CALIFORNIA HERE WE COME!

 

September 17-23, 2013

For many years Dave has talked about going to central California, finally we're doing it.  He was in basic training in 1967-68 at Fort Ord, near Monterey, and wanted to go back to that area.   Dave absolutely loves big trees, and since biggest are the giant Sequoias in California, that gave us a second reason to make the trip. 

 



As I write this I'm sitting in our beautiful hotel room, drinking decaf, Dave is snoozing in bed, the fireplace is burning, a light breakfast will be delivered shortly. and I'm listening to the squawking of seagulls, the barking of sea otters and harbor seals, and the crashing ocean waves.  Not a bad way to start the day!  Picture was taken from our balcony just before dawn today. (Thursday).  Our route is Fresno-Monterey and Carmel, Yosemite Nat'l Park, back to Fresno, then Sequoia Nat'l Park.  All are on this blurry (best I could do) map.

 

 

Day One, Tuesday, January 17

We flew out of Fargo at 6:30 a.m., 3 hour layover in Salt Lake City, arrived in Fresno, CA, drove to Madera where we spent the night.  Our first impression, and it was a surprise, is how arid this area is.  We flew over circular green areas that were obviously irrigated, then as we got closer to Fresno much larger rectangular irrigated farms.  The temp was in the 80s, and we were the only people not wearing shorts and flipflops!  We knew this area is where lots of our vegetables and fruit are grown, but didn't realize it was all irrigated.

 

Day two:  We enjoyed the 3 hour drive to Monterey, seeing the different crops grown here, arid hills, low mountains, a huge smoke cloud (maybe from the Yosemite fire?), finally the ocean.  Along the way were groves of almond and walnut trees. 

 

 

We drove through miles of parched hills of grazing land, saw some cattle who have to work pretty hard for their meals.  We'll try to get a shot of the irrigated row crops on our return drive.









 

A mini-detour to a state park reservoir and a visit with the ranger was interesting.  It seems California, too, is actively checking boats for zebra mussels.  Who knew.... 

 

 

Prairie dog village in the park.  It's hard to tell the dogs from the lumps of clay.

 

We arrived in Monterey late morning, allowing plenty of time to check out the wharf and the sea lions.  They small pretty bad and have a loud bark. 

Hundreds of sea otters, sea lions and harbor seals lounging on the rocks.



Catchin' some rays.





Snoozing in the sun,

Playing in the ocean.
 

The famous Seventeen Mile Drive from Monterrey to Carmel was fabulous.  This is a hole in the Spy Glass Golf Course. You wouldn't want to overshoot this one!

Dave standing in front of the tee box.



 Carmel is a cute, old, crowded little town, with a quaint downtown full of boutiques.  Were I with anyone but Dave, there would have been serious shopping done.  We settled for lunch at a bakery (photo below) that had an amazing array of pastries.

Day Three:  Thursday
Our hotel is about a 10 minute walk down Cannery Row from the Monterey Aquarium.  Cannery Row is loaded with boutiques, restaurants, bars, historic murals, and lots of great people watching!







The Monterey Aquarium is an amazing facility.  Even though I don't think people should restrict in any way the movement of wild animals and fish, I did enjoy the day there.

Crab on a rock and colorful fish.

Octopus on glass window.

 Penguins are small, just over 1 foot tall.





The sea otters were great fun to watch swimming and playing, but were difficult to photograph, but Dave got a couple decent shots.

 

 

 





 

An adult sea otter weighs about 50 lbs. and eats 25% of his/her body weight each day.  That's the equivalent of a 50 lb. child eating 37 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day!  They think ice chips are a treat and float on their backs with paws in the air to keep warm.

 

Many fish and other sea creatures live among kelp.  Here's what it looks like floating on top of the water, not pretty.

 

 

The glassed in kelp bed, filled with fish, was fascinating to watch.  If you look close you'll see a small leopard shark.

   I just learned how to use the video on the camera, so it's the best I can do.Diver feeding fish.

 

 

This white swirl is a school of sardines and anchovies.  Pizza anyone?

Wave crash!  This is what happens when waves come into shore.  (I was told I had to have my picture taken, so this is what I picked.)

 

 



The view from the restaurant where we had dinner last night.  We had an amazing seafood meal:  coconut prawns & tomato ginger soup for me, swordfish and death by chocolate cake a la mode for Dave, and the best fresh vegies ever for each of us.

 

The seagull who greeted us each morning 

 

 

and this wonderful moonrise that tucked us in each night.

 

 

Day four, Friday:  This is a day in the car, getting from the coast to western California and Yosemite.  We had planned to drive many miles of Big Sur, then head west.  But....Big Sur was MUCH more difficult and slow to drive than we had expected.  The rocky coast was beautiful, but the road was straight up mountain on one side and straight down into the ocean on the other (the side we were on), not our kind of driving.  We drove about an hour and a half, then had to turn around and head for Yosemite.  A few shots of Big Sur, which don't begin to do justice to the rugged beauty of the coastline.

 

 

 

We spent the night in Mariposa.  Talk about contrast:  in Monterey we were in a 4 star hotel with an electric fireplace in our room and a balcony overlooking the Pacific.  Last night we stayed in a basic 1960s roadside motel that needs updating.  But then, it cost $225 less per night.

 

Saturday, Yosemite

Yosemite Park was created by Abe Lincoln and Congress in 1864, in the middle of the Civil War.  It is stunning!!!  All morning it threatened to rain, and about 2 o'clock it finally started raining and rained the rest of the day.  Sadly, that affected the quality of our photos.  Rock climbing is a big deal in Yosemite. Climbers must bring with them on the climb everything they need, including one gallon of water per day per climber.  Some climbs take more than one day.  When that happens, the climbers sleep in hammocky things attached to the rock wall with spikes and spend the night.  No sleepwalkers allowed!  El Capitan, pictured here, is one of the most popular climbs. 

A couple shots of Yosemite, taken between rain showers.





We took an 8 1/2 hour bus tour through the park.  There was much to see and a lot to learn. 

 

Dave

Betty and a tree people used to drive through.

Sequoia trees are the largest living things on earth.  They can live for 3,000 years and grow as tall as 300 feet.  A sequoia can live through multiple forest fires without being seriously damaged.  We tried to get people in the photos to put the size of the trees in perspective.

Clothespin Tree

Each of us was given one of these attractive ponchos to help keep us dry.  This picture makes me look like I've had waaaaay to much to eat this trip.  It's really the wind making my poncho billow out.

 

Tomorrow we're off to Sequoia Nat'l Park, hopefully for a brighter day and better pictures.

 

Sunday, our last day before heading home.

Today we drove to Sequoia Nat'l Park, another stunning park! Sequoia is less-developed than Yosemite with fewer campers, rock climbers, and people. This has been a trip filled with photo ops.  Unfortunately, Friday, yesterday and today were cloudy and foggy, not the best.  The drive from Fresno to Sequoia is about 65 miles, through dry flat land, layers of hills-foothills-mountains, and finally the park.

 

 

 

 

Sequoias are the biggest trees on earth.  Redwoods, first cousins, are taller, but sequoias are bigger around and heavier.  They grow only on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.  The largest tree on earth, the General Sherman, is 275 foot tall, weighs an estimated 1,385 tons, its circumference at the ground is 103 feet, and it is estimated to be 2,200 years old!  Sequoia sap is water-based, so they don't burn, which is why they live so long.  They grow alongside sugar pines and white oak trees.  

 The two reddish trees are sequoias.  The General Sherman is the huge tree on the left.  The black A-shape is where it has been burned over the years. 

 

If the sign of a great trip is not wanting to go home, this was a fantastic trip!  We could have easily spent another day at Monterey-Carmel, and another day at Yosemite.  Dave has been fascinated by big trees as long as I've know him, and seeing sequoias was a major reason for this trip. It seems fitting to end with a picture of Dave with the largest tree on earth!