January 18, 2011--2 Weeks into our Honeymoon 

Jason with the general

We slept in until…don’t know what time after an undisturbed nights rest.  Got up leisurely and made coffee and breakfast.  Sonia updated the blog as Jason worked on the auxillary battery.  Called Go Westy for troubleshooting ….we were in no hurry at all and got rolling by 1130am to Sequoia Kings National Park. Per Jacquie’s recommendation we walked through the Giant Forest. Thanks Jacquie J. We snowshoed around in the Giant Forest. We stood in the presence of General Sherman Tree, the largest tree on the planet by volume, 52, 500 cubic ft! It weighs 1, 385 tons,  36.5 feet in diameter and 275 ft tall…it’s a big tree that’s all there is to it. We wandered on our snowshoes around the forest and took in many of the other giant sequoia’s in the area. It was quiet, peaceful and amazing to be in the presence of this incredible species of tree. It extremely fire resistant b/c it doesn’t have a lot of sap or pitch. It scars well and heals itself after surviving many previous wildfires.  We ate lunch and took off towards Death Valley—hoping to get there tonight.

Can you see Sonia in there somewhere?

We are now sitting at a 1 hour and 7 min delay due to road construction….which is why we can blog/journal and chillax!! Jason made a few friends with some photographers in the car in front of us. Tim Scott and Greg Bates—both are well-known photographers and seem to know their stuff. They educated us about the valley fog. Its called Tule Fog and occurs only after it rains b/c the valley used to be an ancient lake bed. Ahhh interesting.  We got going, as usual, pulled over to let the other cars pass by…but this allows us to take in the scenery.  It was a beautiful, steep and twisty ride down. The Sierra Nevada Mountains right alongside and towering high above with its rugged terrain and snowy peaks….then the fog in the valley.  It immediately felt like late afternoon and fatigue set in. We continued our drive (per recommendation from the photographers) on Rt 65 South to Porterville to restock our provisions for Death Valley.

We passed Porterville and took Rt 155 East winding and twisting our way thru mountainous terrain and a few passes.  There was nobody on the road, so the Loaf could take up both lanes as we climbed. Luke and Will…this could be an interesting bicycle ride for you guys …a long, steady climb.   On the steep 11% grade down, we had to pull over to let the red hot and stinky brakes cool down. Whooo…that was kinda scary!  We made our way into Lake Isabella and re-fueled and stocked water from Vons Grocery Store (a sister store to Safeways).  The cashier in there thought I was some strange vagrant…going back and forth 3 times with my bathroom-faucet-filled-gallon jug of water.  She decided not to inquire why each time I had to go back for another token to get into the bathroom. I tried to prop the door open with papertowels, but it failed against the weight of the door. Then I thought, what if I jam the papertowels in the locking mechanism…that’d suck and be embarrassing…luckily the whole idea failed and the token opened the door the next 2 times. Now, we got gas, water, food, and toilet paper…we are ready to head into Death Valley. 

We pushed on thru the dark, but then realized all the Joshua Tree silouttes and decided it may be a cool landscape to drive in the daylight hours. So we pulled off the road and camped. Gotta love the van…It was so bright from the moonlight, we didn’t even need headlamps.  We were quickly looking at the undersides of our eyelids.Another undisturbed nights rest, we got an early start anxious to see the landscape into Death Valley.

Loaf with a Joshua Tree

January 17, 2011-Monday



Last night we drove out of the Southern part of YNP into Fresno, CA. We had some basic housekeeping to take care of-oil change, bath for Loaf, laundry and re-stock groceries—so we headed into the city. Thankfully, Sonia’s phone has navigation and maps to locate a part of town that would lend itself to all of the above. N.  Blackstone Ave—it’s like a long, straight Wenatchee or Montgomeryville-strip malls as far as the eyes can see.  Oh boy, naturally we wanted to expedite this part of the day and get on our way to Sequoia Kings NP…or just anywhere out of the city. Sonia got dropped off at a Laundromat. Luckily, there was a health food store in the strip mall—she stocked up on bananas and a few other things.  Jason went to get an expensive oil change---only b/c  they didn’t talk prices until Loaf was airborne and his lifeblood (oil) was already draining out of him…well, I guess we have to pay the $60 frickin’ dollars. Who ever heard of such and expensive oil change??  We are in California.  AND, they didn’t know where to fill the oil back into AND they didn’t have metric wrenches to check the transmission fluid level….what trusting hands, huh?  So, the bill is paid. Jason stops to fill propane. This place charges based on a range. For instance, to fill 0-5 gallons it costs $14!!  Jason opted out of that California scam…pheww! But how ridiculous is that….what if you only wanted one gallon filled for that 4^th of July BBQ and oops we forgot to fill the propane tank…crap. And inconveniently enough, the only place open is this joint…so now ya gotta pay $14 for 1 gallon of propane. THAT’S MADDENING!!  Anywho… Sonia got picked up at the Laundromat and off they went. Stopped for Mexican food at Robertitos in Fresno…not too bad or not too good. The hard shell tacos were good. 

WE drove thru countryside that one would expect to see sheep grazing on.  Lush, green rolling hills with big boulders dotting the landscape, small streams in the gullies…what we both think Ireland would look like. It was lovely.  We drove across 180 and up into the foothills of the Sierras. It was the thickest fog we’ve been in so far. You could barely see, 8 ft in front of you…and Loaf’s headlights don’t shine much past that anyway. We could get by using highbeams on highways without pissing anyone else off!!  We stopped for some local maps at Hume Lake Ranger District and headed up and up…eventually breaking out above the fog layer in the valley below. We pull off the side of the road in this little pull-out…and it’s a total surprise. Frogs are ribbetting  so loud in this decent sized mud puddle. It’s a dirt-biking area with big jumps, rocks and sand bars! A hidden gem just  off the road…what a treat. We are so lucky.  It was a gorgeous night. Almost a full moon, stars against a midnight blue sky, cool CA night air—temps around 45 degrees, not too bad. We drank a Mirror Pond Ale and took in the night.  We settled in as the moonlight shined onto our faces as we fell happily asleep.  Happy Honeymoon.

More pics next post.

nice free camp along I-180 above Fresno (in the clouds)

Saturday Jan 14-16, 2011

Hello Everyone!

We have just spent the last weekend at Yosemite National Park. We arrived late in the evening to Indian Flat RV and Campground. Yes, we did plug in..Sonia is getting spoiled with electricity once again. It'd be good if she had some extra fat stores to keep warm, but Jason did put weight restrictions on her --haha!  So, we settled in and now we kinda have a system of setting up and breaking down the Loaf. B/C its such small and tight living quarters, both of us can't be fiddling around inside simultaneously...otherwise the battle begins. So we have this dance that we do...and it seems to be working out OK. Jason or Sonia isn't waiting for the bus  home at the nearest station!! We fell asleep listening to the Merced River across the street, anxious to wake up and see the beauty that surrounds us.

In the AM, we awoke and yes it was gorgeous...even though we were still 8 miles from the park entrance. We made breakfast and were ready to learn about the park history. YNP was the first place in USA to be designated as a National Park in 1864.  John Muir was a pivotal person who deeply loved Yosemite Valley and wanted it to stay pure and natural for future generations. Thanks to him, millions of people get to see a bit of heaven on earth. It truly is a magnificient place. The gradiosity of the granite walls, spires and cliffs all around just silence and amaze you. El Capitan and Half Dome towering over the flat valley below, watching and protecting its homes. The story goes...A husband and wife were fighting. They reached the lake and the wife drank the lake dry and angered the gods. The gods turned them to stone and now they are El Capitan and Half Dome--2 massive rocks that live facing each other forever. We walked around doing the touristy think, hungry for knowledge and to gain appreciation for the people who once walked these lands 8000 years ago, before the white man came in and forced the Indians out. The Ahwahneechee people permanently settled here 4000 years ago-living off the land. Gathering black acorns for acorn mush (their primary food source), plants, seeds, roots, fruits and hunted for meat. They loved and cared for their land. On March 27, 1851 the Mariposa Battalion-a bunch of egotistical, greedy white miners tried to force them out. They fled to the high country and re-established themselves. Some eventually returned to the valley for work and lived in small groups. Modern day, there are Indian people living in nearby counties and trying to keep their traditions alive. And naturally, the all-american way, YNP hires them to come and "perform" ceremonies to the tourists who pay for "entertainment". Nonetheless, its good to remind ourselves of the history that inhabits these lands. Their presence is still very much alive in the trees, mountains, waterfalls--its all around.

Yosemite Pt. is the highest point in this picture

Anyway, we decided to take a hike up to Yosemite Point the next day, b/c daylight was limited that day. So we went home and went hot tubbing at the neighboring hotel. We got permission, we weren't poaching this time!! Man o Man, did that feel good! We tubbed a while then went back to shower and make dinner. Jason lost in a game of cribbage and it was bedtime to rest for our hike in the early AM.

We arose early to get plenty of time hiking. We started hiking around 9am up the Upper Yosemite Falls and Yosemite Point Trail. An elevation gain of 2700 ft to the top of the falls and another 800 feet up to the Point. We were hiking one of YNP's oldest historic trails built in 1873-1877 that leads to the Upper Yosemite Falls which is North America's tallest waterfall at 2,425 ft. 60+ zig-zaggy switchbacks offering excellent views of the valley. We got alongside the Falls--what a powerful force of nature. We took dozens of pictures along the way. A nice trail that makes you appreciate modern day lightweight luxuries--like small campstoves, snowshoes, titanium cookware vs cast iron pots and pans. That's why they had horses, i suppose. We were eventually post-holing enough to have to donn our snowshoes and keep going. What a great adventure, we had to post lookouts to avoid rock, ice, snow falls from the massive rock walls next to and above us. One snowball came careening down about 10 ft from where we were standing...we quickly moved from there.


Sonia at the top of Yosemite Point

 We shoed up and up and up...slowly losing other hikers behind. We did leap frog with 2 Italian guys who looked ill-prepared and but were young, tenacious and determined to get higher and higher. We think they eventually turned around...it got a little sketchy if you did't have snowshoes. The recent massive snowfall of 10ft a few weeks ago, followed by this warm, sunny weather was making the snow rather soft and your feet just punched through with each step. But as a result of these weather conditions, the waterfall was flowing loud and strong. We made it to the top of the falls, crossed the massive bridge across the river and trudged on to Yosemite Point. We got to the top, all alone, nobody around..We couldn't believe our luck. We sat and ate smooshed PB&J sandwiches happily looking out at the landscape. LIFE IS GOOD!! By the way, the weather was unbelievable. 55 degrees, full sunshine--we hiked in shorts and t-shirts for part of the way!! January in the Sierra's with this kind of weather--who says were aren't experiencing climate changes??? We didn't idle long b/c we still had to get down before sundown at 530pm. We hiked about 10 miles that day, we were sufficiently tired, hungry and ready for a hot tub again!! So we headed back to camp, snacked and went tubbing. NOBDOY'S there either....we are so lucky once again. We soaked until we were cooked then went in the pool. Playing around in the pool like kids--doing somersaults, flips, swimming...fun was had. Another campground couple was in the hot tub by now. They gave us lots of good pointers on our upcoming travels to Death Valley, RedRocks, Moab, etc. Shower, dinner and bed. Another good day spent on our Honeymoon.

The next day, we got another early start to get up to Badger Pass Ski area to cross-country ski into Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. It looked kind of like the Icicle Valley at home--the forest we drove thru to get to the Grove. Ski conditions were not very good. Parts of the road was bare and wet--we definitely had to pick our paths to stay on snow. But when we did get to the Grove..my goodness the trees were HUGE. The Grizzy Giant is the largest tree in YNP--96 ft in circumference, 27.6 ft in diameter!! its humungous! The branches coming off it were like regular trees!! Incredible.  We had a fun little ski back down the road and packed up and took off. Onto the next adventure...Sequoia Kings National Park.



Not the Grizzly tree but a big one

 Take care...until the next time. We are heading into Death Valley after SKNP...probably out of cell range. Love to you all.

Our first road block

It happened...we knew it eventually would... so we're sittin at the Purrfect auto shop here in Hayward, California just outside of Oakland while our brakes get worked on.  We had a frozen caliper on the front brakes which chewed up the pads and rotor.  The mechanics here are great and getting us fixed up and we should be on our way in a couple of hours.  In the meantime, an old family friend/uncle, Ashwin Kaka (family friends of Sonia's Parents from La Junta, CO) picked us up and took us out for brunch. It has been about 29-30 years since Sonia last saw him!!

We had a great visit with Chiraag (Sonia's womb-buddy) in San Francisco for two days. We ate some really good sushi and got a few slices of east coast style pizza(it was good, but we look forward to the real deal pizza in Spring).  We passed a rainy and dreary day in SF by walking up and down Haight St trying to sell Incense Snuffers. We sold a few and met some interesting business owners along the way.  They gave us some good feedback and many wanted us to contact them in the spring when business picks up and are willing to carry more inventory.  Slow times for everyone, I guess. So the Incense Snuffer and the Loaf Love Tour continues. 

This afternoon we'll be on our way to Yosemite Valley for some XC skiing tomorrow in the sun. That's it for now.

1-11-11

Life on the road has been pretty damn good.   Winter is definitely a great time to be going down the coast if the weather plays in your favor, which it has.  There’s been very few people around also, making it very peaceful and giving us tons of valuable time together.

We spent two days in the coastal redwood area, from Jedediah State Forest to Elk Prairie.  If you ever come here, take the dirt road through Jedediah on the east side of the Smith River.  It’s the Hill Road past Stout Grove. 

Finally we got the bikes off the back of the bus and did a short ride along the Coast Trail.  I pooped Sonia out on the uphill’s….Haven’t used the bike legs in a while.  We caught the sunset over the Pacific with a pick-nick dinner then a night drive south to Elk Prairie.  I know, sounds rough.

Unbelievable day on Monday in the Redwoods.  Had elk near the campsite in the morning.  Went for a bike ride up the closed road, Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway, and had the place to ourselves.  We had the whole 5 mile stretch of road and countless trails through some of the most magnificent old growth Redwood forest without seeing another soul.  Can’t really explain how awesome it was.

Today, we made it down to Point Reyes National Seashore on our way to San Francisco to see Chirag.  Did a quick drive and dinner at the point to see if we could spot some whale activity, no luck.  Suppose to be prime season for their migration south.  We’re gonna do some more biking tomorrow around the area which has 100’s of miles of trails.  Probably keep it under 20 miles.    

Weather has been great so far and life is wonderful.   

      

Large wildlife in this ancient forest

Jan 8 2011 Saturday Night



Peek-a-boo view from Humbug Mtn



So we've hunkered in for the night...free camping along 101-S.  An exciting Saturday night, but tomorrow morning we'll be drinking our chai (with some wild ginger root gathered from the forest floor) while enjoying a gorgeous view of the Pacific Ocean. From camp, we also have a view of Humbug Mountain, 1, 748 ft. We hiked it in a hurry this afternoon in anticipation of stunning views...to no avail. The summit view was obstructed by treetops(bummer)...bushwhacking was out of the question, but entertained briefly. We got a few peek-a-boo views along the way though. The forest was so peaceful, lush and green: large doug firs, myrtlewood, western hemlock trees, atleast 6 varieties of ferns, huge rhododendrens...and lots of other plant life--the botanist can fill you in with more detail. We got back to the van just before dark...starving, cold but not wet from rain. It was a beautiful day on the coast...SUNSHINE and temps in the 50s! pretty sweet for these parts this time of year.  Signing off. Good Night.

Jan. 7, 2011

Wednesday we spent the evening with our friends Dave and Caroline Picarello in Seattle.  Thanks again for the extra climbing gear Dave.  Next we moved onto Portland where we visited with our soon to be wed friends Doug and Stasha Wenzelbeck in Portland.   

We’re now headed down the coast of Oregon on Hwy 101.  We traveled through the town of Yachats where we stayed on our 1^st honeymoon in June to reminisce shortly but kept on moving.  We did a few short hikes around Heceda Head Lighthouse and the Hobbit Forest. 

   

Last night we stayed in the Oregon Dunes Recreation Area, one of only two parties in the entire campground.  We’ve had bits of rain and sun but at least it’s above freezing and you can hear the ocean waves crashing in the distance. 

Loaf (our van) is running great especially for being so loaded down with all our gear.  Today we’re going to hike around in the dunes and Humbug Mtn. on our way to Mt. Ashland for some skiing on Sunday.  Afterward we’ll be going to hang out with some of the largest trees in the world.  

Please keep us in your thought and prayers as our trip has only just begun (still sinking in at the moment).