We’re at the coast.
The Pacific Coast that is. First
time for me.
The last couple of days spent in Yosemite were
wonderful. The scenery was beyond
words. The soul understands what words
cannot express. That’s about the way it
is. A sense of wonder, awe, humility, a
sense of being overwhelmed. We did a
tour of the valley on an open tram. Saw
all a lot of waterfalls, El Capitan, Half Dome.
At one point we got out to look at the view and both Jerry and I had
tears in our eyes – couldn’t say a word…..
They say the waterfalls will be dried up in a couple of
months due to lack of snowfall this year.
How sad. We hike a while as saw
the Giant Sequoias.
On Monday morning we packed up the car and loaded the
bikes. Another long day of driving, so
many passes to pass over. At one point
we were going up a long hill at a snail’s pace.
Couldn’t figure that one out until about 30 minutes in we saw a state
trooper pass. A few minutes later we
rounded the bend only to see---A Wagon Train.
Yep, about 6 covered wagons full of people in period dress and people on
horseback all going up the pass. The
trooper had them pulled over to let traffic by – you know, the horseless
wagons. What a sight that was. It was ‘almost’ worth the inconvenient.
Later in the day we could see smoke ahead in the
distance. Turned out to be a fire right
along the expressway. We could see the
flames shooting high in the air. We also
saw a plane coming right towards us, about 20 feet above us. It let loose a load of fire fighting
chemicals. Had we been about 20 feet up
I’m sure we would have gotten sprayed. There
was also a helicopter in the air with a bucket hanging from it. I have seen those things on the news but
never in real life. The dirt in the
median to our left was beginning to put off smoke. My guess would be that they closed the
expressed way shortly after we passed.
Some of the towns we passed through yesterday were recording
101*. Grateful for the AC to be working.
It was getting late and dark when we finally hit the
coast. Couldn’t see much. Had a little bit of a hard time finding a
campsite. We ended up in a RV park but it
is not all that bad. It had some green
space for us to set up the tent, fairly clean bathrooms, hot showers and a herd
of elk next door.
Tuesday –
Today began with chores.
Our ‘almost out of gas’ light was on when we pulled in to the
campgrounds last night. First stop was a
gas station in the next town back about 30 minutes away. We made it.
A quick stop at the grocery store also brought with it the realization that
we had a head light burnt out. Off to
the auto parts store. Jerry made quick
work of that task. On to a hardware
store for some odds and ends that Jerry needed.
The rest of the day we spent t in the forest of the
Redwoods. Gentle Giants is an understatement. They were everywhere. We took a hike listed as an hour long. About 2 hours later we emerged with almost a
memory card full of pictures. Trees, Ferns,
Flowers, Banana Slugs. Thank Goodness
for digital cameras. Again, so hard to
put in to words. All I can say is 'may the forest be with you!'
Back at the campsite
for the evening. The herd of elk that
was next door is now wondering among the campsites. About 30 of them a couple of males and some
females with calves. Jerry is working
with the bikes. I’m doing laundry while
typing this, hoping that the elk do not come between me and the laundry room
which is attached to the bathroom.
Oh, darn I think I need to shut the car door! They are really getting close!
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