Sacramento Natural Wildlife Refuge, Spring Break

BEAUTY ALL OVER THE PLACE!  SEE?

 NO CROWDS!

I love me a good wild space.  Jason and I drag our kids to places like this all the time.  They're preteens now so it's a bit of a stretch to say they're excited about these jaunts but, once the actual dragging is over, they ALWAYS have a great time.  There's a big wild world out there and there's nothing like a darting critter to make city folk excitable.

CRITTERS!

Jackrabbits!  OMG, they were EVERYWHERE.  I don't know much about jackrabbits but we dubbed these guys old man bunnies because they all seemed to hobble.  Maybe that's how jackrabbits move when not pursued or maybe refuge life leads to a nice long life and they really were old.  Still, super cute.  See?  OK, he's a little hard to see but I"m not so fast with the camera.

Birds of prey!  Also, EVERYWHERE.  It's just so magical to see them soar and swoop down.  They didn't go for the old man bunnies, fortunately.  Mostly, they just seemed to play in the breeze.  Super fun to watch.  See?  So glad this guy was holding still, at first.  Breathtaking!

We also saw a very quick raccoon swimming away from us and a couple of slithering critters too but I can't talk about them because Sally might be reading.  Although one was a baby and he was really really cute.

VERNAL POOLS!

 There are all sorts of critters in vernal pools but they're really tiny so it's not my fault my camera didn't capture them.  Pretty flowers, though.

Boring grownup stuff:
The Sacramento Natural Wildlife Refuge is 90 minutes north of Sacramento (in Willows) and, as it's a rest stop on the Pacific Flyway, it's home to some LARGE populations of wintertime ducks and geese, in addition to lots and lots of other full time critters.  Apparently, there are LOTS more birds in December and January but to me it still seemed like there were plenty.

Parents, there's a driving tour that's a great place to teach your kids to drive.  The speed limit is 5mph, there are lots of long straight sections, and there's no one around to hit.  When the auto tour is done, you can do a short walking loop too.  The sounds are magnificent; a wildlife symphony.

Holly's first driving lesson! 

Rancho Seco Howard Ranch Trail

The biggest profusion of flowers I saw today

Today, I tackled the Rancho Seco Howard Ranch Trail.  Apparently, this ranch once housed an aging Seabiscuit, or so I read.  

This hike is an easy 7 mile hike at the Rancho Seco recreation area, about 40 minutes from Sacramento.

In Sacramento, this is the best time of year for viewing wildflowers at the area's vernal pools so I went expecting a big display.  I got ..... a little display, but it was a nice day anyway.

The first mile or so of this hike is just lovely.  It curves along the edge of the lake so you get to hear tons of birds, frogs, and crickets.  That was definitely my favorite part!  After that, you enter a gated cow pasture and follow that trail for a mile or so.  I found myself looking down at the trail a lot rather than enduring the cow stares.  Silly cows.  Silly me.

The next 3 miles loop through more ranch land.  Here, things get a little monotonous.  There are no trees at all but there are a few vernal pools and wildflowers.  Oh, and LOTS of signs saying, "STAY ON TRAIL!"  Those must be some well trained cows.  Anyway, I felt a little silly wandering on foot all over some pasture, sort of like a cowboy with no horse.

The strangest thing about this hike is that you've got this looming landmark wherever you go.  Those nuclear towers are just kinda creepy to me.

All in all, if you're looking for vernal pool action this spring, I say try Mather Field.

Happy hiking!

Wintertime beauty at Pt. Reyes

Another great hiking spot!!!  Pt. Reyes.  We did a loop hike ... Laguna trail, Fire Lane trail, Coast trail.   5 miles.  Perfect!

Last weekend, we trekked out to Pt. Reyes with the kiddos and had a fabulous hike!  It took a couple of hours to get there but the closer we got the prettier it was.  Here's a shot out the window of the car.  Pretty, no?

I can highly recommend this hike to all with kids!  It's not too far from Sacramento, it's gorgeous, and there's lots of terrain variety.  This hike is not strenuous at all so you'll still have plenty of energy to enjoy the beach.

The trail for the first couple of miles looked like we were actually hiking a fault line.  So cool!  The hike starts out through chaparral that smells really really good, sort of herby.  The ranger later thought that we were smelling a type of sage known as "Cowboy Cologne."  Eventually, the hike parallels Santa Maria Beach.  The day we hiked, we practically had it all to ourselves.  We love these days!  Here's a couple of beach pictures.

It's nice being married to MacGyver.  He built us a great picnic spot and a teeter totter for the kids.  It wasn't warm enough to go in the water (Sydney tried a couple of toes) but it was still a really beautiful beach to explore.  Holly found a perfect sand dollar that was no bigger than a nickel!

Once we pulled ourselves away from the beach, we noticed tiny beige shapes moving in the hills way above us.  Tule elk!!!!!!  They were so far away but we took a picture anyway and here it is.  See them?

The next couple of miles wander gently uphill past a pretty grove of alders.  I imagine their shade would be very welcome on a hot summer day!

We didn't see many critters today but we did happen upon a dozen or so deer wandering near the Bear Valley Visitor Center.  So cute!  Being city folk with city kids, we always get such a kick out of such sightings.

Happy hiking!

Mt. Diablo State Park

It's been awhile since we hiked.  Boy are we out of shape!!!

We had fun exploring this Bay area haunt.  It's a hot spot for rabid cyclists who don't mind torturing themselves with a crazy, winding, uphill ride that they share with panicked drivers.  We practically had the place to ourselves!  Well, we did share it with a few of those aforementioned cyclists.  It takes them an hour and a half to make the ascent, and 20 minutes to go back down.  They FLY back down that hill and it's really scary to watch.

We drove up to the tippy top, hoping for some SPECTACULAR views of the Bay area but we had a little too much haze for any jaw dropping to occur.  No matter!  We did the little loop hike at the top, then had lunch before setting out on the real hike of the day.

OK, I have to admit that I really didn't do my hiking homework.  I picked a couple of trails that looked perfect (Juniper and Summit) and we set off.  We dropped in elevation at an alarming rate.  What a rookie mistake!!!  The whole family was laughing on the way down because we knew how hard the climb back to the car would be.  Luckily, it was 43 degrees when we finally got back to the car so overheating wasn't an issue.  Lesson learned!

 We stopped in a deserted campground for climbing.  What a pretty place!  The trees were so old and huge that supports had been installed in several places.  We were very impressed!

Here are some tired girls!  We really love wearing them out.   :  )

Hiking in Alaska, July 2011, part II

You probably all know this, but I'll just admit it out loud.  JANISE IS A SCAREDY CAT.  She's also a city girl.  With that in mind, this next adventure/ hike will probably surprise you.  It all started here, at this idyllic little cabin on an idyllic little lake in Alaska called Volkmar.  I think that means People's Lake in Viking language, which is funny, because there weren't any people!  (I'm lying a little.  We're pretty sure that at least 1 other cabin was inhabited while we were there.)

Anyway, this lake has no access roads.  In the winter, you get there by snow machine.  In the summer, you use a float plane.  See the cute little red float plane?  Jason's Uncle Rod flew us to the cabin and dropped us off!  I KNOW!  I was scared of the float plane too, but Rod had taken me in it a couple of years ago to ease my fears and it worked because I was fine as long as we flew over the Tanana River.  It's a float plane, right?  Then we flew over forest and Uncle Rod started talking about a couple of military planes he knew about that crashed right over there and then I was a little woozy.    

Our little getaway

Backcountry transportation

So Uncle Rod dropped us off and showed us the rifle we should carry along if we wandered away from the cabin.  I KNOW!!!   I was scared to touch it, though, so Jason had to carry it.  He's pretty sure he would have known how to use it if it had been required.  Fortunately, it was not required!!!!

On the first day, we started on a little stroll around the lake (with the gun.)  There's a bear trail all the way around the lake.  By bear trail, I mean the bears made it.  I KNOW!!!  Bears don't think about clearing the branches away from human faces on their trails, selfish creatures.  We only went about a quarter of a mile, though.  In that space, we saw perhaps 10 piles of bear poop.  That was enough for me for one day!!!!  We retired to the lake to fish because I'm not afraid of pike.  Apparently, though, you do need to stay away from their teeth.  

The cabin next door, viewed from the lake

Cleaning the duck poop off the dock at like, 11pm.  It never really  got dark.

Getting ready to fish.  Still looking hopeful.

Yes, this is a hiking blog and, yes, we did actually hike.  First we read a book called Bear Aware.  I just ordered it for your Yellowstone trip, Yolanda.  Anyway, it helped me understand the steps you take to keep yourself safe.  So, we decided to hike to the clearing above the cabin.  First, Jason tied 2 pot lids to my backpack so the bears could hear me coming from a mile off.  It was probably only a mile or so.  I think it took 20 minutes and the funny thing was that my cell phone rang while we were up there.  It was Uncle Rod, coming to pick us up! 

Me and my noisy backpack

Almost to the top

Beautiful Volkmar 

See the bugs?  You can't even bat them away.  I don't know what they eat when we're not around.

We made it, sans bears!

There's the guy & there's the gun.  I was happy to have both along.

All joking aside, this was probably the most relaxing trip we ever took.  There are simply no distractions, no people, no critters (fortunately), and just no noise.  It was truly an amazing experience.  Thanks Uncle Rod!

Hiking in Alaska, July 2011

We're on our summer trip to Alaska to visit Jason's family.  The kids are in Valdez (cousin camp) with Grandma and Aunt Janice and the gaggle of girl cousins.  Jason and Janise are left to hike without kids.  We hardly know how!

Angel Rocks to Chena Hot Springs


We did this gorgeous hike on a perfect overcast day with Dinah (Jason's sister) and her dog Katie.  In 8 miles, we only saw 2 other groups of hikers and they were both in the first mile or so.  It always amazes me that there is so much space in Alaska and so few people!  So unlike California.  It seems to be a state full of forest.

We saw no bears and no moose on this trail but we saw 4 or 5 moose from the car on the drive home.  They are amazingly gangly creatures and I love to see them .... from a car.

Katie, Janise, & Dinah at Angel Rocks

Jason, Dinah & miles of beauty

Gorgeous, spongy plants we sat on for lunch.  Very comfy!

Along this ridge, we were discussing the similarities to the Swiss Alps.  Not that we've been there.  But we HAVE seen the Sound of Music, and of course we had to sing.

So much wild beauty, so few people to enjoy it!  Jason laughed at me for stopping here.  The mosquitoes were voracious.

The end of the trail.  It was getting pretty boggy here.  We really were running from the bugs.

This hike ends at the Chena Hot Springs Resort.  Once there, we soaked in the hot springs and it was so great!  The springs smell like sulphur and they're reputed to have healing properties.  They healed my tired muscles and mosquito bites for sure.  We saw a juvenile moose on the lawn at the resort, grazing near some tourists who didn't even flinch.  CRAZY!

THE BIG HIKE IS FINALLY HERE! HALF DOME, HERE WE COME!

First, let me say that the waterfalls in Yosemite right now are GORGEOUS!!!!  Wowwee kazowwee gorgeous.  They're way bigger than the postcards show!  The meadows, also, are insanely green and beautiful.  Maybe that's why it was so crazy crowded!  I'm not much of a camper but I have to admit that camping at Upper Pines campground makes so much logistical sense when you're attempting Half Dome.  It took us an hour and a half to drive thru the valley to reach our campground!  Once there, though, we were a 10 or 15 minute walk to the trailhead for the Mist Trail and Half Dome beyond.  That became important for our 3:30 am wake up time!

Traffic was so slow, they got out and walked a bit!

And took our picture!

More beautiful and intimidating than ever.

We reached the valley on Saturday afternoon, planning on hiking Half Dome on Sunday.  However, the bad traffic prevented us setting up camp in a reasonable timeframe so we ended up postponing out big hike until Monday.  We spent Sunday acclimating and strolling up to Mirror Lake which was a perfect 'day before' hike.  We pre-hydrated.  We were ready!!!!!

Our Mirror Lake picnic spot

Holly's other butterfly buddy.  How does she do this?  This one drank the grape juice she offered.

At 5pm, we started our prep.  We got the kids showered at Curry Village and into their hiking clothes with sweats over.  We ate an early pasta dinner.  We packed all our snacks, lunch, and water in our camelbaks and stowed them in the bear box.  We even got breakfast all ready so we could get out of camp quickly and quietly in the morning.  We went to bed early.

Around midnight Janise got sick.  She spent the next 3 hours traipsing back and forth to the bathroom.  Yuck.  Poor Sydney was so excited she couldn't sleep much at all and she was getting worried about mom.  At 3:30am the alarms went off and Jason said, "What do you want to do, mama?"  I said, "Let's go.  Maybe I'm just excited."  (Nope, still feeling puny 5 days later.)  Holly's winning comment at 3:30am, as she's shivering thru a yogurt and a banana was, "Is this really necessary?"  That got some laughs.

We needed headlamps to make it to the trailhead.  We were there by 4:30am!!!!!  The kids were giddy excited.  The color of the pre-dawn light reflected off the granite walls of the canyon preceeding Vernal Falls is something I'll never forget.  It was the most beautiful purple/ blue.  STUNNING!  Worth it!

The Mist Trail drenched us so much that we just barely paused at the top of Vernal Falls for a quick picture.  We pushed on up to the top of Nevada Falls because we were all so cold.  By the top of Nevada Falls, the sun was up and we were able to take a break and warm up.  Also, it became clear that Janise had to turn back.  No one was happy about that and there were a few tears.  But, hey, 3 of us were still looking strong!!!!!!!

Had to do this.  We have this picture from 2 years ago in this same spot.

Reality setting in.

Jason, Sydney, and Holly all made it to the top!  YAY!!!!!!  Both girls said later that they thought the cables were a little scary going up but really fun coming back down.  They passed one frozen hiker.  They saw 4 deer and a marmot who stole a lunch out of a backpack!  Check out their amazing photos.

On top of the world!!!!!!

Now they can do anything, ANYTHING!

Jason carried this diet pepsi all the way up there for Janise.  Holly drank it.  This pic made Janise cry just a little. The paper says, "Miss you Mom."

Look for their great cairn up there to the right as you get off the cables!

Proud daddy with his girls on the cables.

Brave girls.

On the Mist Trail, getting drenched for the 2nd time in a day.

The journey took them about 14 hours.  Boy were they tired!  Janise drove their tired legs over to Curry Village for showers and pizza.  We all looked up at Half Dome in the fading light and Jason mentioned that it looked farther away than ever.  It did! The kids were so amazed that they went 'all the way up there' in one day.   SO SO PROUD!!!!!

Thanks for sharing this amazing journey with us!