I'm Full Of Surprises

We are definitely taking the slow scenic route on our journey northward this summer. After camping at pretty Blue Lake in the Warner Mountains we took the Forest Service road down into Surprise Valley in far northeastern California. (Fun fact: so far we have logged more miles on gravel roads than on freeways.) The photo doesn't quite capture this, but as we descended there was a stunning view of Lower Alkali Lake with clouds perfectly reflected in its still waters.

We had a nice second breakfast in Cedarville.

Back To The River

It's Day #1 of our road trip and Dad and I have had a very chill day indeed. We decided to camp in the early afternoon on the banks of the North Yuba River in the Sierra Nevada. Nothing much to report here except that it was super relaxing with a refreshing light rain in the afternoon.

Power Spot

Mt. Shasta (14,162 ft.) in Northern California is a pretty cool place.

No, I didn't climb to the top but I made it up to 8,000 ft. on a day hike. We saw lots of people geared up to go all the way to the summit. That looks like fun, but first I need some practice with an ice axe and crampons.

Despite rumors I've heard, we saw no signs of Bigfoot, gnomes, hobbits or extraterrestrials here.

Summertime

...and the livin' is easy.

Memorial Day weekend is one of my favorites because of the promise of many adventures to come over the next several months.

I had a nice camping trip with Dad and Pam Cohen. Nice weather and very relaxing.

Sonoran Desert National Monument

On the way back to California we passed through the Sonoran Desert National Monument in central Arizona, created by the executive order of President Bill Clinton in 2001. There is no visitor center nor even any established trails. Just a chunk of protected land where huge Saguaro cacti (Carnegiea gigantea) hold sway.

The current administration in Washington, D.C. is taking a close look at some of the more recently created Monuments. I certainly hope they don't "review" the SDNM out of existence.

Old Friends

We had the opportunity to meet our friends Mike and Chelsea Scopellite for dinner in Tucson, Arizona. It was really great to see them and catch up. It had been four years since our last visit.

Come see us in California sometime, y'all!

Borderlands

For much of this trip we've stayed pretty close to the U.S.-Mexico border. Our stop in Columbus, New Mexico was no exception.

This is the small town that the Mexican revolutionary Francisco "Pancho" Villa attacked in a cross border raid in 1916. This led to a retaliatory "Punitive Expedition" by the U.S. Army that pursued Villa's forces deep into the Mexican state of Chihuahua, although they failed to capture Villa himself. This expedition, led by General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, turned out to be a dress rehearsal for the United States' entry into World War I the next year. We learned all about this at a fabulous museum in Pancho Villa State Park in Columbus.

If you look carefully in the background of the photo, you can see the present day border fence at Puerto Palomas, about three miles to the south. Dad said he could see it clearly through binoculars.