Incomparable Yosemite National Park!

On Thursday, we left Mendocino for the long drive to Yosemite National Park. I was excited to show Carol one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Yosemite Valley in winter can be a daunting place. Although not as cold as Minnesota, conditions in the mountains can be harsh. I was a little concerned about the possibility of heavy snows which could conceivably keep us out entirely or even trap us in the valley once we arrived. I watched the weather forecasts carefully and was convinced we would not have weather problems. Temperatures were to remain in the thirties and forties (balmy by Minnesota standards) with overcast skies.

In May, when I traveled to Yosemite for the first time, the sight of the valley that lay before me robbed me of words. This is what I saw that day last spring.

We never quite got to see this view because, well, overcast skies in Yosemite Valley tend to come right down out of the sky and settle in the valley. Although we were unable to see many of the spectacular vistas in the valley, the fog that had settled in the valley created its own special beauty.

Things looked more like this for our two-day stay.

Carol and I like to hike a lot, and we were not going to let a little fog get in our way. So, Friday morning we were up early to walk to breakfast at the Ahwahnee Lodge, a magnificent resort built by the WPA back in the 1930's. We felt very small in the grand dining room. We had a very good and filling breakfast and then wandered the main floor taking in the grandeur of the place.

Then we were off on our first hike, to Mirror Lake. Rain sprinkled us a bit, but it was a minor price to pay to immerse ourselves in the forests of majestic pines and firs. The temperature was surprisingly mild, and before long I stopped to remove my wool sweater. Although snow covered a lot of the valley, the trail to Mirror Lake was perhaps 80% clear, with only scattered patches of snow and ice. We were rewarded for our efforts with sights like these.

The fog created its own beauty.

Near Mirror Lake

After a lunch break, we joined a ranger-led geology hike in a steady rain. The ranger pointed out a sign post with a red marker line about seven feet above the trail we stood on. He informed us that this was the flood level in the valley in 1997, when people had to be air evacuated. As the rain fell on our heads and puddles formed in the saturated ground at our feet, I began to get an uneasy feeling.

The steady rain provided artistic opportunities.

After the geology tour, we hiked the short trail to the base of Yosemite Falls. At over 2,400 feet, it is the highest waterfall in the United States.



The waters of Yosemite Creek plunge so far that they seem to disperse and merge with the low hanging clouds, becoming one with the sky. The proof that the waters do not actually disappear into the air is in the majestic sound of the falls, which can be heard throughout the valley as they meet the granite surface far below. Lying in bed at night, we could hear the distant roar.

We only spent one full day in Yosemite. On our departure day, we planned to take two morning hikes before driving to Modesto to visit my nephew, Joe, and his wife, Susan. After breakfast, we set out to climb about a thousand feet from the base of the falls to get a different look at the falls and the valley. We started out in a slight drizzle and climbed for about an hour and a half. We passed by a half dozen deer grazing just a few feet from the path. We slowed our pace, expecting the deer to scatter, but they couldn't be bothered. They paused to watch us, then returned to their meal.

A trail sign noted that there are "about sixty" switchbacks on the climb. With each twist in the trail, the rain seemed to come a little harder. Up we marched past the twentieth, thirtieth and fortieth twists in the trail. We crossed rushing streams, watching our footing and pausing often to catch our breath. The valley below appeared through thinning tree cover.

If anything, the fog was thicker this second day, and the rain certainly heavier. Visibility was close to zero when Carol announced that we had covered well more than sixty switchbacks. We decided to turn around. By the time we returned to our room, we were sopping wet, our raingear having been outmatched by the steady downpour. We decided that maybe one hike would be enough for the morning. We put on dry clothes, purchased hot cups of coffee, turned on the car heater and left the enchanted valley.

Moving Up the California Coast

Point Reyes was so lovely that it was hard to leave; but other adventures awaited us. We said farewell to Gene and Elisabeth on Monday morning and pointed the car north toward Mendocino, a new destination for us. We planned to travel through Anderson Valley, a wine region not as large or as famous as Napa and Sonoma but offering the promise of new pinot noirs, champagnes, gewurtztreminers and other wines (and if I spelled that right, then whoopee!).

Husch served a memorable pinot noir.

Scharffenberger, famous for its chocolate, serves a smooth brut champagne.

Mendocino is, in a word, funky. It's a small place right on the rocky coast, with a few nice restaurants, a post office and lots of B&Bs. The sidewalks appear from time to time in lackadaisical fashion, uneven and unforgiving to those who don't pay attention. The sidewalks and doorways are home to leather-skinned "wanderers," many of whom appear to be old hippies from the sixties.

Our B&B, the Joshua Grindle Inn, was lovely. Our second floor room had a wood burning stove and an actual view of the Pacific. Our hosts fixed really great breakfasts - fantastic omelets, moist muffins, yummy waffles.

The television was on in the breakfast room of the Joshua Grindle Inn on the morning of Tuesday, January 20. We watched the inauguration of Barack Obama with great joy. I cried as President Obama took the oath of office. What a great moment for the United States and the world.

Tuesday evening we had dinner at the Mendo Bistro in Fort Bragg, ten miles to the north of Mendocino. The bistro celebrated the inauguration and the fact that local Anderson Valley wines were featured at one of the inauguration luncheons, by replicating the luncheon's menu. It was a lot of fun.

We had another good meal, lunch after a long hike, at Sharon's by the Sea in Fort Bragg. It's crab season here on the California coast, and Sharon serves crab about eight different ways. The two we tried, a crab melt sandwich and crab tacos, were delicious. It helped a lot that we ate outside on the sun-drenched deck, a real treat for a couple of Minnesotans.

THE place for fresh crab!

When we weren't eating, we hiked our little hearts out once again, walking into a damp canyon that we guessed sees little direct sunlight in the course of a year, strolling through a forest of tall pines and firs, making tracks along miles of beaches.

We spent some time whale watching (here, and in Point Reyes also). In January and February, gray whales migrate from the Arctic Circle to the Baja Peninsula, where they will calve and mate in the warm waters before returning via the same route in March and April. Sightings are frequent during the time we were here, but Carol and I saw nary a sign of the magnificent creatures.

A bad day whale watching still has its rewards.

We did find signs of sea life on the rocks and in the tidal pools exposed by low tide.

The sea lions were skittish, but they allowed me this photo.

This starfish was much more accommodating.

Next on the itinerary - breathtaking Yosemite National Park.

One Hundred Degrees of Separation!

Carol and I stepped out the door of our home in the early morning darkness of January 16 into -26 degree temperatures. Our friend, John, was waiting to drive us to the airport for the start of our eleven-day escape from the Deep Freeze know as Minnesota. It is a good friend who gets out of a warm bed on such a morning to help his friends.

Twelve hours later, we found ourselves on the quiet streets of Point Reyes Station, California, where the temperatures hovered in the mid-70's (ABOVE zero, if you need clarification) - one hundred degrees warmer than the start of our day! We strolled among residents in shorts and short sleeved shirts, who chatted amiably with neighbors and friends. We passed a coffee shop with patrons lazing at outdoor tables with their espressos or their lattés. We were delighted to pass the market with tables of local produce on the sidewalk - avocados, tomatoes, greens, fruits.

Then we found our friend, Elisabeth, in her office; and we strolled some more. We bought locally produced cheeses that easily rivalled the cheeses of la Dordogne. Then Elisabeth closed up her office for the weekend and led us to the hillside home she and her husband, Gene, have lived in for the past six years.

Tomales Bay, as seen from Elisabeth & Gene's balcony

Tomales Bay at dawn.

Carol and Elisabeth, I should point out, have been friends since high school, and they have kept close contact through the years.

Lifelong Friends

Our friends fixed us a dinner and let us relax after our long day. For the rest of the weekend, we hiked our little hearts out, Elisabeth and Gene leading us on some of their favorite jaunts. They live on the edge of the Point Reyes National Seashore, a place rich with landscape and history.

Point Reyes Lighthouse

On the road after one of our hikes, we came across this cow with her calf,
born just moments before. We were thrilled to watch the calf take her first steps.

Drake's Bay, where Sir Francis Drake came ashore in the 16th century

We saw dozens of elephant seals.

We hiked along Ten Mile Beach.

Another view of Ten Mile Beach

We met Gene and Elisabeth's good friends, Rebecca and Carlos, at dinner at a restaurant in Point Reyes Station that served some of the best pizza I have ever tasted. The crust was exquisite! Within ten minutes we felt as if Rebecca and Carlos were old friends. We were delighted to learn that they would joint us the next evening for dinner at Elisabeth and Gene's home.

Gene, a master in the kitchen, took good care of us.

On Monday morning, our departure day, Carol and I took an early walk along Tomales Bay and then returned to fix pancakes for our hosts before we set off for our next adventure in Mendocino and the wine country of Anderson Valley. We were excited about the next phase of our trip, but I found myself promising to return for a much longer stay in Point Reyes.

I must add a final word about eating in the area surrounding Point Reyes. A new term that has surfaced in recent time is "locavore," meaning people who strive to eat locally produced foods. The term might well have been coined in Marin County. Throughout our stay with Elisabeth and Gene, we were treated to the freshest of foods from the surrounding countryside, much of it produced organically - produce, meats, seafood, dairy products (including delicious cheeses).

And finally, for those of you who followed our adventures this fall in the Netherlands and La Dordogne, we never, not once, got lost on our hikes. Thank you, Gene and Elisabeth.

Coming next - Mendocino, the northern California coast and the vineyards of Anderson Valley.