The hotel is nothing special–it’s definitely not the Ahwahnee! But the bed was comfortable, the room was clean, and it was quiet. We had a huge window next to the bed where we could look out at all the snow and admire the pine trees and sheer granite walls.

On the first night we dunked (coffee and pie) at the food court, had drinks at the Mountain Room bar, and a great dinner at the Mountain Room proper.

On day two the weather cleared up a bit, but it was still cloudy and it rained at times. We spent the entire day taking pictures as I hit all the highlights–Swinging Bridge, Curry Village, Stables, Visitor Center, Museum, etc.

On our last day the weather was gorgeous. Clear blue skies and warm(er) temperatures. Too bad we had to come home =(

Click here for pics of our trip!

So this last Sunday we drove up highway 88 to Hope Valley. We’ve been dreaming about this place since we discovered it late last year. It’s 125 miles from Manteca. It’s full of our beloved granite rocks and pine trees. It has several places to camp. And it has a great little trout stream. It’s majestic. It’s just over the crest of the Sierras so it’s technically the eastern Sierras, Yum’s favorite side. And the PCT goes right through it. So it’s a very special place.

Yum and I camped Sunday night after a long drive and a very late evening of fishing (Yum was still fishing by moonlight). If I hadn’t mentioned bears, Yum might have fished until midnight. We had a great campfire and a quick bite to eat and were off to bed, snoozing before the witching hour.

The next morning we broke camp and drove a quick 25 miles to Minden/Gardnerville. It’s amazing how close Hope Valley is to this part of Nevada. One day Yum and I will live in the Minden area, and Hope Valley will be our playground. Anyway… after breakfast we started home. We decided to take highway 4.

I knew there would be lots of places to fish, and I was right. I must have stopped the car 3 or 4 times to get out and fly fish on the way home. It was a perfect afternoon, one that fly fishers dream about. My grasshopper patterns were killing. Every other cast was granting me a strike. The top water action was incredible. I’m surprised you didn’t hear me whoopin’ and hollerin’ way down here in the city! As the late afternoon became early evening I found myself in the middle of a hatch, and those hungry little trout would snap at anything. At one point, while I was wading upstream to the next riffle, I let my line drag behind me. A brave little brookie rose and took my fly. I wasn’t even looking! Magical.

Highway 4 was the long way home, but it was worth it. I’ve only been back in the city for two days and already I wish I were back in Hope Valley.

Here are some pics of highway 4.

Dad cooked all the meals, as usual–no complaints from me. I was happy to help clean up afterwards.

Yum and I spent Sunday afternoon fishing in Tuolumne Meadows. I fly fished for a few hours and Yum used worms. We didn’t catch a single fish, let alone SEE any fish. The water level is very high and very fast–not good for fly fishing. It’s still too early in the season. The temperature needs to rise and the water levels need to fall.

Sunday night we went to the ranger campfire program, where they talked about bats again. That night we slept outside, under the stars. Yum was asleep before her head hit the pillow. I tried to stay awake–I love how bright and how many stars are visible at 8,000 feet–but I soon fell asleep too.

Monday we walked down to Yosemite Creek and spent a few hours fishing and enjoying the scenery. We absolutely LOVE the high Sierra granite. There’s nothing like it (that I’ve seen) in all the world. I haven’t been down to Yosemite Creek in about 10 years, but it was everything that I remember. Yum kept saying over and over again how beautiful it was. The water level was just high enough for some good fishing. Yum caught 6-7 fish and I caught only one. We threw them all back.

The hike back up the trail was tougher than I remembered. The 89 degree temperatures didn’t help this old man. So I had to, uh, stop and rest a few times on the walk back up!

Back at the car we went straight to Lake Tenaya, where I spent a looooooong time soaking in the crystal clear and cold water. It was shocking at first how cold the water was, but man… was it worth it. I cooled down and relaxed–enjoying the breathtaking scenery. We spent an hour at the end of the lake opposite the sandy beach (where everyone goes) and enjoyed some time all to ourselves. After a bite to eat and quick nap we drove east.

Past Tuolumne Meadows and over Tioga Pass we drove. We stopped just outside YNP at a creek along the road for some more fishing. Again, Yum put me to shame by catching manymuchmore trout than I did. We kept a few for supper. It started to rain. Crazy! It’s almost July and it’s raining really hard. It rained all the way to Olmsted Point. When we got back to our campsite we found out it hadn’t rained at all there. Sierra weather is sooo unpredictable.

Last night we opted to sleep in our tent. I’m sure we both snored, having just had a very active day, and slept soundly and peacefully. This morning after a quick breakfast we broke camp and drove home.

And the drive home was only 115 miles, done in 2.5 hours. We love living this close to Yosemite.

(No pictures this time, I was having to much fun to take out my camera!)

Sonora Pass is the second highest highway overpass in the Sierra Nevada. It’s also the last one on my list. Yum and I have traversed highways 120 4 88 50 80 70 and now 108. More red ink for our map of California! (we have a map on our wall at home with red ink tracing all the major roads we’ve traveled together)

First we stopped at Kennedy Meadow Resort. It’s a nice little place tucked away in a corner not far from the main road. There is a general store, a restaurant, a bar and many cabins and campsites by the river. About 15 minutes walk up the trail and over the hill is the huge meadow. The river flows alongside the meadow, and looks to be PERFECT for fly fishing. The water was a little high this trip, but in about four weeks it should be JUST RIGHT! I’ll be back.

Yum and I explored this area for a few hours and then continued our journey up highway 108, ever closer to Sonora Pass. Lightning arced across the sky and thunder BOOMED and echoed across the canyons and mountaintops. It began to rain pretty hard. The road became narrower and windier, and the rain turned to snow. Snow! This close to June? Yes.

It’s always amazing to me how unique and distinguishable the environment changes as I drive one of these highway overpasses. In the central valley it’s flat and hot and you mostly just see weeds and cows and farms. As you get close to the foothills of the Sierras the terrain becomes rocky and flat plateaus scatter the landscape among the plentiful oak trees and black volcanic rocks. As you climb higher you begin to see more pine trees and less oak trees. At around 5,000 feet it’s almost all pine trees and the weeds are long gone. At about 8,000 feet the trees are starting to thin out a bit and that beautiful high Sierra granite can be blinding in places. Above 8,000 feet is my favorite part of the mountains–up here it’s quieter and there are less people and the scenery is the most spectacular. On the way down the eastern side of the Sierras–no matter where it is, it’s extremely steep and jagged–there is a noticeable absence of trees and vegetation in general. As it flattens out again I’m in the high desert, and it’s hot and dry and dusty and… desert-y. And that’s pretty much how each highway goes, from west to east. And I love every inch of it.

So then. Once in the eastern Sierras Yum and I turned north on highway 395. After a quick detour on highway 89 we reached highway 50, where we drove down to Placerville and stopped at the Red Hawk Casino. Yum found $20 on the ground and was so excited she peed her pants. OK, not really. But she was super excited. She’s so cute! I love that little Yum =)

And then we went home.

Click here for pictures from our trip!

In mid-April we went swimming at Lake Camanche off highway 88.

Lake Camanche was nice and cool during that heat wave we had here in California. We finished off our evening with some gambling at Jackson Rancheria.

In late April we explored the Clark Fork of the Stanislaus River off highway 108.

Clark Fork was a nice surprise. I haven’t been up there since I was a kid. I loved all the smooth, bright granite rocks. There’s nothing like that High Sierra Yosemite-like scenery. I can’t wait to explore highway 108 some more!

That is, after the rest of road opens…

First impression: Manteca is Hayward. I see the same people, the same downtown, the same good side of town and bad side of town.

Except Manteca is 40 degrees hotter than Hayward in the summer. And Manteca is stupid cheap–rent, food, gas–everything is cheaper here.

Surprisingly, I feel quite comfortable here. It kinda feels like home (Hayward). Moms and Pops still live and do business here. The town has character. I can hang. I like it here.

I’m really liking our new apartment. It was looking awfully small with all our boxes in here on moving day. But now that almost everything is put away it’s looking much better.

I keep saying to myself, “I’m only 90 miles away from Yosemite.”

It’s been a year in Vacaville. It’s been nice. I didn’t really get a good feel for it. It was too much like suburbia to me. Caught in the middle between Sacramento and the Bayarrhea. So much for Leisure Town and the Road To Fun. It’s time to move on.

So we’re moving to Manteca, and I’m excited. 90 miles from Yosemite works pretty well for me. We’ll be much closer to fly fishing and granite rocks and pine trees.

So far I like what I see. It seems to be more of an outdoorsman’s community than Vacaville. The Bass Pro Shop in Manteca is comparable to Cabela’s in Reno. I love both places.

Our new apartment is close to downtown Manteca. I’ll scout it out, I always do. I’ll find the ‘spots’.

Two more weeks. Good bye Vacaville. I hardly knew ye.

After choosing our new apartment in Manteca this afternoon we took a drive up to Sonora and decided to keep going to Yosemite Valley.

We’re staying at Yosemite Lodge tonight. It’s warm and dry and the bed is quite comfortable. Yum is already asleep.

And son of a goose… I’m lying here in bed with my laptop and I’ve got free WiFi. WiFi in Yosemite! Crazy.

Tomorrow will be an early day. We’re going to spend all of it in the Valley taking pictures with our new digital camera–the Nikon Coolpix S560.

‘nite!

Tuesday night was our last night and I wanted a nice dinner. Well, and I wanted to do some gambling.

We drove to Reno and had a fantabulous meal at Louis’ Basque Corner, a stone’s throw from the Silver Legacy. This is the second time we’ve eaten there and both times have been awesome. You see, Yum’s grandfather was full-on Basque. And Yum loves her some good ol’ Basque food, particularly lamb. And this joint in Reno has the best lamb of all the Basque restaurants we’ve been to over the last two years.

After dinner we went to my favorite casino, the Silver Legacy. We played some slots and called it a night.

On the way home it started to snow really bad. They stopped us in Verdi, just after Boomtown and Cabela’s.

“Road’s closed,” the CalTrans worker told us. “It’s a whiteout. Multiple accidents. A semi jack-knifed and cars are piled up. No idea when it will be open.”

Shit. This is bad. We have to leave tomorrow. We have to get out of the Sierras. I have to work on Thursday! I can’t be stuck in Reno, waiting for this storm to pass. We turned around and started driving back to Reno, weighing our options.

We spent the next 2 hours at Boomtown playing craps and more slots. We decided to try one more time before heading back to Reno (to use Yum’s employee discount at the Marriott).

This time we were able to convince the guy at the chain control checkpoint to let us through. We promised that we weren’t trying to get over Donner Summit, we’re just going to Truckee.

There were times when we had to drive under 10 miles an hour, the blizzard was so bad, but we finally made it back to the cabin. And the next morning it was a blue-bird day, sunny and warm(er). The roads were plowed, highway 80 was open, and we drove home to Vacaville easily.

No pics this time, but I do have a short movie of some howlin’ wind.

BRB (be right back).