Santa Rosa and the Northern California Coast

We left Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park for Sacramento, California. We spent the night there and journeyed west on Rte. 12 through Sonoma to Santa Rosa to visit my Aunt BettyAnn and Uncle Dick. We had a great lunch together catching up. The children were so pleased to meet their great Aunt and Uncle.

They provided us with some guidance for our future travel in Oregon from their years of living there.

The Ketcham's in Santa Rosa.

We left Santa Rosa and decided to head to the coast. The Northern California coast is so dauntingly beautiful, steep windy cliffs, big surf, rocks jutting out along the seashore!! We lucked out to get a spot at the Sonoma State beach campground in Bodega Bay and enjoyed the natural setting and fire in our grill.

Sonoma State Beach-Bodega Bay Campground.

Our great campfire.

The Pacific Coast.

Our journey took us further up the coast on Rte. 1 until we had vertigo from the twists and turns in the road. We went inland on a little road from Stewart's Point to Cloverdale where we spent the night in their Citrus Fair campgrounds.

 The next day we drove up more benign Rte. 101 to Fortuna California and the Riverwalk Campground. The drive was spectacular, the latter part of the road shrouded with towering California redwood trees! Fortuna was a great base to visit the Victorian town of Ferndale, the Centerville Beach, and best of all the little town of Loleta and the Loleta Cheese factory. The cheese from the factory is sold to Trader Joe's shops around the country under different names! We tasted almost all 36 types of cheese!

The Centerville Beach, Ferndale, CA.

The local Loleta bank.

First the tour of the Loleta Cheese Factory...

Then the tasting...yum.

Our final stop for the day of gastronomic delight was Eureka, Ca. at Gill's by the Bay for some of the local seafood chowder the locals rave about. We enjoyed it very much, but still think it has nothing over New England chowder!!

Lunch at Gill's by the bay for seafood chowder.

Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park, CA

We arrived at Kings Canyon/ Sequoia National Park from California's Central Valley on General's Highway 180 and kept climbing in elevation. The visitor center for Grant Grove Village was at 6,500 ft.+! We found a substantial snow pack when we visited the General Grant Grove of Sequoia trees. Some of these remarkable Goliaths were alive during the reign of Cleopatra!!! The General Grant tree is so wide that you could fit a city bus across its diameter and couldn't see at either end.

The General Grant Tree- 2cnd largest in the world.

Our drive along the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway  provided us with breath taking views of the Canyon and the Sierra Nevadas!!

The King's Canyon!!

Where is the picnic table?

Yosemite National Park, CA

Yosemite National Park has experienced a slow start to spring. We arrived in a snow storm and found 4-6 ft drifts in the higher elevations. We were thankful that the Yosemite Valley was green and sunny and the campground had only a few old snow piles like a distant memory of the hard winter.

The sign in the snow!

Wow- thought we had left that behind!

The snow melt had swollen the Merced River and Yosemite's famous waterfalls were beyond belief. Our first hike took us up 1.5 miles to the past Columbia Rock on the Upper Yosemite Falls Trail. The view of the falls was breathtaking. After our descent we accomplished the more modest Lower Falls trail to the base of the Lower Yosemite Falls.

The Upper Yosemite Falls.

Lower Yosemite Falls.

Our second day we hiked up to the Vernal Falls. The trail afforded us spectacular views of the Nevada Falls across the ravine as well. At the base of the trail we continued along the Merced River on to the Mirror Lake. The lake is no longer dredged or dammed so has shrunk in size, but still reflected Half Dome in its majesty.

Mirror Lake reflecting the cliffs.

Vernal Falls.

"OH, we're not on the trail??"

The Bridal Veil Fall accents the valley.

Half Dome.

Our last day we visited the Mariposa Grove of Sequoia trees. The trails had just opened for the spring and we found snowpack around the majestic trees.

The famous drive thru tree.

The clothespin tree.

Hollister, Mill Valley, San Rafael, CA.

We left Bakersfield and visited my cousin Lynn, her husband Wes, and their daughters Emily and Kelly at their "ranchette" in Hollister, CA. We had a great afternoon rambling around their yard, visiting the garden, chickens, baby chicks, and miniature horses. The kids were thrilled when Kelly and Emily harnessed up "Viv" for a ride in a cart.

It was a treat to have a home cooked dinner and a visit with my other cousin June!! The next day Wes toured us around Hollister and treated us to amazing candy covered apples made at a local chocolate specialty shop!!

Peter, Will, Caroline, Kelly, and Emily.



KELLY and VIV



VIV and the gang in the yard.

June, Wes, Lynn, Nancy-Jane, and Rich

We left Hollister for Mill Valley north of San Francisco to visit Aunt Nancy and Uncle Terry. The bridge and bay were stunning as we covered the ground to Mt. Tamalpias. We made it up the steep grade and driveway and managed to get the Winnebago wedged into the turnaround in the yard. Jackson, Nancy's donkey seemed unfazed by his new neighbors!!

The Golden Gate Bridge.

Dinner with Nancy and Terry.

Jackson says "hello" to Hallie.

The kids had turns at donkey rides up the mountain.

Aunt Jane and Uncle Ewen came over to a lobster feast!!

Jane and Ewen with us and the View.

Not much extra room on the driveway!

We went over to Jane and Ewen's in San Rafael for lunch and to see the chickens and bunny. 

Caroline and Jane with Florence and Hazel.



Peter tries his hand at lawn mowing.

The kids loved Ewen's new bike.

Death Valley, CA/ Swiss friends in Bakersfield, CA

We drove southwest from Las Vegas and into California's Death Valley National Park. We steadily dropped in elevation from Death Valley Junction to the visitor's center. We gained 30 degrees by the time we had reached Furnace Creek. The heat was staggering. The alternating mountain ranges with valley basins block moisture from the Pacific and trap the heat in the valley.

The View at the Texas Springs campsite.

Compressed sandstone hills for the kids to climb on at the campsite.

The lowest elevation recorded is 282 ft. below sea level.

We left Furnace Creek in Death Valley for a rendezvous with our Swiss friends in Bakersfield, Ca. They were beginning their Eastward trek, and us continuing West. It was close to Jenny's 8th birthday and we celebrated with a barbecue in the rain, cake and the next day in the sunshine, the pinata!

The celebrants.

Rich sending smoke signals.

The cake!

The men change a tire on Eddy's fifth wheel.

Jenny at the pinata.

The party goers.

The cross country travelers.