Calico, Yosemite and Sonoma

On June 25, Donna Sue flew back to Vermont for some elective outpatient surgery.  Her flight from JFK to Burlington was canceled, so she ended up taking a taxi into Manhattan, spending a night in a hotel, then taking a bus to Albany where Joshua picked her up and drove her to Burlington in time for her pre op physical.

I took two days to drive back to Phoenix to finally get our awning repaired on the camper.  It only took six months to get the awning.  Temperature was around 110 the three days I was in Phoenix.  Needless to say I spent most of my time indoors.  Did go to a Diamondbacks baseball game.  It’s nice going to see a game where I’m not invested in which team wins or loses.

On the way back from Phoenix I camped at the Calico Ghost Town near Barstow, CA.  Got up early the next morning and toured the ghost town before it opened, then drove to a campground outside of Yosemite.  The next morning I was up early and drove to Yosemite to hike to Glacier Point, Illilouette Falls, Nevada Falls and Vernal.  It was a long, hot day of hiking, but the views were incredible.

After Yosemite I headed to a regional campground in Sonoma County.  Did some wine tasting and visited the Jack London State Historical Park.

Donna Sue returned to California on July 6 and we headed to the southern coast of Oregon the next day.

Calico Ghost Town Photos

Yosemite Photos

                           Nevada Falls

.                            Vernal Falls

.                        llilouette Falls

.                          Nevada Falls

Jack London Historic State Park Photos

Jack London and his second wife, Charmian Kittredge, lived in this cottage the last ten years of his life.

This was their living room.

Charmian's bedroom

Jack's study 

Some of the stone barns on the farm.

The Pig Palace.  Jack designed this circular "condominium" for pigs. Each family had their own sun porch, enclosure, and shady backyard.

The House of Happy Walls built by Charmian after Jack's death to house their memorabilia.

The Wolf House - a large stone and redwood mansion built by Jack and Charmian.  Unfortunately it burned down two weeks before they were going to move in.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fairbanks (July 2024)

Image
Our next stop was Fairbanks.  We visited Gold Dredge #8, the Museum of the North, and Pioneer Park.  We took a riverboat ride on the Chena River with a stop at Trail Breaker Kennel, the kennel started by four time Iditarod winner, Susan Butcher, and a recreated Chena Indian Village.  We also had dinner with my cousin Jane and her husband, Jim, long time Fairbanks residents.  And as you might have guessed, we did manage to see a moose cow and calf in a pond in the Chena River Recreation Area. But first the pipeline: Gold Dredge 8.  Later in our trip, we got to see exactly how these monster floating machines transformed the landscape in Dawson.  They scooped up the gravel at the bottom of a stream bed, sorted out the gold, and dumped the remaining gravel in a long serpentine pile behind.  The last photo in this group shows a bit of these long piles of gravel in Dawson. Dinner with my cousin, Jane, and her husband, Jim, on the Chena River. Museum of the North - If you ever visit Fairbanks
Read more

Houston and Waco, TX

Image
Our next stop on our journey was Galveston and Houston, TX. Here is a shot of the brand new Carnival Jubilee starting its maiden voyage in Galveston. And an older ship in Galveston harbor. We spent a day at Space Center Houston.  This is the actual 747 which flew the space shuttles across the country.  The shuttle on top is a mockup. Photos of Mission Control for the Apollo missions. Photos of the Astronaut Training Facility Photos of actual Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsules that have been to space. We happened to be in Houston for the opening day of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, so we decided to go. And then a trip to the Heritage Museum in Sam Houston Park in downtown Houston.  These are relocated historical buildings from as early as 1805. Then we headed to Waco to visit with our  friends Bill and Joyce Green. Photos of the Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco. Photos at the Waco Suspension Bridge constructed in 1870 for cattle drives on the Chisholm trail to use as they crossed the
Read more

Anchorage (June 2024)

Image
We made it to Anchorage on June 26.  We camped at Bird Creek Campground on the Turnagain Arm south of Anchorage. Here are more photos from the Turnagain Arm. On Friday, 6/29, we drove to Whittier and took the 26 Glacier Cruise.  Prepare yourself for lots of photos of glaciers. And the glacier calves Note the boat in the photo below On Sunday we went to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center Ben and Grace joined us Sunday night and on Monday we headed to Seward and Kenai Fjords National Park, but that will be my next post.
Read more