Posted by Karen on 31-Jan-2010
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Lori and I went to Yosemite Valley to spend the weekend under the Full Wolf Moon, the biggest and brightest full moon of the year. From the Farmers’ Almanac:
Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for January’s full Moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon.
On the way down Friday, we stopped at a vineyard and tried to capture the rows of bare grape vines and the precise line of trees behind it. We also stopped to look at a camping trailer I was interested in, so we didn’t arrive at Yosemite until slightly before sunset. We went up to Tunnel View to watch the sunset, which was fairly ordinary, but then the full moon started rising behind Half Dome and that was very extraordinary. For sleeping, we’d rented one of the Curry Village heated cabins and I must say, the heaters in those cabins are excellent.
Saturday morning, we walked over to the Happy Isles Bridge and photographed the Merced River and then we headed over to Yosemite Falls, Ahwahnee Meadow, Sentinel Bridge and just photographed away. We decided to spend sunset and moonrise on Sentinel Bridge, photographing Half Dome and the Merced River. We met a few other hardy souls out there with their cameras too and we all chatted and laughed away even though it was near freezing out there. We saw a little avalanche fall from Half Dome and I got a few pictures of it, which was kind of exciting. After the sun set, a huge cloud of fog settled over the horizon and even though it was the biggest and fullest moon of the year, we couldn’t see it rising, just the illumination of it behind the fog. Okay, time for pizza and warmth.
Sunday morning, we checked out the visitor center and the Indian Museum and met an old Indian woman weaving baskets in the traditional style. At Valley View, we met a couple of crows that were more than eager to pose for us, so of course we had to oblige them and take their photograph. As we headed for home, we stopped for one last waterfall on Cascade Creek, and then headed home after a really nice weekend.
Posted by Karen on 05-Jan-2010
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We have been socked in by fog for days and days now and everything is just a dreary gray. So, after going to Roseville to look at a trailer, I just kept driving right on out of town, just trying so desperately to get out of the fog for a bit. Finally, just past Auburn at 2,000 feet elevation… I’m out of the fog and free from the bleak gray for a few hours (hurray!). I explored a few side roads off the freeway and then found Yankee Jims Road, which is a nice 13 mile stretch of graded dirt road that takes you to Foresthill and that sounded like a nice way to spend some time out of the fog, so away I went. I only encountered a couple of other trucks, so it was just a nice pretty drive along the canyon and across the old 1930s Colfax-Foresthill suspension bridge. I stopped and enjoyed a waterfall along the way and then returned back to the grayness of the valley.
Posted by Karen on 14-Nov-2009
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Tersha and I took a trip southward to Bonfante Gilroy Gardens in Gilroy, home of the world famous Garlic Festival where you can get all kinds of garlic foods, even ice cream! But the garlic festival is in the summer time and the scent of garlic is only mildly in the air. Gilroy Gardens is a horticulture theme park that was a labor of love for tree lover Michael Bonfante, the park’s creator. The unusual “circus trees” were the inspiration for the park. The circus trees were dozens of trees that had been grafted into various shapes starting in the 1920s. The park contains numerous garden areas and gentle theme park rides like a train ride, swan paddle boat rides or an antique car ride, that meander through the gardens. The park’s Middle Earth celebration was underway on the day of our visit and the bridge we crossed entering showcased displays made by local organizations. Across the bridge we went, past the carousel and took a ride on the Big Red Engine Company train to get an overview look at all the gardens. We disembarked the train and then wandered through the various areas of the park: Bonfante Falls, Pinnacles Rock Maze, Coyote Lake, Claudia’s Garden and finally the Monarch Garden. This park is extremely kid friendly and all the kids seems to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. We’ll be heading back shortly to enjoy their park at night during their Holiday Lights shows.
Posted by Karen on 26-Jul-2009
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I joined Tamara and the The Roseville-Rocklin Hikers Meetup Group for a hike to Pilot Creek Falls, also commonly known as University Falls. The falls are located in the area of Quintette, which is nothing more than an town sign on the main road, although I’m sure there are house back there somewhere. The trail down is mostly a fire road, running next to a water flume and is nicely shaded. Even though the trail is posted against vehicles, along the way I saw several cars and trucks crashed off the side and could only think, this is what happens when you try to 4WD beyond your abilities. The falls are three smooth rock dropoffs that allow you to slide down them and drop into a nice deep cool pool at the bottom. After a nice lunch at the falls, I headed back up slowly in the heat of the day; even with shade, 100?F is pretty warm hiking.
GPS Stats: • Odometer: 5.98 miles • Total Time: 4:58 • Moving Time: 2:00 • Moving Average: 3.0 mph • Overall Average: 1.2 mph
