Yosemite

 

 October brought the whole Foster clan together in California.  It was Uncle Dave's first trip out to visit us, so we planned a special trip to Yosemite National Park.  He and Grandma flew out on a Thursday, and we left Friday afternoon for Evergreen Lodge right outside the western entrance to Yosemite.  We are about 3 hours west of Yosemite Valley, and although the lodge was not super easy to find - it was definitely worth the trip to get there!  We had a cabin with two bedrooms, living space, bathroom and porch that overlooked the heated pool, hot tub, and club house.  The "lodge" included a bar and dining room with a fairly upscale menu and an extensive selection of wine and beer.   There was also a new recreation center full of kids toys, books, and puppets, as well as pool tables, shuffle puck, board games, etc.  I would highly suggest that others who plan to travel to Yosemite look into staying at the Evergreen Lodge www.evergreenlodge.com !

On Saturday after a delicious breakfast, we headed into Yosemite towards Mariposa Grove to see the Giant Sequoias.  We arrived around noon, bought a couple snacks to hold us over until "lunch" and decided to hike through the grove rather than take the open-air one hour tram tour.  Four hours later, after a 1,000 foot ascent over 2.5 miles and then the subsequent trip back down, we finally got back on the free shuttle to the parking lot. I know, 5 miles may not seem like much to some - but I'm not exactly used to that kind of hike.  But it was worth it.  The grove contains trees that are among the oldest and largest living things on earth - some trees are more than 3,000 years old, almost 300 feet high, and 40 feet in diameter - and they're everywhere you look!

Can you find Uncle Dave?

("Grizzly Giant" above and below - one of the largest trees in the grove and over 1,800 years old)

Taking a break... yes Mike and Dave brought beers on our hike.

Andrew's walking stick

Let's keep moving, slow pokes!

This was the Wawona Tunnel Tree - In 1881, a hole was cut through this tree and millions of visitors came just to drive through it between then and 1969 when it fell due to a record snow.

Look at Uncle Dave on top of the tree!

Look at Uncle Dave crossing the log bridge!  (This picture doesn't show it well., but the log was easily 10 feet off the ground and you didn't NEED to cross via the log).

We stopped at a pull-off on our way back to Yosemite Valley.  Unfortunately, we were stuck in the shadow of the mountain, so the pictures below just don't do it justice, but it was truly gorgeous.  After a very nice dinner at Mountain View Restaurant, we headed back to Evergreen Lodge. On the way out of the park, we drove along the base of El Capitan (the tall mountain to the left of Dave's head in the picture below) and noticed the mountain was glittering with the lights of climbers, hanging on the face of the mountain. Maybe in my next life I'll be an avid climber, because looking up at it that night, I couldn't think of anything more exhilarating and rewarding than being one of those lights on the mountain.

El Capitan and Half Dome

The next morning we headed back into Yosemite Valley to do the Visitor Center and gift shops before picking a hike for the day.  On our way in, I noticed a handful of people out of their cars with cameras pointed all in the same direction... and that can only mean one thing in a National Park in California - A BEAR!!!  We pulled over and jumped out to join the onlookers.  We were thrilled and Andrew showed his excitement by pointing and saying "Ruf" over and over.  Nice shot bud, I can see the confusion... we just had to teach him what a bear says instead and now he growls like a champ when you ask him what a bear says!

Apparently, this was our day to see wildlife - at our next step, the Yosemite Wilderness Center, there were two stags just wandering through the village. 

Our future ranger posing with a real one!

Yosemite Falls.. or, it would be if we were here in May or June. 

After a quick hike to the dry Lower Yosemite Fall, we jumped on the free shuttle towards Vernal Fall - where water was flowing.  We hiked for 0.75 miles at an elevation gain of 400 feet... again, that doesn't seem like much when you see it written here - but trust me - it was STEEP.  Linda and I decided to stay at the foot bridge where we could see the falls and hang out with Andrew while Mike and Dave continued to the top of the falls.  They hiked for another 0.75 miles at an additional 600 feet elevation gain, climbing a steep granite stairway of over 600 steps!  I am so glad I decided to call Uncle - Mike's toes are still bruised from his descent!  After our hike, we did some obligatory "giftshop" shopping before heading home - exhausted but content with our mini vacation... I truly felt as John Muir promised, "Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine into trees."

 

Before heading to the waterfall.

Mike's view of the fall near the top.

The Foster Brothers.

September Wrap-Up... Better Late than Never!

Buoyed by our successful trip to Capitola in August, we bookended September with two day trips to the coast.  



We started our first trip of the month with a stop at Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa, CA. This was on recommendation of a friend of mine who knows Mike loves his beer (I'm not sure there's anyone who doesn't know Mike loves beer).  Apparently this brewery has won several World Beer Cup Awards, but is still fairly small and only distributes to four states... so, of course we had to go try some!  The beer was definitely good, but the brew pub was packed (on a Sunday at noon!) and after waiting 30 minutes for a table, we found out that we couldn't get a sampler because it would be another 45 minute wait due to their popularity and limited sampler sets to go around.

After lunch and a beer or two, we took the very scenic route to the coast.  We ended up watching the fog roll in and hide the sun while still looking for a good place to stop.  Since cell service is unreliable in most of the coastal areas, we didn't really know where we were until a sign pointed out we were near Muir Beach.  We had tried to go here on Father's Day, but couldn't find parking due to the crowds... well, today we were in luck... kinda.  Due to the weather, there was parking (although still pretty crowded), but it was really cold and windy.  No worries, we bundled up and enjoyed watching Andrew take in this change of weather and his complete excitement of being back on the beach.

Look Mom!  A seal!

The end of September was still really hot here, but the forecast promised a cool down... so , we headed to the ocean for one last time this year.  Although there were no seal sightings and traffic was very slow in spots due to Pumpkin Patches (our first sign of fall!), we had a nice time picnicking and letting Andrew run and play to his heart's content.

 

Prancing and doing cartwheels for Andrew's entertainment... I hope some day he remembers how crazy and silly I try to be just for his amusement!!