As is our tradition, Dad and I went on an Excellent Adventure for the day after Thanksgiving. This time we hiked into the Thomes Creek Gorge on the eastern edge of Mendocino National Forest. It's a part of California that not too many people know about and we like it that way. We didn't see a single other soul on the trail. I think it's a beautiful area.
My favorite part: having leftover apple/persimmon pie for desert on the trail. YUM! (Thanks Pam).
For Veteran's Day I had a great road trip to Santa Cruz with Dad and Pam. We visited my Uncle Mott whom I had not seen for a very long time (since before the pandemic started). He is very cool.
After that we headed over to West Cliff Drive and my old neighborhood from childhood. All in all a very chill day. I was even graced by the Ice Cream Goddess who bestowed a hot fudge sundae on me.
Today also would have been my grandfather's 90th birthday. I miss you Granddad.
I had a fun birthday today. It started with a bocce ball game with friends from the City of Davis alternative recreation program. I was pretty good at the game considering it had been a long time since I played. I even got some balloons from Jillian (from Parks & Rec) which was very nice.
After that I went to Mom & Eric's house for a family dinner in my honor.
Life is good.
It was a beautiful sunny Labor Day, so Dad and I drove out to Marin County for a hike in the forest. Not very much water in the creeks this time of year, but plenty of in the Pacific Ocean (see behind me in the picture).
No reservations to enter Yosemite National Park? No problem...
There is plenty to see and do outside the park. We drove up Lee Vining Canyon and hiked up to an abandoned silver mine around 10,000 ft. We were greeted by thunder and lightning and got soaked in a downpour (helpful for the firefighters, I suppose). Afterwards we retreated down to Mono Lake and the sun came out, a welcome development which we took full advantage of.
In the picture you can see the Mono Craters, North America's youngest mountain range. It looks like a fascinating area. I've never seen it up close. Next trip perhaps...
My home state, California, continues to have very dry summers and extreme fire seasons. In the background you can see a plume of smoke from a fire in the Carson Pass area. We later found out that the town of Markleeville had to be evacuated. Bummer.
It's pretty clear that climate change is driving a lot of this. It's very important that we find a way to limit emissions and keep this wonderful planet as livable as we can.
No visit to the town of Missoula, Montana is complete without a stop at Bernice's Bakery. The yummy treats there are second only to Purple Tree Cafe in Davis. (It's true. Pam did not pay me to say that.)
You have to say the "trading post" part to distinguish this place from the military Fort Union site in New Mexico...
We stopped by this historic place near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers, right on the North Dakota-Montana border. It was really active during the heyday of the fur trade in the early 19th century. The guide told us that the biggest problem the fort's managers had was to make sure that Indian tribes that didn't like each other wouldn't show up to trade at the same time. I would not have wanted the job of bouncer.
The Maah Daah Hey Trail winds for 144 miles through the badlands of western North Dakota. We hiked a small portion of it on this trip. Pretty cool. (Actually, it was a hot day.)
The name of the trail means "an area that has been or will be around for a long time" in the Mandan language. I'm sure it will since it's protected by the federal government. More information at: http://mdhta.com/
It took a few backroads to get here, but we climbed North Dakota's White Butte (3,506 ft.), the state's high point. It was a pretty easy climb with a great view of the surrounding prairie. It's the second state high point that I've bagged after Harney Peak in South Dakota which we did in 2017. Dad has slightly greater bragging rights than me because he's been to the top of Mt. Whitney in California.
(Harney Peak has since been renamed Black Elk Peak after the Oglala Lakota leader.)
Badlands National Park in South Dakota is a most unusual place. I love the spectacularly eroded landscape and the grasslands too.
We took a hike and even saw a Bighorn sheep. We also met some people who were having fun with "geocaching", a sport that I'm not sure I fully understand.
One of this country's hidden gems is the Niobrara National Scenic Riverway in Nebraska. It's officially a "wild and scenic" river with no dams and many recreational opportunities. We camped in a state park right next to the water and even though it rained a lot the day we were there it was still a beautiful place. We also saw Smith Falls, the tallest waterfall in the state.
The interesting thing about the Niobrara is that it's a prairie river. Its source is not some faraway stream high in the Rocky Mountains. Instead its waters bubble up from the ground in eastern Wyoming, fed by the Ogallala Aquifer.
Now this raises a question for me. Are the "marquee" vacation spots necessarily better? Is Smith Falls less scenic than Yosemite Falls? Does remote Picture Canyon in Colorado have to play second fiddle to the Grand Canyon? Do the Monument Rocks automatically have less grandeur than El Capitan? I'm not so sure. Maybe it's just a matter of scale.
The whole world is beautiful if you look at it right.
Many of the interesting sights in the Great Plains can be found on private property (thank you Homestead Act of 1862). Fortunately, landowners in these parts are generous about granting public access. Case in point: the Monument Rocks in Gove County, Kansas. These limestone monoliths were once part of an ancient seabed that covered what is now rolling prairie. There were about a zillion swallow nests built onto the rocks high up. Somehow each bird knew exactly which one to return to to feed their young.
We did a good job of following the rules here: don't leave trash and don't harass the cattle.
That's a big word...
Western Kansas is pretty hot and humid in the summer, but we found a nice state park and camped next to a lake. You know what we saw? Fireflies! I had never seen them before. We don't have them in California so it was really cool. I think they're my second favorite small creature after the Salt Creek pupfish in Death Valley.
I noticed that some people from the Midwest call them "lightning bugs."
One of the characteristics of this trip that you may have noticed is that we haven't visited any major parks or tourist destinations yet. In our quest for the obscure we landed here at Picture Canyon in the grasslands of southeastern Colorado. It took a few bumpy gravel roads to get here but it's an interesting place.
You can see the ruins of a pioneer cabin as well as ancient art rock (thus the name). It was very hot (100° F at least) but we survived it.
I realize that this place is not as famous as the Golden Gate Bridge or the Brooklyn Bridge, but I think it's safe to say that the bridge than spans the Rio Grande Gorge just west of Taos is the most famous one in New Mexico.
Looking east towards the Sangre De Cristo Mountains, they were sadly shrouded in haze (probably from a distant forest fire). The last time we were here a summer storm had just passed through and the view was clear and magnificent.
Of course we had to stop in Winslow, Arizona to see the "Standin' On The Corner" exhibit. It was such a fine sight to see, although I must admit that I didn't see any girls in flatbed Fords slowing down to take a look at me.
Oh, well... I've still got Dad and his Subaru.
Dad rarely uses the term "road trip" without the adjective "righteous" attached to it. It's a sign of how much fun we both have together while traveling. This year we may need a different qualifier since we missed this in 2020. I'll have to think about this while we proceed.
Yesterday was the first day of our summer road trip, which also coincided with Father's Day. What better way to celebrate than by taking my dad out for brunch on our way out of town?
We spent our first night in Needles, California where it was hot... very hot. We got to go swimming in the pool at our hotel, so that made things much better.
I love my dad and he loves me. Happy Father's Day!
Ahh... Highway 1. After the hot sun inland we got the cool fog of the Big Sur coast. This has got to be one of the most beautiful drives in the world.
Memorial Day weekend. Dad and I took our first camping trip in what seems like forever. We headed down to the Arroyo Seco area next to the Ventana Wilderness. It was great... as long as you don't mind 100 degree weather and a landscape partially charred by the 2016 Soberanes Fire. On the other hand, having a nice cool riperian stream to dip your toes in after a hike sure beats being locked down at home. I love the outdoors.
The Davis Farmer's Market is coming back to life! Dad and I rode our bikes there yesterday. No live music and only about 1/3 of the usual crowd. But, hey, it's a start.
Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone. It feels somehow like we are turning a corner with the new season coming. I hope to get out more, do more, go places and all the stuff I love in the near future.
The future seems bright.
I don't know what any groundhogs out saw today, but the sun came out and I went for a walk with Dad. We both saw our shadows.
We inaugurated a new president today and registered this country's 59th peaceful transfer of power. It's one of the things that makes America great in my opinion.
Now, I don't really know what goes on over in Washington, D.C., and I care even less. But I get the distinct vibe that this new guy is an improvement over the last one. Good luck, Mr. President.
