 80% of the people at the pool were speaking German, another 10% French or perhaps another European language, and then me and Herb.

The next day, there wasn’t even the slightest possibility of going on a hike, so first thing in the morning we hurried to the pool and grabbed our two favorite lounge chairs in the shade.

I have a hard time just sitting for long periods of time, so we tried to figure out something that to do at least for part of the day. A drive would be fine because we could be in air conditioning, so Herb suggested we go to Rhyolite, Nevada, just outside the eastern boundary of Death Valley -- a place he had been to on his motorcycle journey a few weeks back, but that I had never seen. He explained that there was a ghost town there as well as an outdoor art museum, two things he knew would tempt me.

Rhyolite was pretty amazing, so much so that I thought it warranted the dignity of its own trip stop, which follows this one.

What we didn’t know at the time we visited Rhyolite was that we would actually pass this way again the following day when leaving Death Valley for good, because a ranger told us that it was the least white-knuckling of the Death Valley exits. So what if that put us in Nevada. At least we wouldn’t have to drive the harrowing 190 through Stovepipe Wells and Panamint Springs again.

Note to self: Only visit Death Valley from October through March!

Description

Twenty Mule Team Canyon RoadIn 1994, the Desert Protection Act added an additional 1.2 million acres to Death Valley National Monument and upgraded its status to National Park, making it the largest national park outside of Alaska. The park is located on the eastern border of a remote section of California with some small portions extending into Nevada. Despite its remoteness, it is one of the most highly visited parks in the national park systems. Many of these visitors come all the way from Europe and Japan to experience the extremes of this stunningly beautiful desert.

Death Valley received its name from the unfortunate forty-niners who were forced to cross the burning sands here in order to avoid the severe snowstorns in the nearby Sierra Nevada on their way to the California Gold Rush. Many perished along the way, and those that survived remembered it as a place of suffering and death. The current names of many of the places in Death Valley reflect its harshness: Dead Man Pass, Funeral Mountains, Furnace Creek, Hell’s Gate, Devil’s Golf Course, Starvation Canyon, etc.

Golden Canyon TrailThe valley itself is over 130 miles long, but only about 12 miles wide, flanked on both sides by unvegetated reddish mountains. From an elevation of about 3,300 feet in the north, the land slopes steadily downward to an elevation of 279 feet below sea level at Badwater, the lowest point in the western hemisphere. In fact, 70 miles of the desert floor is below sea level, accounting for its extremely high termperatures, which can exceed 130°F in summer.

In many ways, not much about the valley has changed since the pioneers first crossed here. Its intense heat, frigid cold, and the driest air imaginable still make it one of the most inhospitable locations on earth. However, today’s visitors can enjoy Death Valley and see most of its highlights from the comfort of their air conditioned cars and stay in comfortable, and even luxurious, hotel rooms at night.

Lolo with Badwater Basin SignThe park is criss-crossed by a network of roads, ranging form washboard dirt ones to paved, well-maintained highways, making the most popular destinations quite accessible. The Furnace Creek Visitor Center, near the center of the park, is a great place to get oriented and to begin an exploration of Death Valley. This greenness of this area is a surprise to most visitors who come to the park expecting to see nothing but miles and miles of sand. Fed by warm springs, this area is a verdant oasis with palm trees as tall as 50 feet. There are also two world-class resorts here: the elegant Furnace Creek Inn and the more down-to-earth Furnace Creek Ranch.

Highlights traveling south from Furnace Creek on Route 190

• About 5 miles south of the Furnace Creek Visitor Center is Zabriskie Point, one of the most spectacular overlooks in the park. A short walk uphill from the parking lot brings you to a panoramic view of Golden Canyon and the surrounding vibrantly colored badlands. The views are particularly stunning in the lowlight of early morning or late afternoon.
• Another 1.5 miles down the highway s the turnout for Twenty-Mule Team Canyon road, a one-way dirt road that rejoins the highway in 2.7 miles. The road winds through Twenty-Mule Team Canyon with close-up views of the same colorful badlands seen from Zabriskie Point. RVs and trailers are not allowed on this road.
• 4.5 miles further south on 190 is a turnoff for Dante’s View (restricted to vehicles less than 25 feet). The road to Dante’s View climbs steeply to an overlook 5,000 feet above the valley floor, where the temperatures average 20° F cooler than in the valley. From this viewpoint, which most consider the most breathtaking in the park, one can see the lowest point (Badwater) and the highest point (Telescope Peak) in the park.

Highlights traveling south from Furnace Creek on Badwater Road

• About 1.8 miles south of the Visitor Center is the turnoff for Badwater Road. 1.5 miles further south on Badwater Road is the parking lot for the popular hike into Golden Canyon. A well-marked nature trail (2 miles RT) leads into the narrow canyon, wedged in by eroded cliffs and the slopes of golden badlands.
• Back on Badwater Road, continue south past Artist Drive (get that on the way back as it is a one-way road going north). Around 9 miles south of Golden Canyon is the turnoff for the unpaved spur road to Devil’s Golf Course. The road leads to an odd and forbidding landscape created by salt and erosion on a lake bed that dried up 2,000 years ago. The result is a jagged terrain of salty white miniature mountains and spires, less than 2 feet high. The name comes from the feeling that “only the devil could play golf on such rough links.”
• About 8 miles south is the Badwater Basin, the hottest and lowest point in Death Valley accessible by car. Surprisingly, its permanent spring-fed pools also make it one of the wettest. Legend says that it got its name from a surveyor whose mule refused to drink it. Although not poisonous, it is similar in composition and taste to Epsom salts. Despite its apparent inhospitableness, it is home to water beetles, insect larvae, and a soft-shelled saltwater snail that slowly adapted to these conditions.
• Turning back north on Badwater Road towards Furnace Creek, in 8 miles you come to the turnout for the one-way, 9-mile paved Artist Drive, which winds through a colorful display of sedimentary and volcanic rock hidden from the main road. It received its name from the rainbow of colors—red, pink, yellow, orange, and brown—that paint these rocky hills. About half-way through the loop is the parking lot for Artists Palette, one of the most colorful areas along the loop. Artist Drive is restricted to vehicles less than 25 feet.

Highlights traveling north from Furnace Creek on Route 190

• About 1.7 miles north of the Furnace Creek Visitor Center are the remains of what was once the Harmony Borax Works. Borax, which the prospectors called “white gold,” was once a big business in Death Valley. In the 1880s, Chinese laborers were hired to rake borax “cottonballs” from the valley floor and bring them to the Harmony Borax works to be purified. From there the refined borax was loaded onto the famous twenty-mule team wagons and transported 165 miles across the desert to the train station in Mojave. From there it was shipped to processing plants where it was used to make soaps, disinfectants, and food preservatives. Between 1883 and 1927, more than $30 million worth of borax was produced in Death Valley. A short trail leads past the ruins of the old borax refinery and some outlying buildings. More information on the mining of borax in Death Valley is available in the Borax Museum at the Furnace Creek Ranch.
• 12 miles further north on 190 is the turnoff for the 1.2 mile gravel road to Salt Creek, home to the famous Death Valley pupfish. When the lake that once covered Death Valley dried up thousands of years ago, the desert pupfish was the only fish that managed to adapt to the harsh conditions here. Isolated from each other in scattered salty pools, springs, and creeks, nine types of pupfish have evolved. A tenth has already become extinct. They are found no place else on earth. The pupfish can often be seen from the short wooden boardwalk nature trail that crisscrosses the stream and marshes.
• About 21 miles north of the Visitor Center, Highway 190 turns west towards Stovepipe Wells and the west entrance to the park. At this point, you can either continue on 190 or head north on the North Highway another 32 miles to Scotty’s Castle, the major man-made attraction in Death Valley.

Highlights along the North Highway (traveling north)

• The drive to Scotty’s Castle on the North Highway is a very scenic one with desert stretching out on the west and mountains rising to the east. About 10 miles north on the North Highway is a pullout with great views of Death Valley’s renowned alluvial fans. These fans are something like an hourglass with debris from the mountains funneling through a narrow opening and spilling out in a wedge shape into the valley. They come in many shapes and sizes. The ones near this viewpoint are smaller and steeper.
• 25 miles further north in the remote Grapevine Canyon looms the unlikely sight of a Moorish Castle. Construction of what was more officially called Death Valley Ranch was begun in 1922 by Chicago millionaire Albert Johnson, whose doctors had advised him to spend more time in a warm, dry climate. However, the mansion is known as Scotty’s Castle, named after Johnson’s unlikely friend, Walter Scott. Walter Scott was a cowboy that had traveled with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in the 1880s before taking up prospecting. Albert Johnson was one of Scotty’s gullible investors in his “secret gold mine” in Death Valley. After several trips west to see the mine, Johnson realized that he was being duped by Scotty. Despite that, Johnson truly enjoyed his new friend and the tall tales he told. Scotty helped Johnson conceive the idea of this vacation villa in Death Valley and lived in it after Johnson’s death.
• In 1970, Scotty’s Castle was purchased by the National Park Service from the foundation to whom Johnson had willed it. Today the colorful history of the castle is brought to life by rangers dressed in 1930s clothing that welcome you as if you were Scotty’s guests. The one-hour guided tour is excellent, both for its inside look at this unusual mansion as well as for the stories about the eccentricities of the two men that built it. Tours depart every 20 minutes from 9 am to 5 pm. Plan to arrive early because they fill up quickly.
• About 1.5 miles down Grapevine Canyon heading back south on the North Highway is the turnoff for the 8 mile road to Ubehebe Crater. This half-mile wide, 600-foot deep crater was formed by volcanic explosions several thousand years ago. Dark cinders and volcanic fragments cover the surrounding countryside. From the parking area there is a steep trail up to the crater’s rim. Be prepared to battle some very gusty winds.
• Because of its remote location, few visitors get to see the famous Death Valley Racetrack, where rocks mysteriously move across the dry lakebed on their own accord. Although no one has actually seen the rocks move, they are known to move because of the trails they leave behind them. After studying the phenomenon for decades, scientists now believe they have solved the mystery. The surface of the lakebed is a fine clay that becomes very slippery when wet. After a rain, heavy winds as high as 70 mph blow the rocks across the slick surface. A 4-wheel drive vehicle is needed to reach the Racetrack, which is 27 miles past Ubehebe Crater on a rough dirt road.

Highlights traveling west along Route 190 from the junction with the North Highway

• Just west of the junction is the parking area for the surrealistic Devil’s Cornfield. On both sides of the road are odd-looking clumps of brush four to ten feet tall that resemble corn stalks. They are actually arrowweed bushes, whose stems were used by Native Americans to make arrow shafts.
• A few miles further west on 190, pull over on the shoulder by a roadside display where the Sand Dunes come close to the highway. These are the highest of a 14-square-mile field of dunes. Although there are no trails to follow, hikers are free to roam the dunes on their own. The best time of day to visit the dunes is in the morning or late afternoon when the temperatures are cooler and the lighting is more dramatic.
• Two miles further west is the village of Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley’s first tourist resort. The village actually got its name from an historic site about 5 miles north where an old stovepipe was sunk into the sand to form the shaft of a well. For years this well was used by travelers as a source for water. Around 1926 a developer planned to build a small resort near the well. However, his lumber trucks got stuck in the sand before he could reach it. Rather than unload and reload his trucks, he decided to try and dig a well where they were. They struck water and stayed. That spot is the current location for Stovepipe Wells. Today the village has a motel, general store, saloon, restaurant, and campground.

Campgrounds that will accomodate RVs in Death Valley

• Furnace Creek Campground (136 sites, no hookups) – located just north of the Visitor Center. Open year round. This is the only park campground that takes reservations.
• Mesquite Spring Campground (30 sites, no hookups) – located 5 miles south of Scotty’s Castle. Open year round.
• Panamint Springs Resort (40 sites, 12 hookups) – located 30 miles west of Stovepipe Wells on Route 190. Open year round. This campground is privately operated and takes reservations.
• Stovepipe Wells Campground (200 sites, 15 hookups) – located in the village of Stovepipe Wells. Open year round.
• Sunset Campground (1000 sites, no hookups) – located .25 miles east of the Furnace Creek Ranch. Open October through April.
• Texas Spring Campground (92 sites, no hookups) – located near Sunset Campground. Open October through April.
• Wildrose Campground (30 sites, no hookups) – located 30 miles south of Stovepipe Wells off the Trona-Wildrose Road. Open year round.

In addition to the park campgrounds, there are two privately-owned campgrounds in the park:

• Furnace Creek Ranch Campground (26 sites, all full hookups) - located at The Ranch just south of the Visitor Center. Open year round. Guests can enjoy the Ranch’s natural spring-fed swimming pool, shower facility, coin operated laundry, tennis courts, shuffleboard, volleyball, Bocci Ball and basketball court.
• Panamint Springs Campground (37 sites, 12 full hookups) - located at the western end of Death Valley National Park on Highway 190 in the town of Panamint Springs

Travelogue

After leaving San Francisco, we spent the next 10 days traveling up and down the incredibly beautiful Eastern Sierra Scenic Byway, officially known as 395, between Mammoth Lakes and Lone Pine. Much of that time, it was just Herb and I, but the kids joined us in the middle for a long Memorial Day Weekend. The following is a day by day breakdown of our explorations.

Day 1 – Across the Sierra to Mammoth Lakes

Lazy Daze at base of SierraThere is no easy way for an RV to cross the Sierra – it’s just a matter of the lesser of evils in terms of mountain passes. Plus, even in mid-May, the passes are often closed due to snow.

Fortunately, Herb had purchased a book on Amazon entitled “Mountain Directory West for Truckers, RV, and Motorhome Drivers.” It’s pretty expensive – I think Herb paid about $30 for it used, but when you consider the dangers it helps you avoid, it is money well spent. The guide tells you where the steep grades are, how long they are, how steep (%) they are, etc.

For example, Google Maps suggested we cross the Sierra via Sonora Pass, but this book informed us that there are several sections of 26% grade. 8% grade is a white-knuckler. I can’t even imagine what 26% grade would be like.

So, using the information in this book, we chose to go a few extra miles to get a few less % points. The route we chose was 50 East from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe and then 89 South. However, we ignored Google Maps again and rather than continue on 89 through Monitor Pass, we got off 89 and headed north on 88 towards the town of Minden, Nevada. It added a few extra miles to our trip, but who cares. It probably added years to our lives as well.

Alabama HillsThe drive was still no cakewalk, and had its share of steep, windy hills, but it was much better than the alternatives. I highly recommend buying this book. At least, you’ll know what’s ahead of you.

It was a pretty long driving day – about 7 hours and 331 miles, so Herb was very ready to stop in Mammoth Lakes at a campground we were familiar with from last year, the Mammoth Mountain RV Park, just a short distance off 395.

Elevation really makes a big difference in weather, and Mammoth Lakes is always a lot colder than Bishop, its neighbor just 45 minutes to the south. It got to about 40 degrees that night, something that Herb wasn’t very happy about.

Day 2 – Keough Hot Springs

Camping at Keough Hot SpringsWe had a few days to kill before Andrew, Celeste, and Tommy arrived for the Memorial Day Weekend, so we decided to do something that they wouldn’t be interested in, like sitting still in a hot spring. They don’t sit still for more than 5 minutes at a time.

Most of our vacation time with the boys now is centered around climbing, so this time we planned to meet up in Bishop, a premier rock climbing destination. Actually, we had originally picked Truckee near north Lake Tahoe, but the weather forecast was so abysmal that we made a quick switch last week.

Because of the last minute switch, it was a little hard to get a camping reservation, especially since Memorial Day means Mule Days in Bishop, and it is a very big deal. Every campground I called to inquire about a site responded, “Oh no, I am sorry dear. We have been booked for months. Don’t you know it’s Mule Days?” No, I didn’t.

Fortunately, a very nice woman at the Browns Millpond Campground said that she would squeeze me into a site near the storage area – not optimal, but it was literally the only option we had. Besides, we don’t spend much time at the campground anyway.

Lolo with Walker Reserving a Spot for Mule Day ParadeI will explain Mule Days a little further down, when we come back to Bishop and stop in at the Tri-County Fairgrounds to see what it was all about.

For now, we just passed through the town, bustling with Mule fans and drove 7 miles south to the Keough Hot Springs Resort.

Unfortunately, our timing wasn’t exactly ideal as it was a Tuesday, and every Tuesday they close the pool to empty and clean it. However, on a bright note, their 10-site campground was empty, so we had our pick of sites. It was actually a very nice location with great views of the White Mountains to the east.

We had borrowed a book about hot springs in the West from Celeste’s parents, so we knew that there were also a few primitive, natural pools about a ½ mile down the road from the campground, rather unglamorously referred to as “Keough Hot Ditch.” Since the “Ditch” is fed from the stream flowing from the resort, and therefore further from its 130 degree source, it has had time to cool down to temperatures in the low 90s. This was perfectly fine for me.

Herb Soaking in Keough Hot DitchThe dirt road to get to the “Ditch” was quite bumpy and rutty, but no problem for our Subaru. There aren’t many pools, and some of them were already taken, but we did manage to find a fairly nice one about 8 feet in diameter. It was quite shallow, so we were able to put our beach chairs in the pool and still keep our heads above water. It was very relaxing – kind of like being back in the womb.

Unfortunately, the pools are located under power lines, so there was a constant buzzing sound, which I wasn’t particularly crazy about. Plus, the lines obstructed what would have been very nice views of the White Mountains.

Herb is a much bigger fan of soaking in hot springs than me, so after a while I got restless and went for a run along the dirt road north towards Bishop. This was my first run in a long time because of my ankle, so I was pretty pleased that I was able to cover 5 miles. When I got back, Herb was still happily sitting by, and sometimes in, his little pool.

That evening I discovered that we did indeed have neighbors in our campground, but the four-legged, big-eared kind. As dusk fell, about a dozen jackrabbits came out to feed on the grass near the motorhome. When I went out to take their picture, they all quickly dispersed back into the bushes, but I was patient, and it took only a few minutes of being silent and not moving before they all returned to continue their munching.

Day 3 – Keough Hot Springs and the Alabama Hills

Keough Hot Springs Resort Lap PoolThe next morning we awoke early for the 7:00 am lap swimming session at the resort pool. Herb loves to swim, and when we are home in New Jersey he goes three times a week to the local YMCA, where he swims for an hour and a half. I, however, am uncomfortable putting my face underwater, so I don’t exactly swim very efficiently.

The facility was quite impressive. There was a 100 X 40 foot swimming pool, which for the lap session was divided into 6 swimming lanes. A waterfall of cool water cascaded down into one end of the pool, cooling it off to a comfortable swimming temperature of 86 to 89 degrees. Right next to the swimming pool was a smaller shallow pool meant for soaking. Since it was only 2 feet deep and not meant for exercising, it was kept at 104 degrees.

Lolo with the Lone Ranger and TontoAlthough the facility was enclosed on all four sides, it had no roof, so you could look up at the sky and surrounding mountains – or at least I could because I kept my head out of the water. Herb, however, with his face down in the water was missing the view. At least there was some advantage to my ungainly swimming style.

The swimming lanes were all occupied, but lap pool etiquette encourages people of similar swimming ability to share a lane. I, however, had no peers, so I went and lolled about in the hot soaking pool, while Herb went into one of the lap lanes.

Being as hyperactive as I am, I was not very happy with this situation, so when Herb’s lap partner left, I seized the opportunity and jumped into his lane, figuring he would have to put up with my slower speed. I had already calculated that I would have to do about 53 laps to swim a mile, or 27 to do a ½ mile. Since I got a late start in the pool, there was no way I could do 53, but I did manage to reach my more modest goal of 27. Herb lost count but I am pretty sure he did well over a mile. I tried to explain to him that my form actually resulted in a more intensive work-out because it was so inefficient that I had to do more work to cover the same distance. He thought that was stupid.

We decided to book a second night at Keough, so that we could swim again tomorrow morning, and spend the rest of the day exploring Lone Pine and the Alabama Hills, about an hour south on 395.

Herb with SierraThe trip along the 395 corridor is always a treat, especially this year as the late spring snow had covered the surrounding mountain tops with a nice white topping. This stretch of road was a bit of a repeat for Herb, who had come north along this way just a week or so ago on his cross country motorcycle trip. We passed right by the Manzanar Japanese Internment Camp because Herb had just been there and continued on to the Lone Pine Film History Museum, which he hadn’t visited.

I knew the Alabama Hills had been the setting for many Hollywood westerns, but I had no idea just how many movies, TV shows, and commercials had been filmed here right up to the present. Its dramatic landscape and relatively close proximity to Hollywood (3 hours) had made it a very popular movie set.

The museum, although small, has a vast collection of memorabilia from the hundreds of movies and TV shows that had been filmed here since the 1920s. I hadn’t thought about Roy Rogers or the Lone Ranger since my childhood, and there they were on posters and life-sized cardboard cutouts. Although I recognized a lot of films and its stars, like John Wayne and Gene Autry, much of it was before my time. I think someone our age or older would get a bigger kick out of this museum, because so much of it was part of their growing up. My mother would have loved it.

Lolo with SierraStill, it’s not just about old westerns. Plenty of current day movies, such as Gladiator, Django Unchained, and the new Lone Ranger have the surrounding hills as a set as well.

We watched a very informative 15-minute documentary called “Lone Pine: Where the Real West Becomes the Reel West,” purchased the “Movie Road Touring Brochure” for $1 and then set out to see the real thing.

Most of the locations for the old movie sets are located along the 5.7-mile dirt Movie Flats Road. To get there, we turned onto the Whitney Portal Road and followed it for about 2.5 miles, until we came to a plaque and a turnoff for Movie Flats Road. The plaque, which was dedicated by Roy Rogers talks about the movie history of the area.

The brochure that we purchased meticulously measured out the mileage to get to each of 10 filming locations along the Movie Road. After diligently stopping at the Gunga Din Tent City and the Rawhide Gravesite, and trying to imagine in our minds what the set once looked like, we looked at each other and said, “What the heck are we doing?” We didn’t know these movies and even if we did, there was no set to look at, but just beautiful scenery. And speaking of that beautiful scenery, I was missing most of it because I had my nose in the brochure reading about a movie I had never seen. I chucked the brochure in the back of the car and started looking out the window.

Mobius ArchWow! This was a pretty awesome place, especially if you are a rock climber. There were hundreds of oddly-shaped boulders and towers, just asking to be climbed. To add to the sensory overload, snow-capped Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the continental U.S., loomed in the background.

Several dirt side roads branched off Movie Flat Road and lead right up to the base of many of the formations where people were climbing. Now we’re talking. Too often when we climb with the boys, we have to hike and rock scramble for miles to get to the start of a climb. Here I could practically start from the hood of our car. I would love to bring the boys back here when they arrived this weekend.

No longer obsessed with finding movie locations, we really enjoyed our ride through the Hills. What we really wanted to see was Mobius Arch, the arch that frames Mount Whitney in the iconic photographs of the mountain. We found the turnout for the trailhead and sat for a moment trying to determine just how threatening the ominous clouds marching our way were. Since the trail was short, just a mile or less, we decided to go for it.

Eastern Sierra from CampgroundIt wasn’t long before we came to Lathe Arch, a very unique arch in that it is perfectly flat and doesn’t really arch at all. Just past Lathe Arch we rounded a big rock and were greeted by Mobius Arch, whose window is about 6 and a half feet high. Despite our best efforts of clambering around on the nearby rocks to locate the iconic vantage point, we never quite got the mountain enclosed in the arch. However, I think we captured some other, less familiar perspectives of this very interesting and unique rock formation.

As Tommy says, “Mountains make their own weather,” and this one looked like it was about to make some on us. Although it continued to threaten as we continued along Movie Flat Road, it never did actually rain on us.

When we came to the end of Movie Flats Road, we turned right onto Moffat Ranch Road, which continued on dirt for about another 4 miles before joining 395 just north of Lone Pine. The entire loop from 395 to 395 was about 12 miles, and although dirt and bumpy, very doable even in a regular passenger car.

That night we barbecued back at Keough Hot Springs and watched the jackrabbits peek at us from the bushes.

Day 4 – Keough Hot Springs, Bishop, and Mule Days

Keough Hot Springs Resort Lap PoolWe awoke early again to get to the resort pool for the 7:00 lap session. This was very unlike me. I neither like to get up early nor swim laps, but today I was driven by the goal of swimming a mile.

This time when we got to the pool there was an empty lane, so I quickly jumped in with Herb so that I could flail about with only him to bother. Over the next hour and a half I plugged away at my mission – doing the crawl for 3 laps and breast stroke for 1, pausing at the end of the pool each time to catch my breath.

When I was up to 48 of my 53 required laps, I noticed that everyone was getting out of the pool. Oh, shoot! It was 8:30 and the lap session was over. I snuck in another lap, hoping they wouldn’t yank me out of the pool. I was completing my 50th when they started removing the ropes that separated the pool into lanes to get it ready for the aerobics session. Feeling like an outlaw, I turned and started my 51st lap. Herb, who had completed his mile some time ago and was already out of the pool, came to my aid and explained to the lifeguard that I was trying to finish the last few laps of achieving my first mile swim. I don’t particularly think it was necessary for him to further explain that I was very Type A, so it would probably kill me if I only got in 52. In any case, the lifeguard was nice enough to let me finish.

Mule Days CompetitionFor a non-swimmer that hates to get up early, I felt pretty darn good. We had already had a great work-out, and we still had the whole day ahead of us.

Back at the campsite, we met Liisa and Ed, a very nice couple from Marin County, who when they learned we planned to move to California, were extremely helpful in giving us suggestions about towns and areas we might want to live in. I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but everyone out here seemed so friendly and willing to go out of their way to help us. We exchanged email addresses with them, with the promise of getting in touch when we were ready to move.

It was Thursday, and the kids would be arriving tomorrow, so I was kind of anxious to get over to the Browns Millpond Campground to make sure that we really had a spot for the weekend. As I mentioned, every campground was full because of Bishop Mule Days, but Stacy at the Millpond Campground said she would find a place to squeeze us in.

Lolo with MuleThe Brown family seems to have a monopoly on campgrounds in the area: Brown’s Millpond Campground where we would be staying, Brown’s Owens River Campground, Brown’s Town Campground, and even the Keough Hot Springs Resort.

Since only the Brown’s Town Campground has an RV dump, we stopped there on our way to Millpond to get it ready to handle more company. It cost us $5 to dump. It would have been $10 if we weren’t staying in one of the other Brown’s campgrounds.

When we got to Millpond, Stacy, as promised, gave us a nice site along the little stream that passes through the campground. There was no water or electric on this site – those sites had been booked up months ago. After all, it was Mule Days in Bishop.

We really needed to find out more about this Mule Days thing, so we got in the Subaru and headed into Bishop.

Lolo on Buttermilk HighballI love Bishop. It’s just about the right size to be quaint yet still have enough interesting things to see and do. We stopped in first at Galen and Barbara Rowell’s Mountain Light Gallery, which is probably my favorite photo gallery, rivaled only by the Peter Lik gallery in La Jolla. The stunning, vibrant mountainscapes in the Mountain Light Gallery are both breathtaking and humbling.

After the gallery, we popped into Wilson’s Eastside Sports, the local climbing shop, to get a guide book for the local climbing areas. Neither we nor the boys had climbed in the Bishop area before, so Herb and I wanted to scout out some of the climbing areas before their arrival. Just like everyone else we have met this trip, the staff was extremely friendly and helpful and willing to spend a lot of time describing the various options for climbing. When I told one of the staff that I was a little freaked out by the description of the approach down in the Central Gorge climbing area, he told me not to worry. The trail had been upgraded with some stone stairways, so it was no longer as precarious as the older guidebooks suggested. Since that was the area the boys had already said they wanted to climb, I felt much better that I wouldn’t be cheating death to join them.

Lolo Climbing Central Owens River GorgeMeanwhile, out on Main Street, people were already strapping lawn chairs to the street posts to claim their viewing spot for the big Mule Day Parade on Saturday. There was even a walker strapped to a planter. I’m not sure I understood the thought process. How were they going to get to their walker without their walker?

No self-respecting traveler with a travel blog can come to Bishop during Memorial Day Week and not at least see or smell a mule, so off we went to the Tri-County Fairgrounds where all the action was. Although it was only Thursday, and most of the big events were on the weekend, the fairgrounds were already bustling. There were tents with vendors selling all types of cowboy and mule-related clothing, crafts, and souvenirs. There was even a large area set aside for RV camping, which I guess we could have considered if we hadn’t found Millpond Campground.

I guess the best way to describe Mule Days is that it is part mule show, part test of skills, and part Wild West Show. Over its 47 year history, it has grown from attracting a crowd of 200 to becoming an international world class event bringing in more than 30,000 fans. Over the course of a week, more than 700 mules compete in 181 events including calf roping, steer roping, barrel racing, flat racing, carriage driving, team chariot racing, and even dressage.

Celeste Climbing Central Owens River GorgeTo better appreciate Mule Days, it is important to know a few fun facts about them:

Mules are pretty unique in that their parents come from different species. A mule’s dad is a donkey (or less politely, a jackass) and its mother is a horse. The size of the mule produced by this unlikely pair is completely determined by the mom. For example, if Mom is a Budweiser Clydesdale, the result is going to be one big mule.

The good news about mules is that they are better in so many ways than their parents. They are less stubborn, more intelligent, and faster than their dad, the donkey, and more patient, sure-footed, and hardy than mama, the horse. The bad news is that their chromosomes are a little confused in that they have 63 (a mixture of a donkey’s 62 and a horses’s 64), and an odd number does not work very well in chromosome pairing. Hence, most mules are infertile.

Before this trip, I never knew that mules could come in so many shapes and sizes, or that they were superior in so many ways to horses. I was anxious to see what they could do, so when we were told that there was a free competition going on in the arena, we scurried just in time to watch.

Andrew Photographing Tom ClimbingThis particular competition involved two mules pulling a wagon with two people in it. The mules had to zig and zag their way through an orange cone maze – kind of like they were taking a driving test -- then pause before a platform while the person in the back of the wagon took a barrel from the platform and placed it in the wagon. Then they circled the arena again, once more weaving in and out of the cones before returning to the platform. Then came the tricky part that drove the crowd wild. The mules had to back the wagon up into position alongside the platform close enough for the person in the wagon to pick up the barrel, which they just left there a few minutes ago, and place it back in their wagon. Apparently, backing up is not something easy for mules to do, so when they successfully accomplished this feat, I joined my fellow mule fans and clapped like it was the greatest thing I had ever seen.

Before leaving the fairgrounds, we stopped by the stables to see the mules up close and personal. They were actually very pretty animals. There were several for sale, but I couldn’t convince Herb that we needed one. Maybe when we moved out West.

Day 5 – Scouting out climbing areas, kids arrival

Herb Climbing from AboveIt was the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend, and the kids would be driving in from San Francisco tonight. Once they did, we knew it would be non-stop physical activity, so today we would just take it easy.

We had bought a Bishop ares rock climbing guide at Wilson’s yesterday, so we figured it would be a good idea to check out some of the areas ahead of time. That way we wouldn’t waste time trying to find things when the kids were here.

Bishop is a premier rock climbing destination with many options for both “trad” (traditional) and sport climbing, as well as bouldering. Without getting too technical, “trad” and “sport” climbing is done on rock walls using ropes. Some means of protection along a climbing route is used to prevent the climber from falling to the ground. In “trad” climbing, the lead climber carries a rack of gear and places his own protection in the rock, while in “sport climbing,” pre-placed protection bolts are already there. Alternatively, bouldering, as its name implies, is not done on a rock wall, but rather on freestanding boulders. Since the routes tend to be short, rather than use ropes, crash pads are placed on the ground to protect a climber’s fall.

Tom Climbing from AboveAlthough the boys do all three types of climbing, they tend to enjoy sport climbing the most. That was the main reason we chose Bishop. The Owens River Gorge just north of Bishop has 416 sport climbing routes and is the most concentrated sport climbing area in California.

The Gorge itself is over 10 miles long and has many different areas to climb in, but the most popular, and the one the boys had their eyes on, was the Central Gorge. This was also the area which had the precarious approach to it that the nice man in Wilson’s Eastside Sports tried to comfort me about yesterday.

Whenever I am afraid of something, I like to just hurry up and get it over with, so I suggested to Herb that we go check it out today, so that tomorrow when it really mattered, I would be able to do it without being a wienie in front of the kids.

Andrew on LeadThe Central Gorge parking area was only about 20 minutes from our campground – north on 395 for a few miles, then right at the Paradise Swall Meadows, and then left on Gorge Road for 4.8 miles. In fact, that its proximity is why we selected Brown’s Millpond Campground – that plus the fact that it was north of town, so we wouldn’t have to deal with Mule Day Parade traffic.

The drive along Gorge Road was pretty unspectacular – flat and brown with lots of power lines and some very ominous clouds moving our way. Usually when you approach a climbing area, you know it, because you see beautiful rock walls, and it’s exciting, but a gorge kind of sneaks up on you, and you don’t know it’s there until you are at its rim, and even then you might not see much until you hike down into it.

When we got to the Central Gorge parking lot, it started to rain pretty hard. We got out of the car for a peek at the trail which lead down into the gorge, but decided it didn’t make sense to hike down in the rain when the trail might be slippery, especially since the reason I was here in the first place was to convince myself that the trail wasn’t precarious. It didn’t look too bad. I would just deal with it tomorrow when I had to.

Celeste and Andrew Leaving Central CanyonLater that afternoon after the rain stopped, we went to check out another climbing area called the Buttermilks, which is famous for its bouldering. This area was also about 20 minutes from our campground, but in the opposite direction from the gorge. It was a very pretty and unique landscape – hundreds of huge boulders (or more technically, glacial erratics) strewn along a vast hillside with the snow-capped Sierra in the background.

About 3 ½ miles along the bumpy, washboard Buttermilk Road, we pulled into a small pullout on the right to pay a visit to Grandma and Grandpa Peabody, two of the largest boulders in the area, and probably the most famous and popular as well. They were huge – about 45 feet high.

It made me really nervous watching people climbing them. The bouldering pads on the bottom, which are the only thing between the climber and the ground, looked so tiny and inconsequential compared to the rock.

Crowd at Great Wall of ChinaWe continued driving a short distance to the Birthday Boulders parking area, where the boulders were at least a bit more reasonably sized – the kind a mother would prefer her sons to climb on.

Speaking of our sons, they called to say they were on their way and should arrive by around 8:00 pm – oh, and could we have dinner hot and ready then? Fortunately, I had bought a frozen lasagna platter back at the Pasta King near Sebastopol, so their request was an easy one to fill.

They arrived right on time, in very high spirits for the weekend ahead. They had come via the Tioga Pass route through Yosemite, the scenery along which would raise anyone’s spirits, especially these three.

It was great to be together again, even if only for a few days.

Day 6 – Owens River Gorge

Herb on LeadThe next morning, the kids got up bright and early, ready and rearing to go – if only they had been this chipper in the morning and easy to wake back in the days of high school.

We were one of the first ones to arrive at the Central Gorge parking lot. The hike down wasn’t nearly as bad as I anticipated. It was steep, and there was some loose rock, but there were no steep drop-offs, which I dread. It was, however, pretty strenuous on the knees, as steep downhills always are.

Since we were early, we were able to set up on the usually overcrowded, Warm Up Wall, just a short distance to the left when we got to bottom of the gorge. The reason for its name and its popularity is that it has a fair number of easy to moderate climbs in the 5.7 To 5.10 range, which are great for climbers to warm up on. In my case, however, these climbs are not warmups, but rather an amazing achievement.

Tom on LeadThey all took turns leading various 5.9s and 5.10s and I did a 5.7 and 5.8. Climbing can be pretty boring to talk about, but it is really fun to do and watch. Rather than explain the various climbs we did, I will let the photos do the talking.

After Warm Up Wall we walked north along the gorge and crossed the river to the Great Wall of China, another popular wall on the other side of the gorge.

At least there is a river flowing through the gorge now. For decades, the LA Department of Water and Power, which owns and controls the flow of water through the gorge, basically dewatered the Lower Gorge, eliminating one of the best brown trout fisheries in California. After decades of court battles, more water is now being released and the brown trout are returning. Plus, from an aesthetic point a view, a gorge with water running through it is much nicer than one without.

The Great Wall of China had much fewer moderate climbs. Most of them were in the 5.10c to 5.13 range, so there was little for me to do but spectate, which was fine. They did, however, get me to try a 5.9, which although I didn’t complete, I got higher on it than any of them expected, especially me.

Andrew on LeadOnce again, I will let the photos do the talking to show what climbing is like on this wall.

What the photos don’t show, however, was a pretty frightening event. First, we heard a girl scream, and when we looked her way, we saw a big block of rock come off the wall about 100 yards from us. Fortunately, it didn’t hit anyone, but it would have been tragic if it did. Getting hit by loose rock is probably the biggest danger when climbing. That’s why it’s even more important to be wearing your helmet when you are just watching than when you are climbing.

Celeste and Andrew, especially Celeste, never want to stop climbing, so they tried to ignore the big black clouds that were headed our way. I was concerned because I knew I had to climb that steep trail out of the gorge and didn’t particularly want to do so while dodging lightning. Sensible heads prevailed and we quickly hiked through the gorge and up, which I might add was quite strenuous. We got to the car just in the nick of time before the skies opened up and it began to pour.

Still, we had gotten in a very full and fun day.

Day 7 – Owens River Gorge and the Buttermilks

Herb Climbing on Lolo's BelayEveryone thought the Owens River Gorge was pretty amazing and that we had barely touched the surface of all the wonderful climbs awaiting us down there, so off we went once more to the Central Gorge, and the steep descent down into it. I have a feeling no one even gave that steep trail into and out of the gorge a second thought, except me. I kept daydreaming about the Alabama Hills and how you could drive a car right up to the base of a climb. But I kept my mouth shut, because so far, they really don’t think of me as old, and I wasn’t quite ready to give that up.

So down we went once more. Today was a little busier and there was already a decent crowd on Warm Up Wall, but the Negress Wall right to its left had a few routes open – a 5.9 and several 5.10s, perfect for starting the day. There wasn’t much for me to climb there – although I did play around with and got pretty far on the 5.9 -- but they found another way for me to participate – lead belaying Herb.

Lolo's Questionable Belay of HerbI really wasn’t very happy with this idea. It was a lot of responsibility. I had belayed people on top rope plenty of times, but that was much more straightforward. All you had to do was keep pulling rope in as the climber ascended, and if they fell, it would only be for a foot or two. However, with lead belaying you have to feed rope out as the climber ascends, while at the same time being ready to pull it in tightly if they fall. And lead falls can be much longer – twice the distance from their last piece of protection. For example, in sport climbing, which this was, if the climber clipped into a bolt and then climbed another 10 feet before reaching the next bolt and fell, they would fall 20 feet – not hitting the ground, but still having a pretty exciting experience. In fact, there is a term for this type of fall. It’s called a “whipper,” and it’s not too much fun for either the climber or the belayer, who also gets to join in the excitement by being yanked off the ground.

So needless to say, I told them I preferred to just read my book. They didn’t relent though. They said if I was going to consider myself a real climber, and if Herb and I ever wanted to go climbing, just the two of us, I would have to learn. Besides it would be the perfect time to learn, as it was a relatively easy climb for Herb, which he was unlikely to fall on, and they were right there to help me.

Andrew's "Foot Free" MantelIt went fine. No whippers were taken and I successfully fed line out as he ascended and lowered him down when he was done. However, a look back at the series of photos Tommy took during this process didn’t exactly inspire confidence. First there was a picture of me looking down at the rope with a very confused look on my face; then a picture of Herb doing a move on the rock; then back to me looking baffled; then Herb on the rock, etc. I always had him, and nothing bad would have happened, but I just looked really dopey.

Herb actually did take a whipper, in fact twice, later that day, but fortunately not with me belaying. After the Negress Wall, we moved down a short distance to Pub Wall, where they all took turns leading various climbs. Herb was leading one of them, with Tommy belaying, when as I described above, he got about 10 feet above his last piece of protection and fell, letting out a very interesting noise as he dropped about 20 feet, pulling Tommy off the ground in the process. He was about 50 or 60 feet off the ground when this happened, so there was no danger of him hitting the ground, but it was still pretty exciting, especially for Herb, who hadn’t taken a whipper in 30 years. Undaunted, however, and encouraged by his offspring, he tried again, taking another whipper in the very same spot. I give him a lot of credit, because he went for it a third time, this time grabbing a quickdraw to get through the spot where he had fallen twice before.

Tom Yelling Clipping!Afterwards he looked a little shaken, but not too bad. It’s actually good to take a safe fall once in a while to gain the confidence that you need on a lead. However, I think he had about enough practice falling for the day.

I really wasn’t looking forward to that steep hike out of the gorge again, so I convinced Herb to take the longer, and much less steep, trail out through the lower gorge while the kids went the normal way and then picked us up at the Lower Gorge parking lot. I figured it would take about the same time either way. Along the way, we passed the LA Department of Water and Power hydroelectric plant, and then hiked the rest of the way out on a paved road. The timing was pretty perfect -- the kids said they only had to wait for us about 5 minutes.

I would have thought that we had had enough activity for the day, but silly me. They wanted to see the Buttermilks, which is an area southwest of Bishop famous for its bouldering. We stopped first at the campground to pick up some cheese and crackers and cold beers and then drove out to and along the bumpy unpaved Buttermilk Road, which Herb and I had scouted out a few days back.

Celeste on LeadIt really is an amazing place, with an incredible amount of boulders of all shapes and sizes, but mostly big. We showed them Grandma and Grandpa Peabody, the 45+ plus feet pair of boulders whom we had met the last time, and then moved on to the slightly tamer Birthday Boulders area, where there were some more reasonably-sized boulders.

Herb and I were done for the day, but we spent a very pleasant hour or so sipping a cold beer while watching them work on some routes on Ranger Rock, with the sun dipping down on the snow-capped Sierra behind them. The lighting was incredible.

On the way back to the campground, we stopped at the Bishop Burger Barn, a local hangout highly recommended to us by Stacy, our campground host. It was exactly what we needed – great burgers and fries, an outdoor patio to sit on, and the ability to bring your own beer. I, however, went for a tasty chocolate milkshake.

When we got back to the campground, we loaded the pictures from the last two days from all of our cameras onto the computer and relaxed in the back while putting on a slide show. Wow. We had certainly done a lot – and to think we had another full day with them tomorrow before they would have to head back to San Francisco.

Day 8 – Alabama Hills and Volcanic Tablelands

Grandma and Grandpa PeabodyI really wanted to climb at the Alabama Hills today, not just because the approaches to the climbs were short – although that was part of it – but because I thought it was really beautiful and Andrew, Celeste, and Tommy should see it too. At first they objected because it was an hour drive, but we told them it was a beautiful drive and we would more than make up for the lost time in not having to hike in so far to get started.

The climbing area is accessed from the Movie Flat Road where Herb and I had diligently searched for Gunga Din Tent City and other movie filming locations before giving up to concentrate on the scenery. It was hard to believe that that was only a few days ago.

We took the first of many dirt roads that branched off from Movie Road and drove right up to an awesome rock formation, appropriately named the Shark Fin. Now this was my kind of approach – we practically bumped into it with the car. There was even a 5.7 and a 5.8 for me to play on.

Offspring and Celeste Bouldering Ranger RockAlthough those climbs were easy for them, they were very exciting and enjoyable for me -- probably two of my favorite climbs ever. I banged my knee when climbing and left quite a bit of blood on the rock. I still have a scar, which I like to point to, look contemplative, and say, “shark.”

After two days of hard climbing, I think they all enjoyed these climbs on Shark Fin as well. What was not to like? It was so incredibly scenic –interesting shaped rock formations as far as the eye could see and snow-covered Mount Whitney looming down from above.

After Shark Fin we moved on to another rock, whose name I can’t recall. This time we actually had to walk about 100 feet from the car, but I sucked it up. As on the Shark Fins, the routes were in the more moderate range, so Andrew, Tommy, and Celeste took the opportunity to practice setting up anchors for a multi-pitch climb. It made Herb and I more comfortable about their safety in this sport seeing how conscientious they were and how well they worked together, always helping and checking up on each other.

Lolo on Shark FinI go to do another 5.8 as well. For me, this was probably my best climbing day ever, with several climbs that were challenging yet doable. Plus I thought this area was really beautiful.

We drove back out along the rest of Movie Flat Road, stopping at a very scenic spot to take our 2015 Gaidus Family Christmas photo. I think if you look close you can even see my shark scar.

There was still a few more hours of daylight, so rather than go back to the campground to relax like normal people, we sought out another climbing area that we had not yet been to – the Volcanic Tablelands, just across 395 from our campground.

I knew I wouldn’t get through a whole day with them without having to climb up a steep hill, but this one really wasn’t too bad. Like the Buttermilks, this was an area for bouldering, and there were thousands of them, much less intimidating – in size anyway – than the Peabodies in Buttermilk Country.

Shark Fin with Subaru and AndrewClimbers refer to this area as the Happy / Sad Boulders because those are the two areas where the most routes have been established. The Happy Boulder area alone has 418 routes and the Sad Boulder area has 187. We went to the Happy’s, and that is pretty much describes the way I was feeling that evening.

Like the Owens River Gorge, the rock in the Volcanic Tablelands is volcanic Bishop tuff, which is solidified ash from volcanic eruptions. This type of rock tends to be very rough on the hands and features a lot of edges, pockets, and cracks.

Once again, Herb and I sat back and just watched. Bouldering is a lot more cerebral than rope climbing and the routes are even referred to as boulder problems, because figuring them out really is like solving a difficult puzzle. You just have to figure out the sequence of holds that best fits your climbing strengths.

As with last night at the Buttermilks, the scenery got more and more beautiful as the sun got lower in the sky. The walk out, looking out over the Owens River Valley was breathtaking.

This was our last night together, so we loaded up everybody’s photos again so that we would all have them and enjoyed another great slide show.

Boy, were Herb and I going to miss them. They are so full of life and energy that it is contagious. When I look back at the pictures taken over the three days we were together, I can’t believe that all of that could have taken place in such a short time.

Day 9 – Kids Leave, Keough Hot Springs again

Happy Campers at the Happy’sAs always, it was sad to see them go, but Herb and I could not have kept up their pace too much longer. We love being active, and I think from most people’s standards we are extremely active, especially for our age, but we do enjoy the occasional down day in between.

When the boys called that night to say that got home safely, they told us that night that on their drive back to San Francisco through Yosemite, they stopped at Daff Dome in Tuolumne Meadows to squeeze in a climb. They’re crazy.

We weren’t sure exactly what we wanted to do from here. We had 10 days before we needed to be back in Petaluma to celebrate Celeste’s dad’s and my birthdays, so there was plenty of time for some more exploration.

Lolo and Tom Enjoying Happy SunsetToday we just wanted a breather, so after doing laundry and food shopping, we headed back to the Keough Springs Resort and plopped our butts in one of the natural hot springs in “Keough Ditch” for the afternoon.

It was such a nice night that after dinner we returned to the Ditch with a bottle of wine, placed our beach chairs right in the pool, and gazed up at the stars. Herb was totally relaxed. I, however, was a little nervous about the low-flying bats and was convinced they wanted nothing more than to tangle themselves up in my hair. Herb tried to reassure me that that was just an old wives tale and that these bats had a built in sonar system and absolutely had no desire to get stuck in my hair. That sounded logical, but every time one whipped by within inches of my head, I smacked my face down into the pool, and I hate putting my head under water. Herb was quite entertained. I, however, was not.

Day 10 – Keough Hot Springs, Manzanar, Hike to Lone Pine Lake

Lolo Hiking out of the Happy'sThe next morning we arose early once more to swim laps in the resort pool. This time there was no empty lanes, so Herb had to join someone else, leaving me with nowhere to go. Then I noticed that there was an elderly woman in the end lane, going as slow as I do. When I asked if she minded if I joined her, she was hesitant at first because she said she swam slow and crooked, but after telling her that I did the same, she welcomed me in.

I don’t know how I ever did 53 laps the other day, because today I had trouble doing even half of that. I felt like a rock. Oh well. I had fun chatting with my lane partner each time we stopped at the same end of the pool. She had lived in Bishop for over 40 years and gave me the insider’s view of what that was like. It gets pretty isolated in the winter, because there is no easy way to get through the Sierra towards the coast. She thinks that is why Bishop has sort of stood still in time and not changed nearly as much as many other California towns.

Herb and I still weren’t sure how we wanted to spend our next 10 days, but we figured we would start with a hike that we wanted to do at the base of Mount Whitney, and then stay somewhere in Lone Pine.

Manzanar Memorial ObeliskThis would be our third trip down 395 to Lone Pine -- fourth if you count Herb’s ride through here on his motorcycle a few weeks back. It was beginning to feel like a commute, but a very nice one at that.

As we passed the Manzanar National Historic Site, I asked Herb if he minded if we stopped there briefly, even though he had done so on his motorcycle trip. It seems like we both were repeating many of the things we had done alone, because we each wanted our other half to see it as well.

Unlike most of the Historic Sites we have had the privilege of visiting, this is not one that we as Americans can be proud of. This particular facility was one of ten relocation centers set up by the U.S. Government during World War II to forcibly intern Japanese American citizens. During the three years it was in operation, more than 10,000 people were sent to this center alone to be housed and held against their will for the duration of the war.

Lone Pine LakeI always find the films at National Parks visitor centers very informative, so I asked Herb if he would mind he I watched the 22 minute one they were starting shortly. He had already seen it, so he wandered around looking at the exhibits while I went into the auditorium.

There were only about 5 of us sitting in the seats, and one Japanese gentleman in a Park uniform with a Volunteer badge standing before the stage, greeting each of us as we entered. When the time for the film to start arrived, he introduced himself as someone who had once been interned in this very camp. I started mentally calculating in my head. World War II had ended 70 years ago. This guy looked no older than me, and I’m sure his life had been much more challenging than my cushy one.

As we waited while more people drifted in, he asked us if we had any questions before he started the film. Well, apparently we did because for the next half hour, everyone in the room was mesmerized by this soft spoken man who brought us back in time with him into the life on a 9 year old boy, taken with his family from his home and brought to live in this camp.

Herb and Lolo at Lone Pine LakeI thought it was interesting how he answered a question about how he felt when he was brought here and whether he was frightened. He explained that his parents had been tenant farmers, and that he worked beside them on the farm and had very little exposure to other children his age. When he arrived at the camp, there were hundreds of kids to play with. For him, that was pretty exciting. He also told us about their neighbor, who was kind enough to store their belongings until their release. That neighbor even traveled a long distance to visit them at the camp to make sure they were being treated well. However, he reminded us that although not everyone or everything about the experience was bad, what happened to him and his fellow Japanese Americans was a shameful period in our history.

Finally, he had to stop our questions so that he could start the film. The film was very interesting, but there is still nothing that can compare to hearing about an experience from someone that has been through it themselves.

I think during the hour or so that I had been missing, Herb began wondering if I hadn’t been interned myself.

Lone Pine Lake HikeAfter Herb and I found each other again, we drove the car along the 3.2-mile auto tour road through the camp. With the exception of two reconstructed barracks and a mess hall, everything else in the camp has been long gone.

At the far edge of the camp, lies the camp cemetery, where a single, white concrete obelisk stands before the dramatic backdrop of the Sierra. Three large characters on the front of the monument translate to “Soul Consoling Tower.” Colorful ribbons and scarves and other assorted offerings, like coins and even sake, adorn the posts around the obelisk. Every last Saturday in April, hundreds of former internees, their families and friends, and a growing number of young people take a pilgrimage to this site to remember, honor, and reflect on the experiences of the people that were unjustly interned in this camp.

I highly recommend that anyone visiting Manzanar stop at this cemetery for a moment of reflection.

Lolo Hiking from Lone Pine LakeAfter our stop at Manzanar we continued on 395 South and turned right onto the Whitney Portal Road in Lone Pine. This time we passed right by the turnoff for Movie Flat Road and continued on the paved road for 13 miles to its end and the trailhead to the summit of Mount Whitney.

Our objective today was much more modest than summiting Whitney. Even if we wanted to, getting a permit to do so is a difficult task, as the number of people allowed on the mountain at any one time is limited. Even day hikes that enter the Mount Whitney Zone require a day permit. However, the friendly and helpful staff back at Wilson’s Eastside Sports in Bishop had recommended an excellent day hike to Lone Pine Lake that stayed within the John Muir Wilderness and did not require a permit.

We set off on same trail that hikers to the summit take, but passed no one, as it was much too late in the day for people heading to the summit to start. The trail led mostly through forest, but frequently opened up to expansive views of the Owens Valley and the White Mountains to the east. Although the trail climbed 1,700 feet in just 2 miles, the numerous, tight switchbacks made it seem relatively flat.

Lolo Crossing Stream Like a CrabMy problem was those pesky streams to cross, and there were several of them. While Herb agilely hopped along the rocks, I used a rather less graceful method that required five rather than two points of contact with the rock, sort of like a crab. Despite my cautious approach, I still managed to totally soak my feet. Fortunately, it was a warm day, because wet feet at high elevation are not a good thing.

After 2 ¼ miles, we came to a trail junction, and took a short side trail to the left down to lovely little Lone Pine Lake, a sandy lake surrounded by the imposing granite walls of Whitney Canyon. We spent an enjoyable hour strolling the shores of the lake, photographing the reflections of the evergreens, boulders, and cliffs in its clear, placid waters.

The lake is at an elevation of 10,050 feet so it was a bit chilly, but it felt very refreshing and clean. From here back to Whitney Portal it was all downhill, so except for having to cross the streams again, it was an easy hike out.

Andrew on Happy BoulderAfter the hike, we drove back to Lone Pine and checked into the Boulder Creek RV Resort, a nice little campground with a pool, right on 395. We still didn’t have a plan for the next few days, so we figured we would spend that evening looking at options. After much deliberation, we agreed to head to the coast near Morro Bay where we could perhaps use our kayaks, and then drive north possibly stopping in Carmel or Monterey.

Later that evening after dark, as we were taking a walk around the campground, we spotted a Lazy Daze just like ours. Of course, one Lazy Dazer can’t just pass another one without chatting for hours on end about the various merits and advantages of owning this most wonderful of all motorhomes, so Herb called out to the gentleman sitting beside it, “I like your rig,” which must be a secret code recognized only by fellow Lazy Dazers. I think they should come up with a secret handshake as well.

Tommy on Happy BoulderSo that’s how we met Bill, a really wonderful and informative guy from the San Diego area, interested in so many of the same things we are, particularly photography and travel – oh, and of course Lazy Daze motorhomes. He and Herb talked for hours that night, and even found each other the next morning to continue. I practically had to pull Herb away so that we could get on with our plans for the day.

We eventually parted with Bill – he towards June Lake to go fishing with a friend, and we towards the coast – or at least I thought so at the time.

Before heading out, we looked once more at the weather for Morro Bay and saw that the forecast had changed to fog and low 60s for the next few days. For my desert rat husband, this was totally unacceptable and he declared, “We’re going to Death Valley instead.” That was a bit of an extreme shift, and a testament to just how different California is from New Jersey. In New Jersey, we can’t just drive in a different direction for 3 hours and have such drastically different climates. Here you can practically dial in to what you want.

Well, Death Valley wasn’t exactly what I wanted and I want spouse points for agreeing to this. I hate being hot – in fact, our oppositely malfunctioning thermostats are probably the biggest difference between Herb and me. Otherwise, we are uncannily similar. However, good wife that I am, I agreed, especially after I found out that we could stay at the Furnace Creek Ranch Campground and use their pool.

Description

Herb with ArchThe Eastern Sierra Scenic Byway, officially known as Highway 395, runs the entire length of the Sierra Nevada Range, from south of Lone Pine to Carson City. The scenery along the way is breathtaking and full of variety – snow covered mountains, incredible lakes, ancient bristlecone forests, natural hot springs, and so much more.

I have broken up our journey along the Scenic Byway into two stops:
• South - from Mammoth Lakes to Lone Pine
• North - from June Lake to Bridgeport

The following is a description of a few of the stops we enjoyed along the Eastern Sierra southern section:

Keough Hot Springs

Herb Hiking the Alabama HillsKeough Hot Springs is a resort, located in the Owens Valley about 7 miles south of the town of Bishop. The resort, which was established in 1919, has a 100 X 40 foot pool meant for swimming laps and doing aerobics, as well as a 15 X 40 meant for soaking. The hot springs flows from the ground at a scalding 130 degrees and is fed into a spray system that flows like a water fall into the larger pool in turn cooling the water to a comfortable for exercising 86 to 89 degrees. The smaller pool, which is meant for soaking, is kept at 104 degrees and has a depth of 2 feet. Since both pools are free flowing, they have a constant flow of fresh mineral water throughout the day. The pools are emptied, cleaned, and then filled again every Tuesday.

In addition to a few luxury tent cabins, there is a small campground with 10 water and electric sites. Swimming is not included in the camping fee, but is an additional $10 for a day pass.

Outside the boundaries of the resort, and downstream from the resort pool, is a series of primitive natural pools known as the “hot ditch.” The pools, which are quite shallow, have temperatures in the low 90s.

Climbing areas in Bishop

Lolo and Forrester in ButtermilksThe Owens River Gorge is a steep 10 mile long canyon just north of Bishop that is a very popular destination for rock climbing. With 416 sport-climbing and 52 trad routes it is California’s most concentrated sport climbing area. The climbing is on volcanic tuff and features edges, pockets and cracks. Although there is a full range of difficulty level, the best climbs are in the 5.10 to 5.11 range. The most popular walls are located in the Central Gorge – Warm Up Wall, the Pub, the Social Platform, and the Great Wall of China, which feature tons of 5.8 to 5.11 sport routes. Summers get a bit too hot to climb in the gorge.

Buttermilk Country, one of California’s premier bouldering destinations, is located southwest of Bishop along the western edge of the Owens Valley. These massive glacial erratic boulders sit in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada under an impressive backdrop of high peaks just a mere four miles to the west. There are 243 bouldering routes, many of which top out at over 20 feet.

The Volcanic Tablelands, another popular bouldering destination, lie just north of Bishop in an area where the floor of the Owens Valley rises abruptly, forming a 300 foot-high volcanic plateau. Along the southern tip of the plateau there are numerous canyons and washes containing thousands of boulders. The Happy Boulder area with 418 routes and the Sad Boulder area with 187 routes are the most popular. Because of its 4,500 foot elevation, the Volcanic Tablelands are climbable year round.

Lone Pine Area

Tommy Bouldering with an IPAThe Lone Pine Film History Museum houses memorabilia from the hundreds of films, commercials, and television shows that were filmed in the nearby area over the past 100 years. Since the early years of filmmaking, directors and actors have made the 3-hour trek from Hollywood to the tiny town of Lone Pine to use the dramatically beautiful Alabama Hills as the backdrop for their films. Although mostly known for the “westerns” filmed here, with such cowboy heroes as John Wayne, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers, it has also been the site for early silent, post-war, and science fiction films. The museum has an 85-seat movie theater where visitors can watch an interesting 15-minute documentary, “Lone Pine: Where the Real West Becomes the Reel West.” Admission is $5 for adults.

The Alabama Hills are a range of hills and rock formations, just west of Lone Pine, that lie at the foot of the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the continental U.S., towers over the hills. Although the same age as the sharp, glacially chiseled ridges of the Sierra, the Alabama hills are more rounded as a result of chemical weathering. When the hills were still covered with soil, percolating water rounded the granite blocks and sculpted the interesting arches and potato-shaped boulders you see today. These interesting formations make it a popular rock climbing destination.

The outstanding and dramatic scenery of the hills has also attracted Hollywood filmmakers from the 1920s to the present. Hundreds of movies (particularly westerns), TV shows, and commercials have been filmed here over the past century. The Lone Pine Film History Museum is a great place to learn about the film history of the area. The 5.7-mile unpaved Movie Flat Road through the Hills goes past the filming locations for such greats as “How the West was Won,” “Rawhide,” and “Gunga Din.” A “Movie Road Touring Brochure,” is available online or at the museum.

The origin of its name is quite interesting and surprising. In the 1800s, prospectors in the area sympathetic to the Confederate cause named their mining claims after the confederate warship Alabama, which was wreaking havoc on the Union fleet.

Whitney Portal is the gateway to Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the continental U.S., and the main starting point for treks up to its summit. It is located at the end of the 13-mile Whitney Portal Road, which begins from 395 in the town of Lone Pine. Although hiking into the Mount Whitney Zone requires a permit, there are several day hikes that can be done within the John Muir Wilderness section without a permit, such as the hike to Lone Pine Lake.

The Manzanar National Historic Site marks the site of the former Manzanar Relocation Center, one of ten internment camps into which the U.S. government forcefully interned more than 110,000 Japanese American citizens during World War II. The Manzanar facility operated from March of 1942 through November of 1945, housing and holding without their will over 10,000 Japanese Americans. Today this site, which is preserved and operated by the National Park Service, informs visitors about the legacy of this shameful period in U.S. history. Inside the Visitor Center there are extensive exhibits as well as a 22-minute informative film. Adjacent to the Visitor Center are two reconstructed barracks and a mess hall, the only three original camp structures that remain. A 3.2 mile auto tour takes you past remnants of orchards, gardens, and building foundations, as well as the camp cemetery, located at the foot of the majestic Sierra. Admission is free.

Travelogue

Peacock Alarm ClockHerb and I spent the entire day on Friday cleaning, organizing, maintaining, shopping, etc., to get the motorhome ready for a month of travel - very boring to do, and most assuredly even more boring to read about, so I’ll say no more.

Andrew and Celeste arrived late that night to spend the weekend with us. Originally, we were supposed to run the Bay to Breakers Race in San Francisco on Sunday, but since both Celeste and I had recently sprained our ankles, we decided that running 8+ miles in a huge crowd probably wasn’t the wisest thing to do. So, we switched the plan to rock climbing at Mount Saint Helena instead . Getting out of the city for the weekend was probably a good idea -- things get really crowded and crazy on Bay to Breakers Weekend. Needless to say, Herb was relieved at the change in plans.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, Andrew and Celeste are extremely enthusiastic and energetic, so a weekend with them is always tremendously fun, but rarely relaxing. Before going to sleep late Friday night, Andrew announced that we should rise by 7:30 so that we could get in a full day of climbing. They like to squeeze every precious minute out of their weekends.

Around 7:00 am the next morning, I was awakened by a very loud – it’s hard to describe – crowing noise, sort of like a rooster that had a bad night. It was coming from the cab of the motorhome, above which Andrew and Celeste were sleeping. I tried to ignore it and go back to sleep, but it happened again, this time louder and more persistent.

Of course, Herb and I jumped to the same conclusion – it was Andrew doing a very bad imitation of a rooster in an attempt to wake us up. You have to know Andrew to understand why we immediately assumed he was the culprit, but usually he would have done something like this to annoy his brother – and Tommy wasn’t even here.

Somewhat annoyed, Herb whispered to me, “This is the last time we let them stay in the motorhome.”

When it happened the third time, we got really annoyed and said something.

Herb Climbing at Mount Saint HelenaAndrew, somewhat dazed and sleepy-faced, was confused as to why everyone was looking angrily at him. Then it happened again, and he wasn’t even moving his lips. Either he had to be a very good ventriloquist or he wasn’t the perpetrator.

Then we noticed that a fairly good-sized crowd had gathered outside our motorhome, several of whom were pointing their cameras up at our roof. We opened the vent above the cab bed and saw feet, and not just any feet, but big, ugly three-toed feet. They were close enough to reach out and grab. Attached to these feet was a large, and quite vocal, peacock. In fact, he also was accompanied by a friend. This is what happens when you stay at a campground with a petting zoo. Sometimes the inmates get out and wander the grounds.

We all felt badly for having so quickly assumed that Andrew was behind the annoying wake up call, but it was an easy mistake to make, especially if you know him.

Well now that we are all up, we got our climbing gear together, made lunch, and headed out to Mount Saint Helena – not to be confused with the more famous Mount Saint Helens in Washington state – about an hour north near the town of Calistoga in Napa County.

Although Sonoma and Napa Valleys are near each other as the crow flies, they are separated by the Mayacamas Mountains, so any drive between them requires navigating some pretty steep and windy roads, especially once you get on Route 29 past Calistoga. These are the types of roads we dread and avoid at all costs in the motorhome, but are doable, and even fun, in a car.

After about 7 miles of driving on a road that looked like an intestine on the map, we got to a small parking area on the left, where we squeezed into the very last parking spot. It was a beautiful, sunny day, so it wasn’t a surprise that so many people were already out recreating.

Mount Saint Helena is very popular, both as a hiking and a rock climbing destination. There is a 5-mile (one-way), somewhat grueling hike to the summit that has tremendous views of Napa Valley and the Russian River Valley. I would definitely like to do that hike someday, but since the reason we were climbing rather than running the Bay to Breakers was Celeste’s and my sprained ankles, we were just going to hike as far as the sport climbing areas, maybe about a mile and a half or so in.

Andrew Climbing at Mount Saint HelenaAs I have learned during my brief rock climbing career, not all rock is the same, and its texture and features very much depend on how it was formed. Mount Saint Helena, like much of the rock in the Pacific Northwest, is volcanic, and as a result is rather rough on the hands and scattered with huecos, which are pockets formed by volcanic bubbles.

After trying, and failing, to find an open climb on a very crowded wall known as The Bear, we walked a short distance back down the fire road to The Bubble, which had about 10 climbs, ranging from 5.7 to 5.11c, many of which were sport climbs.

Everyone was happy. They had found a wall with some very interesting and challenging climbs, and I had found a comfy, flat spot to spectate from that had a fabulous view of Napa Valley.

I love watching and photographing them climbing and would be perfectly content just doing that, but not wanting to leave me out, they always find some 5.7 or 5.8 climb that will challenge, but not totally intimidate me. Although I hesitate at first, afterwards I am always glad they did.

After several hours of climbing, we hiked back down to the car, and drove the windy roads back to Sonoma County in search of cold beer and dinner. We decided on HopMonk Tavern, a really fun restaurant and beer garden in Celeste’s home town of Sebastopol, known for its tasty in-house craft beers, good pub fare, and live entertainment venue.

It was quite crowded, so we got a beer at the bar and sat in the outdoor patio area on some comfy couches by a fountain. It wasn’t very long – or at least it didn’t feel that way – before we were seated at an outdoor table overlooking a dance floor and stage where they were getting setup and rehearsing for that night’s entertainment, the Tribal Fest 2015 “After Party”.

I had never heard of a tribal fest before, but it wasn’t long before I realized it involved a lot of drum beating, hula hooping, belly dancing, and waving around of colorfully lit-sticks – something we don’t normally encounter when dining out in New Jersey. Celeste definitely grew up in a much cooler town than Andrew. We were definitely going to go through a major culture adjustment when we moved out here. I teased Herb that he was going to need to get a clip-on ponytail to fit in.

Celeste Climbing Bubble BoyDinner was great and it was fun watching the pre-performance rehearsal, especially for Herb, who can never resist a girl with a hula hoop.

The next day was Sunday, and Sunday in Sebastopol means Farmers Market in the Plaza, where practically the whole town congregates to enjoy delicious fresh regional food, live music, and dancing. It would have been the perfect place for Herb to sport a clip-on ponytail.

Celeste’s parents seemed to know everyone and introduced us to some of their friends. Everyone seemed so friendly, down to earth, and just plain happy to be out enjoying a beautiful Sunday morning (as most summer mornings are in Sebastopol). I think it is going to be very easy to make new friends when we move out here.

Andrew and Celeste always shop at Farmers Markets for their produce for the week. Andrew really has come a long way since he moved from New Jersey. He was quite the aficionado of locally grown organic food.

Probably the thing that worries me most about fitting into a Northern California lifestyle is my rather limited knowledge of types of produce and what to do with them after purchase. I know the basic broccoli, asparagus, carrots, and such, but I couldn’t identify an endive or a bok choy in a lineup. Well, if Andrew learned, I guess I could too.

It was Andrew’s birthday weekend, so after the Farmers Market we went to the REI in Santa Rosa for him to pick out some presents. I love REI, and apparently so did Celeste and her mom, because not only did Andrew load up his cart, but we all loaded our own up as well.

As intimidated as I might be at a Farmers Market, I am perfectly at home surrounded by the outdoor gear and clothing in an REI. In this way, I am much more a Northern Californian than a New Jerseyian. All my friends back home shop at Nordstom’s or Lord and Taylor’s for their clothing, but give me an REI or a Campmor any day.

On the way back from REI, we stopped at a small store in Cotati called Pasta King. Celeste was hosting a birthday party for Andrew in their apartment the following Tuesday and wanted to pick up a platter of Lasagna to feed their guests.

Watching Mount Saint Helena ClimbersWe entered a small building where there was a large freezer filled with aluminum tins on various pasta items. There was no proprietor in sight – just a note to leave payment on the desk. Wow! This would never happen in New Jersey. And, of course, the food items were all made by hand with fresh local ingredients, and had never been touched by a chemical preservative. That is why they are all immediately frozen.

Celeste selected two Lasagna platters for their party, and I did the same – one Meat and one Pesto. I couldn’t believe how reasonably priced they were: $18 for a 7 lb. tray of Meat Lasagna and $18 for a 5 lb tray of Pesto Lasagna.

I would never have to cook in the RV again. I’m pretty sure this will be my first stop on future trips to the West Coast.

That evening for Andrew’s birthday dinner we drove up to Geyserville to one of our favorite Sonoma restaurants – Diavola Pizzeria and Salumeria, where there is an amazing selection of wood-fired pizzas.

We had been here enough to know that four pizzas and a mix of appetizers was the way to go. Oh, and of course one of their craft beers to wash it down. I may not know much about preparing great food, but I sure do know how to enjoy it when presented to me.

We were so contentedly full, that I thought there was no way any of us would be able to even think about food for the rest of the night. However, the drive back to Sebastopol was close to an hour, and apparently long enough for Andrew and Celeste to make room in that special compartment of the stomach that holds ice cream to suggest a stop at Screamin Mimi’s, the ice cream shop in Sebastopol that Celeste had worked at all through high school. I don’t need to tell you that the ingredients were all natural and fresh, and locally sourced – oh, and of course, delicious.

Description

Sebastopol

Sebastopol is a charming town in Sonoma County, 52 miles north of San Francisco and about a 20-minute drive to the coast. Sebastopol is known for its apples and hosts an annual Apple Blossom Festival in April and the Gravenstein Apple Fair in August. Today, however, the apple orchards are becoming vineyards as wine-making moves more and more into the region.

Every Sunday, from April to mid-December, there is a Farmers market in the downtown plaza, where people congregate to enjoy delicious fresh regional food, live music, and dancing.

Sebastopol is home to the artist, Patrick Amiot, known for his whimsical, cartoon-like, junk-art sculptures. There are over 200 of his wacky, found-object works scattered throughout Sebastopol, especially on Florence Street.

Side Trip from Sebastopol

Mount Saint Helena

Mount Saint Helena is a peak in the Mayacamas Mountains with flanks in Napa, Sonoma, and Lake counties of California. Mount Saint Helena is very popular, both as a hiking and a rock climbing destination. There is a 5-mile (one-way), somewhat grueling hike to the summit that has tremendous views of Napa Valley and the Russian River Valley.

Travelogue

Japanese Tea GardenMy flight from Seattle went smoothly and before I knew it, I was being swept away by another Uber car. This time I used a feature called UberPool, which is only available in a few cities, San Francisco being one of them. The way it works is, when you request an Uber car, they pair you up with another rider requesting a similar route. As long as you are willing to share your ride with someone else, you can get from the airport to anywhere in San Francisco for $15. There was no way this could be profitable for Uber, and I am sure this is just a temporary ploy to drive competitors out of business, but in the meantime, it sure made getting from the airport convenient and inexpensive.

The timing was perfect. My Uber dropped me off at Andrew and Celeste’s apartment, just as Andrew was getting home from work. It was so, so good to see him after such a long lapse of time.

Since they both had worked all day, I offered to take them out to dinner, but they insisted on making dinner for me instead, so we could just relax. Those two really have their act together. Between work and an extremely active social/workout schedule, they still manage to keep their apartment immaculate, eat extremely healthy and delicious meals, stay in incredible shape, entertain friends, and most importantly smile through the whole hectic process.

They felt badly that they had to work during my stay, but I told them no worries, as I would be very happy entertaining myself during the day, and spending time with them in the evenings. All I needed was a city map, a good pair of walking shoes, and my kindle -- oh yes, and a good itinerary, which Andrew, wonderful son that he is, had diligently prepared for me. He had mapped out an extremely detailed walking tour, including interesting sights, places to eat, places to just sit and read, etc. It looked perfect. If there is such a thing as a “planning” gene, Andrew certainly has mine. Herb, however, would probably more accurately call it a Type A personality gene. Whatever you want to call it, it looked like I had a great day ahead of me.

I should have more children, so that I could have more great cities to visit. I will have to talk to Herb about that when we reunite.

Day 1 – Golden Gate Park, Corona Heights, Buena Vista Park, and Planet Granite

Stow LakeAs per Andrew’s plan, I left his apartment bright and early and headed south towards Golden Gate Park, stopping first at the Cinderella Bakery for a spinach croissant and a cup of coffee. I sat contentedly at an outside table, just watching the cars and people go by. Having lived in suburbia my entire life, it is a both novelty and a treat to be able to get around on foot, with so many exciting things going on all around you.

I took a picture of my croissant and texted it to Andrew to show him that I was up and out and starting to implement his plan before heading on to Golden Gate Park.

Golden Gate Park is to San Franciscans what Central Park is to New Yorkers, only, believe it or not, it is actually 20% larger. It’s a half mile wide, and stretches for three miles from the east to the Pacific Ocean. Unlike Central Park, however, it is not surrounded by tall buildings, so it has a much less urban feel to it. How nice for Andrew and Celeste to live so close to this beautiful park.

I entered the park from 6th Avenue and soon found myself in a lovely courtyard between the de Young Museum and the California Academy of Sciences, where I became mesmerized by a group of elderly Chinese people doing Tai Chi. Their graceful, slow, but focused movements were extremely calming. I found my own stress levels going down just watching them.

San Francisco Botanical GardensI continued on and entered the gates to the Japanese Tea Garden. After paying my $8 admission, I wandered the lovely paths of the garden, past a beautiful red pagoda, an authentic teahouse, and a zen garden. I was the first visitor there, so I had the garden entirely to myself. It was so serene and peaceful.

Then my cell phone rang and broke my reverie. It was Herb, who said he was only a day or two away from San Francisco on his long motorcycle journey. He started discussing the logistics of storing the motorcycle, getting the motorhome out of storage, picking me up, etc., which really was not conducive to the mindset I was in right now. I don’t think he appreciated it when I told him he was ruining my “zen moment.”

In attempt to regain my serenity, I continued meandering along the stone paths, stopping at the pond to stare at the colorful koi for a while. Soon there were about a dozen of them at my feet staring up at me open mouthed. Either they liked me a lot or they were used to getting a handout. I have a feeling it was the latter.

Next, I came to an arched drum bridge, so steep that I wasn’t even sure if it was meant to walk across. When I got closer, I saw that there were horizontal rungs built into the walkway over the bridge that you could use sort of like the rungs of a ladder. As with a ladder, you had to descend backwards so that you had something to hold onto. Since my sprained ankle was still a bit tender, I decided to not risk calamity and just photograph the bridge instead.

Although drum bridges were originally designed with such high arches to allow barges to fit underneath, their purpose in formal gardens is purely aesthetic. In a garden, the arch is always situated in such a way that the bridge and its reflection in the pond combine to form a full circle. That is why they are also called Moon Bridges

View from Corona HeightsAcross from the Japanese Tea Garden is another one of the park’s gems -- the San Francisco Botanical Gardens, which I happily learned was free on the second Tuesday of every month. I took my brochure of the gardens and tried to follow the map systematically through each of its gardens of the world – California Native Garden, Redwood Grove, Andean Cloud Forest, Chilean garden, Mesoamerica, etc., etc., but its lovely winding paths, which branched off from other lovely winding paths, definitely made navigating challenging for someone as spatially impaired as myself. I kept finding myself back in Mesoamerica. Eventually, I was able to make my way through most of the garden’s 55 acres and enjoy many beautiful and interesting plants from around the world.

It was pretty amazing that so many plants from so many diverse places could thrive here, but that’s San Francisco weather for you. The Bay Area's mild temperatures, wet winters and dry summers, coupled with that famous coastal fog, provide a range of climatic conditions that exist in few other botanical gardens in the world. It’s probably the same reason so many different varieties of grapes are grown in Sonoma and Napa. I did notice that despite the drought, there was much watering going on throughout the garden. In fact, I got spritzed several times by some pretty aggressive sprinklers.

Continuing on my journey through the park, I headed over to Stow Lake to climb Strawberry Hill, the first of three hills that Andrew had assigned me – each of which would provide me with a different perspective of San Francisco.

Conservatory of FlowersStow Lake is the largest of the Golden Gate Park’s man-made lakes, and on a nice day it is bustling with people recreating – joggers, walkers, paddle boaters, more people doing Tai Chi, etc. It was very pretty, and I was very much enjoying my stroll along the path that encircled it.

My goal, however, was to climb Strawberry Hill, located on an island in the center of the lake. I soon came to one of the two bridges that cross over to the island and followed a path to its summit. At 430 feet, it is the highest point in the park, and from the top I could see the Golden Gate Bridge, Mt. Tamalpais, as well as much of the park. I took a picture and texted it to Andrew to let him know how I was progressing on his tour.

The next task on my quest was another one of San Francisco’s many hills – Corona Heights, about a 2.6-mile walk from Stow Lake. I walked the rest of the way around the perimeter of the lake, past the boathouse and the Chinese Pagoda, and then continued east through the park, passing through the quiet and contemplative National Aids Memorial Grove.

Andrew had instructed me to walk along the Panhandle, a narrow ¾-mile long extension of the park’s eastern end, but Google Maps kept steering me towards a more direct route to Corona Heights. Who was I to argue with Google, so I just followed its directions for now with the intention of finding the Panhandle on my way back.

de Young MuseumWhere Andrew lives in the Inner Richmond section of San Francisco, it is quite flat, but as I made my way through the Castro and up Masonic Avenue towards Corona Heights, I was reminded of why San Francisco is famous for its hills. Andrew didn’t tell me that I would have to climb a steep hill just to get to another steep hill. I am officially counting this as a fourth hill.

Before long, I saw a brown hill with a prominent red outcrop on top. I had arrived at Corona Heights. I followed one of its paths to the 520-foot summit where several people were clambering around on the rock formations at the top. The view was pretty awesome. The whole city lay before me with the Bay and Mount Tamalpais in the distance. It was extremely windy so I didn’t stay long, but I did manage to first text Andrew a picture to mark my progress.

On my way to Corona Heights, I had actually passed Buena Vista Park, the third (or fourth if you count Masonic Avenue) of the hills I was to climb. Unlike the barren and exposed Corona Heights, Buena Vista contains one of the city’s largest remaining coast live oak groves, so its summit was a lot less obvious. There are many entrances to this park, but I approached it from Buena Vista Avenue West, where I climbed about a hundred stairs and then followed a thickly wooded path to what I think was the summit – an open grassy area with a single park bench. Because of all the trees, it was hard to get an unobstructed view of the city below.

Not wanting to get lost, I walked back down the same trail that I had come up and headed north back towards the Panhandle. I was now officially in the Haight, which is what San Franciscans call the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Its distinction of being the locale for the 1967 “Summer of Love” is still very much a part of its culture, attested to by the numerous peace signs and tie-dye and smoke shops.

Lolo with de Young Museum ArtI stopped for lunch at the Panini Café on Haight Street and texted a picture of my sandwich to Andrew. I had the rest of the afternoon to kill, so I was in no particular hurry. Plus I was tired from walking up all those hills. I lingered over a cup of coffee watching the activity on the street and recharging my phone, which had practically gone dead due to all my navigating and texting.

When my phone, and me, were recharged, I continued on, stopping first to take the obligatory picture of the Haight-Ashbury street sign, thereby forfeiting any pretense that I was a San Franciscan and not a tourist.

This time I did manage to find the Panhandle, which was much nicer to walk through than along a city street.

When I got back to Golden Gate Park proper, I stopped to rest on a bench by the Conservatory of Flowers, a beautiful, sparkling white, Victorian domed building that houses a collection of over 2,000 rare and exotic plants. I chose not to go in today – I would save that for a later visit – but spent a very nice hour, alternating between reading my Kindle and watching all the people.

de Young Museum ChihulyOnce back at Andrew’s apartment, I texted him a picture to show him that I had successfully completed my quest, and then crashed on the couch for a well-deserved power nap. I had walked over 10 miles and climbed three hills on my injured ankle, and the day wasn’t over yet. There was still an evening of rock climbing at Planet Granite ahead of me.

Andrew and Celeste usually climb at this gym three times a week. On days they do, they take their bikes to work so that they can go directly to the gym afterwards. Then, after a few hours of climbing, they ride the steep hills of the Presidio three miles back to their apartment where they make dinner around 9:30. I definitely admire their enthusiasm and energy.

So, around 6:00, I drove Andrew’s car to the gym to meet up with them. I absolutely love this gym. Even if I wasn’t climbing, I would love it for its views alone. Floor to ceiling windows look out onto the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and the Mark di Suvero sculptures in Crissy Fields. It’s hard to keep your eyes on the climbing wall.

After climbing, we loaded their bikes on Andrew’s car – saving them that steep uphill ride home – and got a bite to eat at King of Thai Noodles, one of their favorite post-climbing restaurants.

Needless to say, I slept very well that night.

Day 2 – Smog check, Lands End, and Golden Gate Park

de Young Museum Outdoor SculpturesAndrew’s suggestions for how I might spend today were a little less impressive than his efforts the day before. “How about taking my car for a smog check?” Not exactly what I had in mind, but their schedules are so busy and I had the day to kill, so I said, why not – However, not before first making him feel a bit inferior to his brother in the entertaining Mommy department. “Gee, Tommy took me to the Space Needle for lunch. Sure, I’ll take your car for a smog check.”

I googled Smog Checking stations and made an appointment at one in the Castro district, near to where I had walked the day before. Getting there required me to drive down the steepest hill I have ever driven on. It was really scary.

The car passed with flying colors, and I headed back to Andrew’s apartment to park his car so that I could walk back into Golden Gate Park to spend the day. I had enjoyed exploring the park so much yesterday that I wanted to go back and see more of it. I circled and circled Andrew’s block, but couldn’t find street parking anywhere. As I went around the block for the third time, I was getting more and more stressed and feeling more and unkind thoughts towards my son.

Finally, I gave up and decided to go somewhere where I knew I could find parking – the Visitor Center at the Lands End Lookout. Visitor Centers always have parking, and having been here last year, I knew this was a very pretty place to spend an hour or so.

Entrance to Legion of Honor MuseumLands End is just what its name suggests, the end where the land meets the sea. It is San Francisco’s westernmost point and lies at the southern mouth of the Golden Gate, the strait that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean, and the source of the name for the famous bridge that spans it.

Its gorgeous rocky shoreline, cypress-covered hillside, and the ruins of the old Sutro Baths below give a sense of wildness and isolation, not something you often come across in a city of this size. However, after my explorations of yesterday, I was finding that San Francisco has many of these pockets of pristineness and natural beauty.

From the Visitor Center parking lot, I took the steep trail down to the ruins. It is hard to believe that in the 19th century this was a lavish swimming resort, with six saltwater swimming tanks (flushed daily by the tides), 517 private dressing rooms, restaurants, and 1,700 seat amphitheater, all enclosed by 100,000 feet of glass. I wandered around a bit on the grid of concrete walls, which is all that is left of its foundation.

Rodin’s Thinker at Legion of Honor MuseumThere was a very cool tunnel off to the right that had openings through which I could watch the waves lapping up against its walls. It was actually kind of spooky. I wasn’t sure if this was built at the time of the baths, or later as part of the coastal trail.

I hiked back up the trail to the car and called Andrew to see what I should do about parking his car. He told me that his landlord was always out this time of day, so I should just pull it into the garage, leaving enough space behind it for his landlord to fit his car later. Well, that was easy.

Once the car was safely tucked away, I set out once more on foot – the means of transportation I am most comfortable with in a city. It was already after 1:30 and I was getting pretty hungry. I yelped nearby places to eat, and up came Velo Rouge Café, a place that we had stopped to have a beer at last year when Andrew and Celeste took us on a bike tour of the city. I can still remember how refreshing that beer tasted after riding 25 miles up and down the hills of San Francisco. Hopefully, their food was just as good.

I was feeling pretty comfortable finding my way around now and tried not to rely on Google Maps. Whenever I do, I get to where I want to go, but have absolutely no idea how. Trying to do it the old fashioned way would be a good exercise in improving my somewhat limited spatial skills. So, I looked at a map and counted 2 blocks south, then 5 blocks east.

Lolo with Rodin's The Three ShadesDespite it already being close to 2:00, the café was bustling and all the outdoor tables were taken. I grabbed the last indoor table and ordered a Coppi – turkey, spinach, and Jack with a cranberry jam spread on toast. It was delicious.

Then I entered Golden Gate Park, which was only one more block south, and spent a delightful hour reading my kindle on my favorite bench by the Conservatory of Flowers. I could really get used to living here.

I continued my stroll through the park and once again found myself in the courtyard by the de Young Museum. I very much wanted to visit this museum, but thought it would be a lot more fun with Herb, rather than doing it alone.

He had called me that morning to tell me that he would be arriving later that day at the Petaluma KOA where are motorhome is stored, after 19 days and 4,000 miles of driving his motorcycle from New Jersey, down the Blue Ridge Parkway, and across to the West Coast. Besides acclimating to a more stationary lifestyle, there was much work for him to do on the motorhome when he got there. He wasn’t sure how long that would take him, nor what day he would come to pick me up. I decided anyway to wait until he did to visit the museum.

However, I knew from a previous visit here that going to the top of the Hamon Observation Tower in the de Young Museum was free, so I took the elevator up and was treated to a panoramic view of San Francisco that I didn’t require me climbing a hill. Through its floor to ceiling windows, I gazed out at the Golden Gate Bridge, the Marin Headlands, the city, and all the tiny people recreating in the park.

Another great day in the Park! I happily wandered back to Andrew’s apartment – without using Google Maps – read my book in a comfy chair by their bay window and waited for them to come home from work.

That evening Celeste, Andrew, and I dined at one of their new favorites – Ragazza, on Divisadero Street, just southeast of the Panhandle. Andrew had described it as a pizza place, but it was so much more. Their thin-crust pizza and salads were phenomenal.

Day 3 – Golden Gate Park, Legion of Honor, Lands End, and Planet Granite

Herb at Lands EndAs I mentioned, Herb had completed his crossing of the country via motorcycle and was currently in the Petaluma KOA trying to get our motorhome ready for another family vacation. When he called, I tried to convince him to hold off on the maintenance and prep and come spend the day with me in San Francisco. We could go to museums, climb with the kids that night, and then he could take me back to Petaluma where I could help him get things ready.

He must have missed me, because although he still had much work to do, he hopped in the Subaru and drove down to the city to meet me. Despite having been married for close to 30 years, our near 3-week separation made me feel as excited as if we were going on a first date. Maybe this doing things separately and then reuniting was a good thing.

Wanting to show off my new-found knowledge of the city, I took him on a tour which included several things that I had already done, but that was okay – it was fun seeing them again through someone else’s eyes.

With the intention of going to the de Young Museum, we drove into Golden Gate Park and parked along John F. Kennedy Drive. Before going to the museum, we walked around Stow Lake, past the boathouse and the Chinese pagoda, then across the bridge and up to the top of Strawberry Hill to enjoy the views of the city and the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin Headlands in the distance.

The Cliff House at Lands EndI had passed the de Young museum so many times already during my strolls through the park that it was good to finally be visiting it, although the building is beautiful and interesting enough on its own to make a visit to it worthwhile without ever stepping through its doors.

Redesigned in 2005 to help withstand future earthquakes, the museum both blends with and complements its park-like setting -- and that blending into its surroundings will become even more pronounced as the copper panels covering its façade oxidize and take on a more greenish tint. Also, if you look closely, you see that the copper panels have been perforated and textured to imitate light filtering through a tree canopy.

However, today we would enjoy the contents of this beautiful museum, which houses an impressive collection of American art from the 17th through 20th centuries, textiles and costumes, and art of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. There was much to see, but if I were to pick out my highlights I would include the adorable wood-carved statues from Africa, the glasswork by Chihuly, and the wonderful outdoor sculpture garden, which contained many playful and thought-provoking works.

Our $10 admission included same-day entry to its sister Legion of Honor Museum, an incredible neo-classical, palace-like building that we had on a previous visit admired from the outside, but very much wanted to enter.

Sutro Bath RuinsGetting to the Legion of Honor required driving to Lincoln Park, a beautiful park that sits atop a hill in the northwestern corner of San Francisco overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the Golden Gate Bridge, and much of San Francisco. The museum’s spectacular setting is made even more dramatic by the imposing French neoclassical Beaux-arts Palace that was built to commemorate the Californian soldiers who died in World War, but now houses its impressive collection of Ancient and European decorative arts, sculpture, and painting.

Hitchcock fans will recognize this as the museum where in the film Vertigo the obsessed Kim Novak goes each day to gaze at the “Portrait of Carlotta,” her dead great-great-great grandmother, who seems to possess her soul. You won’t find the portrait here though, as it was only a prop created by the studio.

The first thing we encountered when we entered its impressive courtyard was Rodin’s Thinker, whose own quite thoughtfulness seemed to suggest that we do the same.

Immediately behind the Thinker is a glass pyramid, which sits atop and provides a skylight for the special exhibition galleries below. The lightness and transparency of the glass made for an interesting contrast with the heaviness and solidity of the rest of the architecture.

Even more than the de Young, this museum’s collection included more of the art that I was personally interested in. I diligently referenced the museum layout to ensure that I didn’t miss any of the 19 galleries on its main floor, which contained the following.

• Ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman Art
• Medieval Art
• French and Italian Baroque and Rococo
• British Art
• 17th and 18th Century Flemish and Dutch and Flemish Paintings
• 18th to 20th Century Neoclassicism through Post-Impressionism
• Sculptures of Rodin

We were especially interested in many of the Rodin works as we had just recently visited the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia, where we had seen many of these same works – the advantage of creating in a medium that can be easily copied.

Tiny Lolo on Golden Gate Park BridgeI’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite between the de Young Museum and the Legion of Honor, but fortunately I don’t have to. They are very different both in their architecture and their collections, as was the Getty Museum and Getty Villa in L.A. How wonderful to have such a choice in such close proximity.

Herb and I still had about an hour to kill before meeting Andrew and Celeste at the climbing gym, so we drove the short distance to Lands End to enjoy the stunning views. Even though I had been there just the day before, Herb had never been down to the old Sutro Bath Ruins, so I enjoyed playing tour guide and showing him what I had discovered – like the spooky tunnel off to the right of the ruins.

It was approaching 6:00, so we drove over to Planet Granite to meet Andrew and Celeste for a night of indoor rock climbing. As, I have said time and time again, I absolutely love this climbing gym and can’t wait until I move out here so that I can come to it regularly.

After climbing, we went to dinner at Mandalay Burmese Cuisine, my first Burmese restaurant. Seeing our dazed expressions when reading the menu, Andrew and Celeste took over and ordered for all of us. Everything was delicious. I was expanding my palate this trip with so many wonderful dining experiences in both Seattle and San Francisco.

Rather than stay in San Francisco that night, Herb and I drove back to Petaluma to sleep in the motorhome. Herb warned me that things were a bit disorganized because I had rushed him to come down to the city to pick me up, so I was careful to not comment on the disorderly state it was in. It definitely needed a woman’s touch, further confirmed by the fact that there were only 6 items in the refrigerator, and each of them was a beer.

We both had our work cut out for us tomorrow before Andrew and Celeste arrived to spend the weekend with us.

Description

The following is in no way meant to be a comprehensive guide to San Francisco, as there are entire guide books devoted to just that. However, the following is a brief description of some of the sights in and nearby the city that I enjoyed during my stay.

Turtle Jam in the ParkGolden Gate Park is to San Franciscans what Central Park is to New Yorkers. Its 1,017 acres make it 20% larger than Central Park. It is over three miles long (from east to west) and half a mile wide (north to south). The park design was the result of an 1870 competition, won by 24-year-old William Hammond Hall. Park highlights that I visited include:

• The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park is the oldest public Japanese garden in the United States. Originally created as a one-acre Japanese Village for the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition, the property was eventually left to the care of Makoto Hagiwara, a renowned Japanese landscape architect, who expanded the garden to its current size of 5 acres. For decades, Mr. Hagiwara poured his wealth, passion, and creative talents into creating the garden until he and his family, along with approximately 120,000 other Japanese Americans were placed in internment camps. He was never allowed to return. Today, the garden is one of San Francisco’s most popular attractions, featuring pagodas, an authentic teahouse, an arched drum bridge, stepping stone paths, plants from China and Japan, and a serene koi pond and zen garden. Admission is $8 for non-residents and $6 for residents. On Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays it if free if entered by 10:00 am.
• The San Francisco Botanical Gardens has 55 acres of both landscaped gardens and open spaces, showcasing over 8,000 different kinds of plants from around the world. The Bay Area's mild temperatures, wet winters and dry summers, coupled with that famous coastal fog, provide a range of climatic conditions that exist in few other botanical gardens in the world. As a result, the Botanical Gardens are able to recreate climatic conditions from round the world, such as those found in an Andean Cloud Forest, a Chilean Garden, Mesoamerica, Southeast Asia, etc.
• Stow Lake is the largest of Golden Gate Park’s man-made lakes and a very popular spot for relaxing and recreating. There is a boathouse where one can rent a rowboat or a paddle boat or just get a bite to eat at its lake-side café, a beautiful red Chinese pagoda, and a 1-mile paved path that traces the lake’s perimeter. At the center of this doughnut-shaped lake is Strawberry Hill, an island reached by two bridges on either side of the lake. Several paths lead up to its 430-foot summit, the highest point in the park, where there are wonderful views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Mount Tamalpais.
• The National AIDS Memorial Grove, located in the eastern end of Park, is a 10-acre living memorial honoring all who have confronted this tragic pandemic can gather to heal, hope, and remember.
• The de Young is a fine arts museum located in Golden Gate Park. Founded in 1895, as an outgrowth of the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition, it has grown to become an integral part of the cultural fabric of the city and a destination for millions of residents and visitors from around the world. In 2005, the museum was reopened in a state-of-the-art new facility that integrates art, architecture, and the natural landscape and houses the museum’s priceless collections of American art from the 17th through 20th centuries, textiles, and art of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. There is also an outdoor sculpture garden. Admission is $10 for an adult, but also allows same day admission to the Legion of Honor.

The Legion of Honor is a fine arts museum located in Lincoln Park, in a spectacular setting overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the Golden Gate Bridge, and much of San Francisco. The museum’s spectacular setting is made even more dramatic by the imposing French neoclassical Beaux-arts building that was built to commemorate the Californian soldiers who died in World War I. Today it houses an impressive collection of Ancient art from throughout the Mediterranean and the Near East; European decorative arts, sculpture, and painting; and the largest collection of works on paper in the country. Its collection includes Rodin’s Thinker, who thoughtfully greets visitors as they enter the museum’s Court of Honor.

Corona HeightsCorona Heights is a hill in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco with one of the best views of San Francisco. Its prominent red outcrop is visible from many parts of the city. In the late 1800s, Corona Heights was quarried for brickmaking materials by the infamous Gray brothers who had a brick kiln on States Street. The steep, exposed rock faces and the “crown” we see today at Corona Heights are the result of this quarrying.

Buena Vista Park, in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, is the oldest park in the city, established in 1867 as Hill Park. Its name was later changed to reflect the spectacular views from its 575-foot summit. The park features secluded winding trails and one of the city’s few remaining coast live oak groves.

Lands End is a park in the northwestern corner of San Francisco located at the mouth of the Golden Gate, the strait that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. A trail leads down from the Visitor Center parking lot, past a lovely hillside of cypress and wildflowers, to the ruins of the old Sutro Baths, once a lavish swimming resort in the 19th century. During its heyday, there were six saltwater swimming tanks (flushed daily by the tides), 517 private dressing rooms, restaurants, and 1,700 seat amphitheater, all enclosed by 100,000 feet of glass. The resort was destroyed by fire in 1966, but the foundations are still visible on the rocks. Nearby is an interesting cave tunnel through the hillside, with views of underwater channels.

Travelogue

Lolo of the HouseboatHerb had about a 10-day lead on me crossing the country, but I had the advantage of flight. He had just two wheels to take him an awfully long wait. When I left New Jersey, he was just cruising into New Mexico. I had spent much of his absence running a mission control center at home that rivaled NASA. Each day I would track his progress on Glympse, chat with him about places to see, look at radar maps to help him time his ride across tornado alley, Google places for him to stay or eat, etc. So now, not only would my adventure begin when I stepped on that plane, but his would take a new turn as well as he lost his virtual co-pilot.

As I mentioned in the trip cover page, this was a very different type of trip for us in that we were starting off separate, something Herb and I rarely do. He was finally realizing his dream of driving his Honda ST1100 across the U.S., and I was headed to Seattle to spend 5 days with Tommy, seeing his home, meeting his friends, and exploring the city. We spend a lot of time together as a family, but this would be the longest one on one time Tommy and I ever shared – I just hoped we wouldn’t drive each other crazy. Plus, as Herb and Andrew informed him, he had the responsibility of dealing with me on Mother’s Day. Let me just give away the ending now – his hosting ability and the fun we had together far exceeded expectations, I think for both of us.

Lake Union HouseboatsIt certainly didn’t hurt that I booked what is probably the coolest accommodation ever – a houseboat on Lake Union, at the Gas Works Park Marina, just a mile and a half from his house. It wasn’t hard for me to convince him to stay with me rather than at his apartment.

The setup was awesome. It wasn’t a huge boat compared to the ones around us, but it was cozy and comfortable, with views of Gas Work Park as well as the Seattle skyline. The best part was that along the entire back section of the boat were windows that slid completely open, letting in a beautiful breeze and allowing us to practically reach out and touch the paddle boarders and kayakers paddling by – not to mention the geese that I feared might fly in. There were two comfy leather couches by these windows that Tommy and I, after an active day of exploring, would respectively collapse on for a nap to charge up before heading out again to meet up with his friends at one of Seattle’s fine dining and drinking establishments – and there are many.

Day 1 – Gas Works Park, Microsoft Campus, Fremont Brewery, and Brouwer’s Cafe

Gas Works ParkTommy had to work on my first day in Seattle, but he left me his car so that I could drive over to the Microsoft campus in Redmond to meet him for lunch.

That gave me the morning to wander through nearby Gas Works Park, which has to be one of the most unique public spaces I have ever visited. In a sort of tribute to (or reflection on) a bygone industrial age, this park contains the remnants of an old coal gasification plant, once used to produce coal gas, which was used for municipal lighting and heating before the advent of natural gas. The rusty old industrial structures with the backdrop of the modern-day Seattle skyline definitely made you feel like you were visually straddling two centuries.

Unfortunately, the big hill in the center of the park known as the Great Earth Mound was fenced off for a few months to allow new topsoil and grass to get established. Too bad, because I would have liked to have seen the unique sundial at its summit, where you, the viewer, is what casts the time-revealing shadow.

I then drove over to meet Tommy for lunch at the Microsoft campus. It felt a little weird for me, and I am sure him, because he had just accepted a job with Strava in San Francisco, but had not yet resigned from Microsoft, so this would be one of his last lunches here as well. The campus was very impressive – kind of a city unto itself, with banks, shops, playing fields, and dozens of dining choices. Microsoft had been a great first job experience for Tommy and one I am sure he will look back on fondly.

That evening, Tommy and I walked from the houseboat over to the Fremont Brewery to meet up with a few of his friends. We weren’t the only ones with this idea in mind, and the place was packed, mostly with people half my age. Fortunately, Tommy’s friends were really awesome and welcoming and didn’t make me feel like I was old and boring. After having one of Fremont’s fine craft beers, we moved on to dinner at Brouwer’s Café, which was extremely crowded, as it was Seattle Beer Week, and this was one of the stops along the way. I knew that the beer selections would be awesome, but was pleasantly surprised as to how good the food was as well.

By the end of the night, I felt like I was in my 20s again. Maybe that was just the beer talking.

Day 2 – Chihuly Garden and Glass, Space Needle, Olympic Sculpture Park, and Bainbridge Ferry

Lolo in Chihuly GlasshouseThe next day was Friday, and Tommy had taken the day off from work to spend showing me around Seattle. We had a big day planned, so we got an early start – not quite early enough, however, as we missed the early bird half price parking by the Space Needle by 5 minutes, a fact that much to Tommy’s annoyance I couldn’t stop bringing up throughout the day. “Get over it,” was more or less his attempt at closure.

Our first stop that day was Chihuly Garden and Glass, a brand new (as of 2012) museum in the Seattle Center, which showcases the work of Northwest glass artist Dale Chihuly. I have been to a lot of art museums, but I would have to say that none of them has blown me away as this one did. It was absolutely breathtaking.

We first wandered through the eight rooms that make up the indoor galleries. Each room was more beautiful than the next and continued to push the boundaries of glass as an art medium.
My personal favorite was a room that housed two rowboats that seemed to be floating in water, each of them overflowing with glass objects in a myriad of size, shapes, and colors. It made me think of Christmas in Venice -- and I’ve never even been to Venice! Thank goodness for digital cameras, because we would have run out of film in the first room.

After the galleries, we entered the Glasshouse, a 40-foot-tall glass enclosed structure filled with natural light and housing one of Chihuly’s largest suspended works, a 100-foot floral and vine-like sculpture in reds, oranges, yellows, and amber. It was unbelievably beautiful.

Chihuly GardenLast but not least, was the outdoor Garden, where we wandered along winding paths past more amazing glasswork, whose colors and shapes both blended with and complemented the beautiful trees, plants, and flowers they were set amongst. Four of Chihuly’s larger works anchored the corners of the garden and the iconic Space Needle loomed above.

Talk about sensual overload!

No self-respecting tourist visits Seattle without going to the top of the iconic Space Needle, so as expected the line to go up was already quite long. Fortunately we had had the foresight to make lunch reservations, which allowed us to cut the line and walk right up to and into an elevator which scooted us to the top within 5 minutes of our leaving the Chihuly Museum. We felt very important.

We had an 11:30 lunch reservation (the only one we could get at such short notice), so we had time to go up to the observation deck first. We had actually wanted to eat here on Mother’s Day, but since everything was booked, we voted to move the holiday up 2 days.

Lolo Dining in the Space NeedleAs we expected, the views of the Cascades, Mt. Rainier (we were lucky that day that the mountain was out), downtown Seattle, and the ferries and boats crisscrossing Elliott Bay from the observation deck were spectacular. We tried to see if we could find our little houseboat, but although we could see Lake Union and Gas Works Park, we couldn’t pick it out. I think it was behind the trees at the far end of the park.

When the time came, we took the staircase down to City Restaurant and were immediately seated right be the window. It was really cool how the hostess station in the center area stayed put, while the donut-shaped dining area surrounding it slowly turned. Tommy made the mistake, or rather the intentional jest, of putting my camera on the window sill. Luckily I grabbed it as it was about to pass me by – or I could have waited the 47 minutes it takes to rotate to collect it again.

Our expectations for lunch were fairly modest as we thought that with such an incredible setting, they didn’t have to try too hard with the food. Boy, were we wrong. We agreed to order different things and then split. Tommy ordered the Macaroni and Cheese with Dungeness Crab and I ordered a salmon sandwich—you can’t not have salmon when in the Pacific Northwest. Both dishes were absolutely delicious and the helpings were so surprising large that we wrapped up half to eat later.

View from the Bainbridge Island FerryThe final sightseeing event that I had chosen for the day was to take the Bainbridge Ferry, not to actually get off on Bainbridge Island, but just to get out on Elliott Bay for a different perspective of this beautiful city. We walked the 2 miles to the Ferry Terminal at Colman Dock, stopping briefly in Olympic Sculpture Park, a lovely waterfront park that used to be an industrial site, but has been transformed into an open space for art. The grounds, which are part of the Seattle Art Museum, are home to works by such artists as Alexander Calder, Richard Serra, and Mark di Suvero.

Every time we are in Seattle, we make sure to stop here, and each time we are treated to something new – this time, a dramatic 46-foot tall, totally white, figurative head created by Jaume Plensa, a Spanish artist known for creating public sculptures that are both monumental in scale and meditative in subject. In this work, Plensa used computer modeling to elongate and abstract the face of his 9-year old model’s features. He named the piece “Echo” after the mountain nymph from Greek Mythology whom Hera punished for her part in helping to conceal Zeus’ licentious behavior. How appropriate that this figure, with eyes closed as if in a state of meditation, looks out over Puget Sound in the direction of Mount Olympus, named for the ancient Greek home of the gods. Hera’s punishment was to deprive Echo of speech, only allowing her the ability to repeat the last words of another. In an interview for the New York Times about this work, Plensa said, “Many times we talk and talk, but we are not sure if we are talking with our own words or repeating just messages that are in the air.” I certainly can think of a few people like that.

Red Calder in Olympic Sculpture ParkWe continued our walk along the waterfront under the noisy, elevated Alaskan Way Viaduct, an eyesore of a highway that thankfully is going to be replaced by an underground tunnel in the coming years, and finally arrived at the Colman Dock where the ferry to Bainbridge Island departs every 45 minutes or so.

The ferry was the right thing to do. It was a beautiful day – don’t believe what anybody tells you about Seattle weather – and the scenery couldn’t be beat. For 35 minutes, we sat back, put our feet up, and ate the rest of our Space Needle lunch, watching the sailboats, Ferris Wheel, and skyline go by. For security reasons, we did have to disembark on Bainbridge Island, but then we got right back on again and did the whole thing in reverse. The fare for the round trip was only $8 – a true bargain for a boat cruise on Elliott Bay.

By the time we got back to the houseboat we were exhausted – but in that way that feels kind of nice, and satisfying. We threw open the back windows and collapsed on the couches for a power nap. Once rejuvenated, we sat out on the back deck of the boat enjoying the view and a refreshing beer. It didn’t get much better than this.

Day 3 – Rattlesnake Ledge Hike, Golden Gardens Beach, the Walrus and the Carpenter

Rattlesnake LakeWe awoke to another spectacular sunny day in Seattle. The weather couldn’t have been any better – the perfect day for a hike.

About a month ago, I had sprained my ankle quite badly while running, and then twisted it for a second time just before leaving for this trip. Although it had improved quite a bit, I was still wearing an ankle brace and would sometimes feel the occasional twinge. Fearing he would be held responsible if I hurt myself again, Tom chose a relatively moderate hike that would give us a lot of bang for our buck – the 2-mile (each way) hike up to Rattlesnake Ledge.

Seattle has a very outdoor-oriented culture, so when a sunny Saturday comes around, half the city empties out into the surrounding mountains to enjoy one of its many beautiful hikes. Since the hike to Rattlesnake Ledge is only 45 minutes from the city and not terribly strenuous, it was, as we expected, extremely crowded. However, with my ankle the way it was, I was just happy to be doing something. I was so nervous about twisting it again that I kept my eyes peeled to the ground looking for rocks and roots that might trip me up – so much so that I had to remind myself to stop once in a while to look out at the spectacular view. Tommy, good son that he is, kept a close eye on me and was always there to lend a helping hand if required.

Golden Gardens BeachThe hike begins near the shores of lovely Rattlesnake Lake before heading into a lush second-growth forest along a well-maintained trail. A series of switchbacks made the 1,175 elevation gain to the ledge relatively easy. Once atop the ledge, we (and about 200 other people) gazed out over Snoqualmie Valley, Rattlesnake Lake, and Chester Morse Lake below out and at nearby Mount Si and Mount Washington. Last year we had hiked to the top of Little Si. I wish I had a pair of binoculars so I could have looked to see if the red cooler we left behind on its summit was still there. The ledge was actually quite exposed with a very steep drop-off, so I wisely stayed back from its edge.

The hike down was uneventful, by which I mean I did not hurt myself. So, we called it a success and headed back to the city to hit the beach in Golden Gardens Park on Puget Sound, right across from the snow-capped Olympic Mountains.

As with the hike to Rattlesnake Ledge, we were not the only ones in Seattle that had the idea of going to the beach on this absolutely gorgeous day, so it took us awhile to find parking. Having lived in a suburb of New York City my entire life, I am not used to finding such a beautiful beach within city limits, and I was definitely not used to seeing snow-capped mountains from my blanket. However, Jersey beaches do have the advantage of warmer water.

Back at the houseboat, we took our customary power nap, before heading out to what Tommy promised to be the quintessential Seattle dining experience – slurping down oysters at The Walrus and the Carpenter. I had to shamefully admit to my son that I had never had oysters before, but I had a good excuse. Herb is allergic to shellfish, so I avoided them in deference to him. Well Herb was about a thousand miles away, so there was no better time than this.

Tom on Houseboat DeckIn a city known for its excellent seafood, it’s hard to go wrong, but this place is recognized as one of its best. It was even featured on one of Anthony Bourdain’s “The Layover” episodes. Tommy warned me that the wait would be long, so we went and put our names on the hostess’s list and were told to come back in about 2 hours. We walked around Ballard for a while and stopped in one of its many drinking establishments for a beer.

The two hours passed quickly, and at 10 o’clock, we headed be back to The Walrus and the Carpenter and were told they were ready for us. Tommy chose to sit at the bar because then we could watch the guys shuck the oysters – boy were they fast. There were three of them and they all looked the same – like ruggedly handsome fisherman. This was fun.

There was a large list of oysters to choose from on the menu, each distinguished by the cove from which they were harvested from, which determined where sweet or briny they were. Since neither of us had a particular favorite in mind – I hadn’t even known before I got here that there were this many different varieties – we ordered a sampler with their recommendations. We also ordered a plate of smoked trout, kind of as a backup in case I didn’t like the oysters, but that turned out not to be necessary.

They gave us each a plate of 6 oysters, arranged from sweet to briny. At first, the slimy texture freaked me out about a bit, but soon I was enthusiastically slurping them from their shells,

or, as Lewis Carroll so eloquently put it:

     O Oysters,' said the Carpenter,
          You've had a pleasant run!
     Shall we be trotting home again?'
          But answer came there none —
     And this was scarcely odd, because
          They'd eaten every one."

What a great experience and what a terrific day it had been!

Day 4 – Stone Gardens Climbing Gym, Fremont Farmers Market, and Fremont Public Art

Lolo and Beer on Houseboat DeckThe last couple of days had been pretty action packed, so we decided that for my last day in Seattle we would slow the pace down a bit. We decided to spend it the way that Tommy would normally spend a Sunday, and just have me tag along.

We started the day meeting one of Tommy’s friends at Stone Gardens, the rock climbing gym Tommy belongs to in Ballard. This is not as crazy as it sounds. I love climbing and also belong to a gym back in New Jersey that I go to three times a week. I think I held my own pretty well at the gym and achieved my goal of not hurting myself and even more importantly, not embarrassing Tommy.

The Fremont neighborhood of Seattle is a very cool place to live, especially if you are in your twenties. Every Sunday afternoon they have a Farmers Market with tents selling fresh produce, crafts, and a wide variety of food ready to eat.

Vladimir Lenin StatueHowever, when Tommy learned that I had never had a gyro, he said we had to go to Sinbad Express, one of his favorite spots in Fremont to pick up a quick lunch. I felt like I was at the point in my life where our roles had become reversed and he was the one now pushing me to expand my horizons and try new foods. As with the oysters last night, he was right again. I really need to get out more.

Fremont is known for its quirky, and sometimes controversial, public art, so after finishing our gyros, I asked Tommy to show me some of his favorites. In no particular order that I can remember, he showed me:

• The Rocket – located at the corner of Evanston and 36th SStreet, this iconic Fremont phallic symbol was constructed from a 1950s-era Cold War rocket missile fuselage. It has Fremont's motto on the side of it, "De Libertas Quirkas, " which appropriately means "The freedom to be peculiar".
• A giant, and somewhat controversial, 16-foot bronze statue of Vladimir Lenin, brought to Seattle from Slovakia by the American Lewis Carpenter, who found it lying on the ground after it was nearly destroyed in the 1989 revolution. The statue is often the victim of various artistic projects (sometimes referred to as vandalism). When I was there, his hand had been dipped in blood red paint. The statue is actually on sale for $250,000, but so far there have been no takers.
• The Center of the Universe, a guidepost put up in 1991 by a group of Scientists that decided, after several beers at a local alehouse, that Fremont (and more specifically, the corner of North Fremont Avenue and 35th Street) lay at the center of a special geophysical gravitational force. The guidepost is interesting in its own way, pointing you to the various pieces of public art in Fremont, as well as the North Pole and the Milky Way.
• Waiting for the Interurban, which depicts five life-size people and a dog eternally waiting for Seattle’s old interurban rail line that no longer runs. The statues are often decorated with costumes to celebrate various events. While I was there, they were all wearing nursing uniforms to celebrate National Nurses Week.

And my personal favoriteLolo with The Fremont Troll

• The Fremont Troll, an 18-foot tall concrete sculpture of a troll crushing a real Volkswagen Beetle in its left hand that sits lurking under the north end of the Aurora Bridge. I am not sure if there is any significance to the fact that the Volkswagen, which appears to have been swiped from the roadway above, has a California license plate. He has only one good eye (made from a hubcap), as the other is covered by scraggly hair. One of my favorite photos from this entire trip is one of me sitting perched on his right hand. He almost seems to be protecting me.

It certainly is easy to see how the quirky and free-spirited neighborhood of Fremont has earned the nicknames, "The People's Republic of Fremont" or "The Artists' Republic of Fremont."

Day 5 – Bye Bye Seattle and my first Uber experience

Monday morning. Time for Tommy to get back to work and for me to catch a plane to San Francisco to have the next son entertain me. Rather than take a ½ day off from work – especially on the day he was going to resign – Tommy suggested that I take an Uber car to the airport.

I’ve heard a lot about Uber, but had never used it myself. However, I had downloaded the Uber App onto my phone before leaving home. Tommy suggested that I get all my bags ready first, because when you request Uber, they come pretty fast. He wasn’t kidding. The App already knew where I was, so all I had to do was enter the Seattle airport as my destination. Immediately I was told that my driver would be there in 6 minutes, and I even got a picture of the driver and his name.

I can see now why this service has become so popular. It’s quick, inexpensive (only $32 for the half hour drive to the airport), and the driver was very polite and friendly. It definitely made me feel more confident about traveling alone. With the mere pressing of a button on my phone, I knew I could be picked up and delivered practically anywhere I needed to go – and at a reasonable price.

I did feel a little sad leaving. I had had such incredibly fun time with Tommy and gotten a chance to see just how unbelievably awesome Seattle is.

Description

Chihuly RowboatsThe following is in no way meant to be a comprehensive guide to Seattle, as there are entire guide books devoted to just that. However, the following is a brief description of some of the sights in and nearby the city that I enjoyed during my stay.

Gas Works Park is a 19-acre public park located on the north shore of Lake Union with panoramic views of the lake and the downtown skyline. The park was originally the site of a coal gasification plant, which operated from 1906 to 1956. When it was purchased by the city and became a public park in 1962, Seattle landscape architect, Richard Haag, incorporated many pieces of the old plant into his design – industrial towers, stacks, pipes, and a boiler house which has been converted into a picnic shelter. In addition to the remnants of the plant, the park contains a Great Earth Mound, molded out of the rubble from on-site excavated materials and covered with fresh topsoil. At the summit of the mound is a sundial which uses the shadow of the viewer to tell the time of day and season.

Chihuly GardenChihuly Garden and Glass is a museum that opened in 2012 in the Seattle Center that showcases the works of the world-renowned Northwest glass artist, Dale Chihuly. There are eight galleries displaying a comprehensive collection of his work, demonstrating how he pushed the boundaries of glass as an art medium. The centerpiece of the museum is the 40-foot tall Glasshouse, enclosing 4,500 sq. ft. of natural light-filled space, with an expansive 100-foot floral-like sculpture in reds, oranges, yellows, and amber suspended from its vast ceiling. The third section of the museum is the outdoor Garden, anchored by four monumental sculptures, and filled with glasswork complementing in both form and color the trees, plants, and flowers along its winding paths. Admission for an adult is $23.

The Space Needle is the iconic 605-foot tall spire that rises above Seattle, visible from almost everywhere. It is located at the Seattle Center, and has an observation deck at 520 feet and the rotating SkyCity restaurant right below at 500 feet. The restaurant rotates 360 degrees in exactly 47 minutes – just enough time to make a complete rotation before you finish lunch. From the observation deck and the restaurant, the views of the Cascades, Mt. Rainier (if you are lucky), downtown Seattle, and Elliott Bay are breathtaking. When it was built for the 1962 World’s Fair, it became the tallest structure west of the Mississippi. The trip to the top via elevator takes 41 seconds and costs $18 – unless of course you have a SkyCity reservation, in which case the ride is free.

Tom with Mount Rainier and Space NeedleThe Olympic Sculpture Park is a nine-acre waterfront park that was transformed from an industrial site into an open space for art. The grounds, which are part of the Seattle Art Museum, are home for works by such artists as Alexander Calder, Richard Serra, and Mark di Suvero. Admission is free

Rattlesnake Ridge, located 45 minutes east of Seattle, is the popular 2-mile (each way) hike to Rattlesnake Ledge where one is greeted with tremendous views of the Snoqualmie Valley, Mount Si, Mount Washington, Rattlesnake Lake, and Chester Morse Lake.

Golden Gardens Park, located in Ballard on Puget Sound, is a popular destination for Seattle beachgoers. While the waters are quite chilly for swimming, the extraordinary views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains from its sandy beach make it a lovely spot to spend the day. The park also has two wetlands, a short loop trail, and a fishing pier. Watching the sunset over the sound gathered around a bonfire is another popular activity.

Fremont Public Art -For a neighborhood of its size, Fremont has a disproportionately large number of quirky statues and public art, which has resulted in it sometimes being referred to as "The People's Republic of Fremont" or "The Artists' Republic of Fremont." Some of the most famous examples include the Rocket, a 16-foot bronze statue of Vladimir Lenin, the Center of the Universe Guidepost, Waiting for the Interurban, and, of course, the Fremont Troll.

Travelogue

Thanks to Andrew's delivery of us to the airport, our transition from west to east coast was an easy one.

Description

Usual 5 hour non-stop flight from SFO to Newark International Airport.

Travelogue

Well, we were back at our home away from home and nearing the end of what was to be our longest time away from home – 32 days.

We spent the majority of our time doing final RV maintenance and prep to go home. Herb did manage to successfully replace the voltage regulator, so our generator was back in business. As Herb would say, “For one, what I am sure will be one very brief moment in time, everything is working in the motorhome.” Poor Herb. It is getting more and more difficult to maintain a 15 year old motorhome, especially when you live on the other side of the country from it.

That moment of peace was all too brief, however. On our last night, we were cozied up in the back watching a movie, when something made me go up to the front of the RV and check the vent above the cab. The California drought had finally decided to end, or at least take a short reprieve, and it had been pouring out for several hours. Sure enough, the vent was leaking and there was a steady drip drip of water onto the bed above the cab. We put a pot underneath it and by the next morning there was a quarter inch of water in it. This was not a situation that we could just ignore, as the rainy season was coming and we were headed back East for we didn’t know how long.

The next morning we went to a local hardware store and bought some plastic tarp and duct tape and tried to securely cover the vent. It was still drizzling though, so Herb was worried that the surface wasn’t dry enough to really guarantee that the tape would stick. We really didn’t have much of a choice though, so we just crossed our fingers and hoped that it would hold.

After trying to protect the vent, we drove down to Oakland to Andrew’s office to pick up his car. The last time we were out West, Andrew had come up with the idea of us staying at his apartment the night before we fly home and driving us to the airport the next morning, rather than us having to deal with a cab and the Sonoma County Airport Express. Plus, it gave us another night to spend together.

So, we got Andrew’s car, drove it back to Petaluma, loaded it with our luggage, stored the motorhome, and drove back down to San Francisco – a little bit of a logistics nightmare, but still better than doing it in the morning.

As we usually do when visiting them in San Francisco, we met them at Planet Granite, the rock climbing gym that they belong to and one that we have come to really enjoy during our visits. I can’t believe how much I like climbing these days!

After climbing we went back to Andrew and Celeste’s place where they cooked us a delicious pasta dinner. Their apartment has really come together so nicely. It is so cozy and adorable, and we absolutely love spending time with them there.

The next morning Andrew, good son that he is, dropped us off at the airport on his way to work. Saying goodbye wasn’t as tough this time, because Christmas and the boys arrival in New Jersey, was only 3 weeks away.

Description

The Petaluma KOA is an award winning camping resort located within an hour’s drive of San Francisco, Napa and Sonoma Valley Wineries, giant redwoods, and Sonoma County and California Coastal Beaches. It is considered to be the RV resort in the San Francisco Bay area.

On its 70 acres, there are 312 spacious RV sites, 32 camping cabins, and 10 Wine Country lodges.

Other amenities include:
• Guided tours of San Francisco (from May through October)
• Huge heated pool and spa
• Inflatable waterslide
• Rock climbing wall
• Huge playground
• Petting zoo
• Karaoke
• Hayrides and live weekend entertainment

The campground is open all year.

Travelogue

Half Dome with Frosty MeadowWe were back for the Gaidus second annual Thanksgiving in Yosemite!! Last year had been so much fun, that we decided to try it again, but this time we would be having our turkey in the elegant Ahwahnee Dining Room rather than the Yosemite Lodge Mountain Room. Don’t get me wrong – the Mountain Room had been great, but there is just nothing like the Ahwahnee.

Being a veteran of Yosemite Thanksgivings, I made sure I nabbed an Upper Pines campsite as soon as the November booking window became available. Upper Pines is the only campground open all year round, so although there are less people visiting the park in November, there are also less campsites. I booked it for the Tuesday before Thanksgiving through Sunday night, which would give me and Herb a little extra time around the boys stay with us.

Rather than wait until Tuesday, however, Herb suggested that we drive out a day earlier – the more time in Yosemite the better. We just assumed that there would be an available campsite in Upper Pines, thinking that people would be coming in for the holiday later in the week, and that at the very least, our campsite would be empty.

Lolo Photographing Meadow MistWe arrived in Yosemite past the time when anyone is manning the campground booth, so we drove in, saw that our campsite was indeed empty, and settled in. After dinner, we watched a movie and then turned in early.

We were fast asleep when around 10:00 there was a knock on our door. It was two guys saying that we were in their campsite. Deep down, I was kind of afraid this would happen, but when 10:00 came around, I thought for sure that no one would show up anymore. After all, we had the campsite booked for the next day.

El Capitan in Morning LightThey were nice enough about the misunderstanding, and Herb and I quickly got our jackets on and got ready to move the RV and the car. The problem was, we weren’t sure just where we were going to move it to. Fortunately, a ranger that was driving through the campground saw the commotion and stopped to inquire what was going on. When we told him, he went back to the kiosk and returned with a list of campsites that were empty that night. We thanked him profusely and drove around until we found one on the list that we could comfortably fit into.

The next morning we awoke to sunny skies, but very chilly temperatures. Originally, we were planning to bike ride around the valley, but it was so cold that we decided to drive around in the car instead.

El Capitan Picnic AreaHerb had bought a book entitled “The Photographers’s Guide to Yosemite,” which very specifically details geographical locations, as well as the time of year and time of day, for taking incredible photographs. Many of the locations in the book we already knew about, but there were also several that we did not. We decided to spend the day finding each of the book’s photography hotspots in the Valley, even though we might be hitting them during the wrong season or time of day. At the very least, it would be research for our future trips to Yosemite.

The cold was good for something. I had never seen the Valley so pristinely beautiful, with frost on the meadow grass and steam rising from its floor. It was absolutely breathtaking.

Herb was right. It was nice getting here a day early and just quietly enjoying the beauty of this incredible place, because when the boys arrived, we knew that the pace would pick up significantly.

Tommy flew in from Seattle and arrived in San Francisco around 9:30 Tuesday night. Despite our suggestion that they wait to drive out to Yosemite Wednesday morning, Andrew picked Tommy up at the airport and they just drove, arriving at our campsite around 2:30 in the morning. Vacation is very precious to them now that they are working, so they wanted to make sure that they had a full day Wednesday to climb. Ah…to be young.

Rock Climbing at Swan Slab and Sunnyside Bench and the Ahwahnee Great Lounge

Tom Climbing - LEGBecause of our trip here last Thanksgiving and then again in August, we were much more familiar with climbing areas in the Valley. However, in August, we were looking for walls that were in the shade because the sun heated up the rock too much, but now we wanted the exact opposite.

We began our first day of climbing in Yosemite at Swan Slab, a popular climbing area on the north side of the Valley, between Camp 4 and Lower Yosemite Falls. It’s one of my favorite spots, because the approach is easy and the base area is great for spectators, of which there are usually many. There is even a bench to sit on. Also, if I get bored watching, I can just set off from there on a Valley run.

Tommy led a 5.9 climb called Grant’s Crack and set up a top rope for Herb and Andrew. They could also do some 5.10 climbs from the same top rope. After coming down from his lead, Tommy insisted on setting a top rope up on something that I could do. I said my usual, “Don’t worry about me, I don’t have to climb,” which I repeat so often that they threatened to have a t-shirt printed for me with that on it. It’s become sort of a family joke, but sometimes I mean it. I can’t climb the routes they do, so I don’t want them to have to go out of their way to find something for me, and also, sometimes I am just plain scared. I love gym climbing, but am still somewhat intimidated on read rock. Anyway, I am glad that they never take my whining seriously and push me to climb, because I have really improved a lot and am no longer just an amusing anecdote. I mean I was occasionally getting a 5.7 or 5.8 outdoors.

Lolo Climbing - AJGWhile we were at Swan Slab, there was this guy that was just running up the rock on some difficult routes without any rope – known as soloing in the climbing world. Quite honestly, he was making me a little nervous. We talked with him a bit afterwards. His name was Charlie and he had been climbing so many times in Yosemite that he knew most of the routes inside and out. He said that he had done the one he was soloing up literally over 100 times, so while it looked really scary for us, for him it was just like a walk in the park. He was about Herb and my age and had been part of the Yosemite climbing scene since the late 70s. He personally knew and had climbed with many of the Valley’s climbing legends.

Merced River with North and Half DomesCharlie took a liking to us and volunteered to bring us to another climbing area that we had never been to before – Sunnyside Bench, just a little ways to the right of Lower Yosemite Falls. Tommy led a 5.9 climb called Jamcrack and set up a top rope for Herb and Andrew to follow. From this top rope they were also able to do another 5.10c and 5.10d climb. While this was going on, Charlie was doing it again – scampering up the rock like it was nothing. We finally volunteered to belay him – meaning that he could actually climb with a rope to catch him in case he fell, and he happily accepted. The really funny thing was that he said that being on a rope scared him. I’m not sure I get this guy.

Having Charlie along was like having your own personal Yosemite climbing guide. He knew everything about this place. He asked us if we wanted to meet him to climb the next day, so he could show us some more climbing areas that we hadn’t been to. We would have loved to, but tomorrow was Thanksgiving and we had a big date with the Ahwahnee. We didn’t tell him that we were eating at the Ahwahnee because we didn’t want to sound pretentious.

November Birches with Half DomeI felt kind of bad that he didn’t even realize it was Thanksgiving, but he explained that his wife had to work, so he thought he would get away a few days to do some climbing. Okay, that didn’t sound as bad.

He told us that he would probably just solo Royal Arches tomorrow, which just so happens to be the view outside the Ahwahnee Dining Room windows. Charlie and his soloing make me very nervous, so I kind of hoped we wouldn’t ruin our dinner by falling.

That night, rather than hang out in the somewhat chilly motorhome – Herb was trying to conserve propane since our generator wasn’t working – we drove over to the Ahwahnee with our kindles and a deck of cards and settled into a cozy evening in the Great Lounge. Although the Great Lounge is huge, there are so many nooks and crannies and side rooms that we were able to find our own private cozy spot.

Valley Floor Loop, Thanksgiving Dinner, Ice Skating, and Ahwahnee Great Lounge

Lolo and Boys Enjoying El CapitanOur Thanksgiving Dinner reservation was for 2:00, so there was plenty of time for some pre-feast exercise. We had two bikes along, so we decided that we would do part of the Valley Floor loop – Herb and I on bikes, and Andrew and Tommy in running sneakers.

It was a really brisk morning – the kind that really makes you feel alive. Rather than ride along the road, we followed the dirt paths whenever possible, passing through lovely pristine meadows and along the Merced River. It was very invigorating.

Having worked up a hearty appetite for our feast, we headed over to the Ahwahnee Hotel, a little bit early so we could relax in the lounge first. Originally, I had wanted to make our dinner reservation for 4:00, but the only slot I could get was 2:00. In retrospect I’m glad I wasn’t able to change it, because it gets dark by 4:00 in the Valley, and we wouldn’t have had the spectacular views out the dining room windows. How would I have looked for Charlie?

Lolo and Boys before Thanksgiving DinnerAs I have mentioned in previous posts, the Ahwahnee Dining Room, with its 34-foot-high beamed ceilings, granite pillars, chandeliers, and floor-to-ceiling windows, is the perfect venue for a memorable dining experience.

With a setting like this, the food just had to be good enough to do it justice, but that was incredible too. The first course was pickled vegetables and freshly baked bread, followed by butternut squash soup and then salad. I was already full. We were going to have to pace ourselves. Then came the dinner itself – a huge portion of local organic turkey and the usual accompaniments of stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and glazed carrots. Tommy, as he often does, ate only half his meal and had the rest wrapped up for later. Andrew, as he often does, went with much gusto for the whole meal at once. I think Tommy was the wiser man, because Andrew looked like he was going to be sick. He could not even think of participating in one of the delicious deserts, but instead had a slice of pumpkin pie wrapped up for later.

Family at Ahwahnee Thanksgiving DinnerWe walked our dinner off a bit around the lovely grounds afterwards, peering up at Royal Arches to see if by any chance Charlie was up there, but no sighting. Good thing, because it was already getting dark. At this time of year, sunset is so early, but because of the high walls of the Valley, darkness comes even earlier.

To continue our Yosemite Thanksgiving tradition, which is now on its second year, we went back to the motorhome, changed into warm clothing and headed over to the Curry Village ice skating rink. Last year when we had done this, it had been my first time on skates in over 10 years, so I was a lot more confident this time than last.

Herb Skates TooThe rink wasn’t that crowded, probably because a lot of people were having their Thanksgiving dinners or napping afterwards. We spent a good hour and a half careening around the rink. I had skated a lot when I was a kid, and if I must say so myself, I was pretty decent. While not quite as agile as then, I was still able to impress the boys by skating backwards while doing crossovers, with the occasional spin mixed in. It was so much fun!

The fun wasn’t over yet though. Not only did Tommy get to eat the rest of his delicious Thanksgiving dinner back in the RV in front of us, but we still had three more fun-filled days ahead of us in the Valley.

Rock Climbing on Manure Buttress Pile and Ahwahnee Great Lounge

Andrew and Tommy on NutcrackerFor today’s adventure, the boys wanted to take on a multi-pitch climb, which is a bit more involved than top-roping and requires more experience and skill. Unlike top rope climbing, where a climber climbs up and sets the rope through an anchor and then comes down, in a multi pitch climb, the leader climbs up to a belay station (usually a ledge), anchors himself in, and then belays the other climbers up from there. Then the process is repeated up to the next belay station and so one, for the number of pitches in the climb.

Tommy is quite experienced in multi-pitch climbing and Herb is as well, although his experience dates back a few decades. However, both in Yosemite last August and then again a few weeks back in Red Rock Canyon, they had successfully completed several multi-pitch climbs together.

Tommy's Turn to Lead NutcrackerMulti-pitch climbs are more exciting, because you climb hundreds of feet up on the wall and get to look down out over the vast expanse below you, which in this case was the unparalleled Yosemite Valley. Also, there is more a spirit of teamwork as opposed to the more individual efforts of a single-pitch climb. It had father-son bonding written all over it.

For a brief moment they considered including me in this family bonding, and actually looked through the guide book for a multi-pitch climb that I might be able to handle, but I was just too intimidated by the thought of it, and worried that I would only turn what would be a nice comfortable climb for them into an epic. I wish Tommy had made me that “Don’t worry about me, I don’t have to climb” t-shirt, because this time I would have worn it for real.

Dad and Boys on Last Pitch of Nutcracker - LEGIt was really sweet of them though to even consider hauling their Mom up a big wall in Yosemite. I think they were worried about me being bored, because this climb would take several hours and I would be left far behind on the ground. I assured them that I could not possibly be bored in the Valley and that I gladly welcomed the opportunity to go on a long run.

The climb they chose was Nutcracker, a 5.8 / 5.9, 5-pitch climb, located on the less-than-appealingly-named Manure Buttress Pile Wall, just east of El Cap. This is one of the classic climbs in the Valley, so we were very fortunate to find no one already on it.

The nice thing for me about this location was that we could park the motorhome at the picnic area just a hundred yards or so from the base of the climb. This way I could use it as a base camp while they were gone. Also, despite its name, it was a very pretty area, with not even a hint of manure to be found. The name is actually a holdover from the early days in the park when horses were the only means of transport through the Valley. Where there are horses, there is manure, and this was the place where the park service used to dump it.

Boys Prepping for Nutcracker Walk OffI hung around at the base of the climb while they did the first pitch. Tommy took the first lead, and then rather than go up through the 5.8 gully-crack, he did the 5.9 variation up a finger crack instead. He set up a top-rope and then Herb and Andrew followed him up. Herb took the second-pitch lead, and when he was safely through that I decided to go for my run, because it was getting more difficult seeing them as they got higher.

I must confess that I was a little nervous, because there would be several hours when I had no idea what was going on. For some reason, I think that as long as I am watching them, everything will be okay – a bit self-important, I guess. Rationally, I knew that worrying was silly, because they are good and cautious climbers and this was a route that they were very capable of doing. I decided to just relax about it and enjoy my own time in the Valley.

Alpinglow on Half DomeI had a lot of time to kill, so I covered about 12 miles at a nice leisurely pace. I started along the north park road, but found a dirt path to get off onto as soon as I could. Eventually I came to a very narrow, barely visible path through a meadow. It wasn’t marked on the map, which I was clutching because I always get lost. I think it might have just been an animal trail. Feeling adventurous, I decided to follow it and was so glad I did. It was indescribably awesome. Here I was with thousands of other visitors to the Valley, but yet it felt like I had this incredible place all to myself.

That’s something we have discovered over our many trips to Yosemite. No matter how crowded it is, if you are willing to hike more than a mile, or get off the beaten track, you can find total solitude.

Eventually my trail lead me along the river and out to Swinging Bridge and a more established trail. I continued my run on the bike path along the south park road, passing the cute little Yosemite Chapel and then back across to the north side, through the Ahwahnee meadow and Yosemite Village, past Lower Yosemite Falls and Camp 4, and then back to my base camp at Manure Buttress Pile.

Yosemite Birch TreesI had made several stops along the way to kill a little more time, but I had a feeling I still had a while to wait before Herb and the boys returned. I took a walk along the path to the base of Nutcracker and looked up at the vast wall wondering just where they might be right now. As I gazed up somewhat randomly – I wasn’t sure where their route even led – I spotted a climber, more like a little spec about 400 feet up on the wall, wearing bright neon blue shirt. I knew that shirt!! It was Tommy’s! I can’t believe I spotted them so quickly.

I quickly ran back to the motorhome, ruffled through the drawers to find Herb’s binoculars, grabbed my camera and a Crazy Creek chair, and ran back to the place in the path where I had spotted them. Fortunately, it was a nice sunny spot, because it was really chilly in the shade.

For the next hour, I sat in my Crazy Creek, neck craned back, watching their progress through the binoculars. Although they were too small to see through my camera lens – I wish I had brought a telephoto– I took dozens of photos, hoping that when enlarged, they would be distinguishable. I was so wrapped up in watching them that I didn’t even notice that I was now in the shade and starting to shiver. I didn’t care though. They were close to the top and I wanted to make sure I saw them complete it.

Frosty Leaves on LogEventually, they disappeared over the edge of the cliff and out of my sight. From the top, they would have to hike down through a gully back to the base. I ran back to the motorhome to warm up, looked in the climbing guide to see where their trail would come out, and then went back out to meet them. I was so excited to see them. “They said the climb was incredible, and they were so glad they did it. They also added that they were glad I didn’t, because it was somewhat intimidating in parts, even for them. I told them I had a fantastic day as well, so I think we all had made the right decision.

Rock Climbing on Church Bowl, Ice Skating, and Ahwahnee Great Lounge

Tommy Leading Church Bowl LiebackToday was Saturday, our last full day together. The weather had turned a bit – overcast and damp. No sun to warm us up today.

We decided to get some climbing in before the rain, so we headed over to the nearby Church Bowl Wall, located right behind a picnic area about halfway between Yosemite Village and the Ahwahnee Hotel. This way if it started to rain or I got bored, I could just walk to the Ahwahnee and hang out there.

Tommy led a 5.8 climb called Church Bowl Lieback and set up a top rope so that they could also do an adjacent 5.10a climb called Pole Position. Afterwards, Tommy convinced me to try a 5.7 called Uncle Fanny, somewhat appropriately named as you will see below.

Lolo Crushing Uncle FannyUnfortunately for me, many of the easier climbs in the Valley are what are known as chimneys, which basically means I have to squeeze my entire body through very narrow, damp spaces – so narrow that at times I can actually let go with my hands and still not fall because I am so tightly wedged in by – you got it – my “fanny.” Actually, I am not really sure if that is the source of the climb’s name, but if not, it should be.

I had actually done this climb the last time we were here in August, but I had improved a bit since then, so when I got to the part at the top where there was a choice of squeezing through an even tighter area, or venturing out onto the more exposed rock face, I chose the face. Although it was more intimidating and more difficult technically, I did it. They were so proud of me. I guess if I am ever going to get better at this sport and not always be relegated to chimney climbs, I am going to have to work on the mental part and get more confident.

Lolo and Boys before Ice SkatingThe weather really wasn’t very nice, so all of us, with the exception of Andrew who still wanted to climb more, suggested that we do something else for the remainder of the day. I suggested that we go back to Curry Village to ice skate, since that is something that should be done in the cold. The boys liked the idea, but Herb said that this time he would just watch and photograph us.

Family Skating with Half Dome ViewWe had never skated here during the daytime before, so we had no idea that there was such an incredible view of Half Dome from the rink. It was hard to take your eyes off of it, which is not a good thing when you are trying to dodge little kids zipping and falling in front of you. We call them squirrels because of the way they just mindlessly dart out in front of you. The rink was much more crowded than on Thanksgiving, so it was difficult getting into a groove.

About half way through the session, it began to drizzle, so we reluctantly called it quits, and went back to the RV to dry out and make dinner. Because of the broken generator and the fear of running low on propane, Herb had been keeping the temperature in the RV pretty low, to the point where Tommy started referring to it as “the meat locker.” Herb kindly threw on another lump of cold.

After dinner, we left the meat locker and headed over to the Ahwahnee for one more cozy night of Hearts. I sure was going to miss this place.

Mirror Lake and Ahwahnee Brunch

Tommy Building Rock Cairn on LoloI had never hiked to Mirror Lake before, because unlike most other park visitors that throng to it because of its intriguing name, we knew that in fact there was no lake. At its best in spring time, it is little more than a dried up pool. The park service used to dredge the lake of silt each year, but has since changed its policy to let nature take its course. As the silt accumulates, it is gradually turning into a meadow.

Herb and Andrew had hiked down to Mirror Lake from North Dome last August and said that despite the lack of a lake, it was still a worthy destination. So, we set off from the campground utilizing our most efficient mode of Valley travel – Herb and I on bikes and Andrew and Tommy running. Besides the lovely views of Mt. Watkins and Tenaya Canyon, my favorite thing at Mirror Lake was the cairn garden, where there are literally hundreds of stacked rock statues, ranging anywhere from 6 inches to several feet high.

Herb's Ahwahnee Birthday BrunchI only found out later that there is some controversy surrounding these cairns. Cairns are only supposed to be used as trail markers, not as a form of art. This particular cairn garden, which seems to be growing spontaneously as new visitors add their own touches to it, violates the park’s Leave No Trace policy and also disrupts the habitats of small animals.

We didn’t build any of our own. Herb just took pictures of them, and Tommy dismantled one and reassembled it on top of my head.

The boys had to head out soon to get back to work on Monday, so we wrapped up our second annual Yosemite Thanksgiving with the final event – Sunday brunch in the Ahwahnee, something every visitor should partake in at least once. As usual, we requested a table in the alcove at the back of the dining room, where it is a bit more intimate and the views through the floor-to-ceiling windows are lovely. Brunch was delicious and ample as always and the service impeccable

It wasn’t too hard parting with the boys this time, because they would be home in less than three weeks for Christmas.

Herb and I stayed another night and then drove back the next day to our home base at the Petaluma KOA, where we would get ready for our flight back to New Jersey.

Description

Lazy Daze and Subaru Ready to Leave YosemiteYosemite National Park lies near the eastern border of California in the heart of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Its spectacular waterfalls, soaring granite cliffs, and lush meadows are just a few of the reasons it is considered by many to be nature’s ultimate masterpiece. In the words of John Muir, “it is surely the brightest and the best of all the Lord has built.”

This description will focus on Yosemite Valley, which is the section of the park we visited. Although the Yosemite Valley is just a small portion of Yosemite’s 761,268 acres, it is part receives 95% of its visitors. In fact, an estimated 4.1 million people visit the Valley each year, making it extremely crowded.

Two one-way roads traverse Yosemite Valley: the east-bound Southside Drive and the west-bound Northside Drive, which wind through woodlands and meadows along the base of the 3,000-foot-high granite cliffs. As of today, cars are still allowed to enter and drive through the valley, but visitors are highly encouraged to park their vehicles and use the park’s free shuttle bus, which stops at the major attractions in the valley.

Virtual Tour of Yosemite Valley Highlights

• As you enter the valley, the first sight you’ll see is the 620-foot Bridalveil Falls flowing down from a hanging valley to the valley floor. From the parking area, a short paved path leads to the base of the falls. This is one of the few falls in Yosemite that does not completely dry up in the summer.
• Just past the Bridalveil Fall parking area, the Southside Drive begins to trace the Merced River. Soon El Capitan comes fully into view. This 3,000 foot high granite cliff is the largest single piece of exposed granite in the world and one of the most famous landmarks in Yosemite. If you look closely, you might see small dots that are actually rock climbers along its face.
• Continuing east on the Southside Drive are two riverside picnic areas and beaches: Cathedral Beach and Sentinel Beach.
• Right after the Sentinel Beach parking area is the trailhead for the 4-Mile trail, which ascends more than 3,200 feet from the valley floor to Glacier Point and one of the most spectacular views of the valley.
• A short distance further is Swinging Bridge, another picnic and swimming area. This area is also the westernmost point of the 8-mile bicycle loop that goes through the eastern part of the valley. From this point on, the bike path parallels the road.
• Next stop is the picturesque tiny Yosemite Chapel where many outdoor enthusiasts choose to exchange wedding vows.
• Now you enter the congested and developed portion of the valley.
• Right past the chapel, you can either take a left onto Sentinel Bridge towards Yosemite Village and the park exit, or you can continue straight towards Curry Village, the campgrounds, and Happy Isles Nature Center. For now, let’s stop at Sentinel Bridge for what is probably the most spectacular Half Dome viewpoint in the park. It’s a great spot for a photograph of Half Dome with the Merced River in the foreground.
• Continuing east on the Southside Drive, you pass Housekeeping Camp and Curry Village. Curry Village has lodging, restaurants, bicycle and raft rentals, a grocery store, and other shops. Curry Village is also one of the main parking areas in the valley.
• From Curry Village you can either take Northside Drive across the Ahwahnee Bridge back to Yosemite Village and the park exit, or continue east to the campgrounds. The Happy Isles Nature Center is also this way, but only shuttle buses are allowed on the road to it.
• The Happy Isles Nature Center features exhibits on the natural history of the park. It also serves as the trailhead for some of the best hikes in Yosemite. 1.5 mile trail leads to the top of Vernal Falls and then continues another 1.5 miles to the top of Nevada Falls (two waterfalls that flow even in the summer time). From there you can continue even further into the backcountry of Yosemite, including the cable route up the back of Half Dome.
• From Curry Village, the Northside Drive crosses the Ahwahnee Meadow, a wonderful spot to gaze at Half Dome during sunset, and enters Yosemite Village, the main center of visitor services in the park. Here you’ll find the park’s main Visitor Center, restaurants, lodging, shops, a grocery store, a post office, a medical clinic, the Ansel Adams Gallery, an Indian Cultural Exhibit and more. It’s also a good place to park your car and jump on the shuttle.
• A short dead end road from Yosemite Village leads to the majestic old Ahwahnee Hotel, which has played host to Queen Elizabeth, President John F. Kennedy, and Clint Eastwood, to name a few. This beautiful six-story rock structure offers tremendous views from every room. Within the hotel is the elegant and quite expensive Ahwahnee Dining Room (jackets required for dinner).
• Back on the Northside Drive heading west from Yosemite Village, the next stop is the Yosemite Falls parking area. At 2,425 feet, Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America. It is actually three waterfalls in one, with an upper, middle and lower section. A short walk from the parking lot along a paved walk leads to the base of Lower Yosemite Falls. This is the most visited landmark in the valley. Except in summer when the fall temporarily dries up, you’ll be sure to be covered in spray.
• A little further west on the Northside Drive is Yosemite Lodge, which marks the end of the developed area of the park going west.
• Right after Yosemite Lodge is Sunnyside Campground/Camp 4, a place where most rock climbers choose to congregate. From this campground begins the popular and strenuous Yosemite Falls hike, which ascends 2,600 feet from the valley floor to the top of the Upper Falls. The views from the top are incredible.
• Continuing west, there is nothing but woods and meadows from which to enjoy the views. Along the road there are several pullouts where you can stop and walk down to the Merced River for a swim. Just after the El Capitan Bridge, you’ll come to the El Capitan Meadow where you’re sure to find people looking through binoculars at the miniscule rock climbers clinging to the granite face.
• Just to the west of El Capitan, Ribbon Falls plunges over 1,600 feet down to the valley floor. It is the seventh highest waterfall in the world. However, it too dries up in the summer time.
• Finally the road nears the end of the Northside Drive at Valley View where El Capitan, on the left, and Cathedral Rocks, on the right, frame a magnificent valley view.

Herb and Amused Lolo in Ahwahnee FireplaceSeveral guided bus tours are also available. The 2-hour Valley Floor Tour is a great way to get acclimated. Visitors ride through the valley in an open tram while a guide leads a informative discussion of Yosemite’s history and geology. There are many photo stops along the way. In addition, there are bus tours out of the valley to Glacier Point, the Mariposa Grove of sequoia trees, and Tuolumne Meadows.

Although much of Yosemite can be enjoyed from the comforts of your car or a shuttle, the best way to truly experience Yosemite is do get out and experience it more directly.

Things to do in Yosemite

• Hike one of the many trails around the valley, ranging from an easy walk to the base of Lower Yosemite Falls to the strenuous 16-mile round trip hike up the back of Half Dome via cables
• Take an overnight backpacking trip
• Bike along the 12 miles of bicycle paths that loop through the Valley. Rentals are available at Curry Village and Yosemite Lodge.
• Rock climb in one of the premier climbing places in the world
• Raft down the calm waters of the Merced River through the valley. Rentals are available at Curry Village.
• Swim or tube in the Merced River. Besides the designated beaches, there are many pullouts along the road from which you can walk down to the river.
• Join one of the many ranger walks, which are offered daily
• Take a free art class at the Yosemite Art and Education Center
• Photograph the amazing scenery of the valley and surrounding granite cliffs
• Browse the Ansel Adams Gallery and see some of the photographs that first made Yosemite famous
• Relax in the meadow while gazing up at Half Dome or El Capitan
• Dine at the 5-star Ahwahnee Hotel, where presidents and royalty have stayed

Although many try to see Yosemite in a day, it is best to devote several days to seeing all the park has to offer. Besides the numerous hotels, lodges, and cabins in the Valley, there are three RV campgrounds: Upper Pines (238 sites), Lower Pines (60 sites), and North Pines (81 sites). That’s less than 400 campsites to accommodate all the people that want to camp here.

Since these campgrounds usually fill-up within the first hour they become available, it is essential to make your reservations as soon as possible. Campground reservations are available in blocks of one month at a time, up to five months in advance, on the 15th of each month at 7 am Pacific time. For example, if your arrival date is July 15 through August 14, the first day you can make reservations is March 15. The National Park Reservation System can be found at www.recreation.gov. Good luck!

Travelogue

Hiking Hood Mountain Regional ParkWell, we were back in the Berg’s driveway for our second annual pre-Thanksgiving celebration. Once again we managed to back into the driveway without taking out their bushes – just a little minor pruning.

The Bergs are amazing hosts and unbelievable cooks, so the eating portion of the weekend was, as always, beyond compare. While we do not share their expertise in the kitchen, we do share a love of the outdoors, so whenever we get together, we go on a few long hikes.

There are so many wonderful hiking trails in Sonoma County, and Hilda and Paul have probably done most of them, so we always leave it in their capable hands to select one. Also, since we are planning to move out this direction sometime over the next year, they picked two that would help give us an idea of how much there was to do in close proximity to our potential new home.

Hikers on Lake Sonoma Canoe TrailOn Saturday, we drove over to Hood Mountain Regional Park, right in neighboring Santa Rosa. To get there, we drove along Highway 12 through the Valley of the Moon, made famous by Jack London’s novel of the same name, and the heart of Sonoma Valley wine country. I never realized that the vineyards change their colors from to gold and red in the fall. I thought only the East Coast had beautiful fall foliage, but this was absolutely stunning.

Along the way we passed a 55+ adult community, and Hilda asked if we would ever consider living there. My immediate response was “No Way!!!” Ironically, later in the trip we would actually look at rental properties there and our “No Way” has changed to “Well, maybe we could try it for a year.” It definitely had location going for it – right smack in the middle of the Valley of the Moon, surrounded by vineyards and two major parks, Hood Mountain Regional Park and Annadel State Park.

Low Water Levels at Lake SonomaToday, we would hike to the top of Mount Hood, which at 2,730 feet is the highest point in the Mayacama Mountain range which divides Sonoma and Napa Valley. It was a pretty strenuous hike – 3 ½ miles (one way) and over a 2,000 foot elevation gain to reach the Gunsight Rock Overlook. Fortunately, Paul had brought along a pair of binoculars, because we could see San Francisco from the tope, and Andrew and Celeste were having fun identifying different landmarks. The views of wine country below weren’t too shabby either.

Continuing our orientation of Sonoma County, the next day we drove north to the town of Cloverdale – to see if that grabbed us as a place to live – and then onto Lake Sonoma for a hike. Cloverdale was a little too far out there for me. I think I prefer living closer to a bigger city like Santa Rosa.

Lake Sonoma was of interest to us, because we have a boat that we are wondering what to do with when we move West. It was a lovely lake, a little down in depth because of the drought, but still quite boatable. The lake has a marina and boat-in campsites and about 50 miles of shoreline along its two arms to explore. It was good to know that we could still have a place to waterski.

Mistletoe on Lake Sonoma Canoe Trail HikeHowever, today hiking was the plan, so we parked the car and took the 5.1-mile Half a Canoe trail up and down along the lake. Two things about this hike stand out in my mind.

First, the lovely Spanish moss hanging from the tree branches. I thought this was strictly a Georgia coast phenomenon. Geez, first beautiful vineyard fall foliage and now this. I was starting to lose some of my East Coast bragging points.

The second, and far less appealing discovery, was the reason for the churned up dirt alongside the trail. Although we didn’t see the culprits doing the digging, Paul informed us that there are lots of wild pigs in Sonoma County, in this area in particular, and they love to dig up the ground looking for grubs and acorns and such. I knew it. There had to be something wrong with this paradise they call Sonoma County. Just kidding. Actually we thought it was pretty cool and hoped we would come across one, but no luck. We did come across a couple of guys hunting for them, however, which is not only allowed, but encouraged.

Spanish moss and wild pigs aside, we had another lovely hike with the Berg’s and got to experience another Sonoma County gem.

Description

Sebastopol

Dining at Diavola PizzeriaSebastopol is a charming town in Sonoma County, 52 miles north of San Francisco and about a 20-minute drive to the coast. Sebastopol is known for its apples and hosts an annual Apple Blossom Festival in April and the Gravenstein Apple Fair in August. Today, however, the apple orchards are becoming vineyards as wine-making moves more and more into the region.

Every Sunday, from April to mid-December, there is a Farmers market in the downtown plaza,
where people congregate to enjoy delicious fresh regional food, live music, and dancing.

Sebastopol is home to the artist, Patrick Amiot, known for his whimsical, cartoon-like, junk-art sculptures. There are over 200 of his wacky, found-object works scattered throughout Sebastopol, especially on Florence Street.

Hood Mountain Regional Park

Located on Pythian Road in Santa Rosa, the Mount Hood Regional Park encompasses 1,750 acres of wilderness with outstanding hiking and mountain biking. It is named for Mount Hood (not the one in Oregon), which at 2,730 feet, is the highest point in the Mayacama Mountain range which divides Sonoma and Napa Valleys.

One of the most popular hikes in Sonoma County is the 3.5 mile (one way) steep trail to Gunsight Rock Overlook. With a 2,000 foot elevation gain, the hike is not for the faint of heart, but for those that make the climb, the views of wine country and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance are well worth it.

Lake Sonoma

Lake Sonoma is located 13 miles northwest of Healdsburg in the beautiful coastal foothills of northern Sonoma County. It was created in 1983 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers construction of the Warm Springs Dam. The lake extends 9 miles on Dry Creek and 4 miles on Warm Springs Creek. It full capacity is has 50 miles of shoreline.

At the park entrance there is a Visitor Center with exhibits telling the story of the Dam as well as the natural and early cultural history of Dry Creek Valley. Behind the Visitor Center is a Fish Hatchery where visitors can learn about the life cycle of the coho salmon, steelhead, and Chinook.

Activities at the lake include boating; swimming; 40 miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding; hunting; and camping.

There are 9 primitive camping sites accessible by boat or hiking. A backcountry camping permit must be obtained at the Visitor Center. The Liberty Glen Campground has 113 campsites for RVs and tents. Campsites are available on a first-come, first-served basis.