The high road to 4th of July

Lake Edison is at 7,700' in the Sierras, but to get there you have to go over 10k' first, Kaiser Pass: a single lane road that hovers on cliffs above deep rocky valleys covered with pine and fir. And mosquitos. There are at least three parts where you don't want to meet any oncoming traffic as backing up is for suicidal drivers, there is no curb or barricade between you and a 1000' drop, and if the scenery hasn't paralyzed you with the absolute grandeur, then the fear of the road might. The little resort at Vermilion Valley sells tee shirts that say "I Survived the Road to Lake Edison". Well, as surfers say, they should have done it years ago when it wasn't paved. Not to say the present pavement has potholes in which a jeep could disappear. We did that road, hugging the cliff side so closely the first time, that the rocks shattered the side mirror. On the way down, Robert's 85 year old

other, who had joined us for the adventure, muttered swear words as we met traffic in tight places. Bridget and Dave brought their kayaks - see above, and we brought our new foldaboat which skims the waves better than the inflatables. The bottom photo shows a small line if you look carefully, below the massive mountains, that is the dam that created the lake. There are streams, waterfalls, trout and crazy hikers from the Pacific Crest Trail who have not one ounce of fat on them when they arrive at Vermillion Valley. And peace and tranquility after five days, and not one firecracker!

Swanning about

That is a Brit term for wandering about full of oneself. This retirement stuff is great for the freedom to do just that, but we are more full of the beauty of the country we are seeing.than ourselves. Funny to end just a few miles above Lake Powell and run into some Navajo's who were selling jewelry and pots along the road/rest stop here.This past weekend, we shopped in the Gilroy Outlets with Linda(we need nothing), hit the Santa Cruz Flea Market and found a dog ramp for the boat (to be modified so it floats) and found the beach to be full of fog. We have played enough for a week and are back to the boat to do some work, and then off to Vermilion Valley at 8,000' for several days for the 4th of July. More swanning about, then we become ducks, hauling the boat for the bottom job.

You can't get there from here

Happy in Santa Fe wandering through galleries with some of the strangest "art" we have ever seen. Mapquest says you have to go south to get to Colorado (thru Bakersfield and over Tehachapi Pass), which we have done a jillion times. We thought we could get on the road and get to Colorado in a day. Unh unh. Through Yosemite, took a day, the looooooooooong trip through Nevada that was alternately boring or dramatic with thunderstorms, and then Utah. We went over Monarch Pass at 11,300' in Colorado and tried not to faint from the tension of the corkscrew road. Back to the boat was, according to Mapquest, best served by going south. We could do that. We have done it many times....familiar roads. We zipped out of the desert heat to the cool Bay area and felt we could breath again. One of us said in the past that she did not want to ever drive that (expletive deleted) road ever again. The option is to explore, as we did heading east: soft green hills to craggy stone formation in Nevada, small towns in Utah and the seemingly groomed mountain areas in Colo. I kept wondering where the the wilderness was as it was so groomed, so settled, even in the vast distances of Nevada. Makes you really wonder just how those pioneers did it - no motels, minimal water and heat, Indians, and salted food. How does one find the place for inner peace and contemplation if the hand of man has touched all the land? On the ocean. So we plan. This photo will be the entry photo for the Baja HaHa. And we are still accepting crew applications.

Watch for rocks

The signs all through Yosemite say watch for rock...as if there is anything else to see.....great, hulking granite formations with waterfalls, springs, lakes. Wonderful. There is still snow in June at the 8000' level and the wildflowers are waiting for mid summer to bloom. Roads that used to scare hell out of us when we moved from Hawaii are old hat - but still narrow and fearsome, with dropoffs to the valley below the stuff of nightmares. But the rocks are sturdy, magnificent, and huge and awe inspiring. We left the park at the 9,900' level to drop to the eastern side of the Sierras to find glorious rivers, sheep ranges and green valleys full of peace.

See the waterfall in the very distance behind Robert.

Remember to breathe on this road

It is hard to imagine a more beautiful place than the Big Sur Coastline - along Highway One. Crazy curves, great sweeping hills and breath reducing drops to the ocean below. We saw Elephant seals lolling on the rocks a few feet from us, making goofy unseal like ululations, and hawks soaring at our car level. Awesome. The redwoods meet us right before Carmel on a fairly straight road and we finally were able to relax . Sort of exalted from the beauty of creation.

Pirate Bob

Pirate Bob complains that the glasses interfere with his eyepatch and he doesn't get to scare anybody this way.
We are off to explore the Big Sur area this day: years ago I took three little boys, a friend, and camped out in the redwoods, sleeping in the open. I remember we woke up in the middle of the night to loud grunts and the sounds of the garbage cans having a fight with something huge. We flew to the picnic tables and watched as garbage flew in the nightlights of the campground, creating great monsters in the shadows. In the morning the ranger told us that we had been "attacked" by wild pigs. We expect today, only the usual wild California drivers. The road is winding, narrow, and follows the side of a high cliff above the ocean. And spectacular to be on.

Plan B and the pirates

We had a party with what was known, twelve years ago, as the "magnetic deviants" and other friends to celebrate the life aboard, Robert's birthday, our 25th anniversary and also Jean's birthday. Robert then decided that pushing to do the north part of the cruising life at this time was too much, and discovered that retirement is one of life's five major stressors. So we are "sliding into retirement" at this point with small trips up and down the coast, by car. The boat work will always be there. We have hit beaches that allow dogs, beaches where dogs run free and beaches where if you take a dog on the sand, you will be shot, flayed, and jailed. Civilization along the coast is not for dogs. Today they got to run north of Morro Bay, chasing other dogs and humans. They got a short run at San Simeon beach, with the Castle a distant shadow in the hills. This side of the beach is a bit more restful - but makes us restless. We may be back onto some sailing plan sooner than we think. Presently, we just celebrate the pirates we know.