Saturday May 11, 2013
We were up and on our way by 9 am to hit the road. Not a whole lot going on today but road travel. Went up the mountains and then down the mountains. Dennis drove a lot today. We did not get to the campground until 6 pm. Stopped for gas just to top off the tank, about 25.691 gallons at $4.009 a gallon so that was $103 just to top the tank. Had our usual lunch, you know, ham and cheese and chips.
We did see an Estes Truck on one of the many trains. Kevin, my son works for Estes Trucking as a senior pricing analyst. Go Kev!!!!!! Saw lava flow, Edwards Air Force Base, Mojave desert, and a lot of fruit trees and farms when we came through Bakersfield and Fresno.
Here are some of the pictures from the road trip. Robin took a a couple of videos which you can see when we return.
Almond Trees
So after a long drive we stopped at a campground called The Lakes, RV and Golf Resort.
A gated RV resort.
We had no idea how the rich and famous go camping. We found this place in our camping book and because it was a direct way to go to Yosemite National Park. That is our plan for tomorrow. Wait till you see the pictures of this campground. We thought last night was good but this is great. All for $36 dollars a night plus a free round of golf for 2 for each day you stay.
After driving 7 plus hours the pool felt great.
This was our site, nice outfit Dennis.
Well after a dip in the pool and the jacuzzi we had a salad , checked out the news and went to bed.
Night,
Robin and Dennis
Sunday - May 12, 2013
Hi everybody!! Wishing all the mothers out there a very Happy Mother's Day!!!! I had a very nice day, but I certainly did miss being with my son, Kevin. But I got a phone call from him which was very special!! He's got a special day coming up on Tuesday May 14th - a milestone birthday. He'll probably kill me for saying it, but he'll be 30. I'm so proud of him and all he's accomplished!! So hope everybody will wish Kevin a Happy Birthday on Tuesday!!
Also got a Mother's Day wish from Chad - thanks Chad, it means a lot. We're very excited for you starting your new job tomorrow at "Kitchen on Cary" (hope I got that right). Can't wait to get home and come for a meal (or two)!!! Good luck - we know you'll do a great job!!!
Well, I didn't think this trip could get much better, but today was up there near the top!! Believe it or not, I was able to get Dennis out of the bed and on the road to Yosemite National Park by 7:00 a.m. Now I know to some of you that's late, but for him that's pretty good. We were excited about going as neither one of us had been there before. So we put on our new hiking shoes and off we went!! The trip took almost two hours, but it didn't feel like that long.
The scenery was beautiful so we really didn't mind. We took Rt 140 (El Portal Road) to the Arch Rock Entrance. After getting to the mountains we decided it was a good thing we didn't try to bring Buttercup to a campground closer to Yosemite as the roads were quite steep, narrow and winding.
Not sure Buttercup would fit through here.
So for our first adventure, we headed up Big Oak Flat Road and chose to hike to see the giant sequoia's at Tuolumne Grove.
The trail was only about a two mile round trip, so we said "piece of cake"!! So after a fairly steep downhill journey we saw the sequoias for the first time. I have to say we were speechless!! You can't believe how big these trees really are, and I don't think the pictures do them justice.
This grove housed about 25 of them. They are not only impressive for their size but also for their ability to endure. This species of the redwood family is seemingly impervious to disease, insects and fire. The giant sequoia is one of the oldest, largest and fastest growing tree species on Earth and lives only on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains at elevations between 4,500 to 7,000 feet. Yosemite is home to around 550 mature giant sequoias which are found in three different groves. One things for sure - they are really something to see!!
We toured around this grove about an hour, and then thought about the trip back up. Ate some crackers & orange slices and drank some water - then Dennis took my hand and off we went up the trail. It actually wasn't too bad once we got started. At least they didn't have to airlift me out of there :)).
Our next adventure was to travel through Yosemite Valley. What a site to see!! Numerous waterfalls, huge rock mountains, spectacular trees, wildlife & wildflowers!! Saw El Capitan - the largest single piece of granite on Earth, and Half Dome - the centerpiece of the awe-inspiring Valley view from Glacier Point.
El Capitan
Half Dome in the distance
The waterfalls were just beautiful - Yosemite Falls and Bridal Veil to name a few.
Also saw deer, lots of birds (woodpeckers, Stellar Jays, big black crows), some little "chipmunk" looking animal and of course, squirrels (I think they're everywhere). Didn't see any bears, thank goodness!!
Also, one of my favorite things I saw was the purple wildflower, Lupine. We saw a big field of it and stopped for a picture. You would not believe the fragrance - unbelievable!! I wish I could have bottled it and taken it home.
After touring around a bit our stomachs were calling. So we stopped by a deli in the village and got sandwiches and pretzels. Hopped back in the car and found a wonderful spot for lunch by the river and a great view of Bridal Veil waterfall. It doesn't get any better than this!!
Our third adventure was to travel down Rt 41 (Wawona Road) towards Mariposa Grove, another giant sequoia area. Whew, 26 miles of winding road. Dennis deserves a medal for his driving - that's all I can say!! We parked the car at the Visitors Center/Wawona Hotel parking lot and took a shuttle to the area. This grove is at the southern end of the park and is the largest of the three groves with about 500 mature sequoias. We got to see some of the famous trees, the Grizzly Giant and the California Tunnel tree.
Another couple of miles round trip, so our little feet were starting to hurt. So we hobbled back to catch the shuttle. Hopped in the car and off we went for our two hour drive home. I had white knuckles from holding on going down the mountain on Rt 41. Felt like we were flying and still cars were passing us!! We made great time and got home around 7:00. What a great day!! Fixed hot dogs and baked beans for dinner. Got to get to bed early again - have a 9:12 tee time tomorrow morning!! No rest for the weary!!!!
Again, Happy Mothers Day!!!!
Robin & Dennis
Monday May 13, 2013
What a wonderful day yesterday at Yosemite. Today we are staying at the campground and playing a little golf. Dennis walked over to the course and picked up the golf cart. Remember we get 2 free rounds of golf for every day we stay at the park. When he returned he loaded up the cart with the clubs and headed for the course. Pretty neat to just pull up to our site , get your clubs and go. We had a 9:12 tee time so we practiced our putting and chipping at the club house and then it was off to play. What a nice course and surroundings. Hope you enjoy the pictures of the course.
At the campground.
Entrance to the course
Clubhouse, putting green, and chipping area.
This picture is for our neighbor Tom Briley. He loves to eat hot dogs when playing golf. Of course Billy Hurt and Don Ober are also the connoisseurs of hot dogs from Rose Hill.
Well finished the round hitting the ball well. As always enough good ones to make us come back. Fixed a little lunch and ate at the pool. Met some nice folks from Canada and talked for a while at the pool.
I found this brochure on pistachio nuts so we went exploring. Found the farm and met the owner who took us out behind the shop and explained to us the process. She was thrilled to explain it to us. The pistachios trees grow pretty easily but need lots of water. The nuts are shaken off the tree in mid August. There are 10 female trees for every male tree. The male tree growth rate is about 2 years behind the female tree. They also grow almonds, walnuts, pecans and olives. What a lovely lady and a pleasure to visit with. She also was a water color artist and had some samples. They were beautiful. We bought a bag of pistachio nuts and drove around her thousand acre farm.
Oh, our Rose Hill residents will get a kick out of what Dennis did to the lady. When he was checking out for the items we had purchased the counter was filled with bracelets made out of soda can pull tabs. Now Billy Hurt would be very proud of Dennis here. Yes, he explained to the lady that a neighbor taught him how to call a duck with the pull tab, he went on and on and she was right there with him listening to the technique. She even said she would have to pass it on to the guy who made the bracelets. At that time Dennis said, here duck, here duck, here duck. She about fell on the floor with laughter. She was so sweet!!!!!!!!
Back to the campground for a little happy hour with our new friends from Canada from the pool.. They had invited us over to their RV so we decided to go. Some great RV stories were exchanged and some advice for which highways to avoid and which ones to travel on. Soon it was time for dinner and they were fixing and sharing a meal so we said our good-byes and headed to the town of Chowchilla for our dinner. We rode a little bit but couldn't find anything in town. Not much here but farms so we stopped by a place near the campground and got a bite to eat. Wasn't bad, just enough to fill our bellies.
A little blog work and trying to find a campground near the wine country and close to San Francisco. Jean and Dave Whisenant, our neighbors, will be in San Francisco on Thursday so we are trying to meet them.
Having trouble with Internet service so hopefully we will get this out soon.
Night
Robin and Dennis
Tuesday May 14, 2013
Happy 30th Birthday Kevin! We miss you, and hope you have a wonderful day.
On the road and headed to Napa Valley. Wasn't a bad to trip but the roads were pretty rough. I was holding on so I didn't take many pictures. Lots of fields with grape vines for sure.
We did stop at a Ford dealership to have the Escape looked at. We had noticed it had been leaking a little oil and Dennis couldn't find out where, so we stopped. They were able to put it up on a lift and discovered that the oil filter had not been put on tight. The mechanic was able to turn it about 4 turns. Well that was a relief, so we hooked the car back up and proceeded to Napa Valley.
We found a campground, small just 2 blocks from downtown Napa. The Napa Valley Expo RV Park. They had just finished a big food, wine and music festival. The Zac Brown Band had played along with other well known performers during the event. Nice little home base for us. Now we have to decide what we want to do. There's so much, we could be here a month :)).
Rode into town and found a bakery, look at these desserts we had after dinner before bed time. We have been so bad!! They were from a little place called Sweetie Pies.
Near the visitor center in town.
Until the next adventure, good night.
Robin and Dennis
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