Around the Golden State. Sequoia, Up The Coast, SF, Napa, and More.
More from the Internet:
“Standing like islands in a desolate sea, oases, a third ecosystem, provide dramatic contrast to their arid surroundings. Six fan palm oases dot the park, indicating those few areas where water occurs naturally at or near the surface…”
We walked just about one city block into the trail at Cottonwood Springs and found…
…All THIS. This picture and the next are all shots from just that one block stretch.
March 22
Here’s the National Park Service (www.NPS.gov) summary:
“Viewed from the road, this desert park only hints at its vitality. Closer examination reveals a fascinating variety of plants and animals that make their home in this land shaped by strong winds, unpredictable torrents of rain, and climatic extremes.
“Dark night skies, a rich cultural history, and surreal geologic features add to the attraction of this place. Come see for yourself!”
Everybody was clicking away like crazy clickers click click click. Me too. And Cynthia too. Clicking away.
Joshua Tree is a renowned destination for rock climbers and you’ll see more of them coming up. This climber is in the middle in the upper third of the photo.
Don’t miss the woman’s backpack. Awww.
That snow capped peak is either San Gregorio or San Jacinto – I think. All the Joshua trees were blooming. It really is dramatic.
A National Park self guided walk. The National Park Service – my favorite bureaucracy.
Joshua Tree Hydra.
Here’s an Internet comment speaking of the different eco-systems in Joshua Tree: “The higher, slightly cooler, and wetter Mojave Desert is the special habitat of the undisciplined Joshua tree, extensive stands of which occur throughout the western half of the park.
“According to legend, Mormon pioneers considered the limbs of the Joshua trees to resemble the upstretched arms of Joshua leading them to the promised land. Others were not as visionary. Early explorer John Fremont described them as “…the most repulsive tree in the vegetable Kingdom.””
At this level in the desert the wild flowers are soo small and nestle themselves against some protection. The Rangers told us to take the long drive down to Cottonwood Springs to see more, and we’ll be doing that tomorrow.
That’s Cynthia enjoying a quiet time on the rock in the center of this photo.
All the campsites in the park were totally full and all the motel and hotel signs said ‘no vacancy’, and it’s the weekend with perfect weather for daytripping, and yet except for having to wait to park, we didn’t feel crowded at all, and it was Quiet.
If you want to climb these rocks all you have to do is show up with your ropes and you’re on. I really was surprised that they don’t take reservations and you don’t need any kind of qualification.
These guys will help you. I’ll watch.
From the Black Rock Visitor’s Center, here was one long steep walk! You can’t even see the car it’s such a speck down there by the road. We think we must have taken a wrong turn!
We went back into the park at night. Yikes. That’s the moon there behind that Joshua Tree.
And those are Stars! Cynthia framed this one and it turned out just like she hoped it would.
cc.
March 21, 2008 with Cynthia
We’re off this morning to enjoy the dramatic sights of Joshua Tree National Park. But first we goofed around, ate breakfast, stopped off at some stores, drove, drove, ate lunch, drove, drove, and then checked in, and stopped off at the Visitor’s Center for maps.
We ate dinner at a Mexican place down by the Marine base where ‘Marine Haircut’ joints dominate the strip malls. I grabbed just a few shots towards evening for something to do tonight. It’s blooming season in the desert!
Sunset out the back door of our motel. Most unfortunately, there were no Joshua Trees in view. Fortunately there were palm trees…and photoshop…and ‘color burn’.
Mayacamas had a couple barrels filled with these parasols for the benefit of their guests. Isn’t that nice!
Ben led us in a stretching routine with contributions from the participants. We felt Gooood.
Lovin’ the leafy shadows.
There are others of these metal sculptures placed around the property. And they’re all life sized.
Then we ate dinner (here’s our gorgeous private dining room for the duration). YUM. And then we ate…
September 11
It’s fun in the morning, how it’s all socked in with fog and then the fog lifts and dissolves so that by 10am we’ve got a clear blue sky and a bright sunny day.
A nice shot of The Gang before Richard and Emilia have to say good bye. Good Bye! Thanks for coming!
The garden is beyond spectacular. They grow tons of gorgeous flowers for cutting, and Food. We grazed up here often for raspberries, strawberries, apples, tomatoes, leafy greens, all deee-lish.
We went out for a short hike around the property and at one point there was a steep slippery spot so the guys made a chain and hand to hand passed down the gals. It was so charming…
And here is Dan getting the phone call advising him he has been named to another leadership role in the Maryland Legislature (I’ll ask again about the details…)
Then Lunch.
Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner every day. When was the last time I ate B-L-D day after day? And it is GOOD.
Some of us dressed up nice for our last dinner, all clean and coiffed. And be-Flowered!
They set up the tables outside under the arbor where we ate bbq and had honor beer from the tap.
And Then! Our Grand Finale, the last item on the program, our string trio, we were out on blankets, in the middle of the meadow, under the stars. So very very cool.
A stroll through a just-harvested plot and the chance to enjoy the leavings of fully ripened cabernet sauvignon grapes.
We learned about the mechanical picking machines and it was really interesting. These huge ‘things’ straddle the vines, hauling b*tt down the rows at 20 miles per hour, they Shake the vines, dropping the fruit into a collecting hopper. Fast and Furious.
September 10
After breakfast it’s Fond Farewells to Joanna and Robert who have to leave now. We’ll miss you!
Beringer Vineyards, the oldest continuously operating winery in Napa Valley.
We complete our Beringer tour in a cave-like room, including a barrel tasting and three other selections. Our guide wanted us to get the idea of what the wine tasted like with food so we sucked on lemons and licked salt.
Shelly and Dan in Napa Valley! at a stop at the Culinary Institute where we just wandered around for a few minutes.
Then we moved on to Markham Winery where they were having a show of old photos from the olden days of Rock ‘n Roll. Everyone was whooping it up over what they did in those days. Oh yea…
We arrived right at the biggest week for the harvest and the crush. It’s a real industrial process.
The guide on this tour was all about the business side – how many cases they make of what and how fast it sells out. The contrast with Beringer’s tour made for an even more interesting experience.
This wine tasting came with a food paring – some mighty tasty bites to go with each wine. And look at this venue! Candles and table-clothes and everything.
Ben got this shirt at Markham, and Richard got one too. Because it’s ‘Hey Hey My My…Rock ‘n Roll Will Never Die’.
After the wine tour and a great hour or so of swimming, hot tubbing, and chatting, I went back to take a little nap, just resting my eyes, and someone had to come bang on my door for dinner.
The owner, who bought the place about a year ago, dropped by to say hello and to tell us of his vision for Mayacamas Ranch.
The emphasis seemed to be on two parallel ideas – healing and philanthropy including a group called The GeneroCity Institute.
Here’s something from their website. ‘The GeneroCity Institute was founded by a small group of philanthropists and social artists with the belief that we are all connected and that each of us is a champion for something larger than ourselves. Through this understanding we hope to shape a better future for our own lives, our families, our communities and succeeding generations.’
After dinner we gathered in our lounge for an old fashioned, flash-from-the-past, kum-ba-ya musicale made possible by our own Bobby Z.
You go Bobby!
Arriving at Mayacamas, hence known as ‘camp’ since we have all agreed it is like going to a faabulous summer camp and you never have to do anything but exactly what you want!
A view from just standing around. Everyone chose their accommodations, got settled in, and then…
.S’Mores! Yummy AND fun. We shut out all the lights and enjoyed seeing an especially vivid display of stars with an entertaining and informative narration from Robert. After a song and some hugs, it was off to bed. (This being the part that’s really not much like camp and more like resort living.)
MY DRIVE…September 8, 2007
Time to head up north for the acknowledgment of our Big Six OH. We’re meeting in Calistoga, an extra hour and a half past SF to the far end of the Napa Valley.
So I decided to take two days on the drive. And I decided to stop maany times along the way, to see if that makes for a more pleasant journey.
Remember when cars used to overheat all the time? And the signs that say ‘turn off a/c next 6 miles’ are still out there. But no way are we going to turn off our a/c!
Pyramid Lake, part of the California Aqueduct System. It’s a big sporty venue of streaking power boats, fishing, and blazing sun picnics.
And now over the top and into the San Joaquin Valley, breadbasket of America. There are buildings and trees and powerlines back there but you can’t see them.
From The Wiki: ‘Hemmed in by mountains and lacking any prevailing winds to disperse smog, the San Joaquin Valley has long suffered from some of the United States’ worst air pollution. This pollution, exacerbated by stagnant weather, comes mainly from diesel- and gasoline-fueled vehicles and agricultural operations such as dairies and field-tilling.
‘Population growth has caused the San Joaquin Valley to rank with Los Angeles and Houston in most measures of air pollution. Only the Inland Empire region east of Los Angeles has worse overall air quality than the San Joaquin Valley.’
Here’s a gas and burger stop along the way. And I stopped a couple times without photos too. It took an extra hour or so with all the stops but my *ss does feel better.
I spent the night in Merced and for dinner I ate a couple of tacos off the taco truck and an entire package of Nutter Butters. Yum.
August 11
I headed back from Santa Maria today taking a slow easy meanderingly route. This is wine country after all.
A roadside stop. Ostrich Land!
I didn’t spend the four bucks to go stand on the platform to watch these guys up close(r) and I’m sure they get really close if you spend the extra buck for Food. This picture was fun enough.
Then on through Solvang, still exactly the same as ever it was it seemed to me on a slow procession through town, followed by a nice stop at the Santa Ynez Mission.
And the main church.
“The church was originally constructed in 1804, and although several major earthquakes hit, it survived them. The mission church was badly damaged during the 1812 earthquake, but repairs were made. With multiple restoration efforts, Santa Ynez’s original adobe chapel still stands in the quadrangle today.”
I took another break in the reeally small town of Santa Ynez. It’s very much worth a pass-through because it still has the feeling of the kind of place you’re thinking of when you think of this area.
Lake Cachuma, along highway 154. There is a state park here for camping and a boat dock for daytrippers. On this day it was full to the rafters so I’ll check it out again another day.
I’ll be home soon and then I’ll have to go to bed very early since I Will Not eat dinner. Last night, on the way back to the hotel, we’d only eaten the hors d’oeuvres, so I stopped off at a 7-11 for a snack and they had my all time favorite ice cream my mind went blank and I bought a pint and then I ate the whole thing. I’ve felt queasy ever since! Serves Me Right.
It does work well inside – there are a few shots from the first day. Here are folk who dropped by for the wine tasting.
We put together the last bits for the show which included getting the tags up and preparing the display baskets with the unframed work.
August 10
We met back at the winery this morning. Imagine my surprise when ! arrived yesterday at the winery where Sandy’s art show would be hung and yes this is the place.
Then Roger went to the hotel to do work and Sandy and I went for a little outing. Wow.
We drove into Lompoc, out to the sea, and back…
Just a couple miles out of the way and we are here at La Purisima Mission State Historic Park.
It was very interesting but not so wheelchair friendly. I got Sandy out a ways but then the path got too soft so I left her sitting there(!) and trotted up ahead to snap a few pix.
And another.
Then we went back to our hotels for a little rest before the reception started.
Open for business!
This shot is from early on but very soon the place was entirely packed. It was a lovely event with hors d’oeuvres and matching wine tasting.
Here’s Ardison, with his art on the opposite wall, and the lovely and charming Monica, who runs the wine tasting.
August 9
I drove up to Santa Maria today with mostly-all of Sandy’s art in my trunk. And here I am at the McKeon-Phillips Winery and Gallery with the guys who are hanging her show.
Ardison, the owner of the winery, designed the layout and by the time Sandy and Roger got there it was basically done. Sandy asked for a few changes and then, voila! a wonderful art show, ready for your viewing pleasure.
Then we had a very good lunch in the little town of Orcutt. This wine country area is pretty trendy these days, full of food and wine emporia.
After lunch we rested and then met for dinner. I’m seeing a pattern here of eat rest eat rest eat. Sounds great, no?
Here are a couple shots of the tent cabins; I did go for the more flattering angles.
The entire park was sold out – all the camp sites, these cabins, the hotels, everything. And yet it did not feel crowded at all. The trails were free of crowds and at least here it was calm and quiet the entire time.
I didn’t see anyone using the cabins as a real camp site meaning cooking, laundry, chairs and shade setup, like you see in the campgrounds. I was very surprised by how quiet it was.
If you’re going to do anything other than sleep overnight you’ll be a lot more comfortable if you bring comfortable chairs and Light! It’s pretty dark in these cabins day and night. You don’t need to worry about food though. The coffee kiosk opens early, the restaurant is quite fine, there’s a pizza joint open until 9pm, the market has fruit, veg, sandwich makings etc.
June 19
Today, in the parking lot at the Visitor’s Center in Grant’s Grove, King’s Canyon/Sequoia National Park, there was a vw bus exactly like the one on this album cover, all the windows and doors open, Dylan’s Masters of War pouring out.
The bus was a total rusted wreck, the bumper pieces held together by a relatively pristine sticker announcing Kerry for President. The whole scene put an idiot grin on my face…but that doesn’t make me a bad person.
I’m still working on the pictures from a Sequoia Sojourn.
My new idea is 3 nights in Sequoia makes for a good trip, and you have to stay in different places or you’ll be on the road more than on the trail and not have time to finesse the weather.
June 18
This is the view out my back window and there is a similar scene out the front door. The cabin, one of those tent jobbies is like my shed out back, made from plywood, fabricated and constructed in the 20s, and unlike my shed, this building was never painted. How has it survived?
There’s no nothing in there either, except two beds and a side table, but amazingly the bed was very comfortable, the sheets were thick and fresh, and the blankets were even clean. You just can’t be too fussy about the creepy crawlies.
The trees don’t grow straight and there’s not a thing I can do about it!
As you make your way to ‘the wash house’ you stumble upon these, and the smells are as magnificent as you remember.
