From Sean and Carla and a short one at that!

Seriously, how many times can you say WOW in a trip? I mean, “Oh look, we are driving along a cliff with a 1500 foot drop to the surf below and nary a guardrail to help save us… yawn!” You see these pictures in two dimensions, we get them in 4 dimensions… the view, the smells and the sense of all… too cool.

We left our park promptly at 12:30 after a bacon buttie and a FaceTime with the BRT and LRT folks. We continued up coastal Route 1, the same track (and that is a good description for some of the roadway in places) we had followed from San Fran early yesterday. One amazing vista after another! We ran through the Tamales Bay area which is famous for oysters and wind. It was blowing 30-40 knots (sunny of course) and a lone windsurfer was running back and forth across this inlet at huge speeds and getting lots of air flying off waves.

This area of Route 1 runs through and along the San Andreas Fault line but we were very brave and continued regardless.

Onward north, we stopped often for pictures that varied from dune panoramas to the Cliffs of Dover to the Giants Causeway in Ireland, all beautiful. The communities along the way were trendy, well sculpted and some perched on the edge of cliffs ensuring they will be first to go with the next bump from San Andreas. Lots of Art Galleries, novelty and antique shops and the like. Villages like Bodega Bay, Jenner and Mendocino all top the list. As a suggestion, just travel the coast if you go, simple as that and you can’t go wrong. Just don’t expect to make any time on these roads but who cares.

Click on any image to load full format… but I know you know that…

A long and winding road…

Finally decided to quit for the day near 18:00, later than usual for us again but what the heck. We ended up just north of Fort Bragg at a State Park called MacKerricher. Right on the beach on the Mendocino shore complete with Harbour Seals and lots of surfers. Wild and nice but likely too chilly for a beach fire… but we’ll see.

Our campsite

Hoping to catch up with the other RTers by Friday night…

Day 48 – May 21

As we had a long drive ahead of us to our planned stop for the night close to the Oregon border we we moving by 8:30. We were greeted by a beautiful clear morning as we hit the coast. This was the scenery we had been hoping for on our drive along the southern part of the California coastal highway. Although we could see fog banks far off shore, the coast was bathed in sunlight and we had a great panorama of the aqua blue water crashing against the coastal cliffs. In combination with the the vast array of beautiful blooming wild flowers it was hard to focus on the road ahead.

I can see clearly now

After several stops to admire and photograph the many views and after having passed through several of the pristine communities that line the highway we arrived in Mendocino. Mendocino was founded in the 1850s as a fishing village by fishermen from New England who, along with their trade, brought their architectural aesthetic. The gabled roofs and brightly painted shingled walls stood in stark contrast to the monochromatic communities of Sea Ranch that we had passed through a couple of days earlier.

Mendocino

Although now primarily a tourist destination Mendocino has not allowed this change in vocation to overtake its self respect and as we explored the shops and galleries that lined its streets we were impressed with not only the quality of the goods but the understated presentations in the store fronts. We spent some time exploring the town and having found a coffee shop with wifi we took the opportunity to send off an update email to our San Francisco contingent and to hastily update the blog which did have some typo and grammar issues at the time (one of the downsides to retirement is that I don’t have Mary to check my work any more) .

Leaving Mendocino we continued north towards the Red Wood forest that was our planned destination for the night, encountering dozens of oncoming cyclists on the twisting and hilly roads, some of whom had resorted to walking their bikes up the long, steep inclines. Again, as the day before, there was not a lot of traffic on this road, due largely I’m sure to the slow pace that can be maintained, so the slower pace of our vehicles as we rubber necked our way along the coast was not causing a back up.

As we approached the late afternoon we realized that our target of the Red Wood Forest was a bit ambitious so we checked our maps and found Patrick’s Point State Park, just south of Orick, to spend the night. Nestled in a cedar and red wood forest right on the coast the dry camping sites were well protected from the apparently incessant on-shore wind that makes this coast such a surfers paradise.

The beauty of dry camping sites is that there is no set up time, if the site is level you just park and you are done, so we decided to take a walk down to the beach. We dressed for the cool weather and the aforementioned wind but were pleasantly surprised to find that a nearby headland protected us from the worst of the wind as we unsuccessfully combed the beach for the agates it was named for. However there were great piles of sand worn driftwood that provided endless amusement as we identified various creatures amongst their smooth shapes. Jane’s find of a an iconic Canadian beaver warranted its return trip to the LRT.

Patrick’s State Park beach

As the sun set we returned to the BRT dining room to sample a fresh tomato and basil tart cooked perfectly by Diane in our propane oven. Followed with a slice of Mendocino’s finest pecan pie topped with a scoop of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream we brought an end to another great day.

From Sean & Carla:

Woke late with the white noise of the hotel air conditioner humming, very nice to sleep in but we did want to spend more time in San Francisco, especially along the water front where all the action seems to be taking place. And a free, if skimpy breakfast always helps motivate when 10AM rolls around. Ended up in Fisherman’s Wharf at the same 21$ parking lot. SF Bay was blowing again and with an opposing tide looks like a formidable place to sail, certainly not for the faint of heart. The 105s here must have a blast but you can see where the AC45s and AC72s would be on the very edge of sanity at full plane.

Wandered the waterfront, visited Starbucks to rejuvenate then headed for lunch at an authentic, yet not cheap place (forgot to check the menu outside). It included valet parking which would have been fun for the MRT to be parked amongst the Mercedes and BMWs. But it was tight outside as Scoma’s sits right on the dock and features among other things, its own fish landing facility. Your server details what is available from the fresh fish list. With some excellent clam chowder (for which they are famous), a shrimp cocktail and a crab cocktail, we were stuffed. The entire wait staff seemed to be well heeled and in their 60s at least and looked like they might have been there for ever but the service was impeccable and the food perfect in taste and presentation. No Monterey guppy & spuds here. And certainly not a bad lunch for a bunch of lowly RVers from Novi 😉

More time spent on the waterfront but the weird and wonderful seem to come out later in the day so not as colorful as the previous day. And no serious AC sailing taking place, damn! Left mid-afternoon and headed for Sausalito and West Marine, groceries, propane, gas and a few other necessities. But we did get to stop at the Golden Gate overlook and what a view!

Panorama SF Bay

As we were approaching Sausalito on the freeway, an older pickup truck pulled alongside and yelled over, “Where you from in Nova Scotia”, I responded with the typical Halifax and he yelled back he was from Cape Sable Island… small world what? He finished with a “Welcome” and then blasted past. His truck had California tags so he might have escaped from Novi some time ago. We did yell back at him that Cape Sable is a very nice place.

By time we actually hit the road northbound it was getting on for 17:00, well past our usual roosting time but we did travel the Pacific Coat Route 1 through some spectacular forest so that kept us in awe. Rolling hills then we would encounter massive trees that formed a perfect canopy above the roadway. And it was slow going. Through one section of the state park for Samuel P. Taylor we would have lost dentures had we possessed any it was so bumpy, but once we were out and traveling on the much improved ‘Waverley-Road’ like sections, the rattling stopped (too many wine bottles from Napa/Sonoma perhaps).

After passing through the village of Point Reyes Station we rounded a curve and saw a police car blocking the road ahead with lights flashing and a very firm hand-waving that meant turn around and go back. The body-language suggested that pulling up to ask the obvious questions would have resulted in a much firmer response than desired. We and a few others promptly turned around with great difficulty on the narrow road and headed back. We stopped at the Point Reyes National Park info center near the village center. They checked with the police department to see why the road was blocked and how long before it would re-open (there were no options to go around without adding many hours to our drive). A returned call said it was an accident and that it would be ‘some time’ before it was cleared. We have seen too many accidents on this trip and it always causes a pause for reflection and hopeful thoughts for those involved.

The park staff told us the village had a small campground so that made our decision to stay put easy. A nice meal of salmon (this was likely farmed salmon at 18$ a pound versus the advertised special of wild Pacific salmon at 28$ a pound – doesn’t pay to shop for groceries near yacht clubs), asparagus and rice on the Q followed the laundering duties. It was too cold (15C) and windy due to our position just over the dunes from the Pacific to sit out with a fire so perhaps tomorrow night.

Day 47 – May 20

An detailed morning planning session was in order as Sean and Carla were planning a couple day side trip to San Francisco and we wanted to make sure that we had a rendezvous plan well in place. So after heartfelt hugs and best wishes the armadillo temporarily split up with promises to keep in touch as much as wifi access would allow.

Our plan was to head north and west to resume our trip along the California coast. Healdsburg, which we had visited only briefly the previous Saturday, was along that route so we decided to give it a more lengthy visit. The drive there was through endless fields of grape vines and their associated winery estates, each one successively announcing its presence through their substantial entry gates, tasteful signs and roadside gardens, with winding tree lined roads leading to the estate. I don’t think it would be possible to visit every winery in this area and still have an in tact liver. The magnitude of the wine industry in this area is overwhelming.

We arrived at Healdsburg at around 11:00 after making one stop at a roadside vendor to buy a basket of fresh cherries. Each brilliant red cherry was like a little explosion of sweetness and flavour. it is such a treat to have produce that is absolutely fresh.

We did have a couple of goals for the day, the BRT needed refuelling, we all needed to have some laundry done and I needed a small repair to my reading glasses. We found a laundromat next to Big John’s market, a substantial grocery store brimming over with fresh produce. Ike volunteered to baby sit the laundry while Jane, Diane and I headed into the town centre to look around. The plaza was decidedly more quite than it had been on Saturday and many of the galleries surrounding the square were closed, an indication that, as we had been told, Healdsburg is a big tourist destination.

We visited a couple of galleries and I found a place to fix my glasses as well as a leather shop where I bought a belt for the buckle that I had bought in Tijuana. Italian leather bought in USA and a Mexican buckle, sort of a mini united nations around my personal equator.

After a quick lunch at Big Johns we headed further north. Once we left the main collection of the large winery estates we entered endless field of vineyards, the production fields that support the phalanx of estates wineries we had just passed through. Virtually every foot of arable, accessible real estate is dedicated to grape production.

Before long we headed west for the coast. Our maps showed a road heading to Stewarts Point on the ocean so we plugged that into our GPS and headed off. Now on the map it appeared as a harmless little line with a few squiggles. The reality was quite different. As we were headed for the coast we knew that we would be climbing and descending the western ridge of the Sonoma Valley but weren’t prepared for just how winding and narrow the upcoming road would be.

In theory this was a 2 lane road. In practice however the road morphed from a narrow convoluted mash of interconnected switchbacks to a paved goat path and back again. In many places there was no centre lane marked because to have put one in would have allowed about 5 feet per lane, with not a guardrail to be seen. Mercifully there was little oncoming traffic which in hindsight tells me that the locals know better.

All that being said however it was one of the most beautiful drives we have had, in one moment providing us with spectacular views down the cliff sides and a moment later moving into the shelter of a majestic redwood forest. The magnificent trees rose hundreds of feet over our heads creating a canopy of branches that blocked out the sun. The bases of some of these giants easily measured 6 to 8 feet across and we understood that these weren’t the ‘big’ redwoods.

The Redwoods

After about an hour of this alternating jaw dropping scenery and near death driving experiences we broke out onto that coast and were treated to a beautiful view of the blue Pacific Ocean. Heading north we passed through a community called Sea Ranch. This was an elite planned community populated with houses of a very uniform design style. This is where the California beach house style is personified. The soffitless 45 degree angled shingled roofs capping walls of vertical weathered cedar siding were the signature style for miles along the coast highway.

The ‘wide’ part of the ‘road’

At one point we were taken by a unique structure and we had to turnaround to see it. Ignoring the no RV’s sign we proceeded into the small parking lot of the building. It turned out to be a non denominational chapel that was funded by the Sea Ranch community and it was a marvellous building with not a 90 degree corner to be found. Beautiful stained glass windows frames the views and hand carved benched afforded an opportunity to co template the small unique space. However our reflections were soon disrupted by a member of the Sea Ranch private security force ( did I mention that this was an exclusive community) who came into enforce the no RV rule.

The Chapel

Magical

After a stop in a shoe shop in Gualala when Jane found some long sought after ox blood shoe polish but was disappointed in her ongoing search for new Birkenstocks. As it had turned 6:00and there was a campground nearby we headed for the Gualala River Redwood Campground where we found two lovely sites, no doubling up at this park.

The sites are worked in amongst the towering protected redwoods and as a result are very spacious. Being amongst these trees reminded me of the Ents, the ancient tree people in Lord of the Rings. For me, any living thing this size assumes a personality and demands the respect due something that has survived possibly hundreds of years. I felt privileged to share their space.

Camping with the Ents

Jane and Ike cooked up an awesome supper of chicken fajitas and we enjoyed a great campfire in a stone ring. A much nicer setting than the typical steel drums we have been using in other parks. Would have liked to share this with Sean and Carla. It was a good day.

From Carla & Sean. Our pack broke into two units today as Jane and Ike (LRT) and Phil and Diane (BRT) took it easy with plans for a few leisurely days as they continue slowly north. For Carla and I, getting a taste of San Francisco so close by was too good to pass on so we headed there with plans to rejoin the other RTs later this week.

Well, today was again sunny and warm and we thought we saw a cloud for the first time since leaving New Brunswick a month ago but it turned out to be a jet contrail, sorry! A month already, wow. The other two RTs have been at it a few weeks longer but still we have no idea how the time has literally flown by.

But before leaving Napa there was one more winery to visit and Mumm was the word. Mumm offers a complete tour as opposed to only tasting and of course Mumm is famous for their sparkling wines (not supposed to call them champagne although their sister company in France can), a Carla favorite.

Champagne, yum!

Most of the process for the champagne method has been automated since we last spent time at a champagne producer so it was worthwhile touring. Bottles are now auto-rotated several times a day and the yeast plug is removed automatically. In their great hall, there was a display of 27 original Ansel Adams photographs from Yosemite and other areas. The grandson of Ansel is close friends with the Mumm management. The estate was very nice and we sat on the terrace after the tour overlooking the fields of grapes. The deck area was so hot, even with the umbrellas, that they had the water misters spraying all of the areas to help keep people cool. Hard to imagine what it is like in August!

A little cool relief

We picked up a sparkling Pinot Noir, an Estate Rose and a DVX (named after the owner Deveaux – all vowels removed, clever what). A very nice place, unhurried and peaceful. But much talk of wine and food pairings and with great restaurant options so close by we headed for lunch and arrived at Gotts in St. Helena (just north of Napa). Picture the Chicken Burger but bigger and shinier. Carla had a Mary‘s Chicken Sandwich and I had fish tacos with Mahi Mahi and cilantro infused veggies, yum (OK, maybe that was too girlie). Not quite the Mic Mac tavern but very good and decidedly healthier.

Gotts to have food

We then blasted down very decent roads and right into San Francisco. A slight fog and and slightly cooler temperatures greeted us but the drive across the Golden Gate was an experience unto itself. The Bay area is huge. And we couldn’t believe how close San Francisco is to Sonoma and Napa, just about 75 minutes drive. No wonder it is a popular San Francisco brunch option on weekends.

Not the A.L. MacDonald Bridge

We visited the America‘s Cup headquarters on the waterfront but they are a month away from ramping up for the Luis Vuitton Series so no option to get a better hat than Diane‘s… just yet and tomorrow is another day. We then spent time on the Pier 39 complex near Fisherman’s Market and had a nice meal of clams linguine and shrimp primevara with crab cakes to start. Next to the restaurant we watched the huge sea lions fight for dock space pushing one another off the floats with much noise and splashing. Reminds me of a Squadron dock party 🙂

Sea Lions

We then paid our parking fee, a mere 21$ and headed for our hotel for a non-RV night.

First impressions of San Francisco are all positive and the waterfront crowd is very colorful. Tattooing is extremely popular as were piercings a-plenty. A piercing will grow over but a tattoo removal apparently hurts worse that getting the tattoo itself. Ah, the choices of youth!

And some might say segments of the waterfront have gone to the dogs but…

4 of the 101 dalmatians

Back to the waterfront tomorrow me thinks as the AC 72s are supposed to be out sailing along with the 45s.

Missing the other RTs already but we will re-group soon enough…

Day 45 – May 18

It was wine country day and we had a relaxing start after enjoying the warm morning sun at Skyline Wilderness Park in Napa. Jane and Ike wanted to get an oil change so they headed out with a plan that we would all meet up at the Flying Goat Coffee Restaurant in Headlsburg , in the Sonoma Valley at 1:30. They were advertised as having wifi so we thought this would be a good spot where we could get in touch if our schedules didn’t mesh. Diane and I were being chauffeured by Sean and Carla so we had the luxury of sitting in the back of the MRT and watching the plethora of vineyards and wineries roll past us.

It was interesting to see so many of the familiar names of wines we enjoy at home and the estates where they are produced. We stopped into the Napa visitors centre to get info on the wineries of Napa even though our plan was to visit Sonoma that day and then Napa the following day. At the visitors centre they have extensive I formation on all of the local wineries and in some cases had discount or 2 for 1 coupons for some of the tastings and tours.

Downtown Napa

Not long into the drive we realized how far Healdsburg was, at least an hour drive. Guessing that Jane and Ike would be some time getting an oil change and as it was already approaching 12:30 we thought that we would stop at a winery, just to get our wine tasting feet wet, so to speak. We saw what looked like a nice wine estate, Kunde winery, where we tasted several wines and Diane and I bought a 2010 Merlot and Sean and Carla bought a Zinfandel.

We arrived in Headlsburg at around 2:00 to find that Jane and Ike had made great time and were waiting for us in the town square. Flying Goat Coffee it appeared shuts down their wifi on weekends but the town square had free wifi so they could tell us where they were. We had agreed that we wanted to see the Ravenswood winery back towards our campsite so we headed out towards that. It was only after we had departed separately that we realized that this winery closed early during ‘winter’ hours and that we were not going to make it there on time so we stopped at two other wineries, VJB Cellars and Imagery Estates.

Healdsburg

Both of these were what I would call boutique wineries, that is they did not distribute wine, they only sold wine from their site. These boutique wineries offer free membership to a club that has benefits of reduced prices on their wines. The catch is that you have to commit to buying a number of cases of wine each year. At VJB we sampled and bought a very nice Prosecco which they import from Italy. Imagery Estates had more expensive but less interesting offerings so we did not make any purchases there.

We returned to our campsite and were soon joined by Jane and Ike who, unaware of the early closing time at Ravenswood had continued on to our planned rendezvous to find that it had already closed. The lack of cell phones and the limited range of the walkie talkies makes communications a real challenge when the group gets spread out.

All in all it was possibly the most poorly organized and executed of our joint ventures. We vowed to do a better collective job the following day.

We had planned to go into Napa for supper so we headed out to a market that had been recommended at the visitors centre. Seating was limited in the stone fired pizza joint but we managed to negotiate a deal where we could sit in an adjacent area and do ‘take out’ but still get utensils and beverage service. Some assembly required for a meal but the pizzas were great and we all needed a good end to the day.

Day 46 – May 19

With full intentions to have a better organized day than the previous one we had a brief planning session in the morning and then after a requisite visit to the dump station – I love starting my day to the snap of latex gloves – we headed out to visit a couple of wineries that had been recommended by Jane and Ike’s friend Jud and Debbie – the Jud’s Hill winery (Jud claims there is no relation or financial gain in his eponymous recommendation) and the Stag’s Leap winery.

Jud’s Hill was a very small winery that typically only has tastings by reservation. In fact it is so small that the parking lot only held two cars. The BRT pretty much filled it up but with a bit of manoeuvring we managed to get all the vehicles parked. Our tasting guide was very entertaining and well informed. As the men folk were all driving, only the women were tasting and they were impressed with several of the offerings, in particular the petite sirah and the Zinfandel, which strangely enough was sampled with a pairing of barbecue sauce.

A local winner of barbecue competitions had asked that a wine be blended to compliment his sauce. The pairing is so successful that the winery sells the wine and the sauce in a package deal. As we bought a couple bottles of wine as a group the tasting fees were waived and we also got a 15% discount on our purchases.

The next winery, Stag’s Leap was somewhat larger and the parking lot was almost full. We sat outside in a lovely patio but our very personable tasting host seemed eager to move the sampling along and poured eight wines in such rapid succession that we had to put pieces of paper under the glasses to keep track of the varieties. The most expensive of the wines was almost $200 a bottle, so we appreciated the offerings but did not buy any.

Stag’s Leap

Our host did recommend a good spot to eat, Rutherford Grill, where he said that the French Dip a shaved beef and horseradish sandwich was to die for. Personally I didn’t want to pay that much for a sandwich but was sure I could negotiate a better price. The restaurant was very nicely appointed and obviously very popular as we ended up having to park on the street. The French Dip was delicious as was the grilled tuna and the salad that Jane and Diane had ordered.

Now fortified with food we headed out for our last winery visit, the Sterling Winery. This winery had been recommended by Diane’s brother, Brian, who enjoyed the unique experience of the gondola ride up to the winery and the view of the valley from the several patios on the premises. We had been given discount coupons for the admission price which was all inclusive of the ride, a self directed tour and a tasting of 5 wines.

The small gondolas were cosy with 4 passengers but provided unimpeded views of the surrounding valley on the 900 foot elevation change ride to the winery. This was the first winery that offered access to its inner workings. Continuous loop narration and video on screens at each key point in the tour explained the various stages of wine production. At key points along the tour tasting stations were set up so tour participants could sample the various offerings while taking the tour.

Several attractive patios on the route provided opportunities to sit under shade umbrellas, taste the wine samples and enjoy the view. We had arrived at 4:00 and the gondolas stopped taking new guests at 5:00 but the hour provided us ample time to relax and enjoy the unique facility.

Roll out the barrel(s)

The Napa State Park campground was conveniently located less than 2 miles away so after our ride back to the parking lot we set out for the short ride where we found a couple of suitable sites close together and near to the washrooms at this dry camping park. We were all still very full from our late lunch at Rutherfords Grill so there was no need for supper preparations. There was some wood at our campsite and Ike found some other pieces at another adjacent vacant site so we had a short campfire before retiring for the night.

Day 43 – May 16

Jane, Ike, Diane and I headed out at 7:30 on our bikes for the camping reservation area to put all our names on the first come first served waiting list for camping spots. There was already a group waiting the office to open when we arrived. The ranger recognized Jane and Ike from the day before and said that he would treat us like a group and would see if he could find a site that would fit two vehicles as we have done in the past. We were told to come back at 3:00 to check for availability/cancellations. As the weather was calling for showers he was optimistic.

Diane and I headed out to take the 2 hour valley bottom tour while Sean and Carla rented bikes to tour with Jane and Ike on their bikes. Diane and I had enough time to take a quick hike into the Yosemite Falls, the largest vertical drop falls in North America. It was a short and very accessible trail, so very busy but provided opportunities for uncluttered photographs of the both the upper and lower falls. We ran into the rest of the group at the falls.

Our tour left at 12:00. It was in an open topped and open sided vehicle so we were both glad to have worn heavy sweaters with our shorts as the temperature was dropping. It was a very informative tour and offered a great overview of the park with two dedicated stops where we could take photographs, the most spectacular of which is called the ‘Tunnel View’ a spectacular vista down the canyon.

Jane and Ike and Sean and Carla had had a great day cycling and hiking. After our meeting at the Yosemite Falls in the morning they had biked to the Vernal Falls parking lot and hiked the steep trail to the footbridge below the falls.

We all returned in time to meet up with the rest of the group and check out our luck at the campground lottery. As it turned out, the misty weather had dissuaded some campers so we had no problem getting two campsites, one for the BRT and one slightly larger one that was shared by the MRT and LRT.

We had decided earlier that due to the weather we would be eating in the BRT. Jane and Ike barbecued a chicken that we had bought a couple days before, and in addition to some baked potatoes, broccoli and carrots we had a great feast. The final touch was fresh home made ginger bread that Carla made from ingredients she packed from home. We baked it in a silicone pan in the BRT oven. Topped with real whipped cream it was a treat, with enough left over for another dessert.

Day 44- May 17

Sean, Carla, Jane and Ike planned a hike to Bridal Veil Falls and then an early departure to our next rendezvous in the Napa Valley. We wanted to hike both the Vernal and Bridal Veil falls so we were up at 6:40 and rolling by 7:40. The overcast and showers of the day before had passed and we were greeted by beautiful blue skies and nicely contrasting fluffy white clouds ( without consulting our resident cloud expert, Sean, I am going to hazard that they were cumulus clouds).

We parked our vehicle at Curry Village and then biked to the trailhead. By 8:30 we were on the trail. It was an asphalt trail and the distance was marked as 1.3 miles to the falls. Not far into the trail it became quite steep, certainly as steep as anything we had walked on our previous canyon walks. The path followed the valley created by the river and there were frequent opportunities to see the fast flowing river crashing over the rocks below.

At the footbridge over the river the scenery really started to improve (as impossible as that would have seemed earlier on the trail) but conversely the trail deteriorated. The asphalt trail began to disappear in lieu of gravel and rocks as the upper end of the trail moved closer to the route and elevation of the river fed by the falls. About 15 minutes of steep hiking later the path became so steep that stone steps had been built, very slippery stone steps with no handrail that required very careful attention to our footing, somewhat contradictory to our desire to absorb the fantastic scenery that was unfolding all around us.

Below the Footbridge

As we rounded a sharp turn the falls came into full view, along with the associated spray that filled the air with a cool, drenching mist. As we turned around to look back down the river we were treated to beautiful rainbows forming and disappearing in the mist filled air. We took some time to let the magnificence of the scene sink in, along with the penetrating mist before we headed back down the trail.

Vernal Falls

The Rainbow Connection

The hike down was of course faster than the hike up but a different set of muscles lent their voices of complaint to the ones we had abused on the way up. We met a steady stream of hikers on the way up the trail and silently thanked ourselves for our early morning departure and the relative solitude of our journey to the falls. We were back to our vehicle by 11:00 and took a break to have a drink and to try and catch up on the blog using the free wi fi at the restaurant. My efforts of the previous day were fruitless due to all of the folks logged on in the rainy weather. I was behind in my blogging duties (my apologies) but I managed to get three postings off, hopefully that will keep people from calling out the national guard to search for us.

After the break we headed out for our last hike, to Bridal Veil falls. That short trip was interrupted several times as I got Diane to pull over so that I could take ‘just one more’ picture of El Capitan, Cathedral Spires, Sentinal Rock and of course Half Dome, vistas immortalized by so many authors and photographers but none more effectively than Ansel Adams. As I looked at these magnificent mountains I started photographing in black in white, the way I have always seen them and want to remember them.

Bridal Veil Falls

Half Dome

Well behind our anticipated schedule we left Yosemite just before 2:00 heading out through the Tioga pass road. This is a road that, in some years, requires the use of tire chains when driving through the pass in early May. Again, new views were presented as we dropped from the elevations of the pass through the switchbacks that wound down the mountainside.

We passed through more yellowed grassland where cattle were grazing. At one point we drove past the largest wind turbine farm I have ever seen. At that moment, the hundreds of slowly spinning windmills in this scene from some Quixotic nightmare were converting the same wind that was buffeting our vehicle into the electricity that was cooking someone’s supper – very cool.

The road to Napa then passed through some rich agricultural country, where like in other areas we have seen, the countryside is crossed with miles and miles of irrigation ditches and pipes. Roadside stands were selling fresh asparagus, strawberries, blueberries, apricots and oranges. Driving past the fields of U pick strawberries was a reminder of how far we are from the frost and snow warnings we are hearing in the weather at home.

We arrived at the RV park in Napa at about 6:30, about an hour after Sean and Carla had arrived and about 30 minutes after Jane and Ike. Carla had hunted out and reserved spots at this park on line several days before. As we were going to arrive in Napa on a Friday night, and would be travelling independently, we thought that pre booking was a good idea.

The weather was clear but cool so we hosted a supper of wok fries in the BRT while we made plans for our wine tours of the upcoming day.

—–

From Sean and Carla: We had a similar experience to Phil and Diane and almost identical to Jane and Ike, just 20 minutes earlier. We hiked the Bridal Veil Falls path to the base. Lots of spray and the sun was exactly at the top of the falls so pictures were not an option but squinting provided the option of not rinsing your eyeballs out of your head. Again, some nice warnings about slippery rocks, how many people had died doing stunned things, etc, etc.

A trip up to Tunnel View provided the most spectacular vista we have seen since flying over the rim of GC in a helicopter, wow!

Then off and out of the park on Route 120 which took you through 6000 feet and sprawling canyons, rivers and big trees, very nice.

Lunch happened along the way in a small bar/cafe’ in Big Oak Flats where Bloody Mary’s were the recommendation. Not sure why booze is needed at lunch but hey, the bar chairs were all full so maybe this is a local custom.

Once in the bottom of the valley it was orchard after orchard with all manner of fruits and veggies on offer. Roads in the area are biased north to south not east to west where we were headed so it was a series of jumps from major highways to much lesser paths that finally got us to Napa where we are currently ensconced.

The day was topped off with an excellent meal in the BRT and some FaceTime with Casey in Nepal, excellent!

Ike and Jane – ditto. ; )

Day 42 – May 15

Having slept with the windows opened the night before I was awoken by a chorus of bird songs. A very pleasant way indeed to start ones day. Although we were headed for Yosemite, and in the absence of any reservations we were pretty sure that we would be staying at some private campground outside the park , it was a pretty leisurely morning start up. We were treated to a visit on the crest of the nearby hill of a small herd of Tule Elk. Once a herd numbering half a million head ( that’s 2 million hooves, if you’re counting) in the 1850’s that expansive herd was brought to the very verge of extinction having been reduced to two surviving animals by 1875 due to excessive hunting and loss of range habitat. According to our guide book the surviving herd still only numbers 40 so our sighting was even more special.

We were wheels rolling before 11:00 and on the road out of the park we spotted an even larger herd of Tule Elk, numbering 12 to 15 head (do your own math this time). The first part of our drive took us through an agricultural region with crops as varied as corn, olives and oranges, all of which thrive due to the extensive network of irrigation ditches and pipes that criss cross the landscape. Roadside stands offered large baskets of fresh cherries for $1.

We stopped at the Vista winery along the road for a quick wine tasting. The group left with some wine, cheese, an apricot/jalapeño jam, some home made cookies, a couple of fair trade baskets and some Yosemite tour advice. We stopped in Mariposa for gas and ate our lunches in a picnic park. Again, as so many times before, short distances travelled can result in dramatic changes in the landscape. As we began to climb towards Yosemite the grass covered rolling hills changed to tree covered mountains. Our road paralleled the Merced River which was a beautiful clear fast flowing river. In 41 days this is the first river I have crossed that I wanted to stop and do some serious fishing.

Merced River – I know there are fish in there

Once we passed into the park boundaries the information centre is about a half hour drive. the scenery started to get out of control. I regret my previous use of superlatives to describe scenery. Possibly it is my affinity for the classic black and white photography of Ansel Adams that was taken in Yosemite but as we passed through those vistas it was hard not to imagine them in black and white. Each corner presented a new stunning view of the mountains. Rounding one turn the Bridal Veil Waterfall came into view. Suddenly happening upon one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world is a neck wrenching experience.

Our lack of registration for a camp site proved to be a bit of a complicated problem to resolve. Jane and Ike had left Mariposa before us and had had an opportunity to get the lay of the land. Cancellations became available at 3:00 on a first come first served basis. They had been there at that time but only one site had become available.

In the wisdom known only to men of long term stable relationships we took a back seat to the accommodations negotiations. After visiting an information centre, the visitors centre, and the Curry Village registration centre we found that we had a couple of options. Firstly there were no campsites available. One option was to leave the park and stay at one of the campsites we had passed on the way in. Another option was to stay at what are called housekeeping sites. We put in a reservation for these sites and then drove over to inspect them.These are concrete block structures not dissimilar to what you might see in a Hogan’s War rerun with a tarp roof, a metal frame bed and a plastic mattress and a tarp screen, with ties, for privacy – all for the outlandish price of $100 a night per couple.

Although far from ideal or reasonable we wanted to be on site so we decided to make do. After a bit of discussion we decided that it seemed silly to set up camp in bunkers when we had perfectly fine comfortable RV’s parked along side. Now there was some issues with regulations in this plan as it was not allowed to sleep in your vehicle. I’m sure that is a good rule for a good reason but in light of the sleep in the bunker option we chose to ignore it – with some subtlety of course.

After a hastily prepared supper of beans and wieners we retired to Sean and Carla’s bunker where Sean had set up his computer (there was electricity in the bunkers) and watched a movie – The Shawshank Redemption. After the movie we all quietly retired to our respective vehicles.

Day 40 – May 14

On the road by 9:00 our target was the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. The fog was hanging off shore while creating a high haze which intensified the colours of the plethora of roadside wild flowers that were in bloom. We made several stops to take pictures, switching which vehicle was in the lead frequently along this beautiful stretch of the #1 highway.

We passed through scenic Carmel (no signs of Clint Eastwood however) and at one point we joined Sean and Carla for a quick walk on the chilly beach. With the exception of the hills rising behind us and the foreign plant life we could have been standing on a beach in Nova Scotia – fleeces were the order of the day in the fog.

A Misty Morning

We arrived in Monterrey behind Jane and Ike who had found a parking lot however it wouldn’t take ‘oversized’ vehicles like ours or Sean and Carla’s but we were directed to a lot nearby that did and was also cheaper.

We walked down Cannery Row, made famous by John Steinbeck’s novel, towards the museum which is partially housed in old cannery factory buildings. Right at the entry for the aquarium is a brief interpretation of Cannery Row which in its hey day was one of the central locations for processing and canning west coast fish. Looking at the labels of some of the cans on display I realized that in my youth these products used to travel the long distance to our dinner table in Halifax.

At first the museum was not overcrowded so we had ample opportunity to view the various displays. We had arrived as three divers entered one of the large vertical tanks. Two were cleaning the bottom while the third fed the various fish, ranging from bass to leopard sharks. While she fed them she was linked by a microphone in her dry suit to inside speakers so we could hear her commentary and ask her questions about the fish. A group of visiting school children sat mesmerized by the display.

One of the displays that stood out for me was the seashore birds. Separated from the outside by large windows these birds splash through artificial tidal pools, sand bars and beach grasses. At first I didn’t think they were real but as I approached the display I could get within a foot of them. Mostly rescue birds from some mishap, these birds have become acclimatized to human presence and go about their daily activities seemingly oblivious to the stream of human observers. It was a rare opportunity to see these normally skittish creatures up close.

Two other displays that we all were fascinated by were the jellies and the sea horses. The jelly fish display can only be described as magical. Suspended in large tanks of flowing water with a rich blue background the various species of jelly fish stood out in contrast, in all of their delicate detail. The delicacy of their construction and the grace of their slow propulsion movements were spell binding.

The ‘Jellies’

Our other favourite display was the seahorses. Animals like seahorses are almost mythical in their uniqueness and we see them so often as logos or on some other product it is if they don’t exist in real life so to see them up close was a real treat. There were a couple that were just fantastical. Especially the dragon seahorse. If someone showed you a drawing of one you would think it some illustration from a fantasy novel. These winged seahorses float through the tank and around the plant life like you might imagine the mythical dragons of Arthurian legend did. We pulled each other from tank to tank to share the new discoveries around each corner. The aquarium visit was a good day.

Fantastical

After a very unsatisfactory lunch of fish and chips – you would think a city known for its fish production could manage a decent meal of fish and chips – but sadly that was not the case we headed out towards Salinas where we stopped for gas and a reprovisioning. After Salinas were were headed for a State Park on the way to Yosemite. On the way we passed through some rolling, grass covered hills that were home to grazing cattle. It sounds like a simple scene but covered in the already yellowed grasses of this area and bathed in the golden light of the setting sun these gently rolling hills resembled mounds of yellow velvet that had been bunched together. With no pull off areas to stop it was torture to drive by and not be able to take a photograph.

Along the road there were signs warning of gusty winds and we did stop at one park that was so windy that, at the recommendation of the park ranger, we abandoned it in favour of another site further down the road. This site, the San Luis Reservoir State Park, was nestled in a valley amongst the grass covered hills at the edge of a large reservoir. What a coincidence that someone named San Luis Reservoir would have a park named after him right next to a reservoir – it’s funny how life works out sometimes. As we settled in to cook up hamburgers made from the grass fed beef raised on the Hearst Mansion ranch, we were treated to a lovely sunset.

Day 39 – May 13

We were on the road shortly after 8, in preparation for a busy day. We wanted to visit the Hearst Mansion in San Simeon which was about a 2 hour drive. We headed out on the 101 to avoid driving past the Vandenberg Air Force Base which we assumed would not be a scenic marvel and then back to the # 1 at Pismo Beach. Again however the fog was playing havoc with our view of the ocean. We drove through beautiful hilly grasslands that seemed to be dedicated to raising cattle and horses and some agriculture. We passed through several vineyards that stretched to the horizon and many other cultivated fields of strawberries, cauliflower and other market crops.

Traffic was light which made for a much more leisurely drive than the previous day. Shortly after a pit stop and coffee break we arrived at the Hearst Mansion at around 11:00. Now owned and operated by the State of California. You enter the site at a 7,000 square foot visitors centre/boutique/cafe/movie theatre where you buy tickets for the various tours and await a shuttle bus for the 10 minute drive up the hill to the ‘castle’. We chose the recommended tour for first timers, the Grand Rooms tour, and set off at 11:40 for our guided tour.

Depending on your perspective on sites like this the Hearst Mansion would lie somewhere along a spectrum of an outlandish display of obscene wealth or an amazing creation of a man who had a dream and had the capacity to make it happen. It is hard to judge past events through the lens of today but for me, who has more than a few cynical bones in his body, this was a delightful place.

Started relatively late in Hearst’s life for such a mammoth undertaking at 56 Hearst devouted the next 28 years of his life to the creation of his hill top part-time home. Built in a style reminiscent of grand European villas Hearst spent decades collecting art as well as pieces of demolished and decaying European structures that he and his architect through all these 28 years knit into the fabric of his creation. Never afraid to change his mind and pay the cost for doing so there were frequent rethinks of approaches and resultant demolition to accommodate a new purchase or vision.

We walked through room after room where Hearst wined, dined and entertained his steady stream of guests drawn from the diverse backgrounds of business, entertainment and the arts. He was know as a generous host and guests stayed as long as they wanted, although the practice of moving long standing guests further and further from their host at successive dinners may have been a less than subtle reminder of a visit overstayed.

Dining with the Hearsts

After the formal tour we could spend as long as we wanted wandering the grounds, imagining what a weekend visit to this site would have been like as we sat beside the beautiful column surrounded swimming pool. My favourite spot by far was the enclosed pool. Lit from above with natural light supplied through glass block inlaid in the roof of the structure which also served as the tennis court. This was clearly a concession to the pool as the inlaid glass block, all be it along the net line surely would have limited footing at net side volleys. The pool itself, a explosion of cobalt blues and gold with marble ladders was like something out of a fantasy.

Following a 40 minute IMAX movie in the I house theatre that played through the history of the Hearst family, its humble beginnings and the construction of the ‘caste’ we headed out, hoping to make it to Big Sur for the night.

And tonight’s guests…

There were a couple of state parks along the route so our plan was to check them out as we got closer to Big Sur. We all had been anticipating this coast drive but the sea fog was playing havoc with our views of the sea. Depending on headland configuration, wind direction and strength of sun we either had a wall of fog, whisks of fog climbing up the hillsides or a clear view. At one point we stopped to watch a group of sea lions basking on the beach below while two male elephant seals fought over supremacy of some rock that seemed very important to them.

Following a few more photo stops and some unnecessary exploration due to poor park signage we finally made our way into the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. For possibly only the second time since we have been travelling we actually arrived at a site while there was staff at the check in.

In hindsight, we should have waited around the corner until he left. Of all the accolades I might throw in this guys direction fast would not be one of them, nor would motivated be on the list for that matter. Buddy had a process and nothing was going to deter him from following it to the letter, nothing that is unless it had breasts, which seemed to allow him to forget the growing line that was forming outside his booth and allow him to devout his entire attention to the owner of the aforementioned artifacts. We drew straws and at the next park Ike has to wear a bra.

We were told to drive through the park, pick a couple of options and then return to the check in to see if any of them were still available, i.e. someone else makes it back to the booth before us. We were told to not leave anything on the site in an attempt to reserve the spot until he had approved it. We sort of split the difference on that one. After finding three sort of level spots in close proximity we abandoned the women folk to stake the land claim and returned to register, confident that any interloper who tried to steal our lot was in for a major attitude adjustment – it was getting late, we were tired and hungry, not a pretty combination for the uninitiated.

Carla whipped up a noodle and leftovers dish which was delicious. We sat around a campfire for a while, still burning wood that we have been carting around through I don’t know how many states, probably in violation of multiple state laws. The wood for sale in the park was $10 for a small bundle, meaning that any single tree in the park would have been worth in the range of seven figures.