Yosemite! Our 10 year anniversary!

Can you believe it? I grew up in SF and had never been to Yosemite. (I also have never been on BART)

We started our vacation up in Cobb with some Highland Springs lounging




Then we headed up to Yosemite to the killer little house we rented.



When we first got to Glacier Point and saw the valley in all it's glory it literally took my breath away. I was not prepared for it.

The first day at Glacier Point with Winnie it was real smoky from the fire. Not a good day for pictures.


Day two was much nicer but still a little smoky





The obligatory tourist shot (the nice guy who took it assured us that he had Half Dome in the background)


Mariposa Grove - our first hike



We did a nice little 6.5 mile hike in the grove. Most folks take the tram for a guided sitting tour. We prefer to hike it.




Then we did a 7 mile hike in the valley floor. It was pretty tame but we did get to touch both sides of the valley walls. it was still pretty hazy from all the smoke.



I was so afraid of Bears that I went out and got some bear spray. (never needed it) The closest we got was four different piles of bear scat and a bear trap.


Because dogs are not allowed on any trails that are not paved we had to leave poor Winnie at home in the mornings and do our really big hikes without her. The real nice thing was that we had a killer river right near our house that we could jump into and Winnie could swim all she wanted.


a family portrait in shadow


We had our 10 year anniversary dinner at the Ahwahnee Hotel - The food was pretty expensive for what it was but the setting was beautiful and the hotel is really cool.
No pics of it since we were there at night but here is a shot from Glacier Point



Winnie did get some good walks in despite not being allowed on any trails and we did get a little down time on the deck.




After four days of fun we had to head home -


I would say this was a successful Yosemite trip. Now we have all sorts of ideas to come back and hike Half Dome and explore some more. You can not even begin to see this place in only four days.

Despite all the tourists Yosemite is not to be missed!
(hint - if you click on the pictures they get real big)

Camping with the Goody's at Stonyford

We took a three day weekend and started out in Cobb to check on the house and pick up some of our camping gear.
Then we took the back country roads form Cobb to Stonyford




When we got there (on time for a change) Charlie and Mary Ann were getting breakfast ready!


Charlies first time out with the Dutch Oven and it was a success!


We spent most of the day hanging at the river.


We got to try out our new tent (from K-Mart) and it was okay but the real fun part is the doggy door in the tent.


After a killer dinner of Gumbo made my Charlie and Mary Ann again in the Dutch oven and then some fire side chatting we hit the sack dreaming of our hike to "big rock" further down the river the next day.


This way to Big Rock


Bob showing us how it's done. (click on the picture to see Bob in all his glory)


Lot's of time spent at Big Rock just floating around in the inner-tubes


During the hike back poor Winslow the dog was so tired I had to carry her over some rough sections and help her over obstacles. Poor old girl's hips were giving out on her.

She did have a great time hanging out with her boyfriend Amigo




On the ride out we stopped and waved goodbye to the campsite.


What a great time! I can't wait to get back to this special spot.

Death Valley '09

A week in Death Valley

We had been planing this trip for more than a year and we still had not finished planning the second half of the trip. Didn't matter though because we just went with life on life's terms and took what we were given.

Unfortunately the trip started out with me getting a ticket in Ridgecrest just outside of Death Valley. I mistakenly turned onto a Naval Air Weapons Base and guess what? My license was expired. This meant that they had to call the cops and now I have to appear in Criminal Court 400 miles from SF even though my renewal was pending with the DMV. I have since renewed my license, but that is a whole other story.

First stop was Saline Valley

Before we got to the Saline Springs (where we were going to meet Evan and Lauren) we did a little exploring and found some cool Native American left overs

Later that day we met our new friends Evan and Lauren and Scout

They were wonderful travel companions.















I met Evan on the Expedition Portal web Forum. We did some loose phone planning and decided to meet at Saline Springs to camp for a night. Saline was cool but kind of crowded. We didn't take any pics to mention. There were a bunch of wild Buros there that would walk right up to you for a handout. The springs were nice but we had to wait until the later evening to get a tub to our selves. We also met up with another Expo Forum couple and shared out camp site.

After Saline we took the famous 4x4 Lippencott Rd. to the Race Track.

We did take some pictures of flowers

We camped at the Lippencott Mine camping area

Breakfast from a can? Yum, and it's organic

Checked out the mysterious moving rocks on the Race Track


Hiked up to Ubehebe Peak with the dogs. Winnie had to wear her booties because she is a frail city dog.



We followed Evan out to Ubehebe crater on the famous Race Track Valley Rd. known for it's washboard that can rattle the fillings out of your teeth. (it was in great shape)

The Crater

Evan, Lauren, and Scout went home and we continued on with our trip through DV. We missed hanging out with them.

We tripped through Scotty's Castle (the tour is a must do if you are there)

Random roadside flowers

We ended up driving through Titus Canyon

Checked out Badwater
We hiked over 25 miles during the week. Some of the hikes we did were Ubehebe Peak, Mosaic Canyon, Golden Canyon, Hole in the Wall, and some dunes. Winslow got to go on over 10 of those miles with us. It was a little challenging becuase dogs are not allowed on any trails and you can't leave them in the car for obvios reasons. The hikes we took without her we did in the early morning so she was okay in the car for a few hours before the sun came up.
Here is Katherine in Mosaic Canyon at the 25ft falls
Hole in the Wall (we ended up camping there our last night)

Artists Drive

Devils Golf Course

Dunes at Stovepipe Wells

Golden Canyon & Red Cathedral
Begging Coyote
Me and Winnie on our Hole in the Wall hike
Butte Valley

We drove out to Butte Vally in search of these old Geologist cabins that are maintained by park visitors. You can camp in them but it is first come availability. All three were full so we decided to try and go over Mengal pass and camp at the famous Barker Ranch. That is where Charles Manson was caught in a shoot out back in the 1960's. Unfortunately we did not make it over the pass. I got the Land Cruiser stuck on some rocks twice and decided to give it up after damaging my fender. Katherine said the dent gives my truck some off0road credibility. I'm going with it.
Here I am about to get stuck again.
We decided to go back to Hole in the Wall to do some back country camping for our last night. It was really peaceful and we did not see any other humans.
The next day on the way out of DV we stopped to help some nice ladies change a tire just outside of Panamint Springs. Actually I was the idiot that did not help them change it back in Stovepipe Wells and thought they might make it to Panamint on a leaking tire. They didn't make it, but at least I did change it for them.
Later that day we ended up in Mammoth Lakes up on hwy 395 and there was a ton of snow. We had just spent a week in the desert and felt totally out of place.


You can check out all the pics at this here link - Click here for the pics

Thanks for looking.