May 22nd
Today we woke up to get to Sequoia from Yosemite. The drive was absolutely stunning, and once again the diversity of California terrain made itself apparent. Instead of heading away from Yosemite at the beginning of the drive, it was necessary to cut straight through the park in order to get headed down south. We went from the cliffs of Yosemite into a fertile plains environment where we saw tons of oranges and other crops being grown. We got into sequoia at around 4:30, and were told by the park ranger at the entrance gate that we should go up to Grant’s Pass instead of attempting to navigate that part of the park while attached to Rita. We were also told that the closest campsites inside park grounds were 2 hours away. Instead of making that long drive, we figured we would try to find some private grounds nearby. We lucked out and got the last site with electricity at a place about 10 minutes from the entrance gate. As we sat there contemplating whether to go into the park or not, we saw that there was a beautiful river running right by the site. All of us agreed that it should be explored, so we got dressed to go swimming and headed down to the access site. I could not imagine a better way to spend the afternoon than swimming in the cold waters of the river and then basking in the sun on top of large boulders nearby. We had picked up a bird book a few days earlier, so we got that out along with some high-power binoculars and did some bird watching. It was the perfect time of day because the sun was just going down, and the air was cooling off. There were birds of many types all around us. In all we saw several interesting species:
Violet-Green Swallow
California Quail
Red-tailed Hawk
Turley Vulture
Cedar Waxwing
Ash-throated flycatcher
Brewer’s Blackbird
Black Phoebe
Acorn Woodpecker
Common Merganser
Hooded Oriole
After the sun went down, we headed back to Rita to get some food after an absolutely stunning day down by a heavily flowing California river. We made some delicious pita wraps and ate them while doing some great henna art on each other. Chris got a smiley face on his arm, Stuart got a Necker cube on his back, and Carol got an ant on the back of her neck. Overall the day was great, and though we don’t want the trip to end, we all look forward to getting into famous L.A. tomorrow.
May 23rd
Today we woke up early and entered the park for a whirlwind tour before heading to L.A. Seqouia National Park is a very strange place because of both its variety of environments and its unique residents, the Giant Seqouia trees. The drive started off in a canyon-like area inhabited by small shrubs, Yucca plants, and low-gowing trees. As we climbed higher and higher, the trees got larger and more full, but it was not until we reached the top of the mountains that we found ourselves in a beautiful pine forest with massive Sequoia trees scattered throughout the forest. Those trees are like giants, and I imaging that they seem out of place anywhere. First of all, their bark is a distinct color of dark rusty red, and this contrasts their forest neighbors greatly to make their presence a unique one. Furthermore, they are so much bigger than any plant I have ever seen that they seem almost alien – as if God himself decided to be humorous and placed them, made them out of wax, amongst the other trees as a reminder of what gargantuan really means. We followed signs to General Sherman, and finally found ourselves at a nice facility made for viewing it. There are no words to describe the feeling experienced while standing at the base of the 103-foot-in-circumference beast. It gains the mass of a regular 60-foot tall tree every year, and has enough volume to fill 10,000 bathtubs with its wood. Standing below it is comparable to what a mouse sees when it looks at a human, and it has stood there for over 2,000 years. It was hard to leave, but we had to get on the road to drive to Los Angeles. The drive was pretty uneventful, and we only made one stop to get Jamba Juice, much to Carol’s dismay. Arriving at Eric’s (Carol’s family friend) house, Chris and Stuart had to leave almost immediately to take Chris to his grandparents house where all of his family as waiting to see him. Chris and Carol said farewell and the trio was de-united.
Stuart met Carol at a pizza place later after picking up Matt and Robert at Matt’s uncle’s place. The pizza was delicious, and Main Street near Venice Beach was also a sight to behold. We hung out with Carol’s friends for a while, eventually going to one of their houses to chill. It turns out that all of them are grad-students in film at UCLA. They were all very vibrant personalities and it was fun to hear about how they spend their time watching film, and commenting on the various techniques that they see being used. We headed back to Eric’s house at around midnight, and prepared to get up at 5:30 to get Carol to the airport.
May 24th
Carol and I woke up at Eric’s house and immediately went to the airport. It was sad to say goodbye, but the trip turned out to be amazing. I love those two people a lot.
Arriving at Uncle David’s (Matt’s uncle’s) house at around 6:30, I decided not to wake anyone. Instead, I cleaned the car and Rita in preparation for her two new occupants. I finished near 8:00, so I decided to go in and get the troops moving. After an incredible breakfast cooked by Uncle David, we hit the road on the way to Joshua tree. The drive was only about 1:30, and we found a great campsite in the middle of the park. I was stuck by the scenery, which was made of flat plains surrounded by low mountains in the distance. There are huge yellow-brown boulders scattered around in massive rock formations that seem to go on forever. The Joshua Trees themselves are peculiarly goofy looking, and grow like bountifully in this area. We all had fun looking at them, and noted the variety of shapes and heights that they have. At one point, we saw a large fire-engine pass us and we turned around to see an absolutely massive plume of thick yellowish smoke rising in the distance. To get in view of the fire, we crested a hill and saw before us a wide plain with a raging fire at the far end. There was some activity surrounding it, and we can only imagine what started it in this hot, dry, barren landscape. With that, we returned to the camper. We had some rice and fruit, but all fell asleep early due to our exhaustion from the day of traveling before.
May 25th
Today has been spent wandering around the huge rock structures located inside the park. We went to several different formations, including Skull Rock on the north side of the park, and found a different fascination around every bend. We did not see any wildlife except some small lizards and a Stellar’s Jay, though the power of the nature around us was undeniable. All the rocks are completely different, and it is interesting to see how they change with the sunlight. The shadows move with the sun, creating an ever-changing scene that would be easy to get lost in. The gully’s carved out by flash flooding are also interesting. They provide perfect avenues for walking, though if it rained we would be inundated by torrents of water. I think the desert is a very sacred place in many respects, and it has been fun to explore such a unique ecosystem.
The desert offers something more primitive and tribal than the forest. It’s feeling is that of tormented wanderers searching for avenues for survival, and it does not harbor the overwhelming amount of life that characterizes more wet regions. But it is equally beautiful, and proof of this lies in the spectacular sunsets just before the cold night takes control. The entire horizon yawns open and provides the perfect canvas for Evening’s delicate hand.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
May 19th
This morning we woke up after a great night’s sleep with our eyes towards Highway 1 and San Francisco. The four of us (Stu, Chris, Carol, Laura) piled into the suburban and left Rita behind us. As we got underway on the 1, I began to understand why that road is so famous. The drive was simply stunning. We were beside the Pacific for about an hour and a half, winding over coastal cliffs and passing many strawberry farms situated right on the coast. The sun was shining and our music was blasting – it was lovely.
Entering San Francisco city limits at around 1:00, we headed straight for the Fisherman’s Wharf near pier 39. We found convenient all-day parking and walked to the center of activity there. We watched the seals for a good while and also observed Alcatraz for a fair bit. We made up good stories about escaped convicts and reminisced about “The Rock” and Sean Connery. The wharf itself was extremely touristy and packed with people, but obviously still entertaining. A lunch of fresh sourdough bread sandwiches from Boudin Bread Works hit the spot and prepared us for a bus ride to Haight-Ashbury – the district known for the summer of love, countless drum circles, and, of course, as the epicenter of the counterculture movement. The streets were vibrant and bustling with interesting characters. We walked into numerous Nepalese gift stores, trendy westernized Buddhist-themed stores, and even a pretty upscale tattoo parlor so that carol could get her nose stud replaced with a ring. Our San Francisco experience left little to be desired: The Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, the wharf, downtown, good food, and a little hippie culture all added to a great day. At this point it was about 7:00, so we decided to drive home and get some picnic supplies for the way home. Our plan was to sit on the beach along the 1 and watch the sunset. After was got said supplies we drove until about 8, at which point we found the perfect beach to stop at. We walked down a trail to the water and made both a great fire and some great sandwiches to accompany our view of surfers, sizeable waves, pristine California beaches, and an orange sun slowly falling into the horizon. We stayed at the beach until the stars were bright in the sky, and finally decided to head on home after a magical day. We made one stop along the way to sit on top of the car and look at the stars, which were numerous and sparkling.
When we got to the house, I realized that my wallet was nowhere to be found. I looked everywhere including Rita, but had no luck. Carol offered to drive back up the 1 to look for it. Both of us knew that the chances of finding it were slim, but we decided to try anyway. Sure enough, 20 minutes later we found the thing on the side of the road right by where we had stopped to look at the stars. I consider myself extremely lucky to have found it, especially since my driver’s license is in it… and I am on a driving trip…
The day was splendid by all accounts, and we look forward to getting to Yosemite tomorrow.
May 20th
Today was once again a lesson in the diversity of California geography. We headed north from Santa Cruz and immediately ran into three hitchhiking kids going to San Jose. Since we would be passing through there on the way to Yosemite we decided it would be interesting to pick them up. They were all either 19 or 20, and had been on the road for about 5 months. There was one girl accompanied by two equally tanned and worn looking boys. They carried two guitars and their backpacks that seemed to hold only basic bedding supplies and limited clothes. They told us that they were from Wisconsin, and that they had either gotten kicked out of their house or had dropped out of school. It is funny to me that we all shared a ride up to San Jose after living such different pasts – the world works in funny ways sometimes.
We let them off in the middle of San Jose and were on our way. Before entering the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, we drove for a while through some heavy agriculture land. There were fields and fields of fruit trees and bushes extending for miles all around, and the scent in the air was that of citrus fruit. We stopped and picked up some pomelos and a large watermelon for dinner that night. The drive up into the areas surrounding the park itself was filled with stunning views and terrifying cliffs on the side of the winding mountain roads. Carol got us to the campsite safely (though after hours), and we chose a campsite in between two massive RVs that made Rita look miniscule. The day was a success, and we went to bed with hiking on our minds.
May 21st
We woke up much later than we thought, and got to the Yosemite Valley visitor center at around 1:00. Much of this tardiness can be attributed to the campsite management who required us to change campsites, and who also gave us some serious attitude when we tried to ask directions to Sequoia for tomorrow. We finally got in the car to head to the valley, and when we got there we asked the information guy what a good hike would be. He enthusiastically recommended one up to a viewpoint overlooking the valley and Upper Yosemite Falls. The hike started with a 1000-foot ascent in one mile. The switchbacks were outrageous, and we could only gasp at the view when we turned around to face the inside of the valley. After about 1:30 of hiking we arrived at our destination, which was a beautiful view of the famous waterfall. At this time of year it reaches peak flow and so it sprays a generous amount of water onto the trails in the surrounding area. That mist was an excellent source of rejuvenation for the steep hike back down to the visitor center. We got back to the center and decided against another hike that would have taken another two and a half hours at least. We decided instead to make our way up to Glacier Point, a famous view of the main valley and most of the surrounding landscape from one of the highest points in the area. The drive was great, and the view was even better. From Glacier point we could see several gushing waterfalls, all of the peaks in the valley, and the entire NFS complex. It really put the size of the park into perspective. We headed back home for some birthday celebration and general festivities until early in the morning.
This morning we woke up after a great night’s sleep with our eyes towards Highway 1 and San Francisco. The four of us (Stu, Chris, Carol, Laura) piled into the suburban and left Rita behind us. As we got underway on the 1, I began to understand why that road is so famous. The drive was simply stunning. We were beside the Pacific for about an hour and a half, winding over coastal cliffs and passing many strawberry farms situated right on the coast. The sun was shining and our music was blasting – it was lovely.
Entering San Francisco city limits at around 1:00, we headed straight for the Fisherman’s Wharf near pier 39. We found convenient all-day parking and walked to the center of activity there. We watched the seals for a good while and also observed Alcatraz for a fair bit. We made up good stories about escaped convicts and reminisced about “The Rock” and Sean Connery. The wharf itself was extremely touristy and packed with people, but obviously still entertaining. A lunch of fresh sourdough bread sandwiches from Boudin Bread Works hit the spot and prepared us for a bus ride to Haight-Ashbury – the district known for the summer of love, countless drum circles, and, of course, as the epicenter of the counterculture movement. The streets were vibrant and bustling with interesting characters. We walked into numerous Nepalese gift stores, trendy westernized Buddhist-themed stores, and even a pretty upscale tattoo parlor so that carol could get her nose stud replaced with a ring. Our San Francisco experience left little to be desired: The Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, the wharf, downtown, good food, and a little hippie culture all added to a great day. At this point it was about 7:00, so we decided to drive home and get some picnic supplies for the way home. Our plan was to sit on the beach along the 1 and watch the sunset. After was got said supplies we drove until about 8, at which point we found the perfect beach to stop at. We walked down a trail to the water and made both a great fire and some great sandwiches to accompany our view of surfers, sizeable waves, pristine California beaches, and an orange sun slowly falling into the horizon. We stayed at the beach until the stars were bright in the sky, and finally decided to head on home after a magical day. We made one stop along the way to sit on top of the car and look at the stars, which were numerous and sparkling.
When we got to the house, I realized that my wallet was nowhere to be found. I looked everywhere including Rita, but had no luck. Carol offered to drive back up the 1 to look for it. Both of us knew that the chances of finding it were slim, but we decided to try anyway. Sure enough, 20 minutes later we found the thing on the side of the road right by where we had stopped to look at the stars. I consider myself extremely lucky to have found it, especially since my driver’s license is in it… and I am on a driving trip…
The day was splendid by all accounts, and we look forward to getting to Yosemite tomorrow.
May 20th
Today was once again a lesson in the diversity of California geography. We headed north from Santa Cruz and immediately ran into three hitchhiking kids going to San Jose. Since we would be passing through there on the way to Yosemite we decided it would be interesting to pick them up. They were all either 19 or 20, and had been on the road for about 5 months. There was one girl accompanied by two equally tanned and worn looking boys. They carried two guitars and their backpacks that seemed to hold only basic bedding supplies and limited clothes. They told us that they were from Wisconsin, and that they had either gotten kicked out of their house or had dropped out of school. It is funny to me that we all shared a ride up to San Jose after living such different pasts – the world works in funny ways sometimes.
We let them off in the middle of San Jose and were on our way. Before entering the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, we drove for a while through some heavy agriculture land. There were fields and fields of fruit trees and bushes extending for miles all around, and the scent in the air was that of citrus fruit. We stopped and picked up some pomelos and a large watermelon for dinner that night. The drive up into the areas surrounding the park itself was filled with stunning views and terrifying cliffs on the side of the winding mountain roads. Carol got us to the campsite safely (though after hours), and we chose a campsite in between two massive RVs that made Rita look miniscule. The day was a success, and we went to bed with hiking on our minds.
May 21st
We woke up much later than we thought, and got to the Yosemite Valley visitor center at around 1:00. Much of this tardiness can be attributed to the campsite management who required us to change campsites, and who also gave us some serious attitude when we tried to ask directions to Sequoia for tomorrow. We finally got in the car to head to the valley, and when we got there we asked the information guy what a good hike would be. He enthusiastically recommended one up to a viewpoint overlooking the valley and Upper Yosemite Falls. The hike started with a 1000-foot ascent in one mile. The switchbacks were outrageous, and we could only gasp at the view when we turned around to face the inside of the valley. After about 1:30 of hiking we arrived at our destination, which was a beautiful view of the famous waterfall. At this time of year it reaches peak flow and so it sprays a generous amount of water onto the trails in the surrounding area. That mist was an excellent source of rejuvenation for the steep hike back down to the visitor center. We got back to the center and decided against another hike that would have taken another two and a half hours at least. We decided instead to make our way up to Glacier Point, a famous view of the main valley and most of the surrounding landscape from one of the highest points in the area. The drive was great, and the view was even better. From Glacier point we could see several gushing waterfalls, all of the peaks in the valley, and the entire NFS complex. It really put the size of the park into perspective. We headed back home for some birthday celebration and general festivities until early in the morning.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
May 16th
Today began the grand journey down the west coast. We hit the road from Bainbridge at around 11:00 and e
xpected to be on the road for about 10 hours. We drove through some beautiful scenery, and I think we were all surprised at the variety of terrain that we ended up crossing. The drive around Portland took a long time because of a massive accident involving at least 6 cars and a motorcycle, and we further delayed our arrival by spending an inordinate time looking through the grocery store to stock up on supplies for the next few days. We had a blast though, and reached the northern border of California at around 10:00. It was very dark by this point, but tha
t did not hinder our redwood spotting abilities too much, and the whole car let out quite a gasp at the first sighting. Redwood trees are some of the most majestic and powerful organisms on the planet. Coastal Redwoods (in northern California) are the tallest tree, while their cousins, Sequoias, are the largest around and generally accepted as the “biggest.” We wound through the meandering road of the state and national parks and finally arrived at Mill Creek State Park to end the night. We arrived there at 12:00, cooked some quesadillas, and soon after went to sleep. The day was a success, and we were all looking forward to a great day hiking through some massive old growth forests full of Coastal Redwoods.
May 17th
This day was one of most memorable of my life (speaking for everyone). W
e left the campground and arrived at a new one further south around 1:00. Prairie Creek campground sits just inside a forest that borders of a beautiful pasture full of grazing wild elk. We set up a great camp near a creek and relaxed for a little to eat lunch in the sunshine. We then went on a beautiful hike through the adjacent redwood forest and were blown away by the sheer size of the trees. There are no words to describe how beautiful they are, sitting there after 2000 years of growth and no doubt countless traumatic events. Fires, tsunamis, earthquakes, and mans raping of the environment have
all proved to be futile against the mighty wood of these trees. Some trees were there to look at, but perhaps the most interesting were the ones that could be explored more closely. Some were hollowed out or partially burned and could actually be entered. These trees gave you a sense of the immense strength of the trees, and one could only be humbled when looking up and observing 150 plus feet of gorgeous wood grain and a red color as rich as blood. Some trees have a soil bed that has accumulated on branches as much as 100 feet in the air. These soil beds can actually harbor the growth of smaller trees and other plant life to create a unique niche high above ground. We observed many birds including a Yello
w Warbler, a Stellar’s Jay, and a Golden Crowned Kinglet. Once we exited the forest and arrived back at the visitor center it was around 6:00. This was the perfect time of day for the elk to graze in the cool evening air, so we sat and watched about twenty elk gorge themselves on the lush grass of the prairie. When we got back to Rita we decided it was dinnertime, so we made some great garlic spaghetti and later tided ourselves over with some of Chris’s famous “Cyan Quesadillas”. The evening was full of song, dance, good food, and even better company. We ended to day by falling asleep to some good music, and all night dreams of immense forest life danced through our heads.
May 18th
Today we did some scenic driving through more of the redwood forests of California’s northern coast but always kept our minds set on our ultimate destination of Santa Cruz to see Laura and hopefully venture to San Francisco for a day-trip tomorrow. The drive has been uneventful but beautiful, coming out
of the coastal climate and into the beautiful 70-degree weather of the bay area. We saw many wineries, organic food shops, medical marijuana signs, trendy small towns, and psychedelic VW vans. It is 100% confirmed that we are smack in the middle of the incredible state of California.
Arriving in Santa Cruz at around 7:00 we were famished, so we decided to go get some Mexican food. It was scrumptious, and after dinner we watched a movie and went straight to bed. Laura, Chris's girlfriend is really great, and it was excellent of her cousin to let us stay at her place.
Today began the grand journey down the west coast. We hit the road from Bainbridge at around 11:00 and e
xpected to be on the road for about 10 hours. We drove through some beautiful scenery, and I think we were all surprised at the variety of terrain that we ended up crossing. The drive around Portland took a long time because of a massive accident involving at least 6 cars and a motorcycle, and we further delayed our arrival by spending an inordinate time looking through the grocery store to stock up on supplies for the next few days. We had a blast though, and reached the northern border of California at around 10:00. It was very dark by this point, but tha
t did not hinder our redwood spotting abilities too much, and the whole car let out quite a gasp at the first sighting. Redwood trees are some of the most majestic and powerful organisms on the planet. Coastal Redwoods (in northern California) are the tallest tree, while their cousins, Sequoias, are the largest around and generally accepted as the “biggest.” We wound through the meandering road of the state and national parks and finally arrived at Mill Creek State Park to end the night. We arrived there at 12:00, cooked some quesadillas, and soon after went to sleep. The day was a success, and we were all looking forward to a great day hiking through some massive old growth forests full of Coastal Redwoods.May 17th
This day was one of most memorable of my life (speaking for everyone). W
e left the campground and arrived at a new one further south around 1:00. Prairie Creek campground sits just inside a forest that borders of a beautiful pasture full of grazing wild elk. We set up a great camp near a creek and relaxed for a little to eat lunch in the sunshine. We then went on a beautiful hike through the adjacent redwood forest and were blown away by the sheer size of the trees. There are no words to describe how beautiful they are, sitting there after 2000 years of growth and no doubt countless traumatic events. Fires, tsunamis, earthquakes, and mans raping of the environment have
all proved to be futile against the mighty wood of these trees. Some trees were there to look at, but perhaps the most interesting were the ones that could be explored more closely. Some were hollowed out or partially burned and could actually be entered. These trees gave you a sense of the immense strength of the trees, and one could only be humbled when looking up and observing 150 plus feet of gorgeous wood grain and a red color as rich as blood. Some trees have a soil bed that has accumulated on branches as much as 100 feet in the air. These soil beds can actually harbor the growth of smaller trees and other plant life to create a unique niche high above ground. We observed many birds including a Yello
w Warbler, a Stellar’s Jay, and a Golden Crowned Kinglet. Once we exited the forest and arrived back at the visitor center it was around 6:00. This was the perfect time of day for the elk to graze in the cool evening air, so we sat and watched about twenty elk gorge themselves on the lush grass of the prairie. When we got back to Rita we decided it was dinnertime, so we made some great garlic spaghetti and later tided ourselves over with some of Chris’s famous “Cyan Quesadillas”. The evening was full of song, dance, good food, and even better company. We ended to day by falling asleep to some good music, and all night dreams of immense forest life danced through our heads.May 18th
Today we did some scenic driving through more of the redwood forests of California’s northern coast but always kept our minds set on our ultimate destination of Santa Cruz to see Laura and hopefully venture to San Francisco for a day-trip tomorrow. The drive has been uneventful but beautiful, coming out
of the coastal climate and into the beautiful 70-degree weather of the bay area. We saw many wineries, organic food shops, medical marijuana signs, trendy small towns, and psychedelic VW vans. It is 100% confirmed that we are smack in the middle of the incredible state of California.Arriving in Santa Cruz at around 7:00 we were famished, so we decided to go get some Mexican food. It was scrumptious, and after dinner we watched a movie and went straight to bed. Laura, Chris's girlfriend is really great, and it was excellent of her cousin to let us stay at her place.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Seattle and Bainbridge
May 14th
I woke up this morning and ate breakfast with Nancy before going on a delightful walk through their neighborhood. We saw some great wildflowers, and also got to see two bald eagles perched on a pine tree right on the water. Their dog, Dandy, was getting tired after a while so we decided to turn back to just in time to catch the ferry over to Seattle to pick up Chris and Carol. Both arrived in good shape, and we were all very excited to see each other. Once home, we decided to go on a walk through some small Bainbridge forests in order to reach a small city center with a movie store. We rented and watched Tropic Thunder, which was pretty crazy, and then went to bed. From here on out we will be writing as a group. Hopefully there will be many antics to share…
May 15th
Today gave us the realization that we could spend a week in Seattle and still not have seen all that would entertain us to no end. Unfortunately, we have to leave tomorrow, but today was jam-packed with fun and a taste of a really cool and funky city. We spent the morning on Bainbridge Island, exploring the Grand Forest and later heading to Fay Bainbridge, a beach. The forest was beautiful, enchanting and distinctly magical. The intensity of the color green in that forest was something to behold. Getting our fill of Bainbridge, we ferried across the sound to Seattle and began our city excursion in Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe, a store as unique as one we have ever been in. We witnessed a whale’s penis, shrunken heads, and oddities of all forms.
From Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe we walked to Pike Place Fish Market, which we ended up exploring for the rest our time in Seattle, despite prior plans to move on. Indeed, the market was too interesting, and had too many attractions, to leave. We ate delicious cheese sandwiches from a cheese factory, where you could see cheese being made through a giant window whilst you ate your food. Eating our sandwiches in a park nearby, we were accosted by a schizo who demanded to know whether we wanted a color. Not knowing how in the hell to respond, we walked away. We found a poster shop, in which we spent an inordinate amount of time. Chris bought a funny poster for the wall in his new house, and we all had fun looking through old issues of TIME magazine. The gum wall, throwing of the fish, flowers, taste testing jam, and delicious donuts all were seen or had as well during our Pike Place exploration.
We got picked up by Lisa at her office building and were taken to her house. The house was beautiful, with natural light streaming in from all angles. We all felt perfectly at home. Their blind dog Coda accompanied us as we sat outside in the sun, catching up and having a good time. When Joe and Nancy arrived we sat down to an entirely delicious dinner cooked by Laura (tortilla soup). Scattergories is an Earnest tradition, and we were happy to take part in this occasionally heated, but always hilarious, game while eating chocolate chip cookies and strawberry sorbet. Finally we were overcome with exhaustion, the result of a day that was hopefully a harbinger of things to come, as it was amazing!
May 16th
We all woke up at Laura and Lisa’s house at about 7:15 and stumbled into the car to catch the 7:55 ferry back to Bainbridge. We arrived back to the house and ate some delicious waffles prepared by Joe himself. The troops are getting in line, and we are preparing to depart for Redwood National Forest shortly.
I woke up this morning and ate breakfast with Nancy before going on a delightful walk through their neighborhood. We saw some great wildflowers, and also got to see two bald eagles perched on a pine tree right on the water. Their dog, Dandy, was getting tired after a while so we decided to turn back to just in time to catch the ferry over to Seattle to pick up Chris and Carol. Both arrived in good shape, and we were all very excited to see each other. Once home, we decided to go on a walk through some small Bainbridge forests in order to reach a small city center with a movie store. We rented and watched Tropic Thunder, which was pretty crazy, and then went to bed. From here on out we will be writing as a group. Hopefully there will be many antics to share…
May 15th
Today gave us the realization that we could spend a week in Seattle and still not have seen all that would entertain us to no end. Unfortunately, we have to leave tomorrow, but today was jam-packed with fun and a taste of a really cool and funky city. We spent the morning on Bainbridge Island, exploring the Grand Forest and later heading to Fay Bainbridge, a beach. The forest was beautiful, enchanting and distinctly magical. The intensity of the color green in that forest was something to behold. Getting our fill of Bainbridge, we ferried across the sound to Seattle and began our city excursion in Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe, a store as unique as one we have ever been in. We witnessed a whale’s penis, shrunken heads, and oddities of all forms.
From Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe we walked to Pike Place Fish Market, which we ended up exploring for the rest our time in Seattle, despite prior plans to move on. Indeed, the market was too interesting, and had too many attractions, to leave. We ate delicious cheese sandwiches from a cheese factory, where you could see cheese being made through a giant window whilst you ate your food. Eating our sandwiches in a park nearby, we were accosted by a schizo who demanded to know whether we wanted a color. Not knowing how in the hell to respond, we walked away. We found a poster shop, in which we spent an inordinate amount of time. Chris bought a funny poster for the wall in his new house, and we all had fun looking through old issues of TIME magazine. The gum wall, throwing of the fish, flowers, taste testing jam, and delicious donuts all were seen or had as well during our Pike Place exploration.
We got picked up by Lisa at her office building and were taken to her house. The house was beautiful, with natural light streaming in from all angles. We all felt perfectly at home. Their blind dog Coda accompanied us as we sat outside in the sun, catching up and having a good time. When Joe and Nancy arrived we sat down to an entirely delicious dinner cooked by Laura (tortilla soup). Scattergories is an Earnest tradition, and we were happy to take part in this occasionally heated, but always hilarious, game while eating chocolate chip cookies and strawberry sorbet. Finally we were overcome with exhaustion, the result of a day that was hopefully a harbinger of things to come, as it was amazing!
May 16th
We all woke up at Laura and Lisa’s house at about 7:15 and stumbled into the car to catch the 7:55 ferry back to Bainbridge. We arrived back to the house and ate some delicious waffles prepared by Joe himself. The troops are getting in line, and we are preparing to depart for Redwood National Forest shortly.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
May 13th
Today was pretty uneventful. I got up at 8:00 and left Glacier at 9:15 after putting Rita in towing mode from camping mode. There’s not much to it: back the car up in just the right position, make sure all necessary connections are working, put the back stabilizer legs up, stow everything in a secure location.
The drive was great. I passed through many different terrains, beginning with the mountains and high lakes of Montana, going through the Idaho mountains passes, crossing through the volcanic plains of eastern Washington, ascending the mountains east of Seattle, and finally finishing in an urban setting that I can already tell is a good one. I got estimates for times to Seattle that ranged from 10:15 at the earliest to 13 hours at the latest. It took me 9 hours on the dot to get here, and I didn’t go over the speed limit at all. I guess the locals were wrong for once!
As I sit here and wait for the Bainbridge ferry I am listening to a combination of Miles Davis and heavy rain on my windshield. The ferry is approaching, and I am really looking forward to getting to the Earnest’s house. Tomorrow should be much more fun than today since Chris and Carol arrive in the afternoon - we shall be united once again.
Today was pretty uneventful. I got up at 8:00 and left Glacier at 9:15 after putting Rita in towing mode from camping mode. There’s not much to it: back the car up in just the right position, make sure all necessary connections are working, put the back stabilizer legs up, stow everything in a secure location.
The drive was great. I passed through many different terrains, beginning with the mountains and high lakes of Montana, going through the Idaho mountains passes, crossing through the volcanic plains of eastern Washington, ascending the mountains east of Seattle, and finally finishing in an urban setting that I can already tell is a good one. I got estimates for times to Seattle that ranged from 10:15 at the earliest to 13 hours at the latest. It took me 9 hours on the dot to get here, and I didn’t go over the speed limit at all. I guess the locals were wrong for once!
As I sit here and wait for the Bainbridge ferry I am listening to a combination of Miles Davis and heavy rain on my windshield. The ferry is approaching, and I am really looking forward to getting to the Earnest’s house. Tomorrow should be much more fun than today since Chris and Carol arrive in the afternoon - we shall be united once again.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
May 12th
Today was less than expected, but still pretty spectacular. I got up at 9:00, made myself some breakfast, played guitar, and hit the road around 11:30. My game plan for the day was to make the 1:30 drive to East Glacier, hike up somewhere, eat lunch, hike back down, and make it to West Glacier’s Avalanche Lake Trailhead by 5:30 to make the 2 hour hike and return home.
I hit the road while it was raining quite heavily, but that didn’t matter because I was headed over to East Glacier. The skies to the east looked beautiful, so I seemed to be in luck. Once I got about 15 miles into my drive, it began hailing quite heavily and did not stop until I reached the continental divide. There the skies were blue and gorgeous. I drive beside a turquoise river for about an hour, and
I noticed that there was a distinct change in the shape and texture of the rock at that altitude. Things were much rounder up there – even the mountain peaks were not as jagged and harsh as the ones surrounding Lake McDonald. I finally reached the town of East Glacier, population 362, and followed the road leading to the entrance of the park. I went through a small street of vendors, and drove about 20 miles further until it started snowing extremely hard. The skies were quite overcast, but snow was not something I expected until it was right there. The scenery was beautiful under the light tinge, but visibility wasn’t good. I turned back before getting to the park gates, but when I drove 10 minutes up the road, it was merely sprinkling sleet. I went into a restaurant to get some lunch – by this point it was already about 2:00. The place was great. I got a burger and a huge helping of fries and wanted to top it off with apple pie, but decided against it from being so full. The man that was at the bar next to me was saying that it would be snowing four inches in East Glacier that night. Since he looked like he knew what he was talking about I decided to drive home. Once again, a quarter way up the ascent, I found myself in the bright and shining rays of the sun. To make the most of it, I stopped at several sights along the way. One stop was a short hike to the edge of a cliff looking down 200 feet into the valley below. I walked out to the point, where I met a great family who were really into sightseeing. They walked with me for the last 200 yards to the point, and about 1 second after arriving there, the boy yelled “there ya go!!! Some sheep.” I lo
oked up and low-and-behold there were 6 mountain goats perched on the side of an extremely steep rockslide. They were moving around, and I noticed one start to make his way down a 60% incline to forage for food and nutrients on the middle section of the slide. I learned that the goats lick the rocks in that area to gain vital minerals that are integral to their diet that is built to maintain in such harsh conditions. By walking a while through the woods I got within about 100 meters of them. Their coats were bright white, and the males had pointed horns extending upwards. The leader of the group was apparent, and there were two that were extreme enough to chance a descent down the precipice. I journeyed back to the car, and continued my drive west. I arrived to hail in west glacier, followed by heavy snow. As I went into the park, to see if it was any better up near the trailhead, it subsided and I was amazed at the early evening glow to the air. As I came around one bend on the east side of Lake McDonald, I saw that the place that I was going had some bad weather. I took it slow until I hit the rain, and then I turned around and sat awhile at a rocky beach. There the sun was shining and the wind was less, so it gave me a chance to reflect on the day. When I got back in the car I decided to head to the other side of the lake just for fun. It was snowing heavily of course, and so I went up just about 15 minutes before heading back home for the day. As you have noted, today my big lesson was mountain weather. I’ve heard the saying, “if you don’t like the weather, then wait ten minutes,” to describe Houston during the winter. Here, I would cut that time down to 30 seconds. I absolutely deem this day a complete success, and am currently sitting inside Rita looking out at hail beads melting in the sun. Oh… I think it’s starting to rain.
These pictures summarize the day perfectly:
Today was less than expected, but still pretty spectacular. I got up at 9:00, made myself some breakfast, played guitar, and hit the road around 11:30. My game plan for the day was to make the 1:30 drive to East Glacier, hike up somewhere, eat lunch, hike back down, and make it to West Glacier’s Avalanche Lake Trailhead by 5:30 to make the 2 hour hike and return home.
I hit the road while it was raining quite heavily, but that didn’t matter because I was headed over to East Glacier. The skies to the east looked beautiful, so I seemed to be in luck. Once I got about 15 miles into my drive, it began hailing quite heavily and did not stop until I reached the continental divide. There the skies were blue and gorgeous. I drive beside a turquoise river for about an hour, and
I noticed that there was a distinct change in the shape and texture of the rock at that altitude. Things were much rounder up there – even the mountain peaks were not as jagged and harsh as the ones surrounding Lake McDonald. I finally reached the town of East Glacier, population 362, and followed the road leading to the entrance of the park. I went through a small street of vendors, and drove about 20 miles further until it started snowing extremely hard. The skies were quite overcast, but snow was not something I expected until it was right there. The scenery was beautiful under the light tinge, but visibility wasn’t good. I turned back before getting to the park gates, but when I drove 10 minutes up the road, it was merely sprinkling sleet. I went into a restaurant to get some lunch – by this point it was already about 2:00. The place was great. I got a burger and a huge helping of fries and wanted to top it off with apple pie, but decided against it from being so full. The man that was at the bar next to me was saying that it would be snowing four inches in East Glacier that night. Since he looked like he knew what he was talking about I decided to drive home. Once again, a quarter way up the ascent, I found myself in the bright and shining rays of the sun. To make the most of it, I stopped at several sights along the way. One stop was a short hike to the edge of a cliff looking down 200 feet into the valley below. I walked out to the point, where I met a great family who were really into sightseeing. They walked with me for the last 200 yards to the point, and about 1 second after arriving there, the boy yelled “there ya go!!! Some sheep.” I lo
oked up and low-and-behold there were 6 mountain goats perched on the side of an extremely steep rockslide. They were moving around, and I noticed one start to make his way down a 60% incline to forage for food and nutrients on the middle section of the slide. I learned that the goats lick the rocks in that area to gain vital minerals that are integral to their diet that is built to maintain in such harsh conditions. By walking a while through the woods I got within about 100 meters of them. Their coats were bright white, and the males had pointed horns extending upwards. The leader of the group was apparent, and there were two that were extreme enough to chance a descent down the precipice. I journeyed back to the car, and continued my drive west. I arrived to hail in west glacier, followed by heavy snow. As I went into the park, to see if it was any better up near the trailhead, it subsided and I was amazed at the early evening glow to the air. As I came around one bend on the east side of Lake McDonald, I saw that the place that I was going had some bad weather. I took it slow until I hit the rain, and then I turned around and sat awhile at a rocky beach. There the sun was shining and the wind was less, so it gave me a chance to reflect on the day. When I got back in the car I decided to head to the other side of the lake just for fun. It was snowing heavily of course, and so I went up just about 15 minutes before heading back home for the day. As you have noted, today my big lesson was mountain weather. I’ve heard the saying, “if you don’t like the weather, then wait ten minutes,” to describe Houston during the winter. Here, I would cut that time down to 30 seconds. I absolutely deem this day a complete success, and am currently sitting inside Rita looking out at hail beads melting in the sun. Oh… I think it’s starting to rain.These pictures summarize the day perfectly:
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