More walking around the…
More walking around the area of the Mongage Hotel.
Ca-Li-FOR-ni-A! (It’s a Nation State)
Around the Golden State. Sequoia, Up The Coast, SF, Napa, and More.
After lunch we thought…
After lunch we thought to take a quick stop here but… closed! Who would think, closed on Wednesdays.
I’ve had to resort…
I’ve had to resort to internet pictures for the huge highlights of today.
The SPA, wow, sooo nice.
Late lunch at Nick’s in town where we shared what we both agreed was among the most delicious sandwiches EVER.
Then, TaDAHH, Pageant of the Masters! If you don’t know what this is you can look it up because it’s an interesting story and except for a four year WWII break, it has been presented here yearly since 1933.
An internet picture of…
An internet picture of the Montage Hotel where I’m staying with Sharon for a couple of nights.
Following are some views from around the property.
Welcome to Laguna Beach,…
July 21
Welcome to Laguna Beach, home to hundreds of art galleries, and to the yearly display of the Pageant of the Masters.
The view, through the…
The view, through the umbrellas, from the Ocean View Bar and Grill at the historic 1930s Hotel Laguna.
The waiter told us…
The waiter told us some people must have dropped off a pair of rabbits around Easter time, that’s when he started seeing them every day, and since then they have made themselves at home here and ever since have been breeding like, well, rabbits.
Ben is cracking the…
May 25
Ben is cracking the farm fresh (This farm fresh) eggs for a delicious breakfast frittata. Jerry made two huge trays eaten, with gusto, by the various guests who wander in for breakfast throughout the morning.
Some of the olive…
Some of the olive trees of the ranch that make up the award winning Oils of Paicines. You can order off their website at oilsofpaicines.com and they have a facebook page called WeLoveOliveOil.
We had an organized…
We had an organized mixed doubles table tennis tournament. I said I’d play if they needed another girl but since they didn’t…
…I just took some…
…I just took some pictures, here of the winners of the big grand finale.
It was an excellent idea and fun for all.
Barbara is doing another…
Barbara is doing another round of construction projects.
She’s totally re-doing that pink house in the background where a caretaker had previously lived, and she’s also building from scratch a huge new kitchen and dining area large enough for fifty guests. And a real library too, to hold their ever growing collection of books.
Because of the drought…
Because of the drought the bobcats are coming down into the ranch and eating the peacocks. They lost so many that they’ve brought the survivors into a caged area.
Lunch today was up…
May 23, afternoon and evening
Lunch today was up at the top of a very Very high hill, Mountain really. It used to be that 10 or so people would walk up and the others would ride. This year 5 walked and I was among them.
Sincere thanks to my fellow walkers for being so kind and gentle despite me being sooooo slooooow.
Say Jerry, say I,…
Say Jerry, say I, may I please have some gas? Sure he says, this being the result of my new gps bypassing all towns for 100 miles.
After another fantastic dinner…
After another fantastic dinner it was Show Time. Everyone did a bit but the hit was Barbara’s drumming and her…
…we immediately watched it…
…we immediately watched it 3 more times and it’s on youtube for your viewing pleasure.
Jerry and Barbara painted…
Jerry and Barbara painted on the side of the first barn. Welcome to The Ranch!
Bonnie and Ben in…
Bonnie and Ben in the olive tree groves, home of the award winning Oils of Paicines.
…and a little further…
…and a little further down the road is the barn with the picture of Barbara and Jerry painted on the side.
Often it is so…
Often it is so dusty and nasty with agricultural detritus darkening the sky but today it was nice.
I let my new…
I let my new car and its new gps take me to The Ranch. It took me through Oklahoma.
It also bypassed all towns for 100 miles as I zigged and zagged turned left turn left turn right turn left. I had No idea where I was!
May 22 2015…
May 22 2015
Driving up the I5 on my way to The Ranch!
You can find prior visits at The Ranch 2009-2013
Crescent Meadow…
Crescent Meadow
I took a lovely stroll out to Crescent Meadow, John Muir’s ‘Gem of the Sierra’. This walk is about point four miles from the parking lot, shouting distance. But the wildflowers are gone, the sun is overhead and there isn’t much to say about standing here. So I back up three steps, back to the path, turn my head and…
We’re off from Wuksachi…
We’re off from Wuksachi Lodge for a short backtrack to catch the largest tree in the world, The Sherman Tree. It’s not the tallest and it’s not the widest but it is the largest by volume.
Wow, big.
It takes about an…
It takes about an hour to drive from Wuksachi/Sherman Tree to the next Visitors Center and location of our accommodation in Grant Grove Village, and this is some of the view on the way.
We’re staying at the…
We’re staying at the John Muir Lodge in Grant Grove Village for the next two nights, and then home.
Grant Grove Village consists of the John Muir Lodge, a collection of tent cabins, a collection of year-round cabins, a very nice Visitors Center, a small market and post office, and this modest restaurant.
I like the restaurant actually. It’s modest but fine. We both had a bowl of chili that was more than fine, and split the Caesar salad that was also more than fine.
((We went back there then next day and the chili was entirely different and not at all as good. So I have to retract my happy review!))
After lunch we took…
After lunch we took the long drive in and out of Kings Canyon. Here’s a first glimpse.
The Kings River that…
The Kings River that runs through Kings Canyon did have some water which was nice to see although it was so shallow we could see the bottom wherever we stopped.
And a waterfall was running! Yay. This is Grizzly Falls. For fun I took one shot in a vertical right out of the camera and the other is a horizontal pano of two shots.
We took a drive…
We took a drive by the monumental Moro Rock climbing opportunity and passed it right on by.
Entering the park from…
October 26
Entering the park from Three Rivers we are treated to a fine display of fall colors and…
(through the car window)
The trees are from…
The trees are from the very fine Big Trees Nature Trail.
We had been walking for a few hours and were ready to check in to our accommodation at Wuksachi and enjoy a late lunch at their restaurant where…
…yikes! The fog…
…yikes! The fog rolled in big time – that’s the view out the window! So we just called it a day.
(You can click…
October 25 (You can click on this link if you’re interested in my consolidated story from many trips to Sequoia, All Done Now.)
Sharon and I drove up to Three Rivers today to spend the night in anticipation of our adventure in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park.
We stayed here, the Sequoia River Dance B&B. The South Fork of the Kaweah River that runs behind the house was totally dry, not a drop.
…which we could enjoy…
…which we could enjoy from our table on the patio of the restaurant at the Gateway Motel.
That’s the historic Pumpkin Hallow Bridge built in 1922 here where the Middle and East Forks of the Kaweah River merge.
The restaurant down the…
The restaurant down the road from the Fogcatcher Inn. I could go there again next weekend and be happy again.
I stayed this night…
February 18
I stayed this night in Cambria to make tomorrow’s trip down to Santa Barbara an easy hop.
I thought I might have tired of Moonstone Beach but no…
Where Nancy and I…
February 16-17
Where Nancy and I stayed for the wedding festivities.
The day after the wedding I went with Nancy to visit her son Josh and his family: Kelly, Charlie, Henry, Milton.
Here’s Milton happy to…
Here’s Milton happy to take a picture so that he could see it in the camera.
Then Bonnie treated me…
Then Bonnie treated me and her son Michael and his girlfriend Rudy to a very good Chinese dinner.
Bonnie and I went to Joanna and Robert’s for the night.
There were several of…
There were several of these sculptures – I saw two others but there are apparently five total.
Copied from sfgate.com: “The five Slinkies, each about 15 feet tall and weighing 1,500 pounds, arrived by trailer, one by one, and were installed by crane in the early morning hours in the summer. The crew was always gone, without a trace, by 8 a.m.
“I love the idea that they fluttered down out of the sky like some mythical creature,” says the deliveryman, Bruce Beasley, a sculpture major from UC Berkeley’s class of 1962. Beasley, who is 74 and operates out of a studio in West Oakland, has worked in monumental outdoor art for 50 years and has had more than 200 exhibitions worldwide. But he’s never before placed anything on the grounds of his alma mater.
“The series is called “Rondo,” and it is the first exhibition of multiple pieces by one artist in a UC Berkeley public art program that dates to 1900.
“Gov. Jerry Brown will want to know who paid for this, and the answer is Beasley. He spent two years designing and forging five separate artworks, each unique to its location. Beasley paid for the materials and installation, and when the show ends in August, he will pay for their removal, then offer the pieces for sale.”
These tulip trees are…
These tulip trees are everywhere around campus and the town and they are wonderful. I want one.
CAL! At least…
CAL! At least this is a familiar scene. Following are views around campus. Every time I visit, not so often, more buildings replace green space and construction rages on.
I love this motto:…
I love this motto: To Rescue for Human Society the Native Values of Rural Life, the Eugene W. Hilgard Hall which seems so incongruent with the building.
Eugene W. Hilgard (1833-1916) was a professor of Agriculture and Botany at CAL between 1875-1904. “The building is part of a trio including Wellman Hall and Giannini Hall that form the original agricultural quad on campus. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.”)
When Robert and Joanna…
When Robert and Joanna bought their house in the Berkeley hills this wall in the master bedroom had No Window, not one. The very first thing they did was blast away, to catch this amazing view.