4 Campnights and a Motel

Christina and I have embarked on our California trip. We spent the first night with KC, doing research and tying up loose ends in Berkeley (The picture is of Moe trying to prevent Christina from doing anything at all). The next morning we picked up our car from Avis, a white Kia Rio, with surprisingly good trunk space. It could fit the huge tupperware of cookware and the coleman stove (burner and grill), as well as 2 sleeping bags, 2 sleeping pads, 2 water jugs, 2 backpacking packs, and additional bags. We hit Berkeley Bowl to load up on food, Jamba Juice for a free smoothie (buy one get one free), and then REI to pick out some hiking boots and other gear. We finally got on the road by evening and arrived at our first camp site near Pine Lake. $15 for the night with bear and mountain lion warnings everywhere, but we only spotted some deer near our site.

I made my first campsite meal - asian style! Buckwheat noodles with spinach, tofu and sesame oil.

The next morning we packed up and drove on to Yosemite and checked in at Camp 4, the walk in campground. $5 per person per night - what a deal! We stayed there 3 nights, did a lot of hiking and eating and one wonderful shower (also $5 at Housekeeping camp -- supposedly free showers were available at Curry Village without a towel, but we chose instant gratification). We did the first part of the Half Dome hike to Vernal and Nevada Falls, part of the 4 Mile Trail from the bottom up (most do top down), part of the Upper Yosemite Falls hike (too hot to go too far), and my favorite was the Cathedral Lake hike with the trailhead out of the valley on Tioga Road.

We then drove on to Mono Lake and saw some big tufas and tasted the saltiness of the depleted lake. It was surrounded by hoards of flies that you could hear lift off in mass whenever you took a step. Yuck! We had a lovely picnic dinner at sunset at the County Park on the north side, and then swung on the swing set and tossed a disc on the super plush carpety-feeling grass - and even did some layout drills. We ended our time in the park laying on the grass watching the stars come out and enjoying the warm dry air and pleasant wind. We filled up on water at the fountain and then started driving again around 10 pm, driving through Bridgeport on to the town we're in now where we found a Motel with free wireless. This place is the digs. We got Unit 13, which is the handicap unit - after so many days of greasy sweaty stickiness, we were ecstatic to enjoy a hot shower with fluffy white towels and have a real refrigerator to store our food in (If Christina falls ill, it could be one of 10 questionably warm food items that caused it).

We are off to Tahoe soon and then back west towards the Redwoods and Bay Area.

Camping entertainment included a rowdy Scrabble game with some college kids there for the weekend. Despite Christina's low confidence, she won the game!