Another Chapter Drawing to a Close

September 19, 2017:

It is once again time to re-organize and hit the road.  Even Tessa

 recognized the activity today when I was organizing the bedroom and she was glued to my knee,  Try to get out of the house with out her....  Forget it!  She knows something is up.

The route "home" and itinerary is all set, including stops in Washington to see nieces and nephews.  One of the perks of full time traveling is getting to see loved ones long separated by time and distance .

As it has become our pattern, we started seeking out as many activities as our little time left time would allow.  "Wait till the last minute Sutties" has become our motto.....In our defense, my sister Rory was due for that visit August 23-September 9th and we were waiting for her to join us in all the fun stuff Yosemite had to offer.

When Rory arrived, we got right down to the business of having fun. (more on that topic later).

BUT Before Rory arrived we had a lot of our usual stuff going on:

Logging of course, we had to do it! 

I had a "vera bag" to make for Jane (Bill's sister) and 

another for my BFF Audrey:  

I had ordered the material for this one online and when it arrived, I found it to be about 50% thicker than my usual material, which made it almost impossible to sew on a "home" sewing machine.  Figuring it was going to take a "commercial" type machine and not knowing how I was going to manage to accomplish that, when I found this Pfaff (commercial sewing machine) sitting in my new office at Yosemite (used to repair firefighter uniforms and such):  

I still find myself surprised at the opportunities that await us around each bend in the road on this adventure Bill and I now call "life".

Me at my Desk Officer position

 Before attending to my desk
duties 2 days a week, we start the day at 6 am on "bear patrol".  Now, yes, we often see bears, but never while on "bear patrol".......

but, while on PSAR at the trailhead for the Mist Trail, you betcha!  

Oh, and BTW...every year the group of Desk Officers has an informal contest...the award (bragging rights) goes to the Desk Officer who sees the 1st bear of the year.  The Rules:  you have to have a picture:  I (Jan) took the award this year, so that makes The Black Bear my Critter of the month!

What do we actually see on "Bear Patrol"?????   

Handsome guys like these:      

And brazen ones like this...

Interesting people??? ... "campers" in the waiting line for "Camp 4" are not allowed to do this...you can see how the L.E. Rangers are into enforcement.

Anybody have a problem with height?

Interesting camping techniques:

Amateurs!

And campers with a vision:  

      The owner of this cool camping rig had
completely restored both vehicle himself.

And sometimes the boss, Larry, who always rides his bike to the office.






YUP, meeting interesting people and making new, lifelong friends is a big part of this job.....from Russia 

We let these kids camp in our backyard as they did not have a camp site

  To France  and

Germany....we get to meet alot of interesting people, and some of them so special we shall consider them friends forever!

We met Cathy and Larry at Gayle Basten's church

  And then, it's not just new friends we get to spend time with, but friends we keep re-connecting with along the way:  Jamie is a Joshua Tree connection, now working at Yosemite and we were able to see several times.

  We actually met Jamie when we were at Joshua Tree and needed a "dog sitter".  Tessa fell in love, and then so did we:-)  But what did we need a dog sitter for at Yosemite?  

Well, one of the drawbacks to living this vagabond lifestyle, is when something important happens "back home" and airplane flights, though rare, are a necessity.  In this case we had to fly from Fresno to Chicago for two granddaughters who were graduating:

Oldest Grand Natalie graduated from Barrington, IL High School...which BTW was the contest winner, and the surprise at the graduation was a commencement speech etc. by Brad Paisley.  I thought I would lose my mind.  It was fabulous!

And our 8th grad graduate Christine

 What trip "back Home" would be complete without a stop at our fav Mexican restaurant Taco's El Norte.  After going there for 20 years it more than deserves my RESTAURANT OF THE MONTH AWARD.

CHRIS RINGS US UP AT TACOS EL NORTE

And speaking of making friends, here Jean and Lisa make some new friends at the Mist Trailhead.  Kinda an inside joke, but it is still MY FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE MONTH...BUT IN ALL FAIRNESS I must say that the text message between Jean and I was right up there....It begins with me dissatisfied with my flour sifter and "auto-correct".   Me to Jean, looking for a larger sifter, not noticing that auto correct had kicked in....From me "Jean, do you have a sister?"  From Jean "yes I have 3 and a brother, why"....From me..."can I borrow one, the biggest one?"  The conversation goes on for yet a bit before we both (Jean 1st) finally realized what had happened and thought we would pass out laughing so hard.

Back to business: while at Yosemite, hiking is a MUST

Sentinal Meadow

Mist Trail

Self explanatory

Bridge at Yosemite Falls

 COOLEST EVENT OF THE MONTH

Tuolumne Grove Big Tree.......But you can't drive through it anymore:-)  This was a fun hike...1 mile downhill, easy, but the mile back at an 8 % - 15 % grade wasn't so much.


                                   Proper hiking gear VS

                              Improper hiking gear!  Can you tell the difference?

While still doing our "assigned" work, both Bill and I had taken on "extra-curricular" duties:  Bill,  his sign restoration:  

Just a few examples

He really enjoyed the work he did on the signs,

  

 yet, it was to his great discouragement that the sign that got it all started, and was in the worst shape, and on the Parks busiest trail, was the one which he was never given permission to restore.

 Still, he earned this special award from the guys at the sign shop....He remains hopeful he can go back someday and restore the High Sierra Loop Trail sign.

Bill and I also threw ourselves at whatever other kind of projects we determined could use some extra hands:

 like this booth assembly project for the library on Earth Day.  During which time I was loading and moving boxes of books to the booth.

And, both of us, a full day of assisting the Helicopter Search and Rescue team while they practiced "technical" rescues.

We regularly lent a hand with extra PSAR duties ( this bridge was cordoned off when a tree fell across it, taking part of the handrail out, we did crowd control all day).  You can't imagine the looks of surprise when a few visitors took leave and scampered across despite our presence and all the tape, horses and warnings, and one of us, waiting on the other side confronted them.  "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know".  Never in my life have I wanted to write a citation so badly.

 My weekly (every Monday) Preventive Search and Rescue Safety talk at the Half Dome Village Amphitheatre was an hour  to an hour and a half long depending on how many people stayed after to ask additional questions.

Adam and I consult on the program

Actually, doing PSAR (Preventive Search and Rescue) is something we did, even when it was not required, like during this day long hike of the Mirror Lake Trail.  The first thing our group "discovered" was the "Indian Caves".

Theo is all in, while Steve is thinking about it,

Jean and Theo enjoying the shade

The hike was long and we often took breaks...

Thru the granite field

Which, after   walking thru the heat of the                                             Granite Field, meant the shade of the giant 

Cedars and Sugar Pine was a welcome respite.

 Keeping Tessa's weight down when she is required to be on leash at all times is always a challenge, so an almost nightly routine involving a bike, leash and a 2 mile circuit became a necessity, and she 

   still maintains her girlish figure.

 Amongst our many time off activities,  the nightly "campfire" time continued ...

Campfire Deer mascot-expecting

 During which, for several days before she gave birth, Mama deer walked right thru our campsite...yep, right thru!

Campfire Deer mascot with her baby!

And then she returned, after several days off, walked right thru, during campfire time, presumably to show her baby off.

And then, late in the season, Degnan's Deli re-opened: two stories came out of the Degnan's experience: #1- dinner there was unforgettable....here is my meal...lasagna with a side salad:

Notice anything strange here?    If you said "the salad is just thrown on the tray" you would be correct.  The salad that cam with the mostaccoili was just thrown on the tray...oh wait....there was a little piece of paper under it, so I guess that's OK.  The waiter was quite perplexed when I asked for a small late of bowl.

                                                       

The table next to us

These ladies really got our attention as they began to gather.  We  were so curious about the fact that all 8 of them were wearing stripes.  So, the more gregarious of us (I'll leave it to you to figure out who that is) approached them and struck up a conversation.

What an inspiring story "Mom" tells of losing her husband suddenly when they had 12 children, these 8 girls (the youngest was 6 months old) and 4 boys.  Mom raised her family and the "Taylors" make an annual trek to Yosemite.

We so enjoyed speaking to them, the nicest people from Utah.

And the stripes???  When the ladies were gathering in the hotel lobby, the first few showed up wearing stripes and a plan was hatched for all of them to wear stripes that day...I think only a couple of them had to return to their room to change.

Yep, the days before Rory's arrival were routine, yet busy.  And then an interesting "extra curricular" activity presented itself just in time to break the monotony.  Our work day usually ends at 4:00 pm and I was just completing mine, plus about 10 minutes, when the phone rang,   I, with my work ethic firmly in hand, answered it.  Jack's (our big boss) voice greeted me asking the "Desk Office" for a "favor".....   he then presented me with a proposal for any Desk Officer who would buy in.....a chance to sit by the riverside ALL day, counting "personal" and "commercial" floatation devices?   HHHmmmmm, sit in a lounge chair by the river all day.....well, that sounded good to me and I signed on.    The location for this 6 hour gig was being left totally up to me, so, Sentinal Bridge (where the Park's rental rafts put in) seemed logical.

Sentinal Bridge

My vantage point 

I was settled in, enjoying the peace and sunshine ....... becoming pretty familiar with the look of the typical "day rafter" (tank top/shorts or bathing suit, flip flops, wide brim hat, sun glasses) when she came walking down the pathway from "raft rental".

 A man, presumably this woman/s husband, and a Park employee, were struggling along, all hangdog, directly in front of this princess as they led the way down the path to the river. The 2 guys were bearing the weight of the large, rented river raft.  What was it about this this group that grabbed a hold of my private reflection, bringing me suddenly and unexpectedly back to a more substantive state of mind?

Decked out in some very nice (read expensive) clothes, and superior air of dignity, as well as sporting high heels and a pricey handbag, this woman now struggling to make it to the river in the loose sand, where the exhausted balance to her party held onto the raft and awaited her arrival.  Raft guide "aaaahhhhhh, would you mind taking your shoes off?" Princess "do I have to?"  Guide "well, they're kinda hard on the rafts".  The princess complied, but was not happy about it:-)

 Our friends and family have expressed a great deal of concern regarding the "Yosemite" fires, so to put y'all at ease....in a nutshell:  yes, the fires have been all around us, but, the seemingly, never weary firefighters will not let "the Valley" (where we live ) be threatened.  That's not to say we haven't had any fallout....yes,  periodic evacuation of the southern portions of the park does affect us (traffic ) and 6 weeks of  "smoke" filtered views of Half Dome...

and El Capitan.....

did seem to put a damper in the spirits of our many visitors.  So, we weren't really affected by the smoke very much, but when we were, we really were.....hacking, coughing, choking...both of us.

Then, like magic, a week later the valley was clear, sites could be seen without the veil of smoke, and everyone breathing a little easier.  The biggest downside, besides the destruction of so much beautiful landscape

what it looked like near Mariposa after the fire passed thru

was the closure of Hwy 41 to Oakhurst.  It kept us from taking Rory to a hike at Glacier Point, points of interest, including the "Hanging Bridge" in Wawona and to church in Oakhurst to visit our childhood friend Gayle.

Pastor Gayle Basten, Oakhurst, CA

It  was, again, just sheer dumb luck that we had stopped at Glacier Point with Rory, just a few days before the closure.  The view was hazy

The Valley and Yosemite Falls from Glacier Point

Half Dome from Glacier Point

Half Dome from Glacier Point

Bud and Lisa

but, still beautiful, as we gave new Desk Officer Bud and his wife Lisa a tour.  Glacier Point was shut down the next day and is still, 3 weeks later.

Sheer dumb luck struck again just a few days later, a friend, David McChesney

 (whom we know from Joshua Tree N.P.-a professional photographer- check out his FB page) was passing thru the area on his way to Oregon to photograph the eclipse.  He honored us with a visit for the day.

Unfortunately, but ultimately to our great relief, the late afternoon rains arrived,  and messed up any potential photos that David might have taken.  Then the rain cleared, and as was our practice, the 5pm campfire time was back on the docket.  Some of the group had already gathered when Katie

Tessa loves her Katie

 rode up on her bike, into the warmth created by both our campfire and the friendships that had grown around it these past few months.

As Katie joined us, she shared her enthusiasm about the "Half Dome" rainbow which had stopped her in her tracks as she rode our direction.  We, had not even noticed it before this.

The entire group broke away from the fire and sought the best views of Half Dome.

David McChesney with camera and Mary enjoying the rainbow

My shot of the Rainbow over Half Dome

Rory (my big sister) finally arrived along with the busiest week of the year.  It was 'all hands on deck' Labor Day week, but we managed to tie in having to work while entertaining our guest:

 First stop, Tunnel View on the way home from the airport.  Ror's first view of the park. 

The 1st morning after Rory's arrival there was a Larry/Mary breakfast scheduled. 

This monthly offering by our boss and his wife, was a favorite time.  The faces changed every month with campground hosts coming and going etc. etc etc. but the food was always good.  And when Larry was presented with his "chef" hat,

his looks and cooking talents were complete.

First hike, the Mist Trail  

It was easy to smile at the trailhead

but, it was not an easy grade

just about the time you think you cannot o on, you come around a bend, and whaa laaaa

as far as the "footbridge" is  concerned, ( 8/10ths of a mile /400 ft/ elevation gain...somewhat challenging for those of us in condition.

The look of success

entering the footbridge

  Rory was not, and I was proud of her for making it!

  Some days we just stayed close to home, and that was OK too.

Pack mules

 Because even close to home we were able to see some neat stuff.

Along the Merced

Some of the prettiest sites were a short walk from the camp

And though the Green Dragon took us on a tour of the entire park, it required very little physical effort on our part.

I think our biggest mistake was scheduling Rory's visit so late in the season...the water level was so low....

Bridge in September

Bridge in April

The water is touching the bottom of the bridge in this pic on the left.... on the right it is nowhere close to the bottom of the bridge.

Yosemite Falls in April

Yosemite Falls in Sept.

 Though the Falls were still beautiful, I prefer the raging torrent myself.  On the other hand.....coming so late in the season allowed us to do Tuolumne Meadows and May Lake, which were spectacular!

Tuolumne Meadows

Tuolumne Meadows

 

We went to Hetch Hetchy on Labor Day, so we wore our yellow PSAR shirts, and we all worked.

What's at Hetch Hetchy....the  much maligned and long disputed O'Shaughnessy Dam...read the history, it is fascinating.












And though, in the late 1800's, I would have been fighting this dam tooth and nail, it surprised me on it's altered beauty:

Wampana Falls (center rear) was the goal of our hike

O'Shaughnessy Dam

Anybody see anything wrong with this picture?  Do you know about the problems with my sister's hands????  See the placement of her camera in relation to the dam?  Very gutsy of her.  

 The tunnel was the trailhead to Wampana Falls (pretty level, but 2.5 miles each way).  We were bound and determined to make the falls...

several hours later Rory gave up and I planted her on a "comfortable" boulder with instructions to "wait here".  Bill and I trekked on, but when we ran into returning hikers in the next 1/2 mile, who said "it's only another 45 minutes" I gave up and we headed back.  Bill did not fight me on this.  

                                                                                    The last views were spectacular

  When we returned to Rory, we found her holding court with 4 hikers, one of whom loaned her his hiking poles to get back down AND, she had racked up 59 PSAR contacts.  We had a total 97 for the day to put it in perspective.

  The approach to May Lake was spectacular, YES YES, Bill and I did go "off trail"...I do not recommend that.

And the hike from the May Lake Trailhead

May Lake Trailhead

to May Lake (2.5 miles round trip with a 500 foot elevation gain) was a real challenge for us all.

 I was super proud of Rory for making it.

Heck, I was proud of me for making it

After a short respite, during which we took a picture for the other family that was arriving at the lake at approximately the same time as we did, we headed back to the valley exhausted.  We Got kinda scared when we saw some "road closed" signs (we were on the only road going back to the valley without going WAAAAYYYY out of our way,) when we saw this:

 Now we knew why we had seen the "road closed" signs.  It was our good fortune that the firefighters had just re-opened the road on a limited basis, and in 10 minutes we were cleared to pass by.  I felt so badly for the owners of this "class A" motorcoach, but was relieved to find out no one was hurt.  Even though an RV will burn to the ground in about 6 minutes flat, this driver had had time to get off the road and exit the coach.

see that rock with the pointy angle off to the right?

Back in the valley we became seriously involved in stuff that didn't require much physical exertion.  Why?  On our first day back we decided to take the simple (read easy) hike to Yosemite Falls, and Rory did.  At the viewing area for the Falls there is a large boulder right in the middle of the viewing area.  Rory, focused like so many 1st timers at the Falls, walked right into the boulder and fell.  We were creating our own PSAR event.

Yep, she was hauled out by stretcher and spent the next couple of hours at the clinic

 But we got this cool tree picture out of it, and Rory maintained good spirits.  My surprise????  I had to go home for Rory's insurance card and she could not walk or move when I left.  I was quite worried about her.  When I returned, I found her walking out the door, joking with the doctor.  What happened when I was gone????  Turns out the clinic's X-ray machine was not working.  When Rory was told she would have to be airlifted to a Fresno hospital (and very expensive), she jumped right off that gurney.

                  NOW we now had the perfect excuse to really take it easy.  A tour of the Ahwanee Historic Hotel was the perfect activity.

The beautiful lobby floors....linoleum, Yep!   It wears great.

The Dining Room is the sight of the Annual Christmas Bracebridge Dinner Play, held every year since the hotel opened in 1927.  Ansel Adams played a part in it from early on.

  

And from the glass conservatory,  you would have had a perfect view of the "Firefall" every night.   Back in the day of course. 

As we began to slow down, we filled our evenings with presentations at the Theatre:

The "Buffalo Soldier", Shelton Johnson took us back in time to teach us about this very important aspect of Yosemite's history.  Maybe the best job of Interpretation I have ever seen....note: I myself am a certified Interpreter.

  

And Lee Stetson became John Muir, again we were taken back in time.

We decided to take a short hike near the village......I spotted this guy laying down and worried about him, so I stayed close near the fence and began to talk to him.  This was his response:

  

Then we spotted his girlfriend, I guess I scared her, because she rose and stood warily:

Kinda reminded me of how I get up  

And this fawn...it was a VERY hot afternoon, he pawed the ground like a dog, and when he had a  perfect little depression in the dirt, he settled into it.

Yes, Rory's visit was ending and it was her birthday.  So, we celebrated by driving her to the airport stopping along the way to have her birthday dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.....YUM!!!!

Then we returned to begin getting ready to hit the road.

 Last minute jobs were completed.

The RV was Cleaned......and my special carrot cake 

was made

as we all began to say "goodbye" the night before Ed and Theo left.  You can see that nobody liked it.

And then it happened, the morning to leave arrived, and it was not easy, so stop for one last pix we did:  Goodbye Yosemite

BIBLE VERSE OF THE MONTH:

2 Timothy 1:7

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self discipline.

Carry that with you until we meet again.

Jan: closing the Yosemite chapter...Next up:  Along the way:

The California Poppy was in bloom