The Alabama Hills, Part One (August 27, 2021)

Hundreds of films, mostly Westerns, have been made in the Alabama Hills, a rocky wasteland at the base of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains.  One of the geographic features is the Mobius Arch.  Papa Tom is on the trail.

Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the Lower 48 at 14,505 feet, towers over the Alabama Hills.  The smoky haze is from wildfires in Northern California.

The Mobius Arch very artistically frames Mt. Whitney. And P. Tom! 

Surrounded by silence and open air invites short meditation.

We had to scramble up the rocks to sit inside the arch.

Kennedy Meadows (August 26, 2021)

If you saw or read "Wild," about Cheryl Strayed's trek of the Pacific Crest Trail, you probably know about Kennedy Meadows.  The PCT starts in Campo, at the U.S./Mexico border, and runs north 2,650 miles through the Sierra Nevada mountains to the U.S./Canada border. Most hikers need the entire snow-free season of 5 months to cover the distance. At 703 miles from the southern terminus, the Kennedy Meadows General Store is one of the few places along the trail for provisions. But only load up on what you can carry!  Total elevation gain/loss for a northbound thru-hiker is 489,418 feet of climbing and 488,411 feet descending.

We logged in as day hikers.  Had to put those feet on the PCT in honor of our several years ago dream of traversing the John Muir Trail with Amon.  The 211-mile-long JMT runs from Yosemite Valley to Mt. Whitney, following the PCT for 170 miles. This is for you, Amon.  May you fulfill our dream.

No wheels allowed, horses either (prohibition not pictured). Looks like hikers are in!

Kennedy Meadows is the demarcation between the Southern California desert and the high Sierra Nevada passes.  Couple of planks resting on that bottom bar and I could get my wheels right over.

The trail was rocky and dusty.

The South Fork of the Kern River was mostly mud dotted with shallow pools like this one. Not surprising in late August given California's long drought and the fact that the river is fed by snow melt from the mountains.

Muddy river bottom

We finished the day at our HomeAway in nearby Lone Pine.

 

Crossing the SIerra Nevada mountains (August 26, 2021)

Wildflowers and wildfire scars on Sherman Pass.  We weren't sure if the road would be open.  We called the fire station in Pine Flat before we left to find out which roads across the mountains were still open, given road closures due to wildfires.  The two-lane road, closed once snow falls, took us over the south fork of the Kern River.

Diseased/damaged trees being thinned out to reduce fire danger.

We heard the chainsaws before we reached the crew with their truly portable port-o-let.

Waited and watched while the crew sawed the log into pieces to clear the road.

Micah knows all about the Skidder.  Great machine for moving logs in a hurry!  Then we were on our way.
 

Our HomeAway in the woods (August 26, 2021)

Our HomeAway in Pine Flat, just outside California Hot Springs.  Our first night, we were enjoying the moonlight and a coyote howling up the mountain, when we heard a rifle shot. No more howling at the moon.  

Doorbell but no internet. 

In front of the house was a delightful trail with identifying markers on the trees.

Leaving Pine Flat.  In September, residents were evacuated due to an encroaching wildfire.  I contacted our HomeAway host and found out no homes burned and all people were safe.  Thank goodness.
 

General Grant sequoia grove (August 25, 2021)

In 1872, the Gamlin brothers built this cabin on what was then their 160 acres of timber land and is now inside the protected Sequoia National Forest.

The brothers quartered here until 1878, grazing cattle in the mountains.  After the national park was established in 1890, the US Cavalry used the cabin as a storehouse.

The stump is all that is left of the giant sequoia that was 24 feet in diameter.  Two men spent 9 days cutting it down in 1875.  The outer shell of a 16-foot section of the tree was exhibited at the Philadelphia centennial in 1876.  Easterners couldn't believe a tree could be that huge and called it the "California hoax."

Tom is inside the downed giant sequoia, called the Fallen Monarch.  Native Americans used it as shelter.  From 1868-1870, it housed a hotel and saloon. The Gamlin brothers lived in it from 1868-1872.  In 1876, the US Cavalry used it as a stable for 32 horses.

Wildlife at the edge of the parking lot.  I wonder what kind of leaves the deer is nibbling?
 

General Grant giant sequoia (August 25, 2021)

Almost impossible to tell its size from the photo, but the sequoia named General Grant is 258 feet high, 40 feet wide, and 1700 years old.  I'm 62" tall.

General Grant is the second largest giant sequoia tree in the world. The largest seqouiadendrum giganteum in the world is the General Sherman (275 feet high/2,000 years old), a 71-mile meandering drive from General Grant.  Firefighters wrapped General Sherman in protective blankets as September wildfires encroached.

The tree next to General Grant is actually very tall.  I should have asked Tom to stand next to it for perspective.  Notice that General Grant has a fire scar.  I couldn't find out how long ago the tree was burned.
 

Mountain Road 50 out of Pine Flat, California (August 25, 2021)

We flew from Austin to Burbank on August 24, stopping on our way to California Hot Springs at the Sprouts in Bakersfield.  We were surprised to be the only shoppers wearing COVID masks. After spending the night at a HomeAway in Pine Flat, near California Hot Springs, we took Mountain Road 50 from Pine Flat to the Trail of 100 Giants, a grove of giant sequoias. How giant?  See how tiny I look at the base of the tree?

Mountain Road 50 is a long, winding road.  No going 80 mph here!

Desert snugs up against the Sierra Nevada mountains on the west side.  The sequoias are gigantic, and so are the cacti!

That afternoon, we drove north to Kings Canyon at Kings Canyon National Park.  The canyon is the deepest river-cut canyon in the United States at 8,200 feet deep.  By comparison, the Grand Canyon's deepest point is 6,000 feet.

Boyden Cavern, inside the Sequoia National Forest adjacent to Kings Canyon National Park, was formed over 100,000 years. A survey crew discovered the cavern in the late 1800s, but it was Putnam Boyden, a logger from the Hume Lake area, who had the idea of opening it up to sightseers. In 1907, Boyden built a wooden gate across the entrance and offered tours for about 5 cents per person.  He also lived in the cavern for 10 years, getting it ready for public tours.  

At the Christmas tree inside Boyden Cavern.

Exiting Boyden Cavern. The path out is a creek bed that sometimes has flowing water in it.

The trail up/down to/from Boyden Cavern.  The hardest part of the tour!  The cavern lies beneath the 2,000-foot marble walls of the Kings Gates.

How cool is it that our rental car has a COVID plate?  When we got back to the HomeAway, we discovered that the cleaning crew mistakenly thought we were checking out that day so helped themselves to our unopened bag of chips.  Waaa!

View of the marble mountain as we left Boyden Cavern.  Made me wonder how many mountains have become marble floors, tabletops, counters, etc.
 

Happy 21, Danny! (August 24, 2021)

This is from Danny's 20th.  COVID shutdown or not, we celebrated.  Didn't get to be with Danny on her 21st.  She's now a grown-up all over the planet!  

Let the painting etc begin (August 14, 2021)

Time to paint the exterior.  I wasn't tall enough, even on the ladder, to reach the top of the A-frame over the porch.  Tom is though, thank goodness.  Power spraying followed by scraping followed by Kilz as a primer in bare spots followed by painting.  I painted the rest of the exterior, trim and all.

Our sidewalk was so grungy.  The dark spot is what I hadn't power sprayed yet.  
 

One little bee sting to the forehead (August 12-14, 2021)

I generally have a reaction no worse than a mosquito bite to bee stings.  Yes, I've been stung a few times since we began beekeeping.  But apparently the body is not down with even one sting to the face.  Here's Day 1.

So by Day 2, I could open one eye if I tried really hard.  Too bad it wasn't Halloween.  I could've been a pirate.  Argh, matey!

Almost back to normal by Day 3, thanks to Benadryl ointment and several doses of  Benadryl for kids too.  Found the hole in my bee suit and sewed it shut.
 

Happy 70, Tom! (August 9, 2021)

Happy 70 to Tom!  Just a few gray hairs....

Let the home improvements begin.  Our remodel was completed in August 2008, and we've done little sprucing up since.  It's time.  New stepping stones for starters.  Then to the front porch.
 

Meet Gardenia (August 1, 2021)

Fox saw the old mouse/hamster cage in the top of my office closet and decided it was time for a new hamster.  Meet Gardenia, named for the fragrant white bloom.

Fox made a kitty cat carrot treat for Gardenia.