Trivia ?

Do you recognize this picture?

 

 

What if you add a flock of black birds?

 

Add Tippi Hedrin?

 

Add a silhouette of Alfred Hitchcock?

 

You guessed it - where "The Birds" was filmed! Bodega, California!

Bodega Bay

We moved from the wine country to the coastline near Bodega Bay. The locals call it "Blowdega" because it is so windy - disagreeable windy all day - and horrible in the late afternoon and evening! The fog rolls in and out to obscure the views so even though whales are migrating from the Baha to Alaska now it is hard to see them. We have seen seals in the water and lounging on the rocks.

Our first glimpse of the Pacific Coast

We found Petaluma Pie Company yesterday - had chicken pot pie for lunch and rhubarb for dinner!

Today we drove Highway 1, along the coast, up to Fort Ross. Luckily, it was clear and the views were stunning. It reminded us of Judy and Marilou, our trip to Ireland and our tour around the Dingle Peninsula - the same steep rock cliffs and blue ocean. Also the same wind!! Lunch at an inn with a great view was lovely. Dinner is fresh salmon from the local farmers market we checked out this morning.

Fort Ross is now a state park but was originally the first Russian settlement in the US. It was started in 1812 to provide food and supplies to the Russian-American Company in Alaska that provided all types of furs to Russia and other countries for warm clothing. Eventually the hunting and fishing in the area diminished and since it wasn't a good farming area they left and it was purchased by local ranchers.

Fort Ross, California

We are amazed at how many cyclists we see on the roads around here - they are all so steep and winding it is hard to imagine peddling a bicycle. Many have camping gear with them! It seems especially dangerous on the narrow Hwy 1 - all it would take is one driver looking at the scenery and not where he's going! We had a cyclist pass us, on the left, going downhill today - a blue blur in our peripheral vision!!

Alaska in 2015

Here is my first big purchase in preparation for our trip to Alaska in the summer of 2015!

 

 

 

Those bugs are not getting me!!

 

Napa Valley Wineries

The winery I helped the Beringer brothers build.......

Beringer Vineyards

Wine tasting at Sterling Vineyards - you ride a tram up to the winery - the view from the patios are gorgeous!

Sterling Winery

 

 

One thing for sure - if you visit too many wineries you won't just be drunk - you'll be broke too!!

Napa Valley

Well, we came down out of the mountains to 100 degree weather in California! Good to be back in "civilization" - cell and internet service, grocery stores and straight roads! - but between the draught and the heat things are very parched in this primarily agricultural area. We descended first into ranch land, then vegetables and then green vineyards.
We had our first Mexican food since Palm Creek - we were in DT's!
We are currently staying in Calistoga in the northern part of the valley and will move down to Napa on our way to Oakland, CA. We are "killing time" until we fly out to North Carolina for our family vacation on June 6th. What better place to hang out than in wine country?!
There are hot springs all over this area - healing mud baths, soaks and massages. We went to see the "Old Faithful" of the southwest this afternoon. It "blows" regularly about every 4 minutes - up about 30 feet.
                                                           


Old Faithfull in Napa Valley

 

They also had llamas and "fainting goats." There was an informative sign explaining how they use llamas as guards for the sheep herds. They expose the llamas to the sheep soon after the lambs are born and they bond so well that the llamas will then protect the sheep herd from predators. The goats apparently "faint" when they get scared!

This is a "steam well" - built over a steaming geyser - they were used in the 1800's. They simply hung food over the top of the well and the steam cooked it!

Steam Well

Sequoia National Park

We drove into Sequoia NP today. The scenery wasn't as spectacular as yesterday in Kings Canyon - all we could see was a lot of big trees - well duh, that's probably why they call it Sequoia NP! I don't mean to downgrade the park - the huge sequoia trees are majestic and there are lovely meadows along the route but we preferred the craggy canyon and rushing river from yesterdays drive.

Moro Rock

 We went to Moro Rock, a huge granite dome, with a panoramic view of the mountains and valley. There are 400 steps to the top. Believe it or not, Roger got about 2/3 of the way up - sat down and said "I can't go any further, the height is really getting to me!" I was so surprised - he has never had a problem with heights - it's usually me hanging back or hugging the inside edge! He waited for me while I went to the top. By the time I got back to the car my legs were like jelly! We ate a picnic lunch and I could hardly walk to the picnic table!

Kings Canyon National Park

Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks are often called "the forgotten Yosemite" - equally beautiful but less popular. We drove 32 miles - to the very end of the road - on a scenic byway through Kings Canyon yesterday. It was spectacular - steep cliffs with the raging Kings River flowing on the canyon floor. It paralleled "Going to the Sun" road in Glacier National Park.



Kings Canyon

Anyone recognize this?



Grizzly Falls



The "Big Stump" from a giant sequoia

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite is most definitely "God's Country" - the only problem is you have to be willing to drive miles of steep, winding, switchback roads with sheer cliffs along the edge to get to the awesome sites! It is definitely not for people with a fear of heights or that suffer from motion sickness! There are 4 tunnels that Roger was worried about driving the motorhome through but we checked them out in the car first and they were not a problem.

We were amazed at how many people were there - the Tioga Pass opened on Friday and we drove in on Monday - all the campgrounds were full and there were a lot a tour buses full of foreigners. We ended up "boondocking" in an area just outside the Wawona entrance. Can't imagine what it is like in the popular summer months. The nights were cold but the days were warm thanks to no wind and bright sunshine. We saw dogwoods and lupine in the valley and snow at Glacier Point!

The most popular areas to visit are the Valley, Glacier Point and Mariposa Grove, home of the giant sequoias.

In the Valley we spotted rock climbers on El Capitan - they were almost at the top and had probably spent the night on the rock face. You can only see them with binoculars. We walked back to the base of Yosemite Falls - it is the 4th highest falls in the world - and also to the base of Bridal Veil Falls - gorgeous! Then we hiked to the base of Vernal Falls. Due to the altitude and the 400 feet elevation gain the 4 mile (round trip) jaunt about "did us in!" We got back to the car and ate Advil for lunch!! One of the most strenuous hikes we've ever done and notice I said "to the base of the falls" not to the top!! Nevada Falls is just above Vernal Falls and we could see it from the trail head - didn't need a closer look!                                                                


El Capitan

Yosemite Falls

On the Vernal Falls trail



Bridal Veil Falls

We drove up to Glacier Point on Tuesday -16 winding miles that take a good hour - and about half way up it started to snow! It was so beautiful with the pine trees dusted in snow - a winter wonderland! Unfortunately, by the time we got to the Point it was covered in clouds and we could not see anything! Every once in a while the clouds would part and we would get a "sneak peak" at the scenery - enough that Roger said "I have to come back when I can see the valley." So we drove back up on Thursday and were so glad we did - it was magnificent! We could see Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, Vernal and Nevada Falls and the entire Merced River Valley with the beautiful Awahnee Hotel at the base of the mountains.

We are so blessed to have these majestic National Parks here in the US - we are making every effort to see them all!

 

Half Dome

 

June Lake

June Lake, CA


We drove a scenic loop around several picturesque lakes today - we can't get enough of this beautiful scenery! We had lunch at "Whoa Nellie's Deli" in a Mobil gas station. WOW! Delicious fish tacos with mango salsa and spicy coleslaw - were we ever surprised!

We will cross the Tioga Pass into Yosemite tomorrow morning. It just opened on Friday at noon. A "local" told us they can get as much as 120 feet of snow in the pass but this winter was light so the road opened early. Good news for us because we would have had to drive all the way to Lake Tahoe and around if we couldn't get through. We will unhook the car and drive separately - we drove it in the car and it's a windy road along cliffs but not terrible bad.

 



Mono Lake

We are in Lee Vining, CA near Mono Lake - a "sister" lake to the Great Salt Lake in Utah because it is so salty no fish can survive. It is a eco friendly stop for birds migrating as far as Argentina. The sign said that "at times you can imagine walking across the lake on the backs of birds."

Mono Lake

"Tufas" along the shore of Mono Lake





Rock Creek Lake

This area is dotted with so many beautiful lakes surrounded by pine trees and aspens. Can't imagine the beauty in the fall. We hiked around this lake yesterday - we couldn't get to any of the others because the road was still closed. The altitude probably would have done us in anyway! There were numerous fisherman catching trout around the edge of the melted ice. We saw tracks that Roger thought were bear tracks and I thought were dogs walking with their owners - Roger said "believe what you want!!"

Rock Creek Lake

Convict Lake

We continued our journey north along the eastern Sierras up to Convict Lake – a beautiful place nestled in the foothills near the lake and a bubbling stream. We are here for three nights while we explore the area.

We drove to Mammoth Lakes today and rode the gondola up to the top of the ski slopes. It was a glorious sunny, 53 degrees with no wind at the top – a perfect day for spring skiing.

The roads to many of the lakes and trails we wanted to explore are still closed due to snow, ice and avalanche risk. Guess we are a little early in the season despite the lovely weather.

These are hot springs near our camp – scalding hot so we just looked. They are located about 6 miles down a gravel road in a National Forest – definitely “a road less traveled” - and when we arrived there was a big paved parking lot and 6 restrooms! Our tax dollars at work!

We read about this hot tub out in the middle of nowhere in a blog that Roger reads so we decided to check it out this evening! How fun! Someone took PVC pipes and directed the hot water into a pool made of rocks and cement. You can turn a valve on the pipe on and off to control the amount of hot water that flows through the tub. We enjoyed talking with two couples and a trucker! Glad they weren’t nude!!!