There's No Place Like Marc & Jackie's

Yesterday was a day of recovery at Marc & Jackie's. After our yummy breakfast, we looked through our photos, watched a few episodes of Carbonaro Effect, and got caught up on social media. Jackie mentioned a local museum and we all piled in to the cars and drove the few miles to the Stagecoach Inn Museum.

The museum had numerous docents dressed in period costumes who were eager to share what they knew about this historic building. We toured the Inn which had been a stop along the stagecoach route and heard how Newbury Park got its name all because of a post office. We went into the one room schoolhouse that had been reconstructed by a group of high school students, and walked on the Tri-village trail to see farm machines, the Newbury cabin, and an adobe house from the ranchero days of California. This was the third time Jackie had visited (she's such a good sport) since both of her sons had gone there for school field trips.

Back at the house, Marc introduced us to a new T.V. show called Motive which we'll add to our list of summer shows to watch. My nephew Ian came by to have dinner with us and visit for a while. After dinner it was a game of Funglish and then it was time to pack up the car one last time and head on home. We made great time and arrived home in about 2.5 hours.

On the way home we listened to the remainder of our second book, The Giver. It is a good book. Joe insists that I have read it before and that I made him and Zach read it. I don't remember it at all. But I did like the book and especially enjoyed the conversation we had about the book the last hour of our drive home. I so like having conversations with my adult sons.

So the trip is over but our fond memories will remain. It was a short, but memorable trip. I got to visit Manzanar which had sentimental value to me, we got a good overview and taste of Yosemite, a place we had never been, and we got to be spoiled by the hospitality of dear family. Now it's time for me to get ready for the next trip. Europe, here I come!

My Tree Sons

Yesterday was our last day in Yosemite and we had saved the final stops for the drive on our way out of the park. We checked out of our tent cabin and took a few photos of Zach in his bear hat and hopped in the car for the drive out of Yosemite.

As we headed away from Yosemite Village toward Glacier Point, we made a quick stop at Bridalveil Falls. I had read that when you go up the 1/4 mile trail to the view point of the falls, the climate changes and you are in a cloud of water from the massive amounts of water coming down. Because it was summer and there has been a drought in California, we didn't experience the mist, but it was still a pretty site.  We hopped back in the car and took the hour drive to Glacier Point.

Glacier Point rises about 3500 feet above the valley floor.  When we looked up from Curry Village, we saw the face of the rock that rose to Glacier Point. Now we were at the top and got a great panoramic view of Yosemite Valley. We were able to see the tent cabins in Curry Village, Half Dome, and the different spots we had hiked to the day before. The view was amazing. There are several trails from Glacier Point that you can hike on. Next time we come, I told the boys we could ride the shuttle to the top and then hike the 4.5 miles down to Yosemite Village. I just have to get into better shape!

We left Glacier Point and drove another hour to the Mariposa Grove. This last section of Yosemite was set aside to protect the Sequoia trees. These ancient trees are massive in height and diameter. One of the sites we saw was a large tree with three smaller trees behind it. The name on the placard was the Bachelor and Three Graces, but I decided that we would call it a Mother and Her Three Sons. We made the decision to hike the mile or so to the Grizzly Giant and a little bit further on to the Tunnel Tree. This tree had a thoroughfare cut through the middle of the tree so that a stagecoach could drive through it. This is the second tree that had been cut this way years ago. The first one fell down after a heavy snowfall. The literature states that the tree could have probably lived for 1000 years if the trunk had not been weakened by the damage of cutting through the core. On the other hand, the international attention received by this unusual site, contributed to the preservation of this grove of trees.

Grizzly Giant

When we got to the Tunnel Tree, the trail markers stated it was another 1.6 miles to the clothespin tree which was a naturally occurring tunnel tree. We decided to hike to this tree and the nearby Faithful Couple tree which was two trees that merged into one. Zach led the way up the trail and we faithfully followed behind him. At some point, it seemed that we were no longer on the actual trail, but Zach plowed on following the footsteps in the dirt as the "trail" narrowed, went straight up the side of a hill and over fallen and burned trees. When Zach was a toddler, he was our adventurous one, always choosing the difficult and risky path. Apparently, he never outgrew this trait. As we wandered through the wilderness, we wondered if we'd ever get to our destination. Eventually we found paved road, and followed it until we reached the trees. It was an adventure and despite the ribbing and jibing from his brothers, we had fun. It was another 2 miles or so down to the parking lot and then a shuttle ride back to our car and the trip to Newbury Park to spend the night with Marc and Jackie, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

We drove through Fresno and stopped for dinner in Bakersfield. We were making pretty good time until, my GPS decided to take us a on a random route to save us mileage. We drove through many back roads and took a detour since a ramp was closed for construction. Eventually, we arrived at Marc and Jackie's at 10:50, chatted with our patient hosts, and then collapsed into bed.

This morning we all slept in and were treated to a pancake bar cooked by Marc. Our breakfast feast included bacon, sausage, juice, fresh fruit, and four different pancakes (blueberry, apple cinnamon, banana walnut, and banana chocolate chip). We'll spend the day here with Marc and Jackie and will head home tonight. It's been a fun trip, but it isn't over yet. Jackie mentioned a Stagecoach Museum and we are headed there now!

Falling for Yosemite

Internet access has been a challenge here at Yosemite. There is one lounge here in Curry Village with very limited Wi Fi and if you aren't here at the crack of dawn, you can forget trying to connect. Yesterday morning after struggling with the internet, we decided it was time to hit the trails.

First stop, Mirror Lake. We walked the mile or so to the trail head and began walking on the dirt trail. The first thing we noticed was the large piles of horse poop on the trail. It was a bit of an obstacle course making sure we didn't step in any of the fresh piles. About half-way up the trail, we stepped aside to allow 20 or so horses and their riders pass. When we arrived at the lake, we saw a lot of people on the other side, and realized we must have taken the horse trail to the lake. Then we had to figure out how to get on the other side. Some people were wading and splashing in the water, but we decided to cross over on the fallen logs and rocks that made a natural dam. Joe was off exploring and actually followed the trail around to the other side getting great views of Half Dome, and walking through a meadow of butterflies.

It was back to our tent cabin to grab a snack, and jump on the shuttle for Vernal Falls and the Mist Trail. This hike is considered "moderate" and reminded me of hiking Cowles Mountain back home except it was steeper  with not as many flat sections. It's only about .8 miles to the bridge where you can get a nice view of the lower portion of the falls. The powerful water tumbling over the rocks is gorgeous. The water is white with a blue tint and you can stand and look at it forever. Or at least that is a good excuse when you are stopping to catch your breath from the steep upward climb. After the bridge, we continued up the trail toward the top of the falls. We continued to get lovely views as we climbed higher and higher. I kept wondering why it was called the mist trail, since it was pretty warm, and I wasn't feeling any condensation at all. And then we saw the rock steps. Hundreds of uneven rocks that climbed up the side of the falls. They kept going and going and going. The higher we climbed the wetter it became and the rocks became slippery. Eventually, I decided I had climbed high enough and Joe accompanied me back down to the bridge. Going down the steps was scarier than climbing them. David and Zach made the trek to the top and took some photos while I waited at the bridge. All together it was about a 3 hour hike.

Next stop was the Visitor Center to learn about the history of Yosemite Valley and the establishment of the park. Although Yosemite was not the first National Park, it was the first time a large parcel of land was set aside by the federal government to be preserved for future generations. Abraham Lincoln signed this act during the Civil War. He had never been to Yosemite, but had seen photos and paintings and was convinced by the many who lobbied for this. It took a while for Yosemite to be fully protected as a national park, and it was interesting to see the changes in land management over the past 150 years.

From the Visitor Center, we headed to Yosemite Falls, the tallest waterfall in North America. We took the short hike to a view point of Lower Yosemite Falls and watched people climbing the rocks to get closer to the falls. It reminded me of the rocks at the bottom of Mount Rushmore. If we weren't so tired, I think the boys would have tried climbing the boulders, but it was dinner time, and we were hungry. As we walked back toward the shuttle stop, we had some great views of this impressive waterfall. We thought about taking the hike for Upper Yosemite Falls, the following day, but since it is listed as a strenuous hike and the moderate hike of Vernal Falls wore me out, we've decided against it this visit.

After dinner, we took one last shuttle ride to the Ahwahnee Hotel to look around the grand lobby and grounds. This famous hotel reminded us of The Grand Californian in California Adventure. It was built in 1927 and has hosted presidents and celebrities throughout its history. It was a lovely hotel seated in a meadow with gorgeous views and the ever present towering rocks. The grandeur both inside and out was impressive and inspiring.

Before retiring to my bed, I made one last try at getting internet access to no avail. It had been a long and fulfilling day, and I was exhausted. I hadn't slept well the night before. Our neighboring tent had an unhappy child most of the evening, and it had been colder than I expected. So this time I fell asleep quickly and didn't move until morning.

We have one more day here in Yosemite, so as soon as I can get this blog uploaded, we'll get started on our final jaunts around the park.

 

Farewell Manzanar, Hello Yosemite

We left our motel in Ridgecrest around 8:30 a.m. and headed north on the 395 to Lone Pine. Our plan was to stop at the Lone Pine Film History Museum. We arrived earlier than we expected, so we passed the time at the local Mickey D’s until the museum opened. There was a group of marines ordering food at the counter when we walked in. I asked them where they were from and they told me they had completed some training in the mountains and were headed back to warmer Camp Pendleton.

The film museum was interesting. The surrounding area called the Alabama Hills has been used over the years for on location filming. It was less expensive and closer to Hollywood to film here than in the actual places. Many “B” Westerns were filmed in the hills as well as more recent sci fi movies. The museum was filled with movie posters and props from the numerous movies including items used by John Wayne, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and larger items like stage coaches, and 1920s cars. We even saw a “bloodied” suit worn by Robert Downy Jr. in Iron Man.

Ten miles up the road was Manzanar National Historical Site. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, the U.S. made the decision to relocate all people of Japanese decent living on the west coast. The majority of these people were Japanese Americans who were born here. They and their parents (immigrants from Japan) lost everything. It is a sad time in our country’s history, but I wanted to see this barren place where 10,000 people were kept for 2-3 years. The visitor center had some great exhibits, and the National Park Service has rebuilt a few barracks and a mess hall. These new buildings are not complete, but should be finished in 2015. We finished listening to the book Farewell to Manzanar and were able to find different areas and identify the things mentioned in the book as we looked around.

After a few hours, we were back on the road toward our final destination of the day, Curry Village in Yosemite National Park. We arrived and checked into our tent cabin around 6:00 p.m. It’s crazy how large Yosemite is. We drove for 40 miles after we drove through the gate into the park before we arrived in the main area. It was a gorgeous drive through meadows and up steep curvy roads. The granite rock towered over us with green pines trees scattered about for color.

Dinner was pizza at one of the restaurants in Curry Village. We walked around and bought a pack of cards in the little grocery store. It’s almost 10:00, quiet hour in Camp Curry. Our bear locker is full of our food and toiletries. We each have a metal frame bed with linens and two wool blankets. I told the boys that our tent cabin is very similar to the barracks of Manzanar. They pointed out two significant differences between our experience and the author of the book. First, we paid for our accommodations (imagine Jim Gaffigan's sarcastic tone of voice asking why would we pay for this?). Second, we can leave anytime we want. Even so, as we settle in for the next two nights, I will remember what they endured physically, mentally, and emotionally because of a fearful nation.

Tomorrow we’ll do some hiking and explore the beauty of this austere national park.

395 aka The Middle of No Where

This is the fourth year in a row, I've taken a road trip with my sons, and this time all three of them are able to go. It's a short trip to Yosemite with a few extra stops along the way.

The morning was spent getting the cutest little red car you ever did see all fixed up and ready for the trip. They found a nail in one of the tires. So glad it was found at the repair shop and not on the road. The afternoon was spent doing laundry and packing. We left around 7:00 p.m. after Joe got home from work.

The route we are taking is on Highway 395, a very remote two-lane highway in the high desert. The dark road was shared with many big trucks that caused my little red car to swerve each time they passed. I can remember traveling on 395 with my parents going to visit my mom's aunts and uncles who lived in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains not too far from Lake Tahoe. It is just as barren now as it was back then.

Zach doing a little reading of his own.

We've made a good dent in the journey, and will spend the night in Ridgecrest, the biggest city we've seen for about 90 miles. Tomorrow morning we'll head out, but we'll stop at Manzanar National Historic Site. I've always wanted to go there ever since I saw the turn off on one of my trips as a teen. I had read the book Farewell to Manzanar when I was in junior high, and loved it. To refresh my memory, we began listening to it today in the car and will finish it tomorrow on our drive to Manzanar.

Joe picked up a brochure in the motel lobby for the Lone Pine Film History Museum which happens to be 10 miles south of Manzanar. So we may make several stops before we get to Yosemite. I just love road trips!

Once again David is writing in his blog too, so if you are looking for a different perspective to our trip, you can read his blog: favoritesonsspiel.blogspot.com