When we bought the National Parks Pass last year, this park was in our sites. Rodney had not visited in 20 years and Rasila had never visited. Rodney took Friday off and we left at 5:00 AM to beat the LA traffic. We stopped at a Starbucks just past the grapevine (I-5 pass into the San Joaquin Valley), and again for a date shake just north of Visalia on CA-99. In Fresno, we took CA-41 to the park.
We stopped and took in the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad. It was fun, but a little more expensive than Rodney thought it should be. We had missed the last train of the day (shortly after 11 AM), so we got a ride down in a rail car powered by a Model-T engine. We road back in the train, though.
The snow was sparse this year and all roads were open, so we drove to Glacier Point on our entry. It is a 16 mile (27km) segway off CA-41, but worth it for the spectacular view of Half Dome (see the pictures) and the valley.
We stayed at Curry Village in a tent cabin. It ended up being a lot of fun, although I would prefer camping usually. Our reservation included breakfast, which turned out to be great! We went to the El Capitan Picnic Area Friday and Saturday to cook our own dinner and on Sunday we were at a Picnic Area between the Yosemite Village and The Ahwahnee.
We took our tandem bike, but forgot our helmets! Luckily, Curry Village has a bike rental place that also rents helmets, so we rented some for $5/each. We took the bike to the base of the Vernal and Nevada Falls trail and took what's known as the Mist Trail to the top of Vernal Falls (about 1000 feet/300m elevation gain). The Mist Trail is carved out steps in the granite that is dripping wet, so we chose to take the longer way home, which is 3 times as far. The total hike was about 4.5 miles/7.5 km. Rasila wore some blisters on her feet even though we put moleskin on and had her good hiking socks. I suspect we need to get her new hiking boots that are more snug to prevent her feet from moving so much in the heel. We also visited the lower Yosemite Falls, where we saw a California golden bear tooling through the woods!
The next day, we took the bike for a tour of the valley and did do a 3 mile/5 km hike along Mirror Lakeas well as the 12 mile/20 km loop of the valley. We had 3 deer cross Tenaya Creek in front of us and feed right off the trail. They were obviously used to humans and allowed their pictures to be taken.
We took the scenic way home, driving CA-120 over Tioga Pass (elev. 9945 feet/3031 m) to Lee Vining and US-395 about 24 miles north of Mammoth Lakes. We made it home in time to see most of the Stanley Cup game one where the Anaheim Ducks are currently up 2-0!
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Joshua Tree National Park, May 11-13, 2007
As a "warmup" for the camping season, we made a trip to Joshua Tree National Park in mid May. Joshua Tree is famous for it's monzogranite piles of rock that attract climbers from the entire world. We took Ziwi with us, so we didn't do any climbing.
The park is very close, being just north of Palm Springs. We drove out the CA-91 to the CA-60 to I-10 to the 29 Palms Highway and entered via the West Entrance. Our National Parks Pass doesn't expire until June 30th, so we had entry covered.
We camped at the Ryan Campground, since the Hidden Valley and Jumbo Rocks Campgrounds are usually filled first. We didn't make a reservation since only a couple campgrounds actually accept reservations and both were not in the Lost Horse Valley, which is where we wanted to be. We arrived about 6:45, after leaving at 3:30. Traffic was nasty on the 91 until the I-15 intersection, otherwise we could have been there by 6 easily.
Weather was nice. It was cool, but not cold at night (about 55F/13C), and not too hot during the day (86F/30C). We took in Key's View of the Coachella Valley and the 4 wheel drive Geological Tour and read during the mid afternoon heat on Saturday. On Sunday, we drove to the border of the Mojave/Colorado desert to see the Cholla Gardens and exited through 29 Palms.
We'll be back after it cools down (October?)
The park is very close, being just north of Palm Springs. We drove out the CA-91 to the CA-60 to I-10 to the 29 Palms Highway and entered via the West Entrance. Our National Parks Pass doesn't expire until June 30th, so we had entry covered.
We camped at the Ryan Campground, since the Hidden Valley and Jumbo Rocks Campgrounds are usually filled first. We didn't make a reservation since only a couple campgrounds actually accept reservations and both were not in the Lost Horse Valley, which is where we wanted to be. We arrived about 6:45, after leaving at 3:30. Traffic was nasty on the 91 until the I-15 intersection, otherwise we could have been there by 6 easily.
Weather was nice. It was cool, but not cold at night (about 55F/13C), and not too hot during the day (86F/30C). We took in Key's View of the Coachella Valley and the 4 wheel drive Geological Tour and read during the mid afternoon heat on Saturday. On Sunday, we drove to the border of the Mojave/Colorado desert to see the Cholla Gardens and exited through 29 Palms.
We'll be back after it cools down (October?)
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Rosarito-Ensenada 2007
This weekend was the 21st Annual Spring Rosarito - Ensenada 50 mile fun bike ride. It runs from Rosarito Beach to Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. We had quite a group this year, with our friends John and Ginny inviting friends and our friend Terry also bringing Tracy along. We had 14 in all. We stayed at the Hotel El Cid in Ensenada as has been our recent habit. We did the race in 4 hours and 15 minutes, but we stopped twice for 20 and at least 25 minutes, so we rode the 50 miles in about 3.5 hours.
NCAAs in Chicago, March, 2007
This year, Rodney took his annual trip to the first and second round of the NCAAs to Chicago, IL. His friend Jim spearheaded getting a luxury box, which meant the trip had 16 participants, double the normal 8 or so that usually go.
They stayed at the Hotel 71, which was on the Chicago River, downtown. The event itself was at the United Center. The first round had no upsets, although Texas A&M Corpus Christi gave Wisconsin a scare, which they didn't learn from, and promptly were upset by UNLV in the second round.
Saturday was St. Patrick's Day, which is a big deal in Chicago. Ray and Rodney actually attended a breakfast broadcast from the Irish Pub around the corner on WGN Friday morning. On Saturday, they dyed the river green (see the pix, not just green, but GREEN).
They stayed at the Hotel 71, which was on the Chicago River, downtown. The event itself was at the United Center. The first round had no upsets, although Texas A&M Corpus Christi gave Wisconsin a scare, which they didn't learn from, and promptly were upset by UNLV in the second round.
Saturday was St. Patrick's Day, which is a big deal in Chicago. Ray and Rodney actually attended a breakfast broadcast from the Irish Pub around the corner on WGN Friday morning. On Saturday, they dyed the river green (see the pix, not just green, but GREEN).
Amy and Greg's Wedding, Feb 2007, in Leavenworth, WA
Late February, we flew from Orange County to Leavenworth, WA. Ok, we flew to Wenatchee. The purpose was for one of Rasila's friends from growing up in Seattle, Amy, was getting married!
Her soon-to-be husband, Greg, had done some academic seminars at this neat place they got married, called The Sleeping Lady Inn. We arrived a day early, and just in time to have dinner and drinks with the family.
The next day we spent driving up US 2 to Stevens Pass Ski Area to ski with Rasila's Dad and his girlfriend. We actually hit a powder day and skied hard! Rasila suffered a migrane that night, so she slept while I went to King Ludwig's for an authentic German rehearsal dinner.
The next day, we work to a beautiful snowfall that lasted all day. We spent the day playing games and reading before the wedding started at 6:00 PM. It was a wonderful ceremony with a great appetizer spread afterwards and a fabulous dinner afterwards.
The next day we cleared the 12" of snow off the car and drove back to Wenatchee for the flight home. It was a wondeful trip!
Her soon-to-be husband, Greg, had done some academic seminars at this neat place they got married, called The Sleeping Lady Inn. We arrived a day early, and just in time to have dinner and drinks with the family.
The next day we spent driving up US 2 to Stevens Pass Ski Area to ski with Rasila's Dad and his girlfriend. We actually hit a powder day and skied hard! Rasila suffered a migrane that night, so she slept while I went to King Ludwig's for an authentic German rehearsal dinner.
The next day, we work to a beautiful snowfall that lasted all day. We spent the day playing games and reading before the wedding started at 6:00 PM. It was a wonderful ceremony with a great appetizer spread afterwards and a fabulous dinner afterwards.
The next day we cleared the 12" of snow off the car and drove back to Wenatchee for the flight home. It was a wondeful trip!
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Trips to Mammoth
Another winter, but no vacation for Rodney. This means more trips to Mammoth. We have made 2 trips so far. Once in January and one in February. The January trip was about 2 weeks after the last snowfall and they were hurting for coverage. The February trip was on the front end of a big storm that took the total from 4-6 feet (120 cm- 180cm) to 7-9 feet (210-270cm) of coverage. I discovered my 4WD was broken on the second trip (thankfully, I have chains), so it's in the shop while I anticipate another trip soon!
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Christmas in Wyoming
We spent the holidays this year with Rodney's family. Traveling at Christmas or Thanksgiving is always an adventure, some years more than others. This year, there was a huge snowstorm through the Rockies and into the Great Plains about Wednesday before we left. It closed the Denver Airport until Friday at noon. I made the mistake of saying how happy I was to not be flying through Denver since we had decided to fly to Salt Lake City (now known to us as "The Lake") and drive to Riverton, WY with Rodney's brother and his wife. When we arrived at the OC airport at 6:30 PM Friday, we were informed our flight was delayed and would not depart until 9:59 PM (it was scheduled for 8:35 PM). I should have suspected that time, as I later realized it was picked due to the fact that you cannot take off from the airport after 10:00 PM. As we waited, at about 8:00 PM, it was announced the flight was canceled. I have Delta's number in my mobile as I have had previous problems with Delta. I called as we walked back to the counter and finally got through. The earliest available seat was the 8:35 PM flight on Saturday. I was evidently being re-booked out of Palm Springs by someone else, so I had to have the agent work to book me as I wanted. As I went to ask about where to get my bags, the agent announced they had booked everyone on a flight out of Palm Springs and would bus everyone over in the morning. I thought I was glad I was not doing that, but maybe I shouldn't have been so happy. The next day, our flight got canceled before we left for the airport! We were now on the 9:30 AM flight Sunday morning.
Sunday morning was crowded at the airport, but we made it with relative ease, although we had to go in a special line because we were taking Ziwi. The only consolation was we had First Class this morning. We arrived about 1:00 PM, then left our skis and boots at Roger's house, then drove the 5 hour drive to Riverton, which put us in about 7:30 PM on the 24th. Rodney's brother Bob arrived about 5 minutes later from Billings, MT.
We had a nice Christmas, playing 9 different games (Harry Potter Uno, Yahtzee, Tripoly, Hearts, 5 Alive, Pass the Pigs, Gridlock, Dominos and one other, hmmm...), as well as getting 2-3" of snow, which delayed our drive back to The Lake by a day.
We drove back to The Lake on Friday, played Rummikube that night, then skied at Alta on Saturday. We played Sequence that night. The next day, we had a 8:10 AM flight to allow Roger and Julia to ski if they wanted, which had us arriving at 6:30 AM. We barely made it through the check-in line (once again, a special line due to Ziwi), and the baggage x-ray line, and the security line, to get on the plane at about 7:55 AM.
We arrived a little late due to needing de-icing on the wings, but spent 45 minutes waiting for luggage, which we received all except our skis. Delta thought they should have been on the flight, but couldn't tell us where they were, so they gave us a tracking number and promised to call when they arrived (don't want $1500 in ski equipment left on the sidewalk).
We hoped it would arrive on the next flight at 12:30 PM, but couldn't check the status on line, or on the phone. We ended up calling their main line and being persistent about getting help and eventually were told it should arrive on a 4:08 PM flight. It turned out the tracking number had the letter 'O' in it, not the number '0.' The online tracking never worked.
We headed to the airport about 5:15 PM to see if they made, which they had. As I claimed it, the guy told me he had just called. Turns out our skis flew United through LAX to make it home. Fun, fun.
Sunday morning was crowded at the airport, but we made it with relative ease, although we had to go in a special line because we were taking Ziwi. The only consolation was we had First Class this morning. We arrived about 1:00 PM, then left our skis and boots at Roger's house, then drove the 5 hour drive to Riverton, which put us in about 7:30 PM on the 24th. Rodney's brother Bob arrived about 5 minutes later from Billings, MT.
We had a nice Christmas, playing 9 different games (Harry Potter Uno, Yahtzee, Tripoly, Hearts, 5 Alive, Pass the Pigs, Gridlock, Dominos and one other, hmmm...), as well as getting 2-3" of snow, which delayed our drive back to The Lake by a day.
We drove back to The Lake on Friday, played Rummikube that night, then skied at Alta on Saturday. We played Sequence that night. The next day, we had a 8:10 AM flight to allow Roger and Julia to ski if they wanted, which had us arriving at 6:30 AM. We barely made it through the check-in line (once again, a special line due to Ziwi), and the baggage x-ray line, and the security line, to get on the plane at about 7:55 AM.
We arrived a little late due to needing de-icing on the wings, but spent 45 minutes waiting for luggage, which we received all except our skis. Delta thought they should have been on the flight, but couldn't tell us where they were, so they gave us a tracking number and promised to call when they arrived (don't want $1500 in ski equipment left on the sidewalk).
We hoped it would arrive on the next flight at 12:30 PM, but couldn't check the status on line, or on the phone. We ended up calling their main line and being persistent about getting help and eventually were told it should arrive on a 4:08 PM flight. It turned out the tracking number had the letter 'O' in it, not the number '0.' The online tracking never worked.
We headed to the airport about 5:15 PM to see if they made, which they had. As I claimed it, the guy told me he had just called. Turns out our skis flew United through LAX to make it home. Fun, fun.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)