Posts from the ‘States’ Category

Nov 18

$%*! Happens

Awaking to another crisp November morning, our plan today was pretty simple – make a quick visit to Noble Coffee for espresso before taking Lilly on her final walk through Ashland. Afterwards, as the plan called for, we’d hook-up the Airstream and depart in time to rendezvous for a lunchtime meet-up with my cousins about an hour away, before finally making our way to Eugene – our destination today.

Per usual, the Noble barista pulled a succulent shot and Lilly was happy to be outside, happily depositing her marks for other dogs to inspect. All was going well – that is to say, without incident.

The same cannot be said for the remainder of my leave preparations.

Typically before engaging in departure or arrival activities, I like to conduct a quick visual inspection, walking around the trailer as I look for anything unusual. During such review this morning, I noticed one of the curbside tires was running low.

Actually it was worse than that – the tire was completely flat.

$%*!

Ugh, a flat tire

I updated Kelly on the situation and she called for roadside assistance while I began readying both the flat and spare tires.

Roadside assistance to the rescue

Ready to exchange the flat tire for the spare

No doubt this carriage bolt caused the flat tire

I was impressed with how quickly the service guy arrived. He was really nice and we engaged in a bit of chit-chat. He was mostly curious about our trailer and before too long and without too much hassle, the repair was complete and the service guy left. I figured all was well and we’d quickly be on our way.

Then the following dialogue occurred:

Kelly: (sensing that I was looking for something and with annoyance in her voice) “what are you looking for?”

Me: “Did you move my keys?”

Kelly: (with significant annoyance in her voice) “REALLY?!?!”

Me: (with passive aggressive annoyance in my voice) “Yes, really.”

To summarize the next half hour … we tore everything apart in search of the keys. Eventually, we did find them. Of course they were safely in the truck, almost in plain view the entire time.

$%*!

We were only about thirty minutes late for lunch and had good conversation with my cousins. The remainder of the drive was uneventful once we managed to get ourselves on the road.

We’re now in Eugene, resting and content at Armitage County Park. We’re here tonight while we await some service work at the Airstream dealer in town. Like most Oregon parks (and certainly by comparison to the “campground” we stayed at the past two nights) this place is awesome. Tucked away in the Northeast side of town, the park is quiet, each site affords loads of room, and Lilly-dog adores the fully enclosed two-acre dog run located just steps from our site.

Lots of room and plenty of open space in the RV park

Dog park

We’re here just for one night. We need to flush our holding tanks and fill with fresh water in advance of dry camping most of the coming week while we’re in Washington. Bummer our stay will be so brief, we will need to plan another visit for sure.

Nov 3

Good Morning

Kelly and I really like living in Half Moon Bay. The reasons are many – one being the proximity to the ocean. On any given day, this is the view accompanying my ‘regular’ dog walking loop:

(iPhone photos)

Not too shabby I think; a nice way to start my Saturday.

There certainly are worse places to walk the dog…

Oct 17

Day 6: Mariposa Grove

One big tree

We ventured to the south end of the park today in search of giant Sequoia trees. Mariposa Grove is a cluster of thee giant conifers; I stress the adjective giant. At an average height of 250 feet, these Sequoias are related to the giant Redwoods found in northern California. In an effort to avoid the dramatic, I’ll simply say these trees are big – REALLY big.

The “Grizzly Giant”

The giant Sequoias are old. Many mature trees have survived just about anything Mother Nature (and Humans) could throw at them. Over the course of 3000 years, these bad boys have seen it all – snowstorms of the century, wild fires, lightning … you name it. Their secret weapon is the bark, which can be as thick as two feet; natural protection from the elements protecting the otherwise fragile tree core.If you’ve ever seen any of the giant Redwoods, these trees are not as tall, but their massive bulk drafts the Redwoods. We chose to visit the largest of three groves containing about 500 of these beasts. It isn’t uncommon at all to find mature trees with a base width between 15-25 feet. BTW, I’m not talking circumference – these bad boys are huge. The biggest of the all in Yosemite is the “Grizzly Giant”. Depending upon who you believe, this Sequoia has been chilling in Mariposa Grove somewhere in the 1800-2700 years range. Believe it or not, as big as this guy is, there are at least 25 other Sequoia which are confirmed larger.

All in all, the grove is pretty cool. I’m not sure I’d go back, but definitely something I would recommend. Visitors have two options in exploring the grove: Hike the six miles of trails and really see the ins and outs of the park, or ride the open-cap trolley along the grove’s road and pass by the “celebrity” Sequoia trees – just enough to capture a few highlights for the camera.

We walked. I’m glad we did as we saw a lot more of the grove than those who rode the trolley.

Putting these into perspective. I am 6ft, 2in tall.

Big trees come with big cones

What happens when a tree is blocking a planned road

Upon exiting the grove, we stopped for a quick lunch at the Wawona Hotel golf course clubhouse (yes, golf course). We had hotdogs and then it was time to get back to the campsite.

Later this afternoon Chris and I paid a visit to Camp 4, a tent-only campsite that became notable after WWII as a hangout for rock climbers. Today, I recommend you visit Camp 4 whenever you wish to hear statements like this: “Dude, that second pitch was gnarly; I got so spanked. And those crimpers … they are stupid, I was smearing like crazy … and what about that cruz … so phat”.

Beyond the local lingo, there is also foul wave of B.O. in the air. Consider yourself forewarned.

Oct 16

Day 5: Vernal & Nevada Falls

Today we decided to hike up into two of the more popular falls in the Yosemite Valley. The two falls are described as neighboring twins – both narrow in shape, pushing their water charge over broad, vertical sheer rock cliffs. All in, the elevation change along the six-mile trail was just over 2,000 ft.

A quick stop to enjoy the views

Unfortunately, it is Fall so most of the rivers and waterways are bone dry, resulting in significantly reduced falls activity. Nonetheless, we wanted to venture up off the Valley floor for views from high above. About 8 miles round trip from our campsite, the distance wasn’t material; rather the elevation rise was significant.

Up, up, up

Nevada Falls

Turns out Chris developed quite a thirst on the trail.

Refreshing

Blue skies and little tree cover made for hot temperatures and loads of sweat as we ascended to the top. The effort was totally worth the work as the views from atop the valley are quite spectacular.

Once at the top, we ate our pack lunch and made no effort to be swift in that endeavor. The expansive views and perfect temperatures made me wish I would be spending the night at the elevation, not in the crowded valley floor.

This little guy stole my apple core

Glad to be a the top

Soon enough reality set in and it was time to get moving again. Katie Dog and Lilly were back at the Airstream waiting our return so that they could commence with their long walk of the day.