A
long break - - - although a long drive
today – good to get back on the road.
WEDNESDAY
September 23, 2015 FIRST DAY OF FALL
WEATHER: 50 clear –
bright stars in the east when I left
Burlington at 5:30 am, traveling west I saw a red dawn in the rear view mirror
– clouded up and rained from Des Moines 11am to Lincoln 2:45 pm then it stopped
for a while, poured between 5:30 and 6:30pm –
stopped for an hour then rained most of the night – no thunderstorms but
heavy rain
TRAVEL:
Burlington to Rockford to Des Moines to CAMP A WAY RV Park in Lincoln, NE. Travel of 537 miles plus 90 miles round trip
to Homestead NMon. Set up in less than 20 minutes –
drove to Homestead NM in Beatrice (bee-ah-triss), NE about 48 miles south.
An interesting drive past – Ronald Reagan’s
Birthplace – John Wayne’s boyhood home – Amana – Persia and the Bridges of
Madison County, Iowa.
CAMP A Way RV Park, 200 Camp Circle, Lincoln, NE –
a Good Sam park – WIFI excellent – sites gravel – good location – fairly level –
drainage good
224 HOMESTEAD NATIONAL MONUMENT, Beatrice, NE
I think
I meant to leave at 4 am not 5 am – I short changed this site – not enough time
– but then the weather did not cooperate either. The site commemorates the Homestead
Act of 1862. The Homestead Act offered 160 acres of public land
free to homesteaders. For over a century
the Homestead
Act fed people’s desire for land and
a home of their own. It materialized the
American Dream.
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| Homestead National Monument - Map |
With the secession of Southern
states from the Union and therefore removal of the slavery issue, finally, in
1862, the Homestead
Act was passed and signed into law. The new law established a three-fold
homestead acquisition process: filing an application, improving the land, and
filing for deed of title. Any U.S. citizen, or intended citizen, who had never
borne arms against the U.S. Government could file an application and lay claim to 160 acres of surveyed Government land. For the next 5 years, the
homesteader had to live on
the land and improve
it by building a 12-by-14 dwelling and growing crops. After 5 years,
the homesteader could file for his patent (or deed of title) by submitting
proof of residency and the required improvements to a local land office.
Twenty-five
thousand Europeans, most of them German, crossed the Atlantic in the first half
of 1862. The precise number of
immigrants who followed with the intention to ‘homestead’ or how many fist
worked in cities before the ‘land fever’ caught them is unknown.
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| Tall Grass Prairie - raining - I would have liked to walk this trail |
THURSDAY September 24, 2015
WEATHER: 68 and heavy rain at 5 am – got
sunny with a breeze – up to 82
TRAVEL:
Continued west on I-80 from Lincoln, NE to Cheyenne KOA, Cheyenne, WY –
a trip of 445 miles 7 ½ hours but gained an hour by crossing into Mountain
Daylight Time (MDT). Not much to see
except high plains along I-80 in eastern WY.
No towns, no gas stations . . .
High plains – high desert – and past a town called
Sydney along I-80 is Cabela’s World Headquarters.
JOURNEY KOA, 8800 Archer Frontage Rd,, Cheyenne, WY – just off I-80 – stone – fairly level – few trees in the
high plains – WIFI slow
WEATHER: 45 at 5 am (a one dog night) in
Cheyenne, WY - clear – highs of 82 – unseasonably warm for WY this time of year
Drove to Fort Bridger, WY Pop 325 – Fort Bridger State
Park doesn’t look inviting – drove to Evanston – 35 miles – the nearest town
for groceries.
The fossil record preserved within the Eocene Green River Formation of Fossil Basin is world-renowned. Over 100 years of intensive collecting has revealed a wide diversity of fossil fish, reptiles, birds, mammals, insects, and plants. Discoveries of new fossil species from the ancient lake sediments continue to expand understanding of the paleoecosystem.
Most notably, the quality of fossil preservation is extraordinary, nearly unparalleled in the fossil record. The quiet-water, fine-grained lake sediments, and water conditions that excluded scavengers combined to preserve articulated skeletons (all bones are in place rather than scattered). Delicate fossils, rarely preserved elsewhere, yield valuable scientific data.
Many of the fish retrain entire skeletons, teeth, delicate scales, and
skin. .
The Nature Trail is a 1.5 miles - moderate still a hike – allow 45-50 minutes to hike this one. An oasis of green aspen in a sea of sagebrush.
Today less than 1.5% of Fossil Lake is protected and managed by the National Park Service. Fossil Butte National Monument is a site that promotes the protection of this world-class paleontological heritage.
FRIDAY September 25, 2015
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| Lyman KOA Wyoming |
TRAVEL: true High Plains – went through one pass 8640
ft EL – crossed the Continental Divide at only 7000 ft EL - the West – cities with
names like Laramie and Rawlins – I-80
appears to follow the ROW for Union Pacific – plenty of wide open spaces and the skies
have not been cloudy all day. Arrived
around 1:50 pm - a 5 ½ hour drive – seemed longer 331 miles – speed
limits in NE and WY run between 75 and 80 mph on the interstates. I stay at 65
with the trailer – most trucks pass me with ease.
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| Lyman KOA office A picture from the past Don't be fooled by the pool today it's empty |
LYMAN KOA, 1545 WY-413, Lyman WY – WIFI
good sometimes, other times slow as molasses – sites gravel – some grass – not
a large KOA but more than adequate – only 6 trailers here – must be off season
There is a Rest Area at Lyman (Exit 41) and a Stop-N-GO truck stop and the Cowboy Café – none of which has much to get excited about. I did see a pronghorn (my first) at the rest area.
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| Sign at Lyman Rest Area |
SATURDAY September 26, 2015
WEATHER: 52 at 5:15 am in the middle of
nowhere (Lyman) WY- there are advantages – very clear – dry might – a skyfull
of stars – haven’t seen the Milky Way since I was in the Everglades – getting a
whole new appreciation of the Winter Sky – the north is especially full of
stars – rarely seen in SE WI – got up to the 80’s
TRAVEL:
Fossil Butte National Monument is about 50 miles north of where I’m
staying
225 FOSSIL BUTTE National
Monument, Kemmerer, WY
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| Close to the Tetons & Yellowstone but will have to wait until 2017 |
Fossil Butte
National Monument
is located between 6800 and 8100 feet elevation in the sagebrush covered hills
of rural, southwestern Wyoming. Wide open spaces, fresh air, blue skies,
abundant wildlife and, of course, some of the most incredible fossils in the
world are found here.
The fossil record preserved within the Eocene Green River Formation of Fossil Basin is world-renowned. Over 100 years of intensive collecting has revealed a wide diversity of fossil fish, reptiles, birds, mammals, insects, and plants. Discoveries of new fossil species from the ancient lake sediments continue to expand understanding of the paleoecosystem.
Most notably, the quality of fossil preservation is extraordinary, nearly unparalleled in the fossil record. The quiet-water, fine-grained lake sediments, and water conditions that excluded scavengers combined to preserve articulated skeletons (all bones are in place rather than scattered). Delicate fossils, rarely preserved elsewhere, yield valuable scientific data.
Three great lakes existed in the area of Wyoming, Utah and Colorado 52
million years ago - Lake Gosiute, Lake Uinta, and Fossil Lake. All are
gone today, but they left behind a wealth of fossils in lake sediments that
turned into the rocks known as the Green River Formation. The fossils are among the world’s most
perfectly preserved remains of ancient plant and animal life.
No one knows for sure what events led to the preservation of Fossil Lake’s
animals and plants but it is thought that calcium carbonate precipitated out of the water and fell like
a constant gentle rain to the bottom of the lake. It covered and protected some of the most
perfectly preserved fossils. Some of the
best come from what is called the 18” layer. These fossils are generally larger fish.
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| Diplomystus dentatus with Knightia in its mouth This fish couldn't swallow the larger fish - died and sank to the bottom |
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| Protorohippus a small mammal |
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| Unidentified flower |
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| Fossils on the ridge |
Fossils from Fossil Basin are located in museums around the world.
Intensive commercial fossil collecting from areas surrounding the national
monument yields tens-of-thousands to hundreds-of-thousands of fossil fish each
year. These fossil fish represent perhaps the most common articulated fossil
vertebrates for sale anywhere in the world.
There at two trails
here I hiked them both – rather steep.
The Historic Quarry Trail is a 2.5 mile loop – strenuous – it took 2 ½ hour to hike it. At the top I ran into a couple – the man was carrying a 2 yr old girl on his back – the couples 4 yr old son hiked the whole thing . . . . This Green River formation quarry was worked in the 1960’s.
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| Quarry Trail On the way down |
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| Quarry Trail 18" Layer |
The Nature Trail is a 1.5 miles - moderate still a hike – allow 45-50 minutes to hike this one. An oasis of green aspen in a sea of sagebrush.
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| Aspen Grove (Oasis) of the Nature Trail |
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| Nature Trail View from the top |
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| Nature Trail Start of the aspens |
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| Nature Trail Aspens show signs of deer eating bark |
There was also a
dirt road that led to the edge of the park – a steep climb – I have a truck so
I drove it – worth the drive.
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| View from the dirt road |
Today less than 1.5% of Fossil Lake is protected and managed by the National Park Service. Fossil Butte National Monument is a site that promotes the protection of this world-class paleontological heritage.
The first J.C. Penney
store, Mr. Penney's original homestead, and the Fossil Country Museum are
located in Kemmerer. I drove through but did not stop. The Sublett Cutoff of the Oregon Trail is
approximately 5 miles north of the monument (high clearance vehicle required),
TRAVEL: A short drive of 120 miles to Dinosaur KOA in Vernal, UT; another 32 miles Dinosaur National Park The trip through Utah was tough on my truck I think I may have travlled through millions of years of rock formations several times. A slow ride – took 3 hours – my truck was training pulling the trailer. Utah has signs along the road identifying the geologic rock layers you're travelling through - hundreds of millions of years.
The photos below are from Dinosaur National Monument's Lower Quarry Visitor Center - but you should get the picture.
Dinosaur KOA, 930 N Vernal Rd, Vernal UT. A nice park - WIFI works - there is phone service
I checked out St. James the Greater Church in Vernal, UT before I left for Dinosaur – I was disappointed – their web page indicated a full morning of masses and a 7pm evening mass, which I planned to attend. Their on-site schedule was less that fulfilling.
226 DINOSAUR National Monument, Dinosaur, CO
Dinosaur has plenty of hiking trails and back country to explore..
There was a full lunar eclipse tonight. After the auto tour I drove to the upper “quarry’ visitor center. Several large telescopes were already set up by amateurs. Pictures with the phone camera did not turn out well – but the small binoculars and camp chair that I had made it a pleasant experience. I left shortly and the eclipse was full and headed back to Vernal.
Intermittent clouds did not aid viewing. The quality of a phone camera cannot capture the actual. Clouds also blurred the view sometimes. It cleared occasionally and got a good view with a small pair of binoculars. By 8:20 pm MDT the moon was fully eclipsed.
SOUNDS OF SILENCE TRAIL - Utah
Unit - I left the trailer around 7:20 am, entered the park before 8 and started
walking the Sounds of Silence Trail about 8 am. A relatively good hike – probably
the best trail I’ve ever been ion. Some
challenges – but there is solitude and beauty.
The pictures just can’t do it justice.
I finally bought a walking stick after looking for one over half of the
US – I bought this one in Missouri. The
three point stance is very useful on this trail. – especially on the steep
declines. Unfortunately, there is no
trail guide published by NPS (a work in
progress) – too bad some interesting geology up close and personal.
There is a $10 per vehicle fee at for entry into the Quarry Visitor Center, there is no fee charged for the Canyon Area, in fact this is the last week that the Canyon Area Visitor Center will be open until spring. The tram at the Quarry Visitor Center only runs on weekends when not the summer season.
226 Dinosaur National Monument
Canyon Area Visitor Center
HARPERS CORNER SCENIC DRIVE: Journey Through Time
The 13 mile one-way, dirt track drive on the Echo Park Road was an adventure, but not like the Gauley River logging trails. This was a challenge - more for my truck than the driving -a 4000 foot decline and back up. The drive down took 1 hour – up in 45 minutes. .
TRAVEL: Vernal KOA to Hill
AFB FAMCAMP – a drive of 120
mile – 3 ½ hours. My favorite friend now
is the manual shifting on the truck – should have been using it out east but it
really makes a difference in the mountains. Passing the turns offs for Deer
Valley and Park
City and seeing Canyon
ski area brought
back some memories.
227 GOLDEN SPIKE National Monument, Ogden, UT
This is another one of those places you really have to want to visit – it’s about 30 miles west of I-15 and there is not much in between. It doesn’t look like much but I did spend an hour in the Visitor Center – some exhibits and a film. They have several other films to chose from. There are running reproductions of the Southern Central Pacific’s Jupiter locomotive and the Union Pacific’s No. 119 locomotive. There are two driving tours on the old railroad bed and the Big Fill Loop Trail that I didn’t get a chance to walk. I spent 2 ½ hours here – with the trail plan on 3-4 hours on site for a visit.
The Southern Central Pacific started from Sacramento, California in January 1863 and the Union Pacific from Omaha, Nebraska. Owner’s Collis Huntington of the So. Central Pacific and Thomas Durant of the Union Pacific influenced Congress to pass a second Railroad Act in 1864 which doubled the land subsidies but little track was laid until the end of the Civil War.
By mid-1869 the Central Pacific had crossed the Sierra and laid 200 miles of track; the Union Pacific had laid 700 miles over the plains.
In a race for land subsidies, the graders of each railroad actually passed each other in a race to grade more miles. Track was not laid on this incomplete grading. Congress finally declared a meeting place to be Promontory Summit. The two locomotives Jupiter and No. 119 – pulled up to the one rail gap left in the track on May 10, 1869. After a golden spike was symbolically tapped, a final iron spike was driven to connect the railroads.
On the Auto Tour Trails explain a lot about the construction of the road beds by both railroads. Take the time to drive them and read all the detail. Buy the trail guide from the Visitor Center.
They had crossed 1,776 miles of desert, rivers, and mountains to bind together East and West.
228 TIMPANOGOS CAVE National
Monument, American Canyon, UT
The story generally opens with a scene of a
struggling people in the midst of drought, lacking food and hope. In Romeo and
Juliet fashion, our main characters are introduced, commonly as Red Eagle or
Timpanac the Indian warrior and Utahna or Ucanogas the Indian princess.
Red Eagle desires the beautiful Utahna, and (depending on the version) will either achieve a great feat or lead her to believe he is a god in order to take her as a wife. Meanwhile, Utahna is either pursued by many for marriage, or chosen to present herself as a sacrifice to appease the gods and end the drought. The two become great lovers, but jealousy of others or Utahna's revelation that Red Eagle is not a god ends their happiness. The tale may end as jealous warriors ambush Red Eagle on Mount Timpanogos, causing him to fall to his death, and remain immortalized as the beautiful Emerald Lake. Utahna is so distraught at this news, she lies down on the mountain top and dies, hence the outline of a woman can be seen today.
walkers - people who just walk the trail for exercise were there early in the morning. They are in 'shape.'
So much for the Trail warnings - strenuous but safe. Now for some pics of the scenery and the caves.
Timpanogos was named a National
Monument
in 1922 by President Warren Harding shortly after Middle and Timpanogos caves were
discovered – hence their remarkable beauty – i.e. not defaced by tourists. The caves were connected by the Works
Progress Administration (WPA) during the 30’s by blasting connecting tunnel.s To preserve each caves unique micro-climates the tunnels are set up with air lock large refrigerator type doors.
TRAVEL: Hill AFB FamCamp to
Winnemucca KOA Utah. A 7 hour trip of 381 miles – mostly along I-80. Still 180 miles east of Reno – this is called
Nevada’s ‘outback.’ The truck got
another workout – went through Silverzone Pass EL 5,940; Pequot Summit EL 6,967;
and Golcondor Summite EL 5,159 all along I-80.
Went past Wendover and Elko.
WINNEMACCA Journey KOA: Gravel site like almost all KOAs – fairly level – not many trailers here – off season. Pleasant surprise because it is off season my deposit was refunded $9.58 – best thing to happen today. A nice KOA. WIFI works and probably the best bathhouse I've seen at a KOA - spacious, clean, inviting.
229 SEQUOIA National Park, 47050 Generals Highway &
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks lie side by side in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of the San Joaquin Valley. Activities vary by season and elevation, which ranges from 1,370 to 14,495 feet. – definitely the High Sierra – you can’t drive there but it is possible to use your feet and climb. The parks are mainly backcountry parks. Ninety per cent of the land is accessible by trail only, and none of its 2,600 lakes and ponds can be reached by motor vehicle.
Foothills EL 1370 (SEQUOIA NP)
The Foothills consist of the lower elevations of Sequoia National Park, including the South Fork area located east of Three Rivers. Oaks, chaparral, and river canyons are plentiful here in an area with more biological diversity (different kinds of plants and animals) than the conifer forests and High Sierra combined.
Giant Forest and Lodgepole EL 6409 and EL 6720 (SEQUOIA NP)
The Giant Forest Sequoia Grove is home to many of the world's biggest trees. Forty miles of trails, including the paved Big Trees Trail with wheelchair accessibility, invite visitors to immerse themselves in the majesty of the ancient grove. At 6,400 feet elevation, this area is characterized by warm days and cool nights in summer, with cold days and deep snow in winter. On October 2, 2015 the sun was shining and the temperature was between 59 and 61 degrees with little wind.
Visited the Giant Forest Museum and walked the paved 1 mile loop Big Giants Trail easy down a little tougher coming back up..
General Sherman Tree Trail. An easy ½ mile down but up is a little more strenuous – it is paved. There was a ranger program at the tree. He was good, interesting and I learned a lot. The sequoia’s and the General Sherman tree are the largest living organisms on the planet. The General Sherman and other sequoias are not the tallest, not with the greatest diameter, not the oldest but they are the largest by volume.
8am Mass at St. Joseph’s church, Selma, CA about a 25 minute
drive. The church’s congregation is a reflection
of the area – 95% Latino and 5% Anglo.
This is California farm worker country.
The priest’s homily also reflected the readings – he was good – enjoyed listening
to him. On Marriage. Bottom Line: – work through it – a promise
for life – divorce is not an option. The
pianist played a very refreshing, contemplative, “music box” piece before mass
as a prelude – he just played and played – after mass I went up to the choir
loft to ask him the name of the piece – who published it? He said he just made it up – no notes - amazing!
César E. Chávez National Monument is in the
very small town of Keene, CA approximately 30 miles southeast of
Bakersfield via Highway 58. The monument is part of a property known
as Nuestra
Señora Reina de la Paz, the home and
workplace of the Chávez family and farm worker-movement
organizations.
Visitors
are welcome at the visitor center, the Memorial Garden in which César Chávez is buried, and the small Desert Garden planted nearby, all within La
Paz. Other parts of the area are closed to visitation, as it continues to
serve as a home and workplace for his cause.
Cesar Estrada Chavez was a civil rights
and labor leader, a farm worker, a
crusader for nonviolent social change and an environmentalist and a consumer
advocate. He was born March 31, 1927
near his family’s farm in Yuma, AZ. His
family lost their farm in the Great Depression and became migrant farm workers when Chavez
was ten. Throughout his youth and into
his adulthood , he migrated across the Southwest, laboring in the fields and
vineyards, where he was exposed to the hardships and injustices of farm worker
life. He had only an 8th grade education and
worked in the field to support his family.
Chavez joined
the US Navy in 1946
and served in the western Pacific in the aftermath of WW II.
In
1962, he resigned from the CSO to found the National Farm Workers Association,
which later became the United Farm Workers of America (UFWA). For
more than 3 decades he led the first successful farm workers union in American
history achieving dignity, respect, fair wages, medical coverage, pension
benefits, and humane living conditions for hundreds of thousands of farm
workers.
1970: Most California grape growers sign UFWA contracts in the spring and summer. Chavez calls for a national boycott of lettuce after Salinas Valley growers sign contracts with the Teamsters Union to help keep the UFWA out of the fields. On December 10, the UFWA singles out Bud Antle on the lettuce boycott. Chavez is arrested and jailed for ignoring the injunction for prohibiting the boycotting Antle. Corretta Scott King and Ethel Kennedy, widows of Martin and Bobby visit Chavez in jail.
Crystal Cave
Taking
a cave tour will take almost a day in itself – unless you are staying somewhere
in the park.. After an 1 ¼ hour drive from Kingsburg, I arrived at Foothills VC and purchased an 11 am cave tour ticket
for $15 – it was another 1 hour and 20 minute drive
to the cave.
The cave tours are run by the Sequoia Natural History Association not by NPS Rangers. They do a good job. There is a ½ mile walk down to the cave entrance – about 15-20 minutes; a 1+ hr cave tour and of course the 30 minute walk up the trail. Plan at least 2 hours for the cave tour and walk. There is a difference of 320 ft in elevation from the top of the ½ mile trail to the cave.
Understanding caves provides an important lesson in the protection of the earth’s natural treasures. The Sequoia Natural History Association has operated tours and educational programs in the cave since 1983.
Crystal Cave was discovered in 1918 by two park trail
construction employees who were fishing along Cascade
Creek
on their day off. The cave entrance was
covered by vines and bushes but they felt a wind. The Park Superintendent explored the cave
with adequate materials and named it Crystal Cave. It
is the largest of 300 known caves in the parks.
It is the only one open to the public.
Stops were made in 5 larges rooms. The JUNCTION ROOM, CURTAIN ROOM, ORGAN ROOM, DOME ROOM and MARBLE HALL. Marble Hall is the largest room in the cave. It measures 175’ long, 60’ wide, and is 30-40’ high. The guide turned the lights out for longest time I’ve been on a cave tour. He spoke in the dark and explained many things about how we try to compensate, in our minds, for lack of sight – light. HE suggested, in total darkness, to pass your hand in front of your eyes – you think you see the shadow – but if another waves his hand in front of you – you do not see the image. Total lack of light.
General Grant Tree Trail is a self-guided loop of a half mile. The trail is paved. Numbered posts along the trail are keyed to a guide that I purchased at the Kings Canyon Visitor Center on Saturday – however I didn’t find all the posts. Don’t bother buying the guide.
Like US Battleships, some trees in the Grant Grove are named after states: Indiana, Arizona, Wyoming, Minnesota, Georgia, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Connecticut, the Michigan log, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Vermont, Delaware, Maryland, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nevada, California, Oregon, New Mexico, Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey Florida, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
Panoramic Point is up from the Kings Canyon VC, turn right at the John Muir Lodge and up to a trail head. A short trail – I think the drive was longer – a lot of the back country was covered in clouds – could have seen more on a clear day. By this time it was past 4 pm and I thought I’d head back to the trailer. Another full day in the parks.
Congress Trail starts at the General Sherman Tree and makes a pleasant 2 mile loop through the sequoia grove. The trail took about 1 hr and 20 minutes to walk but this also includes the down and up of the General Sherman Tree Trail. Surprisingly, this trail was paved. Congress Trail? Now it makes sense, it passes, the Presidents Tree, the Senate group of sequoias, the House group and the William McKinley tree. It was 53 degrees and a very pleasant walk. You could spend almost two full days walking the trails in the Giant Forest.
Moro Rock – a last minute add-on. A narrow paved road veers off north from The Giant Forest Museum to a number of sites. The trip is worth the ride and the walk along the Moro Rock Trail, which includes 350 steps is worth the walk. However, it’s kind of like walking to Diamond Head (Hawaii) or Clingman’s Dome (Great Smokies) – nice view and after that – you can say I did it. This is a climb of 300 vertical feet.
The road to Moro
Rock ends at Crescent
Meadow. I drove through Tunnel Log.
If time would have permitted, I
would have walked the 1.6 mile Crescent Meadow/Log MeadowTrail.
A number of other trails converged or pass through here.
232 POINT REYES National Seashore,Point Reyes Station CA
This
NPS site sits on the San Andreas Fault and en emphasizes recreation: Horseback
Riding, Cyling, Hiking. Backpacking, Birding – Geology is addressed by the
Earthquake Trail – most of the rest of the park focuses on animal life –
particularly sea life.
Marine biologists have identified nearly a third of
all known marine mammal species in the waters surrounding Point Reyes. Blue whales and humpback whales feed here during spring and summer
months. Gray whales migrate past our shores twice a year on their round trip
from Alaska to Baja.
Either I’m a little early or way late. At Point Reyes National Seashore, the peak of the southern migration for gray whales, usually occurs in mid-January and that of the northern migration in mid-March. Late April and early May afford the opportunity to see mothers and calves close to shore. No plans to go whale watching
WOODPECKER TRAIL –
CLOSED DUE TO TREE FALL - A rustic trail through fields and trees with exhibits on the flora and fauna of
the area. A one mile trail – steep in places.
On a lark I decided to drive to Limantour Beach and the Pacific Ocean. Point Reyes was cloaked in clouds – the seashore is a big place. Drake’s Bay is named after Sir Francis Drake who sailed here.
20 MISSION SAN RAFAEL, San Rafael, Ca
233 ROSIE THE RIVETER/WW II HOMEFRONT National Historic Park, Richmond,
CA
A rare find – this Visitor Center just opened in 2012. A small building but very adequate. You have to enter through the gate of the Ford Assembly Plant in order to get to the site. The Ford Plant made tanks during WW II.
This site was part of the Henry Kaiser’s shipyards during WW II. The whole area became a wartime production center. The city of Richmond grew from 23,000 to 130,000 in a year. There were over 747 ships, mostly Liberty and Victory ships – launched in Richmond during WW II. Kaiser’s success was due to an innovative prefabricated assembly method. This allowed inexperienced workers to perform small repetitive tasks which sped up construction and opened up more jobs for workers.
Women and
minorities eventually were brought into the work force. The Kaiser yards were among the first to
hire women. By 1944, women made up 41%
of the welders.
Kaiser was innovative and provided many firsts for workers.
MUIR WOODS National Monument, Mill Valley CA
“This is the
best tree lovers monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of
the world” John
Muir
PORT OF CHICAGO NAVAL MAGAZINE National Memorial, Concord, CA
A very nice NPS brochure does not tell you that
you need to sign up 2 weeks in advance for a tour at the John
Muir Historic Site.
234 JOHN MUIR National Historic Site, Martinez, CA
I’ve read his “A Thousand Mile Walk” which describes his walk from
Indiana to the Gulf of Mexico shortly after the end of the Civil War. He intended to walk all the way to South
America but caught a fever and eventually arrived in California in 1868. He lived in the Yosemite area of the southern Sierra
Range off and on for
several years, and studied its geology and botany/
He was ridiculed
for suggesting that glaciers carved Yosemite Valley.
Of course, he was correct. After
five years to as an active fruit rancher, Muir began his most important campaign
to preserve American wilderness. He
enraged lumbermen and sheepherders and attacked the existing notion that nature
existed only to provide commodities for
humans.
SATURDAY October 10, 2015
235 FORT POINT National Historic Site, Golden Gate National
Park, San Francisco, CA
Fort Point was built between 1853 and 1861 by the U.S. Army Engineers as part of a defense system of forts planned for the protection of San Francisco Bay. Designed at the height of the Gold Rush, the Fort and its companion fortifications would protect the Bay's important commercial and military installations against foreign attack. The Fort was built in the Army's traditional "Third System" style of military architecture (a standard adopted in the 1820s), and would be the only fortification of this impressive design constructed west of the Mississippi River. This fact bears testimony to the importance the Military gave San Francisco and the gold fields during the 1850s.
Although Fort Point never saw battle, the building has tremendous
significance due to its military history, architecture, and association with
maritime history.
Not much of a VC
but you can watch a DVD on the history
of the Presidio. I found it interesting and worth the 20
minutes. Much of the parade ground was
turned into parking lots. There is a fee
to park $1.50 an hour or $7.00 all day.
In 1915, when General
John J. “Black Jack” Pershing was on duty in Mexico his house in the Presidio burned. His wife and three daughters perished in the
blaze. Out of the tragedy, a fire
station was built, the first professional firefighters on a US Army post.
This Visitor Center is located in the former Fort Barry Chapel. A nice set of exhibits and friendly rangers. At the Presidio VC the ranger was not very helpful and the Fort Point folks were just putting in time – ruins of a 3 day federal holiday. Plenty of hikers use the place a way station.
SUNDAY October 11, 2015
Mass 8 am at OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL Church in Fairfield, CA. A large church, with a large dome hall – at least 300 in attendance. The congregation was 40-50% Asian – no surprise that the celebrant was Asian. His homily was not boring – I listened – he even made a joke or two. No school on the campus.
EUGENE O NEILL National Historic Site, Danville, CA
I checked the website which indicated this site was open today with tours at 10 and 2 - Closed Monday and Tuesday. Unfortunately NPS doesn’t leave a key under the mat for the locked gate.
Disappointing – just like my visit to Port Chicago National Memorial. Unfortunate, the NPS in very small print on its brochure says “Visits to the site are by reservation only” – Of course, you usually have to visit the site in order to get a brochure – luckily I got one at Rosie the Riveter – did not read the almost last line. I’ didn't read the fine print on the website. Unsure if I’ll make an attempt to visit here again.
Mission San Jose
was the 14th of the Alta California missions. It was founded by Franciscan Padre
Fremin Francisco de Lasuen in 1769. The site was an Ohlone village. The soil here was fertile and water was
plentiful. By 1831 the Mission Indians
numbered about 1,886.
I've been saying a
rosary for vocations at every mission I visit.
It’s quiet and I’m usually the only person in the chapel.
PACKERS 21 – RAMS 10 Pack now had a
record of 5-0. A kind of sloppy game for
both sides but it chalks up as a win. Kirby’s
Sports Bar was just a bit of unique.
8 MISSION SANTA CLARA de ASIS, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA
Mission Santa Clara, the 8th California Mission founded in 1777, was the most
prosperous mission in the north.
However, flood, earthquake and fire destroyed the mission again and
again. It was rebuilt in five different
locations.
In 1852 the missions was transferred to the Jesuits who founded Santa Clara College. The mission
church, rebuilt in 1929, is a
modern interpretation of what the church may have looked liked in 1825. It stands on the campus of the Santa
Clara University, oldest college in
California.
12 MISSION SANTA CRUZ, 144 School St, Santa Cruz, CA
238 SAN FRANCISCO MARITIME MUSEUM National Historic Park, San
Francisco, CA
The Alma is the last San Francisco
Bay scow schooner still afloat. Flat
bottomed scow carried bulk cargoes – grain, hay and fertilizer. – between Delta
farm communities and San Francisco.
The Balclutha is a square rigger
built in Scotland to haul California wheat to Scotland. It has survived because it kept working after
other vessels of its class were scuttled.
The Eppleton Hall is a tugboat built in 1904 in England.
The Eureka was built to ferry trains
across the bay. It was rebuilt in 1929
to handle passengers and automobiles.
GOLDEN GATE NRA - GOLDEN GATE PAVILION open Daily 9 am – 6 pm. I parked in a lot called Fort Winfield Scott and walked here.
GOLDEN GATE NRA - LANDS END VISITOR CENTER open DAILY 9 am – 5 pm I found the park and golf course but not the visitor center.
6 San Francisco de Asis (MISSION DELORES), 3321 16th
St, San Francisco, CA
Mission San Francisco de Asis was the 6th mission to be established under the direction of Junepero
Serra. It is popularly know as Mission
Dolores, named after a nearby stream. It was founded by Father Francisco
Palou on June 29,
1776.
This is the oldest intact mission in California – 114 ft long – 22 ft wide – with 4 ft thick adobe walls. Masses are still celebrated here. It survived the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906 with hardly any damage. Mission San Francisco was named a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1952. Pope John Paul II visited here. It was the first California mission to receive that distinction. The large basilica/church is located next door. Both are churches of the Diocese of San Francisco.
239 MUIR WOODS National Monument, Mill Valley CA
When John Muir learned that William and Elizabeth Kent were naming a redwood forest near San Francisco in his honor, he declared, "This is the best tree-lovers monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world." The couple had purchased the land to preserve its beauty and restful wilderness; and in 1908, they donated it to the federal government to protect it from destruction. Kent later served in the US House of Representatives, and in 1916 he introduced legislation creating the National Park Service.
There were still too many people - LOUD people – tourists
with no respect for the sacredness of the forest. There are plenty of trails to walk – you have
to get off the main trail to find some peace and quiet.
I took the 2 mile Main Trail Loop. It follows Redwood Creek on both sides of the stream. I took the Hillside Trail back – it is elevated parallel to the main trail –
I found less people and more quiet here.
It was cool when I started the walk.
By 10 it started to warm up quickly. The quick walk took about an hour. Total time spent in the park was 1 ½ hours –
it took 2 ¼ hours to get here. I was not impressed – Why? Like Acadia - too many
people.
The Bohemian and Cathedral Groves have the biggest trees in Muir Woods. The tallest is over 250 feet and the widest
over 14 feet. Some redwoods are at least
1,000 years old. The world’s tallest living
thing is a coast redwood in Northern California. In 2006 a redwood in Redwood National Park was measured at 379 feet. 
Muir Woods is
close to the population – too close.
Like Great Smokies National Park you
cross a line - from totally built-up commercialization to nature.
GOLF CYPRESS LAKES GOLF COURSE Travis Air Force Base – actually
this course is a little over 3 miles outside of the North Gate in the region – there are green tings that grow
there. The course is relatively flat with the water
hazards – all dried up - no surprise.
You get lots of roll on the driving range, it looks like a desert, hard,
flat, dry not so much roll on the narrow fairways. A good
sized Club House and pro shop. I shot a
54 with 23 putts and managed to find trees on the first 3 holes (there just are
not that many trees) and 2 lost balls. ..
I drove through
Napa and Sonoma Counties– plenty of places to explore. I think you could spend a couple of days
visiting wineries and not get bored.
Drove to the Benziger
Family Winery. This was a great suggestion. Like Maker’s Mark they pride themselves on family
ownership and quality. What makes Benziger unique is that it is relatively
new since the early 80’s, family business, relatively small, biodynamic-certified. The extreme of
organic. No chemicals used, everything
that is used at the vineyard is used or reused.
I learned that grapes prefer 80-100 F warmth and that the picking season
is short – depends on the type of grape grown.
Tomorrow will be the last day to pick the grapes here – at 3 am – the
height of flavor. So much more – I just
can’t write about it all.
“Due to the location of this park, all
visitors are required to take a free National Park Service shuttle from the
town of Danville to tour the historic home and grounds. Visitors are not
permitted to drive their personal/private vehicles to the site. For both
"Saturdays Without Reservations" and reserved tours, the shuttle
meets at 205 Railroad Avenue
in downtown Danville, just outside
the Museum
of the San Ramon Valley. Parking is
available next to the museum” BOTTOM LINE: Don’t be disappointed. Call ahead for an appointment before
coming here.
He ran from his
parents – his family – (his father was stuck in a role Count of Monte Christo, his mother was addicted to morphine as a result of his birth and his
older brother was an alcoholic) to Honduras, to England. He succumbed to TB and had to pause. During convalescence in Provincetown, MA he
began to write plays. His first short
play about the sea Bound
East for Cardiff was staged by a
group of amateur actors in the summer of 1916.
The five plays O’Neill wrote in Tao
House include life
studies generally regarded as his finest achievements.
GREEN BAY 27 – San Diego 20. Seemed to me another sloppy day for the Pack
– but a win. Record of 5 – 0.
240 YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Yosemite, CA
Wawona Hotel – originally advertised as One
Mile Above the Sea – A Sierra Resort Near the Mariposa Big Trees. WIFI is available but only in the Sun Room.
This hotel/resort is a collection of several buildings (cottages) with
rooms. Some have private, others have
shared baths. A nine-hole golf course,
tennis, stables, pianist, pool, hiking, history center, gift shop &
grocery, dining room, and lobby. The
décor of the dining room is preserved in the traditional style of the Dining
Room’s history – dress is casual.
Cocktails are served in the lobby and on the veranda. Short order sandwiches can be obtained at the
golf shop.
Glacier Point – a drive on 17 mile long Glacier Point Road maintained a 42 degree
temperature but with the sun out it was almost short sleeve weather. Glacier Point EL 7,214. There was snow up here. The VC here was shut down for the
season. The road is usually closed November through May.
Washburn Point – great views of the High Sierra – Nevada Fall and Vernal Fall are across the Valley.
Sentinel Dome Trail – my hike with a long sleeve t-shirt over a t shirt with a pack were warm. This is at least a 1.8 mile round trip hike. I took me at about 1 ¾ hours. The view is well worth the walk. A great palce to get a John Muir moment. This is a 400 ft gain in elevation. Sentinel Dome EL 8,122 ft – better views than Glacier Point.
Taft Point Trail – a 2.2 mile round trip hike – again about 1 ¾ hours. Giant fissures in the rock here are at the edge. At times the walk in the woods was more like Muir Woods should have been than Muir Woods was itself. Supposedly only a 200 ft gain in elevation but maybe that’s 200 up then down than up again and the return seems more up than down. Taft Point EL 7,503 ft.
Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center – CLOSED FOR THE SEASON
Tioga Pass Entrance Station EL 9,945 ft and Tioga Peak EL 11,528 ft – rangers were manning the entrance station. It was cold and I didn’t stop to locate Tioga Peak.
241 DEVILS POSTPILE National Monument, Mammoth
Lakes, CA
Devil’s Postpile is on the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River on the Sierra Nevada’s western slope. EL 7.560.
It clouded up when I approached Tioga Pass and covered Mona
Basin. However, when I finally got to Devil’s
Postpile it was sunny.
Erosion and earthquakes
felled many of the columns that lie fragmented on the talus slope below the
postpile.
Got on the shuttle,
mailed some postcards, back on the shuttle and lunch at the Awahnee
Hotel. Built in the 20’s a very nice hotel. Lunch was delicious: tomato-mushroom bisque,
bread and a glass of chardonnay at an outside table.
TRAVEL: Yosemite’s Curry Village to Big Oak Flat Entrance to Hetch Hetchy Entrance (I was the first day use visitor) to Travis AFB - a 4 hour return tirp with about 1 3/4 hour at Hetch Hetchy.
240 YOSEMITE National Park
The modern valley
name is derived from the Miwok word, hatchhachie, which means edible
grasses. As early as 1882, Hetch
Hetchy Valley had been looked at
a as a potential site for a new reservoir.
Preservationists,
led by John Muir, wanted the valley
to remain untouched. They maintained
that a dam could be secured outside “our
wild mountain parks.” For the first
time in the American experience, a national audience considered the competing
claims of wilderness versus development.
Until the early 1900’s Americans
viewed wilderness as something to conquer and natural resources as
infinite. John Muir lost his fight to save the
valley.
Congress passed the Raker Act in 1913 authorizing the construction of a dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley, as well as another dam at Lake Eleanor. The first phase of the dam was completed 1923. The second phase raising the height of the dam was completed in 1938.
I had the spare
mounted to replace the right rear trailer tire which was worn smooth on the
outside edge. Les
Schwab has several
locations – highly recommended – they certainly know service.
242 PORT CHICAGO NAVAL MAGAZINE National Memorial, Concord, CA
REMEMBERING THE FALLEN
5 pm Mass at St. John the Baptist Parish (Mission San Juan
Bautista) San Jaun Bautista, CA. I left
Martinex around 3:15 and got to San Juan Bautista just in time for the 5pm
mass. The priest was Irish – the accent
gave him away. There was a Franciscan or
two on site – perhaps not priests they attended Mass. The museum closed at 4:30 pm – beautiful
garden and grounds.
15 MISSION SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, 406 2nd St, San Juan
Bautitista, CA
Named after John
the Baptist, this church sits on the only original Spanish
plaza remaining in California.
Mission San Juan Bautisita was founded on June 24, 1797.by Father Fermin Lasmen. This was the last of the 6 missions founded in the land of the Ohlone. There were at least 28 Ohlone villages in the area surrounding San Juan Bautista.
The earthquake of
1906 collapsed the outside walls of the side aisles but the nave was still
standing. The church remained that way
until 1950 when the outside walls were rebuilt.
During 1975-76 the arches separating the side aisles from the nave were
opened up and today the church looks the way it was intended.
I ran into a lot on people on the trail but there were stretches were there was no one. I took a lot of pictures – impressed with the scenery and where I was, was going, and had been.
Pinnacles, has a different type of cave in structure than
the traditional Karst topography cave formation. The talus caves of the Park
were formed when steep, narrow canyons filled with a jumbled mass of boulders
from the cliffs above. The canyons are the result of faults and fractures in
the central area of volcanic rock. These shear fractures filled with gigantic
toppled boulders are clear windows into the geologic wonder of the Park.
2 MISSION SAN CARLOS BOROMEO del RIO CARMELO, 3080 Rio Rd, Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA
The Native American
population of converts reach 876 in 1795
but by 1808 only 550 converts were living in the mission. In 1818 Hippolyte
de Bouchard, working for Argentina landed at Monterrey and burned the
Presidio, the mission was spared. Spain
was at war with Argentina.
13 MISSION NUESTRA SENORA de la SOLEDAD, 36641 Ft. Romie Rd, Soledad, CA
In 1824, 1828 and
1832 floods destroyed the church and rebuilt chapels. The roof of the 1832 chapel collapsed in
1874. The chapel was reconstructed in
1955 – making Soledad the last of the missions
to be restored. The Convento was reconstructed in 1963. It now serves as a museum. Very quiet here – in the middle of large
farming plots – lots of land not many people.
On the return I tried to locate the commissary – no luck. I did drive through the remains of Fort Ord. Fort Ord was home to the 7th ID (Light Fighters). It was closed in 1994. What I drove through is now University of California – Monterey. I did gain entrance to the Naval Post Graduate School – Naval Facility Monterey. They have a small exchange. I bought some groceries and gasoline.
Vines RV Resort is a Sun RV Resort as well as, a Good
Sam member. This is the best RV park and site I’ve ever
been on. The site is stamped concrete,
landscaped, full hookup. The bath house looks
more like the mens locker room in a Country Club than a RV park
shower house. It has private showers
with sink and counter, a sitting room.
The only thing missing was towels, sunscreen and hand lotion by the wash
basins. Nice pool and outside sitting
area, a beer and wine bar open evenings Thursday-Sunday. Very friendly staff. Only
drawback is WIFI – slow –
occasional.
This isn’t Sonoma
or
Napa but Paso
Robles is wine
country. I got a lead on on a place called Taste in the Alley in downtown Paso Robles.
5 MISSION SAN LUIS OBISPO, 751 Palm St, San Luis Obispo, CA
Louis of Anjou (1274-1297) was the 2nd son of Charles II of Anjou, King of Naples, and
nephew of King Louis IX of France. He joined the Franciscan
Order in 1296 and was
named Bishop of Toulouse a week later. He died within a
year and was canonized by Pope John XXII in 1317.
The mission was
secularized in 1834. The last Franciscan
Father Ramon Abella died in 1842. The
mission was sold in 1845. LTC John C.
Fremont took possession of
San Luis Obispo for the US in 1846. The mission was returned to the Catholic
Church in 1855 and a priest was assigned
Today the mission occupies a full block of downtown San Luis Obispo and is a parish church in the Diocese of Monterey.
3 MISSION SAN ANTONIO de
PADUA, End of Mission Rd, Jolon, CA
Founded July 14,
1771 by Junipero Serra. It was 3rd of the 21 California Missions.
The mission
developed rapidly due to the leadership of tow Franciscan padres. The mission was visited by Juan de
Anza in 1776. The arrival of de Anza also meant that a new road from
Mexico to California was open.
In 1790 there were
1,076 native converts living in the mission.
The number increased to 1,296 in 1805.
There was a high death rate primarily due to the introduction of
European diseases, poor diet and sanitation and crowded living conditions.
The mission was
secularized in 1834. The mission lands
were sold but the mission never attracted a buyer. The Catholic Church received title to the
mission and 33 acres of land in 1858.
16 MISSION SAN MIGUEL ARCANGEL, 795 Mission St, San Miguel, CA
Michael the Archangel is one of the principal angels in the Bible. He is usually represented as an angelic
warrior and ready to do battle with the devil.
Most converts of
this mission were Salinan who lived in the
central coast and the Salinas River Valley.
San Miguel was secularized in 1834. The mission was sold in 1846; the church and 34 acres were returned to the Catholic Church in 1859. It was returned to the Franciscans in 1928 and is a parish church of the Diocese of Monterey.
HEARST CASTLE: This stop was an absolute joy. It
was less than a hour drive over the coastal range. I spent 5 hours on site. Tours a bit pricey. I took the Grand Rooms and the Upstairs Suites Tours. Each cost $25. I also watched a 45 minute IMAX film entitled
Building The Dream – the story of building the house on the hill. You need to purchase at least one tour to get
to the house and see the film. If you
come here plan on a day. Hearst Castle
is about 40 minutes NW of San Luis Obispo; almost the same time/distance to
Paso Robles.
The focus was on
the house as a museum – not on Hearst’s life or the building of his empire and
riches. My photos will not do the
house/museum justice.
William was the only
son of George Hearst who as a lead minor from Missouri traveled to Nevada/California in
search of gold. He never found gold and
it wasn’t lead but silver. In 1859 his
hunch on ore turned out to be silver – the Comstock Lode. He knew rocks and invested in the gold mines
of Dakota and the Anaconda Copper Mine of Montana. William (born 1863) went on a world tour
(Europe) for 1 ½ years with his mother when he was ten. He developed a lasting appreciation of
Mediterranean art.
Hearst has a huge collection of whole ceilings, tapestries, Greek vases, and Spanish silver. Many of these were used in the construction of his house on the hill. Morgan had to be patient – Hearst came up with ideas and almost always changed his mind. For instance the Neptune Pool started out as a family swimming pool and after it was built and redesigned 3x the final from finally stayed.
SUNDAY September 27, 2015
WEATHER: 52 at 4:45 am - partly cloudy – setting moon - mostly sunny. Temp while traveling hardly got above 80 but the temp of the truck's transmission fluid reached over 200 at least twice - it worked hard. Up to 85 in Dinosaur - dry heat.
 |
| Somewhere in Utah after I had travelled through millions of years of rock layers - My truck got tired pulling the trailer - I was way down there |
TRAVEL: A short drive of 120 miles to Dinosaur KOA in Vernal, UT; another 32 miles Dinosaur National Park The trip through Utah was tough on my truck I think I may have travlled through millions of years of rock formations several times. A slow ride – took 3 hours – my truck was training pulling the trailer. Utah has signs along the road identifying the geologic rock layers you're travelling through - hundreds of millions of years.
The photos below are from Dinosaur National Monument's Lower Quarry Visitor Center - but you should get the picture.
Dinosaur KOA, 930 N Vernal Rd, Vernal UT. A nice park - WIFI works - there is phone service
I checked out St. James the Greater Church in Vernal, UT before I left for Dinosaur – I was disappointed – their web page indicated a full morning of masses and a 7pm evening mass, which I planned to attend. Their on-site schedule was less that fulfilling.
226 DINOSAUR National Monument, Dinosaur, CO
There is plenty to do at Dinosaur National Monument - possibly 3 days or more. The monument contains famous fossil finds,
dramatic river canyons, intriguing petroglyphs, and endless opportunities for
adventure. Challenging hiking trails, easier hiking trails, horseback riding,
river rafting, spectacular scenery. The
site spans Utah and Colorado. The
hardest part is choosing which auto tour, trail, overlook, or historic area to
explore. If I had another day here I
would have explored a day trip down the Green River.
 |
| Earl Douglass |
In 1909, Earl Douglass began digging what he thought would be his last excavation of the
summer. He was digging in a geological
layer known as the Morrison Formation. Then he noted a large prominent
bone protruding from the side of a hill.
With his brush he cleaned the surface and discovered that the bone was
attached to seven other bones. The whole
assemblage was the remains of an
Apatosaurus, a dinosaur that
roamed North America 100 million years ago during the middle of the Jurassic period.
He was financed by Andrew Carnegie and spent the next 20 years. The
site contained not only an extensive collection of bones but also specimens of
more than one-half of all the species of dinosaurs thought to have roamed North
America.
In 1915, Woodrow Wilson established Dinosaur National Monument by presidential proclamation. In
1938 Franklin D. Roosevelt increased the monuments size by over 210,000 acres. This protected not only the deep, colorful
canyons of the Green and Yampa
Rivers, but also the many
cultural features such as the petroglyphs left by the Fremont
Culture and the Josie
Bassett Morris homestead.
 |
| Dinosaur Upper Quarry Visitor Center |
 |
| This wall is huge all are real dinosaur fossils |
Dinosaur National Monument features an exhibit of more than
1,500 dinosaur fossils left as they were found beneath a large shelter, which
remains open year round. There is a tram
that takes you to the upper “quarry” visitor center – a sliding gate like “Jurassic Park.”
.
 |
| Allosaurs - Upper Quarry Visitor Center |
 |
| This explains how the Quarry Visitor Center was established |
Tilted Rocks Auto Tour is 24 mile roundtrip – it can be
done in 1 hour I took almost 3 with a couple sidetrips to the campgrounds and
hiking trails.
 |
| Stop 3 Split Mountain There's a river down there somewhere |
 |
| Stop 1 "Swelter Shelter" Petroglyphs - I'm sure Ancient Aliens used this as proof of extraterrestials |
 |
| Stop 5 The Green River cuts Split Mountian |
 |
| Stop 5 Into The Canyon Country - John Wesley Powell 1869 |
 |
| Stop 12 Elephant Toes Butte |
 |
| Stop 10 Turtle Rock |
 |
| Stop 14 Lizards |
 |
| Stop 14 Large Lizard |
 |
| Friendly Lizard A little off the trail |
 |
| Josie Basssett Morris Homestead - I walked the Box Canyon Trail |
Dinosaur has plenty of hiking trails and back country to explore..
There was a full lunar eclipse tonight. After the auto tour I drove to the upper “quarry’ visitor center. Several large telescopes were already set up by amateurs. Pictures with the phone camera did not turn out well – but the small binoculars and camp chair that I had made it a pleasant experience. I left shortly and the eclipse was full and headed back to Vernal.
 |
| Some with telescopes setting up for pictures near the parking lot of the Upper Quarry Visitor Center |
 |
| This is the moon starting to rise around 7:20 pm MDT Already the left half is in the Earth's shadow |
 |
| This is around 7::35 pm MDT You can see a distinct shadow on the left. |
Intermittent clouds did not aid viewing. The quality of a phone camera cannot capture the actual. Clouds also blurred the view sometimes. It cleared occasionally and got a good view with a small pair of binoculars. By 8:20 pm MDT the moon was fully eclipsed.
MONDAY September 28, 2015
WEATHER: 58 at 4:30 am – the moon came
back - should warm up to 80 today
SUNRISE is at 7:11 AM
TRAVEL:
Drive to Dinosaur National Monument Quarry Visitor Center, then to the Canyon Visitor Center in Colorado.
226 DINOSAUR National Monument,
Dinosaur, CO
SOUNDS OF SILENCE TRAIL - Utah
Unit - I left the trailer around 7:20 am, entered the park before 8 and started
walking the Sounds of Silence Trail about 8 am. A relatively good hike – probably
the best trail I’ve ever been ion. Some
challenges – but there is solitude and beauty.
The pictures just can’t do it justice.
I finally bought a walking stick after looking for one over half of the
US – I bought this one in Missouri. The
three point stance is very useful on this trail. – especially on the steep
declines. Unfortunately, there is no
trail guide published by NPS (a work in
progress) – too bad some interesting geology up close and personal.
First time I heard birds singing – only in a few places.- saw over a
dozen rabbits – some raptors too far away to determine what they were – a few
lizards – no wind and lots of silence.
 |
| Some of the early trail was dry wash - this looks like gully wash |
 |
| Sound of Silence Trail - this is what I started to walk into |
Only kind of got off the trail twice.
Three miles plus – took 2 hours.
 |
| Mountains to the left of me - Mountains to the right of me - Mountains to the front of me - sometimes I was in the mountain |
 |
| You can't see this from the road - I'm really in deep They don't call it Sound of Silence for nothing |
 |
| I was wondering if I would walk the smooth rocks Note the trail markers |
 |
| This is the trail |
 |
| and this is also the trail Nice |
There is a $10 per vehicle fee at for entry into the Quarry Visitor Center, there is no fee charged for the Canyon Area, in fact this is the last week that the Canyon Area Visitor Center will be open until spring. The tram at the Quarry Visitor Center only runs on weekends when not the summer season.
 |
| Canyon Area Visitor Center |
COLD DESERT TRAIL – this was a ½ mile Nature Trail
but there were no guides to review for the numbered stops and it was not well
marked – I think I easily turned it into a 1 mile walk.
 |
| All I can say is that it is possible to make two wrong turns on a trail that is not marked |
HARPERS CORNER SCENIC DRIVE: Journey Through Time
This 30+ mile drive is through the
canyon country of Dinosaur National Monument. Part of the road is not in the
park – some is in Utah – some in Colorado.
No guide for the driving tour.
Mostly uphill. There are no
fossils here. There are 23 numbered
stops – never saw one of them numbered but I did stop at every turnout of
overlook. Additionally, I took the dirt
Echo Park Road . A 13 mile excursion for
trucks (1 3/4 - 2 hours). I started from the Canyon
Area VC at noon and came back to the Canyon
Area VC at 4:45 pm. Allow at least a alf day for this trip but you could do it in
an hour or so if you never stopped. Plenty of scenery . . . .
The 13 mile one-way, dirt track drive on the Echo Park Road was an adventure, but not like the Gauley River logging trails. This was a challenge - more for my truck than the driving -a 4000 foot decline and back up. The drive down took 1 hour – up in 45 minutes. .
Roads Visited But Not Travelled
The Green River The Yampa River
Commercial partners run one and two day trips during the summer – none
after Labor Day
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
GREEN BAY 38 – KANSAS CITY
28
TUESDAY September 29, 2015
WEATHER: 52 at 6:00 am, partly cloudy – to
sunny 67 in some of the passes – 82 by the time I got to Salt Lake City.
 |
| Trailer on pad |
 |
| Hill AFB FamCamp |
Hill AFB FAMCAMP – easy access from the South Gate (Exit 334 off
I-15). Concrete pads – only drawback is WIFI
available only in the dayroom.
227 GOLDEN SPIKE National Monument, Ogden, UT
This is another one of those places you really have to want to visit – it’s about 30 miles west of I-15 and there is not much in between. It doesn’t look like much but I did spend an hour in the Visitor Center – some exhibits and a film. They have several other films to chose from. There are running reproductions of the Southern Central Pacific’s Jupiter locomotive and the Union Pacific’s No. 119 locomotive. There are two driving tours on the old railroad bed and the Big Fill Loop Trail that I didn’t get a chance to walk. I spent 2 ½ hours here – with the trail plan on 3-4 hours on site for a visit.
 |
| Map of Golden Spike - hard to read - but it was worth the trip here - plan for at least 4 hours here |
The Southern Central Pacific started from Sacramento, California in January 1863 and the Union Pacific from Omaha, Nebraska. Owner’s Collis Huntington of the So. Central Pacific and Thomas Durant of the Union Pacific influenced Congress to pass a second Railroad Act in 1864 which doubled the land subsidies but little track was laid until the end of the Civil War.
.
The
Central Pacific faced the rugged Sierra Nevada
range almost immediately. While the Union Pacific started on easier terrain. Supply for each railroad was a logistical
nightmare. Especially the Central Pacific which had to ship every rail, spike, and
locomotive around Cape Horn. Most of the
railroad crews were run by ex army officers who drilled their men efficiently.
It
was a volatile mixture of immigrants, ex-salves, Civil War veterans from both
sides and even American Indians who worked on the railroad crews. “Hell-on-wheels” towns spring up near base camps. The Central
Pacific
drew on Chinese immigrants because it’s labor pool had been drained by the rush
for gold and silver.
By mid-1869 the Central Pacific had crossed the Sierra and laid 200 miles of track; the Union Pacific had laid 700 miles over the plains.
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| Golden Spike Monument |
 |
| Plaque |
 |
| Replicas of "Jupiter" and "No 119" They meet just short of the last tie laid |
On the Auto Tour Trails explain a lot about the construction of the road beds by both railroads. Take the time to drive them and read all the detail. Buy the trail guide from the Visitor Center.
They had crossed 1,776 miles of desert, rivers, and mountains to bind together East and West.
WEDNESDAY September 30, 2015
WEATHER: 67 at 4:30 am – that is warm – cloudy. Stayed mostly cloudy all day but got up to
the mid 80’s. It’s supposed to drop 20
degrees with rain tomorrow.
TRAVEL: Hill AFB FamCamp to Timpanogo’s
Cave south of Salt
Lake City – about 90 miles from Hill AFB but it goes quick because of the 70
mph speed limit, except during SLC rush hour traffic.. I drove past some other
memory turnoffs to Solitude and Brighton ski areas and of course Draper, UT home of ICA..
 |
| Timpanogos Visitor Center |
This was the best
cave tour I’ve ever been
on. There were only 5 in the group –
that helped and you needed to walk a 1.5 mile long trail with a vertical
distance of 1,065 feet. The average
grade is 13.5% with grades
ranging from 11% to more than 20% - it is a steep trail – it took me about 1 hour 15
minutes to make the climb. That grade has got to be greater than the Bright Angel Trail in the Grand
Canyon.
You need a ticket
for a cave tour - purchase ahead of time. Cost is $8 per person.
At an elevation of 11,750 ft, Mt. Timpanogos is the 2nd highest mountain in Utah’s Wasatch Range. I didn’t go that
far. The word Timpanogos (tim´pa no´gas) comes from the Timpanogots Ute tribe who lived in the
surrounding valleys from A.D. 1400. The name translates as rock (tumpi-), and
water mouth or canyon (panogos).
 |
| The Cave system is at the top of the mountain. The caves were formed by a fault in the rock and water seeping in through the limestone forming carbonic acid.. The trail to the top is stenuous. |
Timpanogos Cave is open seasonally, mid-May to
mid-October. It is actually a tour of 3 highly-decorated limestone caves sit at
the top of a strenuous trail. Hansen Cave – Middle Cave – Timpanogos Cave. Each
of these caves has its own natural entrance. These caves are a result of a
geologic fault – not flowing underground rivers like many in the Midwest.
The
Timpanogos Cave is better lit than Mammoth Cave and flash pictures are allowed. It is still hard to take a good picture with
a phone camera in a cave.
At least twelve recorded versions of the Legend of Timpanogos exist today. None of them are Indian legends – a
ranger said the legends were invented by a professor from BYU. Though the legends vary, most explain the
curious outline of a woman that can be seen in the peaks of Mount Timpanogos, or the origin of the "Great Heart," a large stalactite found in the Timpanogos Cave System.
 |
| Seven Geologic Formations Along the Trail |
Red Eagle desires the beautiful Utahna, and (depending on the version) will either achieve a great feat or lead her to believe he is a god in order to take her as a wife. Meanwhile, Utahna is either pursued by many for marriage, or chosen to present herself as a sacrifice to appease the gods and end the drought. The two become great lovers, but jealousy of others or Utahna's revelation that Red Eagle is not a god ends their happiness. The tale may end as jealous warriors ambush Red Eagle on Mount Timpanogos, causing him to fall to his death, and remain immortalized as the beautiful Emerald Lake. Utahna is so distraught at this news, she lies down on the mountain top and dies, hence the outline of a woman can be seen today.
A
good story. The rangers don’t even
mention it.
You
can purchase a trail guide that describes the 17 numbered stops along the trail to
the top. Remember I said – stops – and
there were several more. I’m glad it
wasn’t any warmer – a perfect day for a strenuous walk – much more strenuous
than the “Sound of Silence Trail’ in dinosaur – but easier in so far that it is
paved all the way. Plenty of day
 |
| WARNING Rock Slides |
 |
| WARNING Earthquake Zone |
 |
| WARNING Steep Cliffs |
 |
| WARNING: Rattlesnakes |
So much for the Trail warnings - strenuous but safe. Now for some pics of the scenery and the caves.
 |
| Ranger at Entrance |
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| Faults in the Cliffs See the tilted rock |
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| View from the trail |
 |
| Cave Bacon |
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| Flowstone |
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| Coraloids - Green light is from nickel in the rock |
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| Helictites |
WEDNESDAY October 1, 2015
WEATHER: Still warm - 67 at 5:00 am –
mostly cloudy. The forecast for Salt Lake City is a high of 90. It’s cooler to the west. I-15 south to SLC then back to I-80 west. I
got up to 74 along I-80 then the temperature dropped and the wind picked up. It was 64 when I reached Winnemucca – cloudy – windy - - - the
tops of the mountains are in clouds. Rain about 4 pm PDT.
 |
| I wonder how long it will take for a package and several posts cards to be delivered from this place - Try to find it on a map |
 |
| That is not ice and snow |
WINNEMACCA Journey KOA: Gravel site like almost all KOAs – fairly level – not many trailers here – off season. Pleasant surprise because it is off season my deposit was refunded $9.58 – best thing to happen today. A nice KOA. WIFI works and probably the best bathhouse I've seen at a KOA - spacious, clean, inviting.
There
is a local casino – Winner’s Inn-Casino - a sign on I-80 said “Butch Cassidy Got Rich
Here - So can you’ it started to rain – I didn’t win –
but I didn’t lose by not paying a visit.
THURSDAY October 1, 2015
WEATHER: Still warm - 67 at 5:00 am –
mostly cloudy. The forecast for Salt Lake City is a high of 90. It’s cooler to the west. I-15 south to SLC then back to I-80 west. I
got up to 74 along I-80 then the temperature dropped and the wind picked
up. It was 64 when I
reached Winnemucca – cloudy – windy - - - the tops of the mountains are
in clouds.
TRAVEL: Hill AFB FamCamp to
Winnemucca KOA Utah. A 7 hour trip of 381 miles – mostly along I-80. Still 180 miles east of Reno – this is called
Nevada’s ‘outback.’ The truck got
another workout – went through Silverzone Pass EL 5,940; Pequot Summit EL
6,967; and Golcondor Summite EL 5,159 all along I-80. Went past Wendover and Elko.
WINNEMACCA Journey KOA: Gravel site like almost all KOAs – fairly
level – not many trailers here – off season.
Pleasant surprise because it is off season my deposit was refunded $9.58
– best thing to happen today. A nice
KOA.
There
is a local casino – Winner’s Inn-Casino - a sign on I-80 said “Butch Cassidy Got Rich
Here’ - he may have robbed the bank - it started to rain – I didn’t win
– but I didn’t lose by not paying a visit.
FRIDAY October 2, 2015
WEATHER: 52 at 4:30 am – been raining
since 4pm last night. Radar looks clear
in Reno – but that’s a 180 mile drive southwest.. Stopped raining about 6 am – road was wet
until almost 9 am – after passing Reno and going through Donner Pass - California
was a balmy 85 degrees.
TRAVEL: Winnemucca KOA NV – Club
Royal Oak, Kingsburg, CA A 10 hour drive. I saw my first truck in a run-away truck path
– where else in CA. I got backed up for
45 minutes along Highway 99, where a semi tractor was literally flat on its wheels – Highway
99 is in CA. My truck worked crossing the Sierra – at Donner Pass along I-80. I
think it would be even rougher going east – the grade seems longer.
Club Royal Oak, Kingsburg, CA – not a club or very royal – bizarre – WIFI kind of
works – lots of sand - it is very dry.
Bath house OK – not impressed -. the hot water
must be solar powered – i.e. what comes out of the pipe that’s it –
unacceptable and this was “the best” RV park in the area. No lights on the grounds but there is a card coded gate. Here for 5 nights. There is much more that makes this place Bizarre
. . . . WIFI so slow it takes 3-5 minutes for a page to load – unacceptable –
It’s TENGONET - $4/day – I’m not going to bite. After all the forms and paperwork that I had
to fill out before coming here – I expected more. It’s a place to park
SATURDAY October 3,
2015
WEATHER: 58 at 4:30 am high clouds or it
just may have been haze/smog but you could see the stars. Temps started to climb and as I did to
6,000’, the temp stayed between 59-61 degrees.
It was 85 when I came back down into the San Joachim Valley around 5:45
pm.
TRAVEL: Club
Royal Oak to St.
Joseph’s in Selma, CA to
Sequoia via CA Hwy 198 –
Generals Highway to Kings
Canyon and return to Club
Royal Oak via CA Hwy 180. About 55-60
miles to either park from Club Royal Oak via Hwy 198 or Hwy 180. I left around 7:30 am and got back at
6:15pm.
The Army
Corps of Engineers (ACOE)has a
number of Recreation Areas along CA Hwy 198.
Plenty of spots to camp – but primitive camping you don’t want to take a
trailer all along the Generals
Highway. – the road is
restricted to vehicles with a total length of no more than 22 feet.
229 SEQUOIA National Park, 47050 Generals Highway &
230 KINGS CANYON National
Park, CA
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks lie side by side in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of the San Joaquin Valley. Activities vary by season and elevation, which ranges from 1,370 to 14,495 feet. – definitely the High Sierra – you can’t drive there but it is possible to use your feet and climb. The parks are mainly backcountry parks. Ninety per cent of the land is accessible by trail only, and none of its 2,600 lakes and ponds can be reached by motor vehicle.
 |
| Map of Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. Most of the land is "backcountry" you have to walk in. The Road from General Grant Village and Lodge to literally "Roads End" just past Cedar Grove Village & Lodge was closed due to a wildfire burning since July 29 in the backcountry. The fire theoretically could be 98% predicted but a ranger told me, that this one will go down in the books as following the 2% - completely unpredictable. |
Much of Kings Canyon is closed due to a wild fire that started July 29th. It is finally considered controlled but still burning. Fire fighters are still active in the area.
Bill Tweed, a back country ranger, describes the parks as “wilderness islands in a sea of urban California. These are parks that you have to hike to really enjoy.” The John Muir Trail stretches 219 miles along the crest of the Sierra Nevada from Yosemite to Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48. The High Sierra Trail runs 71 miles from Crescent Meadow to Mount Whitney’s summit, EL 14,495.
Bill Tweed, a back country ranger, describes the parks as “wilderness islands in a sea of urban California. These are parks that you have to hike to really enjoy.” The John Muir Trail stretches 219 miles along the crest of the Sierra Nevada from Yosemite to Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48. The High Sierra Trail runs 71 miles from Crescent Meadow to Mount Whitney’s summit, EL 14,495.
Sequoia & Kings
Canyon Parks form the heart of the second-largest contiguous
roadless area left in the lower 48 states. The southern Sierra is so rugged that few roads cross it; you must go north to Tioga Pass in Yosemite National
Park or south to Walker Pass or Tehachapi Pass.
The parks are connected by the Generals Highway – this along with
a few stops is a full day.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks contain five
unique regions: Foothills, Mineral
King, Giant Forest / Lodgepole, Grant
Grove, and Cedar
Grove. Each area has its own climate, features, and
highlights. The Mineral King and Cedar Grove regions are
accessible only in the summer, while Grant Grove, Giant Forest, and Lodgepole offer both
summer and winter activities.
Mineral King
(Sequoia) I did not travel this road
The Mineral King subalpine valley consists of both dense forests of pine, sequoia, and fir and colorful granite and shale landscapes. Mineral King offers 11 steep alpine trails which traverse the eastern areas of Sequoia National Park. This region also includes 14,494 foot Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous United States. Mineral King is accessed by a 25 mile, steep, winding road open late May through October, weather permitting. This area, at 7,500 to 14,000 feet elevation, is characterized by warm days and chilly nights in summer. In spring and fall, there can be freezing temperatures and the possibility of snow.
The Mineral King subalpine valley consists of both dense forests of pine, sequoia, and fir and colorful granite and shale landscapes. Mineral King offers 11 steep alpine trails which traverse the eastern areas of Sequoia National Park. This region also includes 14,494 foot Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous United States. Mineral King is accessed by a 25 mile, steep, winding road open late May through October, weather permitting. This area, at 7,500 to 14,000 feet elevation, is characterized by warm days and chilly nights in summer. In spring and fall, there can be freezing temperatures and the possibility of snow.
Foothills EL 1370 (SEQUOIA NP)
The Foothills consist of the lower elevations of Sequoia National Park, including the South Fork area located east of Three Rivers. Oaks, chaparral, and river canyons are plentiful here in an area with more biological diversity (different kinds of plants and animals) than the conifer forests and High Sierra combined.
 |
| Sequoia - Giant Forest Museum |
 |
| Sequoia - Lodgepole Pine VC |
Giant Forest and Lodgepole EL 6409 and EL 6720 (SEQUOIA NP)
The Giant Forest Sequoia Grove is home to many of the world's biggest trees. Forty miles of trails, including the paved Big Trees Trail with wheelchair accessibility, invite visitors to immerse themselves in the majesty of the ancient grove. At 6,400 feet elevation, this area is characterized by warm days and cool nights in summer, with cold days and deep snow in winter. On October 2, 2015 the sun was shining and the temperature was between 59 and 61 degrees with little wind.
Visited the Giant Forest Museum and walked the paved 1 mile loop Big Giants Trail easy down a little tougher coming back up..
 |
| The Sentinel Located in front of the Giant Forest Museum |
 |
| Big Tree Trail tress surrounding Giant Meadow |
 |
| Giant Forest Museum Big Trees Trail sign |
 |
| Big Trees Trail Wonder where this 'tree hugger' idea came from? |
 |
| Big Trees Trail Giant Meadow these meadwos exist because the ground is low and too wet to support big trees |
 |
| Big Trees Trail A fallen tree - it was too close to the meadow and its shallow roots could not support it |
General Sherman Tree Trail. An easy ½ mile down but up is a little more strenuous – it is paved. There was a ranger program at the tree. He was good, interesting and I learned a lot. The sequoia’s and the General Sherman tree are the largest living organisms on the planet. The General Sherman and other sequoias are not the tallest, not with the greatest diameter, not the oldest but they are the largest by volume.
Sequoias
don’t die of old age, and are resistant to fire and insect damage. Most die by falling over. See pic on Big Trees Trail above.
 |
| The General Sherman Tree - the world's largest living cellular thing |
 |
| General Sherman Tree Ranger giving a very informative & entertaining talk |
 |
| General Sherman Tree the pine cone by the water bottle is definitely not the worlds largest but its seed the size of an oatmeal flake grows into a sequouia |
 |
| The General Sherman Trees the worlds largest living thing by volume |
There
is a 27 mile road trip on the Generals
Highway from Lodgepole VC in Sequoia to the Kings Canyon VC.
There was a film that I viewed here and by the time I was ready to hit
the road it was already 5 pm – decided to head back.
Cedar Grove EL 4635
(KINGS CANYON NP) CLOSED
DUE TO FIRE
This glaciated valley features towering cliffs, tumbling waterfalls, and the powerful Kings River, whose canyon gave the park its name. Two prominent rock formations, North Dome at 8,717 feet and Grand Sentinel at 8,518 feet, rise 3,500 feet above the canyon floor. Many trails to the backcountry also originate in the area, especially near Roads End. Highway 180 to Cedar Grove is open May through October, weather permitting. At 4,600 feet elevation, expect warm days and cool nights.
This glaciated valley features towering cliffs, tumbling waterfalls, and the powerful Kings River, whose canyon gave the park its name. Two prominent rock formations, North Dome at 8,717 feet and Grand Sentinel at 8,518 feet, rise 3,500 feet above the canyon floor. Many trails to the backcountry also originate in the area, especially near Roads End. Highway 180 to Cedar Grove is open May through October, weather permitting. At 4,600 feet elevation, expect warm days and cool nights.
When
not closed due to fire at Roads End along the Kings Canyon Scenic Highway you can walk the back country
and journey the High Sierra. It
would be quite an experience.
 |
| Kings Canyon view from the Generals Highway the haze is smoke |
 |
| These maps are posted by the Visitor Centers - I've seen firefighters looking at them I have no idea what I was looking at |
SUNDAY October 4, 2015
WEATHER: 53 and cloudy at 5 am, rain –
then is stopped almost a drizzle – but there was thunder in the distance – of
course the probability of rain is 11%
TRAVEL: St.
Josephs Church, Salem, CA and Cesar
E. Chavez National Monument – Chavez is about 2 hours (122 miles) south one way. Hard rain for 10 minutes or so along Hwy 99 –
70 mph – I slowed to 65 and groups of
motor cyclists from Bakersfield past me doing more than 70 – it was raining –
hard – well one of them lost it on a curve – California – always in a hurry.
Royal Oak still BIZARRE:
- When I got
back last night there was no phone service – it was perfect in the morning.
Now, on Sunday – still no phone service – unable to even create a hotspot. I’ve been here before - able to receive but
not send
- Secret to the showers the stall on the left
has cold water – the right has warm.
- I thought I got a mild but irritating shock
when I used the left basin to shave yesterday.
Not a fluke – definitely a shock when touching the water – even on the
right basin. Last time I saw (felt) this
was getting water from an outside house faucet, as a Scout, in the early 60’s
somewhere near Ladysmith, WI. The cause
- a bad ground.
231 CESAR CHAVEZ National Monument, Keene, CA
 |
| Declared a National Monument by President Obama in 2012 there is not a lot here - yet. This\building is currently used as the Visitor Center - it was formerly offices |
 |
| Chavez Memorial Garden and Grave site |
Cesar Estrada Chavez was a civil rights
 |
| Cesar Chavez - right |
Chavez’s
life as a community organizer began in 1952 when he joined the Community Service
Organization (CSO) a prominent Latino civil rights group. In the early 1960’s Chavez served as the CSO’s
national director.
 |
| STRIKE! |
 |
| RFK |
1968: In February, after several discouraged
strikers contemplate the use of violence against growers Chavez embarks on his first fast
to encourage his members to adhere to nonviolence. Eight thousand farm workers, as well as
Senator Robert F. Kennedy
attend a mass to break Chavez’s 25 day fast.. Kennedy gives Chavez a piece of bread and calls
him “one of the heroic figures of our
time.” Six days after the fast
ends, Kennedy
announced his candidacy for the presidency.
1968 -1970:
The grape boycott is
in the international spotlight. Grape
strikers spread across the country in an effort to impose an international
grape boycott.
1970: Most California grape growers sign UFWA contracts in the spring and summer. Chavez calls for a national boycott of lettuce after Salinas Valley growers sign contracts with the Teamsters Union to help keep the UFWA out of the fields. On December 10, the UFWA singles out Bud Antle on the lettuce boycott. Chavez is arrested and jailed for ignoring the injunction for prohibiting the boycotting Antle. Corretta Scott King and Ethel Kennedy, widows of Martin and Bobby visit Chavez in jail.
Chavez led successful strikes and boycotts that resulted in the first industry wide labor contracts in the history of American agriculture. His efforts led to passage of the 1975 California Agricultural Labor Relations Act – the only law that protects farm workers rights to organize.
A strong believer in the non-violence practiced by Gandhi and King, Chavez effectively employed peaceful tactics such as fasts, boycotts, strikes, and pilgrimages. In 1968 he fasted for 25 days to affirm his personal commitment ant that of the farm labor movement to non-violence. He fasted again in 1988, at the age of 61 to highlight the harmful impact of pesticides on farm workers and their children.
 |
| Memorial Garden Patron St. Franicis |
 |
| Memorial Garden Patron Our Lady |
 |
| Memorial Garden Chavez Grave |
Chavez died
in his sleep on April 23, 1993 in San Luis, AZ.
His request was to be buried on the grounds of UFWA (La Paz).
We
used a lot of Chavez and UFWA social justice stuff in the 70's with a series of Youth
Ministry when we lived in South Milwaukee.
GREEN BAY 17 - SAN FRANCISCO 3 4-0 record
MONDAY October 5, 2015
WEATHER: 57 at 4:30 am partly cloudy,
forecast 80’s in the San Joaquin Valley; looks like 40’s in Sequoia and Kings Canyon
TRAVEL: I took
Hwy 198 into Sequoia; stopped at Foothills
VC to buy a ticket
for Crystal Cave. The Crystal
Cave turnoff is
about a 50 minute drive up the General’s
Highway. From the turnoff it is another 30 mninute
drive down to the cave site. I continued
up Generals Highway through Lodgepole
VC to Kings
Canyon. Walked the General Grant Trail; stopped at the Post Office and
then went to Panoramic Point. Back down along 180. Basically the same route I took Saturday
I traveled over
238 miles today – about half to and from the parks – the rest in the parks.
TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS
EL 6,000 60 F
EL
4,000 55 F
EL 5,000 50 F
EL 6,720 46 F Lodgepole VC
EL 7,000 48 F
EL 7,335 44 F Wusachi Lodge on Generals Highway at turnoff
At 6 pm a return
to the San Joaquin Valley was mostly sunny and 81 F
Of course – phone service was down when I returned to the campsite.
Not a happy place.
229 SEQUOIA National Park, CA
REMEMBER THERE IS A $20 FEE PER
CAR FOR ENTRANCE
Entered Sequoia
NP on Hwy 198 at Three
Rivers and traveled the Generals Highway.
Crystal Cave
Taking
a cave tour will take almost a day in itself – unless you are staying somewhere
in the park.. After an 1 ¼ hour drive from Kingsburg, I arrived at Foothills VC and purchased an 11 am cave tour ticket
for $15 – it was another 1 hour and 20 minute drive
to the cave. The cave tours are run by the Sequoia Natural History Association not by NPS Rangers. They do a good job. There is a ½ mile walk down to the cave entrance – about 15-20 minutes; a 1+ hr cave tour and of course the 30 minute walk up the trail. Plan at least 2 hours for the cave tour and walk. There is a difference of 320 ft in elevation from the top of the ½ mile trail to the cave.
 |
| The Spider Web Gate was designed by the park's architect in the late 1930's. It is large enough to let little critters and any bats in or out. Unique. |
Understanding caves provides an important lesson in the protection of the earth’s natural treasures. The Sequoia Natural History Association has operated tours and educational programs in the cave since 1983.
It
was opened to the public in 1941. The CCC built
the access road and cement walkways in the cave.
Crystal Cave has 3 miles of passages. The cave is a complex maze and is heavily
decorated with many varieties of formations.
The regular cave tour follows a ½ paved path. The tour features large rooms, a
stream flowing over banded marble and many beautiful cave formations.
 |
| It is a long drive off the General's Highway just to get here |
The
cave was formed in marble rock that is approximately 200 million years
old. The cave began formed sometime
between 132,000 and 788,000 years ago.
Most of the passages on the tour are only about 5,000 to 50,000 years
old. Average temperature of the cave is
50 F.
No flash allowed in the cave. The pics below are from a thumb drive with 100 pictures and items that I purchased.
No flash allowed in the cave. The pics below are from a thumb drive with 100 pictures and items that I purchased.
Stops were made in 5 larges rooms. The JUNCTION ROOM, CURTAIN ROOM, ORGAN ROOM, DOME ROOM and MARBLE HALL. Marble Hall is the largest room in the cave. It measures 175’ long, 60’ wide, and is 30-40’ high. The guide turned the lights out for longest time I’ve been on a cave tour. He spoke in the dark and explained many things about how we try to compensate, in our minds, for lack of sight – light. HE suggested, in total darkness, to pass your hand in front of your eyes – you think you see the shadow – but if another waves his hand in front of you – you do not see the image. Total lack of light.
A
good tour – allow an hour for the walk up and down + an hour for the tour + a 5
hour drive into the park and out
230 KINGS CANYON National
Park, CA
Grant Grove EL 6589(KINGS
CANYON NP)
The General Grant Grove area was originally General Grant National Park, created in 1890 to protect giant sequoias from logging. The General Grant Grove is pristine (not logged) the Big Stump Grove was logged in the 1880s. At 6,600 feet elevation, this area is characterized by warm days and cool nights in summer, with deep snow and cold temperatures in winter.
The General Grant Grove area was originally General Grant National Park, created in 1890 to protect giant sequoias from logging. The General Grant Grove is pristine (not logged) the Big Stump Grove was logged in the 1880s. At 6,600 feet elevation, this area is characterized by warm days and cool nights in summer, with deep snow and cold temperatures in winter.
 |
| Much of the Kings Canyon area is closed due to the fire. Note the Highway Closed ----- most of the park is beyond this location. |
 |
| General Grant Tree |
 |
| General Grant Tree Statistics |
General Grant Tree Trail is a self-guided loop of a half mile. The trail is paved. Numbered posts along the trail are keyed to a guide that I purchased at the Kings Canyon Visitor Center on Saturday – however I didn’t find all the posts. Don’t bother buying the guide.
The General
Grant Tree is the world’s
third largest tree. It has a base
diameter even larger than the General Sherman Tree.
The Grant tree’s trunk
tapers faster than the Sherman Tree. This tree was discovered in 1862 by Joseph
Hardin Thomas.
 |
| Sequoias in the General Gratn Grove |
Like US Battleships, some trees in the Grant Grove are named after states: Indiana, Arizona, Wyoming, Minnesota, Georgia, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Connecticut, the Michigan log, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Vermont, Delaware, Maryland, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nevada, California, Oregon, New Mexico, Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey Florida, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
The temperature was
cool here – the most people I’ve seen all day – mostly foreign tourists – the
trails are not well marked and the closure due to fire did not help.
Panoramic Point is up from the Kings Canyon VC, turn right at the John Muir Lodge and up to a trail head. A short trail – I think the drive was longer – a lot of the back country was covered in clouds – could have seen more on a clear day. By this time it was past 4 pm and I thought I’d head back to the trailer. Another full day in the parks.
 |
| Panoramic Point - mostly low clouds - it may have been clearer earlier |
TUESDAY October 6,
2015
WEATHER: 57 at 4:45 am – same o same o –
the sky was clear – saw a shooting star.
Forecast for CA indicates 90’s in the San Joaquin Valley by the weekend.
TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS
On the way
up along Hwy 180 On the way down
Generals Hwy to Hwy 198
EL1,000 66
F EL
6,000 57 F
EL
2,000 64 F
EL 3,000 64 F EL 4,000 65 F
EL 4,000 60 F EL
3,000 71 F
EL 5,000 52 F
EL 6,000 49 F
Same as
yesterday, at 6 pm a return to the San Joaquin Valley was mostly sunny and 81 F
TRAVEL: Kingsburg to the entrance of Kings
Canyon NP – Big
Stump Tree Trail -
Buena Vista Trail - Congress
Trail, - Moro Rock and finally a return to Kingsburg.
Basically the route I’ve been taking for the last two visits in reverse
along the Generals Highway
 |
| Big Stump Trailhead |
 |
| Big Stump Trail |
Big Stump Tree Trail is a two plus mile loop with a rise climb of 200’ on the return. It traverses an area that was totally “clear
cut” chiefly of giant sequoias in the late 1880’s. The area was added to Kings
Canyon NP in 1958. Decay occurs slowly in sequoias, therefore
much of the evidence left behind by loggers has been preserved. i.e. stumps, piles of sawdust, etc.
 |
| Big Stump Trail - Shattered Tree. Sequoia wood is not very strong. When the loggers cut this tree - it fell and shattered. They later felled pines and cedars to make a bed and break the fall of the Giant Sequoias. |
 |
| Sawed Tree I forgot to ask why they didn't fell the tree |
 |
| The Mark Twain Tree I also forgot to ask why this is wrapped in mylar |
 |
| Big Stump Trail |
 |
| Mark Twin Tree |
It appears not all
the stops are marked and the trail itself is not well marked i.e. I had to
guess at the location of the Square Dance Stump (where they used to hold square
dances); never found the supposed “sawdust pile.” I was pleasantly misguided once, which made the
trail longer, walked around a clearing looking for sights. Over time people have made too many additional
trails. I spent 1 ½ hours on the trail.
Buena Vista Trail a supposed 2 mile hike with great views of Redwood
Canyon, Buck Rock
and the high peaks
of Kings Canyon. There is a 450’ rise in
elevation passing through a lot of granite. I spent about 45 minutes on the
trail; the temperature was 52 F. The
trail is not well marked and what I thought was the trail reached a spot where
I thought it was unsafe to continue alone – too steep – too slippery and after
stopping to take a picture I lost the trail on the way down and walked a different route to the bottom. I also got a bit misguided by a “helpful”
trail marker that got me off the trail on the way up..
 |
| Buena Vista Trail The big rock ahead appears to be the goal and end of the trail |
 |
| Buena Vista Trail It's steeper then it looks Close to the top - I decided it was too steep and too slippery to climb alone |
 |
| Buena Vista Trail this is not the top |
Congress Trail starts at the General Sherman Tree and makes a pleasant 2 mile loop through the sequoia grove. The trail took about 1 hr and 20 minutes to walk but this also includes the down and up of the General Sherman Tree Trail. Surprisingly, this trail was paved. Congress Trail? Now it makes sense, it passes, the Presidents Tree, the Senate group of sequoias, the House group and the William McKinley tree. It was 53 degrees and a very pleasant walk. You could spend almost two full days walking the trails in the Giant Forest.
From the north,
Highway 180 entrance into Kings Canyon this would be the extreme limit for any
vehicle over 22 ft. After this the route
down to Highway 198, Sequoia entrance has was too many hairpin turns along the
Generals Highway that would be unsafe.
Going down with a pickup was tough enough.
 |
| The McKinley Tree |
 |
| The Presidents Tree |
 |
| The Senate Group |
Moro Rock – a last minute add-on. A narrow paved road veers off north from The Giant Forest Museum to a number of sites. The trip is worth the ride and the walk along the Moro Rock Trail, which includes 350 steps is worth the walk. However, it’s kind of like walking to Diamond Head (Hawaii) or Clingman’s Dome (Great Smokies) – nice view and after that – you can say I did it. This is a climb of 300 vertical feet.
 |
| Moro Rock Trail stairs |
 |
| Moro Rock Trail top |
 |
| Moro Rock Trail |
 |
| Moro Rock Road Tunnerl Log 8 ft Clearance |
BOTTOM LINE: I’ve seen about all that could be seen in the parks with only 36 hours
of daylight in 3 days and considering at least 3 hours of driving to get to and
from the parks each day. Easily, you could
spend a week here – there are a number of concessionaire run lodges that you
can stay in or camp – always make reservations ahead of time. Obviously, not as many people in October,
then during the summer peak season.
WEDNESDAY October 7,
2015
WEATHER: 57 at 5 am, clear sky, no wind.
TRAVEL: Kingsburg to Travis AFB FAMCAMP, 202 miles 3 ½ hours; the
FamCamp is immediately right of the main gate.
It was 88 F when I pulled in.
Cools down fast after the sun starts to set – 78 by 7 pm..
TRAVIS AFB Fam Camp. Easy access
– all but full – WIFI – unsure. I
connected free once, brochure indicates 1st 24 hours free then
pay. Staff suggested signing up through
COMCAST for an extended period. Gravel
site, picnic table on slab. Not much air
traffic – units with a variety of missions assigned here – airlift, refueling,
maintenance, mission support group, medical group – C17s . Reveille 0700 Retreat 1630. All power is shut down on the base Sunday 0700-1900 – have to plan to watch the Packers.
THURSDAY October 8,
2015
WEATHER: 63 at 4:15 am got up to a high of
82
TRAVEL: Travis AFB to Mission San Fracisco
Solano (Sonoma, CA) to Point Reyes National Seashore to Mission San Rafeal
(San Rafael, CA). A trip of 173 miles – lots of backed up
California traffic – especially on the return trip.
The trip to
Sonoma – yes Sonoma
County - - - 30 miles
and a one hour trip but I could have spent the morning – plenty of interesting
places to eat and taste wine. Sonoma was
founded by a Spaniard–American named Vallerjo – of course he had a
vineyard. The vineyards in Sonoma and perhaps Napa
Valley started as a
result of grapes being grown at Mission San Francisco Solano.
The return trip
after a visit to Mission San Rafeal also brought me through Napa Valley growers. This drive I did see one elk and three smaller
deer like animals – large ears.
21 Mission San Francisco Solano, 114 E Spain St, Sonoma CA
The
founding missionary was Fr. Jose Altimira who came from Barcelona, Spain, to manage
Mission San Francisco de Asis. Three years after his arrival in California, he
decided a new mission north of San Francisco Bay was needed.
With
the political assistance of Governor Luis Arguello, he founded this last
California mission on July 4, 1823. Three years later, however, his neophytes
burned the wooden buildings of the new mission during an uprising. Fr. Altimira
became discouraged and returned to Spain in January, 1828.
Fr. Buenaventura
Fortuny, an aging Franciscan from Mission San Jose, was assigned to replace
Altimira. Fr. Fortuny quickly reestablished order and morale and the work of
building the mission continued. Containing the number of structures necessary
to every self-supporting mission establishment, its main buildings were arranged
around a large, square enclosure.
By 1832 the mission had 27 rooms in the
convento or priest's quarters, with a great adobe church at the east end, and a
wooden storehouse (the original mission chapel) at the west end. Completing
this enclosure were workshops where the indians were taught to be craftsmen and
created the items needed to help the mission be self-sufficient. Along the back
of the courtyard were the living quarters and workrooms for the young lndian
girls. In addition to the quadrangle, there were orchards, gardens, vineyards,
fields of grain, a gristmill, houses for the soldiers and indian families, a
jail, a cemetery and an infirmary.
The most
successful year of this mission's short life span (11 years) was 1832. In his
annual report for that year, Fr. Fortuny recorded the following: 127 baptisms,
34 marriages and 70 deaths; a total of 996 neophytes; the livestock inventory
accounted for 6,000 sheep and goats, 900 horses, 13 mules, 50 pigs and 3,500
head of cattle; 800 fanegas of wheat, 1025 fanegas of barley, 3 fanegas of
beans, 52 fanegas of peas, 300 fanegas of corn, 32 fanegas of frioles, and 2
fanegas of garbanzos were harvested .
Fr. Fortuny,
having labored at this mission for 6 1/2 years alone, felt the need to transfer
to another mission where the work load would be shared. He was 58 years old
when he was replaced by Fr. Gutierrez.
In 1834 the
Mexican Congress decided to close down all of the missions in Mexico. Mission
San Francisco Solano ceased to exist on November 3, 1834, when it was
designated a First Class Parish. Mariano Vallejo was sent north by the Mexican
government with orders to oversee the closing of the mission and the founding
of the pueblo of Sonoma.
The mission
buildings rapidly fell into disrepair. The town of Sonoma was growing and
building materials were in great demand. Roof tiles, timbers and adobe bricks
were salvaged from the mission. After the settlers had cannibalized the old
buildings, nature began recycling the remnants.
In 1841, Mariano
G. Vallejo ordered a smaller church of adobe to be built in the location of the
first wooden mission chapel. It replaced the large mission church which was
rapidly deteriorating. It stood on the west end of the convento, so was often
taken, in later years, to be a church of the old mission. In 1881, the church
property was sold to a Sonoma businessman and a new parish church was built
across town. At one time, the chapel was used as a warehouse. The convento may
have been used as a winery.
In 1903, the two
remaining mission buildings were purchased by a preservation group, and became
part of the California Park System in 1906. By 1913, both had been
reconstructed, and the chapel contained a museum of Sonoma history. After the
1940's, the former church and convento were remodeled along more authentic
lines suited to exhibits devoted exclusively to mission history.
MlSSlON FACTS
·
Mission
San Francisco Solano was the 21st mission in California, and the only one built
under the Mexican era. It was the northernmost and last of the missions to be
established.
·
San
Francisco Solano, the patron saint of the mission, was a 17th Century
missionary to the Peruvians. This mission site was chosen for its' weather,
water, grazing land and building materials.
·
The
local indian tribes were the Miwok, Wintun and Wappo. Neophytes, or mission
indians, were also drawn from many tribes farther away.
·
Four
Franciscan missionaries served at the mission: Fr. Jose Altimira, Fr.
Buenaventura Fortuny, Fr. Jose Gutierrez, and FF. Jose Lorenzo Quijas.
·
The
original Spanish plan for missions was for a missionary to move into an area
and gather up the indigenous peoples of the area to convert and train. At the
end of 10 years, these people should be sufficiently prepared and the
missionary could move on to a new area and leave a functioning pueblo or town
with Spanish loyalties behind.
·
Secularization
orders, signed by Governor Figueroa in August of 1834, were intended to
complete this process.
 |
| Bear Valley Visitor Center |
NO FEE
I
found this a bit difficult to find – it is not well marked and GPS is
useless. Point Reyes is a 71,028-acre
park preserve located on the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County,
California.
 |
| Point Reyes National Seashore |
 |
| Point Reyes National Seashore map |
Either I’m a little early or way late. At Point Reyes National Seashore, the peak of the southern migration for gray whales, usually occurs in mid-January and that of the northern migration in mid-March. Late April and early May afford the opportunity to see mothers and calves close to shore. No plans to go whale watching
I
did not find the Bear Valley Visitor Center very friendly –
it is 60’s vintage – not much done since. I had to ask for the film for a Discovery
Channel film to be shown – I was joined by a dozen people. There
are plenty of trails to walk. Your best
bet is by horse (bring your own horse) –
seems like a lot of Californians like to bike up the 18% grade roads – not my
cup of tea – too many people – too many bicycles.
EARTHQUAKE TRAIL - A
short, very informative trail with exhibits about the 1906 earthquake and the San Andreas Fault zone. About a ½ hour paved.
 |
| Point Reyes National Seashore - map |
 |
| San Francisco Earthqauke April 18, 1906 |
 |
| San Francisco Earthquake October 17, 1989 |
WOODPECKER TRAIL –
CLOSED DUE TO TREE FALL - A rustic trail through fields and trees with exhibits on the flora and fauna of
the area. A one mile trail – steep in places.
MORGAN HORSE RANCH - This working horse ranch for horses used by National Park Rangers in wilderness areas and
for backcountry patrol has trailside exhibits focusing on the characteristics,
breeding and history of Morgan horses. The Morgan horse is the first American
breed of horse. Self-guided exhibits, corrals and demonstrations are a part of
the ongoing interpretive program of the ranch. A ½ mile trail.
KULE LOKLO - This replica Coast Miwok
village has trailside exhibits that briefly describe the traditional ways of
life of the first inhabitants of the Point Reyes peninsula. A .8 mile loop. Not that special – they need to work on the
village.
Pierce Point Ranch
is one of about 15 ranches that did not sell to developers and decided to
co-exist with Point Reyes National
Seashore. Established in 1858, the renovated Pierce
Point Ranch is one of the oldest ranches on the Point Reyes Peninsula and was one of the most
successful dairy ranches of its time. It is representative of the agricultural
heritage of this area. I did not visit this site.
 |
| Lamantour Beach - Point Reyes & Lighhouse off in the distance shrouded in clouds & fog |
 |
| Lamantour Beach |
On a lark I decided to drive to Limantour Beach and the Pacific Ocean. Point Reyes was cloaked in clouds – the seashore is a big place. Drake’s Bay is named after Sir Francis Drake who sailed here.
20 MISSION SAN RAFAEL, San Rafael, Ca
Mission Site: |
|
||
Layout:
|
No effort was made to build a full complex. The initial building was
a structure that measured 87 feet in length and 42 feet in width. It
contained a hospital, chapel, padre's quarters and a storage area.
|
||
Water Source:
|
There was ample water in the area finally selected, which had several
springs and a
stream. |
||
Population:
|
The peak mission population was 1,051, in 1826. By 1840 only 150
neophytes remained. Between 1817 and 1839 1,902 marriages were conducted at
San Rafael.
|
||
Livestock:
|
The herd was small by mission standards, but important for feeding
the neophytes. In 1832 the mission had 2,120 cattle, 3,000 sheep, 370 horses
... and 2 hard-working mules.
|
||
Agricultural Output:
|
In its short mission life (17 years) San Rafael had a relatively high
agricultural output of approximately 97.000 bushels of grain and produce.
Production centered on wheat although barley, corn and beans were also
important with peas, lentils and chickpeas used in soups and stews. The
mission had extensive vineyards and orchards, and was noted for the
excellence of their pears.
|
||
Mission Church:
|
In 1949 a replica of the original mission chapel was constructed on
mission property to the right of the main church built in 1919. The replica
has a Mudejar or star window said to have been copied from that at the Carmel
Mission.
|
||
Mission Bells:
|
Three of the original mission bells are now displayed in the mission museum. Replicas now hang from a wooden bell rack to the left of the chapel entrance. San Rafael never had a companario. |
||
Mission Art:
|
The interior of the chapel is contemporary in style. Saint Rafael Parish Church has a large bronze sculpture of San Rafael holding up a cross. |
||
Significant
Event(s):
|
San Rafael was badly damaged in an Indian attack led by Chiefs Marin
and Quintin in February, 1829. Loyal neophytes saved the life of the mission
padre, Fr. Juan Amoros, by hiding him in the marshes.
|
||
Secularized:
|
1834
|
||
Year Returned to
Catholic Church:
|
1855
|
||
Current Status:
|
The mission Chapel is used for special events and is part of the
parish of St. Rafael of the Roman Catholic Archiocese of San Francisco.
|
||
Interesting
Facts:
Under the able
leadership of Fr. Gil y Taboada, San Rafael became California's first
sanitarium.
.San Rafael
maintained a substantial boat building operation, since boats were required to
facilitate travel across the bay.
In 1846 John C.
Fremont used the mission as his headquarters during the Mexican American War
After the mission
ruins were removed in 1870, all that remained of the old mission site
was a solitary pear tree. In 1909 the Native Sons of the Golden West erected a
bell and sign on the original site. |
| St. Raphael the Archangel Parish Serra International plaque |
 |
| St, Junipero Serra |
FRIDAY October 9, 2015
WEATHER: 62 at 4:30 am; forecast calls for 90 in the Valley; mid-70’s
in San Francisco. It was 90 when I
returned around 6 pm.
TRAVEL: Travis AFB to Rosie
the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historic Site in Richmond across the Richmond
Bridge (toll $5) to John
Muir Woods
National Monument in Mill Valley back and across the Congressman George
Miller Bridge (toll $5) to Port
Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial in Concord to John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez and return to Travis
AFB. A trip of 157 miles.
A rare find – this Visitor Center just opened in 2012. A small building but very adequate. You have to enter through the gate of the Ford Assembly Plant in order to get to the site. The Ford Plant made tanks during WW II.
This site was part of the Henry Kaiser’s shipyards during WW II. The whole area became a wartime production center. The city of Richmond grew from 23,000 to 130,000 in a year. There were over 747 ships, mostly Liberty and Victory ships – launched in Richmond during WW II. Kaiser’s success was due to an innovative prefabricated assembly method. This allowed inexperienced workers to perform small repetitive tasks which sped up construction and opened up more jobs for workers.
 |
| WW II Propaganda posters |
 |
| Mapn |
The site highlights
the Home Front during WW II. Almost every town in the US focused on war
production – this area is to represent all.
Kaiser was innovative and provided many firsts for workers.
Child Care Medical Preventive
Care Mass Production of
ships
Equality in work force
I spent about two
hours here with Rosie
the Riveter and Wendy the Welder.
There are a number of women “Rosies”
who come here daily to share their stories of working in the shipyards during
WW II. A true resource.
 |
| Muir Woods |
 |
| Cars parked everywhere |
When
John Muir learned that William
and Elizabeth Kent
were naming a redwood forest near San Francisco in his honor, he declared, "This is the best
tree-lovers monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the
world."
The couple had purchased the land to preserve its beauty and restful
wilderness; and in 1908, they donated it to the federal government to protect
it from destruction.
 |
| Muir Woods - View of the untouched valley |
Unfortunately
it is to close to the city – I got there around noon and couldn’t find a
parking space within 2 miles of the Visitor Center – perhaps
another day
There
is a $7.00 entrance fee.
The exact location
and entrance to this site is a closely guarded secret. It is not user friendly. The site is an US Army ammo loading facility –
RESTRICTED ACCESS.
 |
| The guy in this building was just plain unfreindly - like why are you bothering me - go away! |
The Army MP at one gate said tours were only
on weekends and you had to sign up two weeks ahead of time. She directed me to
the Entrance/Visitor’s Station. The very unfriendly Navy petty officer at the Entrance/Visitor’s
Station said I had to call
the NPS for a tour – there
was a soldier there but he was quikly put down by the Navy petty officer – ‘ tours
are given only given once a month.’ When
I asked how or what number to call – he said – its on the website – WRONG –
this Navy guy was useless.
Just designated a National
Memorial in 2009 it has growing
pains.
When I got to John
Muir NHS I spoke with a
ranger who gives the tour – the next available date was Oct 24. The tour starts at the John
Muir NHS and they bus you
over to the site – ammo – security check – fear of explosion – security breach.
On July 17, 1944
there was a tremendous explosion where 320 sailors and other dock worker lost
their lives as a result of what was charged as unsafe loading practices. Some workers refused to work under the same
conditions and the Navy put them on trial for mutiny. All the munitions loaders were
African-American. The trial is looked at
as a little known but important chapter in the history of US civil rights.
“The battle for conservation will go on endlessly. It is universal warfare between right and
wrong.” John Muir
Muir is often
called the “father of the National Parks.”
Muir urged people to experience wild nature so they would be inspired to
defend it and save it.
While attending the
University of Wisconsin, Muir read Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau on nature. He studied Louis Agassiz’s new geology and Asa Gray’s plant science.
 |
| John Muri - "quote" |
.
 |
| John Muir House after Dr, Strentzel died |
This home in Martinez,
CA was his father-in-laws. He married ‘Louie’
Strentzel, the only
surviving child of Dr. and Mrs. John T. Strenzel, in 1879. The Muir’s had two
daughters. When Dr. Strentzel died this
home and properties became Muir’s. His wife ran the farm and urged
Muir to write and promote the cause of conservation. Muir died in 1914 at age 76.
1838 John Muir born April 21.
1867 “A Thousand Mile Walk” from Indiana to the
Gulf of Mexico.
1868 California
1872 Began writing for the Overland Monthly magazine
1879-1881 Alaska trips
1882-1887 Manages fruit ranch in Martinez
1889 Campaigns for Yosemite National Park
1890 Writes Century
magazine articles. Yosemite
National Park established. Explores Muir Glacier in Glacier
Bay, Alaska
1892 Helps found Sierra Club, elected as first president
1898 Honorary degree from University of Wisconsin
1903 Camps in Yosemite with President Theodore
Roosevelt
1906 Explores Arizona and the Petrified
Forest
1908 Muir Woods established begins fighting
against damming Yosemite National Park’s Hetch
Hetchy Valley. He loses the battle.
1909 “Stickeen” published
1914 Died December 24, age 76
SATURDAY October 10, 2015
WEATHER: . 61 at 4:15 am, first time I’ve
seen dew on the truck in at least 10 days. As I drove closer to San
Francisco the fog got
thicker – really thick across the bridges but by 10 am it burned off. In the high 60’s to mid 70’s along the
bay. It was 83 when I returned to Travis.
TRAVEL: Travis AFB to across the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge (I-80 $5 toll) all around and
through downtown San Francisco thanks to On Star to Fort Point NHS – the Presidio
Visitor Center of Golden
Gate NRA across the
Golden Gate Bridge to Marin
Headlands Visitor Center across the Richmond
Bridge (I-580 another
$5 toll) roaming to locate sports bars for tomorrows
Packer Game and finally back
to Travis AFB. A total
of 156 miles.
Sports bars out
here are appear to be defined as golf courses with a bar – really!
 |
| Fort Point |
From
its vantage point overlooking the spectacular Golden
Gate,
Fort Point defended the San Francisco Bay following California's Gold Rush
through World War II. Its beautifully arched casemates display the art of 3rd
system brick masonry and interacts gracefully with the Golden Gate Bridge.
 |
| The Golden Gate Bridge was built to save Fort Point NPS Photo |
Fort Point was built between 1853 and 1861 by the U.S. Army Engineers as part of a defense system of forts planned for the protection of San Francisco Bay. Designed at the height of the Gold Rush, the Fort and its companion fortifications would protect the Bay's important commercial and military installations against foreign attack. The Fort was built in the Army's traditional "Third System" style of military architecture (a standard adopted in the 1820s), and would be the only fortification of this impressive design constructed west of the Mississippi River. This fact bears testimony to the importance the Military gave San Francisco and the gold fields during the 1850s.
 |
| Columbiad |
 |
| Officers Quarters |
 |
| Golden Gate Bridge |
In
the late 1930s, plans for the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge also involved plans for the demolition of Fort Point. Fortunately, Chief Engineer Joseph Strauss
recognized the architectural value of the Fort and created a special arch which
allowed the construction of the bridge to occur safely over Fort Point.
After
World War II, the movement to preserve Fort Point for its
historic and architectural value began to grow. Over the next 20 years, support
for the preservation movement waxed and waned. In 1959, a group of retired
military officers and civilian engineers created the Fort Point Museum
Association
and lobbied for its creation as a National Historic Site. On October 16, 1970, Fort Point became a National
Historic Site.
236 GOLDEN GATE National Recreation Area, Golden Gate National
Park, San Francisco, CA
The
park chronicles 200 years of history, from Native American culture, Spanish
Empire frontier, California Gold Rush, evolution of American coastal
fortifications, and growth of urban San Francisco; comprising of 19 separate
ecosystems & home to 1,273 plant/animal species.
There
is way too much to see here.
NORTH of the Golden Gate
Bridge:
Stinson
Beach Tennessee
Valley
Mount
Tamalpais Marin
Headlands
Muir Woods National Monument Fort Baker
Muir
Beach Overlook
Muir
Beach.
SOUTH of the Golden
Gate Bridge:
Fort Mason China
Beach
Crissey Field Lands
End
Fort Point National Historic Site Cliff
House
Presidio Ocean
Beach
Baker Beach Fort
Funston
. . . . and there’s more –
Olema Valley Sweeney
Ridge
Bolinas Lagoon Phleger
Estate
Milagra Riadge Alcatraz
I have a feeling
that most San Franciscans see less than ¼ of this. You can easily spend a week or more just in Golden
Gate Recreation Area. Muir Woods and Fort Point are must sees. The Presidio is close to the ocation of Golden
Gate Visitor Center.
However, this was a
Saturday and Californians love to run and ride bicycles up and down the hills
of San Francisco. Golden
Gate was full of
joggers and cyclists and walkers – many in anticipation of an Air Show. The Blue Angels were scheduled to perform over
the Bay in the afternoon. Bottom Line –
crowds. I’m glad I went early
FORT POINT NHS VISITOR CENTER open 10 am – 5 pm Closed Wednesday is located within the fort. Got there around 9:45 am – the
government doesn’t open the doors until
10 am. A number of films that can be
viewed – many do not come to see the films.
It doesn’t matter the Volunteer starts them with or without and audience
per the schedule. A full day of
activities were planned for almost every hour.
Located right under the Golden Gate Bridge.
GOLDEN GATE NRA - PRESIDIO VISITOR CENTER open Daily 10 am – 4pm – The
army turned this over to the NPS when it closed the post in the mid 90’s. This was HQ to 6th Army and up to that time was the
longest continuously active military post in the US – over 200 years under the
flags of three governments Spain-Mexico-United States
.
 |
| Map of the Presidio |
 |
| Presidio Visitor Center |
You could spend the
day here if you have the time and like to walk.
Just across the street from the VC is a Transportation Center where you can take city
buses. If I would have planned this
better it might be a good place to park and see the city.
The is a one mile Main
Post Walk that highlights
200 years of history and architecture.
The brochure for the walk is free at the VC. I saw a Disney Family Museum – but did not go in.
Spanish Colonists
established a presidio in 1776 – a Spanish term for a walled fortification
where soldiers and their families lived.
Six of the 13 bronze Spanish cannon that were used at the harbor
entrance are still at the Presidio today. General Mariano Vallejo (the same Vallejo of Sonoma and
the mission) was the Presidio Commandant in 1834. Alameda is Spanish for avenue.
 |
| Building 38 Former HQ 6th US Army |
Built in 1940, Bldg 38 served as HQ for
6th US Army from 1946 to 1995.
GOLDEN GATE NRA - MARIN HEADLANDS VISITOR CENTER open Daily 9:30 am – 4:30 pm You have to cross the Golden
Gate Bridge to get here – just
west of Sausilito. Another military base and former Nike site – saved from development in
the 60’s thanks to Golden Gate NRA.
 |
| Marin Headlands - map |
 |
| Marin Headlands Visitor Center |
This Visitor Center is located in the former Fort Barry Chapel. A nice set of exhibits and friendly rangers. At the Presidio VC the ranger was not very helpful and the Fort Point folks were just putting in time – ruins of a 3 day federal holiday. Plenty of hikers use the place a way station.
No toll to cross
the Golden Gate going North; there is a toll to return.
SUNDAY October 11, 2015
SCHEDULED POWER OUTAGE TRAVIS AFB 0700-1900
WEATHER: 61 at 4:45 am, dew on the cars
again. Pleasant – mostly sunny – high of 86.
It was 79 when I returned to the trailer at 7 pm.
TRAVEL: Travis AFB to Our
Lady of Mt. Carmel in Fairfield. With time to spare I drove to Danville and the site of the Eugene
O’Neill NHS – a disappointment
– no access without an appointment – so on the Fremont and Mission
San Jose – then to a
sports’s bar for the 2nd half of the Packers-Rams game – still early drove to Mission
Santa Clara (on the grounds
of the University of Santa Clara) – and another 30 miles to Santa Cruz and Mission
Santa Cruz – Total
trip 244 miles. A 104 mile return trip.
Mass 8 am at OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL Church in Fairfield, CA. A large church, with a large dome hall – at least 300 in attendance. The congregation was 40-50% Asian – no surprise that the celebrant was Asian. His homily was not boring – I listened – he even made a joke or two. No school on the campus.
I checked the website which indicated this site was open today with tours at 10 and 2 - Closed Monday and Tuesday. Unfortunately NPS doesn’t leave a key under the mat for the locked gate.
Disappointing – just like my visit to Port Chicago National Memorial. Unfortunate, the NPS in very small print on its brochure says “Visits to the site are by reservation only” – Of course, you usually have to visit the site in order to get a brochure – luckily I got one at Rosie the Riveter – did not read the almost last line. I’ didn't read the fine print on the website. Unsure if I’ll make an attempt to visit here again.
Salvaged the
disappointment by visiting three of California Mission sites and watching the last half
of the Packer-Rams game.
14 MISSION SAN JOSE, 43300 Mission Blvd. Fremont, CA
Mission San Jose
was the 14th of the Alta California missions. It was founded by Franciscan Padre
Fremin Francisco de Lasuen in 1769. The site was an Ohlone village. The soil here was fertile and water was
plentiful. By 1831 the Mission Indians
numbered about 1,886.
The church has been
completely rebuilt – restored. St.
Joseph is the active
parish on the site. There is a small
gift shop which asks a $5 fee to visit the church and small museum. .
The interior is
reconstructed to what may have
been its decoration in the years 1833-1840. There are two side altars.
been its decoration in the years 1833-1840. There are two side altars.
In 1832 the mission
owned 12,000 cattle and 12,000 sheep.
The roof of the original church collapsed in an earthquake in 1868. The buildings were too badly damaged to
repair.
 |
| San Jose - St. Joseph Church |
 |
| San Jose - altar |
 |
| San Jose - inside |
 |
| Kirby's |
 |
| Mission Santa Clara Santa Clara University campus |
Mission Santa Clara, the 8th California Mission founded in 1777, was the most
prosperous mission in the north.
However, flood, earthquake and fire destroyed the mission again and
again. It was rebuilt in five different
locations. |
| Santa Clara - altar |
 |
| Santa Clara |
 |
| Santa Clara St Clare above altar with Ciborium & Staff |
 |
| Mission Santa Clara |
In 1852 the missions was transferred to the Jesuits who founded Santa Clara College. The mission
 |
| Vestments in Museum |
I visited the Art
& History Museum de Saisset on the campus of Santa
Clara University.
It is adjacent to the rebuilt mission church.
12 MISSION SANTA CRUZ, 144 School St, Santa Cruz, CA
Mission Santa Cruz (founded 1791)was the 12th Franciscan mission along the El
Camino Real.
An 1840 earthquake
destroyed the mission bell tower and a second quake on January 9, 1857 ,
toppled the front wall of the church and crumbled many of the remaining
buildings. In 1891 Holy Cross Church replaced the original mission
church.
The current mission
church is a half scale representation of the original church. There was a gift shop that gained you
entrance to the church – it closed on Sundays at 2 pm.
A little farther down
the road is the only remaining original mission building – a 7 room,
refurbished, adobe that the Indian families built and lived in. It is in the Santa Cruz Historical Park.
I got to walk through the site just before it closed at 4 pm. A nice visit.
MONDAY October 12,
2015
COLUMBUS DAY – FEDERAL HOLIDAY
WEATHER: 59 at 5:15 am, clear it got up to
92 today – it’s HOT. I am not looking
forward to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Utah next year and the trip
home across Kansas and Missouri August. At least the beer is cold.
TRAVEL: nothing of consequence
Updated the blog. Did laundry.
Started reading The
Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny and
the Fight for Civil Rights. Updated and
balanced my accounts. Got the oil changed and tires rotated at Fairfield
Chevrolet – they even washed and dried the truck - Excellent
Service – a very friendly staff – I’d give them FIVE STARS..
STRIKE ONE Tried to make an appointment for a tire change on the trailer – the
right left rear tire of the trailer is smooth on the outside. Happy
Daze RV, a member of
the RV Priority Network did not have an opening until November. I called Camping
World in Vacaville,
CA– left a message for a callback – no callback – called again – Service Dept
would not answer the phone – typical of Camping World – they struggle to be even
average. I’ll see if the Firestone
Service Center here on the
base will change a trailer tire.
STRIKE TWO Tried to make an appointment to visit Eugene O”Neill NHS.
Of course, they’re closed Monday and Tuesday.
Made a room
reservation to stay at Yosemite – decided it
saves time (not money) to stay in Yosemite – in comfort rather than spend 3 -4
hours daily just driving there and back -
If I can’t get the trailer tire fixed I’ll just leave the trailer in
storage here..
TUESDAY October 13,
2015
WEATHER: 64 at 4:30 am – clear – dew point
not reached – the truck still is shiny – forecast calls for a day even warmer
than yesterday – 80’s in the city by the bay.
It was 97 when I returned to Travis at 3:45 pm.
TRAVEL: Travis AFB across the
Miller Bridge and then the
Oakland Bay Bridge ($6.00 toll) to San
Fracisco Maritime Museum NHS to the Golden
Gate NRA – Golden Gate Pavilion to Golden Gate NRA Lands
End to Mission
San Franciso de Asis (Mission Dolores) and return via I-80 – now with the $5 toll at the Miller
Bridge. This is a 52 mile trip that took 2 hours and
20 minute. The traffic on I-80 was
tremendous.
 |
| Entrance |
At the end of Fisherman’s
Wharf and the trolley line I’ve visited this place
before – just before my trip to China in 2007.
San Francisco has a seafaring past and this site offers a bit of that
history.
In addition to the Visitor
Center museum, located in
the old brick warehouse next to the Argonaut Hotel, there are five sailing vessels
available for tour at the Hyde Street Pier.
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| Moored Ships at Hyde Street Pier |
The Balclutha is a square rigger
built in Scotland to haul California wheat to Scotland. It has survived because it kept working after
other vessels of its class were scuttled.
The C.A. Thayer is a schooner
representative of hundreds that sailed the California coast. An eight man crew piled the deck high with Douglas fir, the raw
material for Califronia cities in the 1900’s.
The Eppleton Hall is a tugboat built in 1904 in England.
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| Fisherman's Wharf Deal |
The Eureka was built to ferry trains
across the bay. It was rebuilt in 1929
to handle passengers and automobiles.
The Hercules is a steam driven
tugboat built in 1907 in Camden, NJ.
Just down the street from Hyde Street Pier is Pier 45 where you can visit the USS Pampinito, a WW II submarine and the Liberty ship Jeremiah O’Brian.
Plenty of shops and restaurants on Fisherman’s Wharf.- along Jefferson Street.
PACIFIC WEST REGION INFORMATION CENTER – appear to be located in the San Francisco Maritime NHS Visitor Center. There was no ranger or volunteer in this room – it highlighted the San Francisco Bay Area NPS sites.
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| Golden Gate Pavilion - map of the area |
 |
| Golden Gate Pavilion At end of Golden Gate Bridge |
GOLDEN GATE NRA - GOLDEN GATE PAVILION open Daily 9 am – 6 pm. I parked in a lot called Fort Winfield Scott and walked here.
 |
| Golden Gate - View form Pavilion You can walk across the bridge |
GOLDEN GATE NRA - LANDS END VISITOR CENTER open DAILY 9 am – 5 pm I found the park and golf course but not the visitor center.
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| Japanes Monumnet Gift ot City of San Francisco at Lands End |
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| Mission San Francisco de Asis Mission Delores |
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| Model of Mission |
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| Father John O'Connor and Pope John Paul II |
This is the oldest intact mission in California – 114 ft long – 22 ft wide – with 4 ft thick adobe walls. Masses are still celebrated here. It survived the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906 with hardly any damage. Mission San Francisco was named a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1952. Pope John Paul II visited here. It was the first California mission to receive that distinction. The large basilica/church is located next door. Both are churches of the Diocese of San Francisco.
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| Mission San Francisco de Asis - Mission Delores Altar |
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| Identification of statues above the altar - I've noticed St Michael is prominent on most the the mission altars I've seen Addtionaly St Clare is alos prominent |
WEDNESDAY October 14,
2015
WEATHER: 68 at 4:30 am – no dew – 86 at
1pm up to 92 by 3 pm
TRAVEL: Travis AFB to Muir
Woods NM – a 52 mile trip
that took 2 hr and 15 minutes and one $5 toll bridge - Rush Hour traffic is
unbelievable – a return trip to Travis AFB via Hwy 1 and 101 to I-80 was 62
miles in length but only took 1 ¼ hours with no tolls.
GOOD NEWS – Les
Scwab Tire is just down
the road and will change my trailer tire next week Friday, first thing in the
morning – they have a large bay in the rear where I can pull the truck and
trailer through – should take 20-30 minutes tops.
I left a message
on the reservation line for the Eugene O’Neill NHS – getting into this place is
like getting into Port Chicago NMem – only this is just a endless series of phone
messages – guess they don’t want to talk to people – worst service access I’ve
encountered for a NPS site yet.
 |
| Muir Woods Entrance to trails |
$7.00 ENTRANCE FEE
“This is the
best tree lovers monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of
the world” John
Muir
 |
| Muir Woods |
When John Muir learned that William and Elizabeth Kent were naming a redwood forest near San Francisco in his honor, he declared, "This is the best tree-lovers monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world." The couple had purchased the land to preserve its beauty and restful wilderness; and in 1908, they donated it to the federal government to protect it from destruction. Kent later served in the US House of Representatives, and in 1916 he introduced legislation creating the National Park Service.
Muir Woods’ benefit is also its bain – too close to the
city – this time I got there around 9:45 am found the parking lot half full. When I left it was starting to back up on ht
street like Friday..
The lot near the VC is ¾ parking for
buses and commercial tours – something tells me this is not what John Muir would have foreseen.
 |
| There are even signs asking people to be quiet It doesn't work |
 |
| Muir Woods - Cathedral Grove |
The trails in Muir Woods are asphalted or board-walked. Trails on the canyon
walls are dirt, narrow, steep, and rutted with tree roots. Stroller and
wheelchairs are not advised on most of the upper trails. I bought a Trail Map for $1.00..
Muir Woods
lies in the middle of the redwood's latitudinal range that spans from the
California/Oregon border to Big Sur, just south of Monterrey. The weather is mild
throughout the year, but summer is the busiest time to visit Muir Woods. As far as I’m concerned any time before 9 am
is a busy time. Best time to visit is
before 9 am and after 4pm.
 |
| Bohemian Club 1892 |
 |
| Muir Woods - Bohemian Grove |
The
regular summer coastal fog supplies critical moisture to redwoods in the dry
season. Fire is also has benefits –
clearing the forest floor of duff so redwood seeds can reach mineral soil. Fire also destroys bacteria and fungi in the
duff layer that can kill seeds before they germinate. The redwood’s thick
spongy bark insulates the tree from fire damage.
They
say the incredible diversity of flora and fauna at Muir Woods can be daunting some
times, elusive at other times. I found it elusive. The
redwoods themselves dominate the scene, but the humble Steller's jay, ladybugs,
ancient horsetail ferns, and the banana slug hold their own beneath the canopy.
Plants adapt to low light levels on the forest floor, while whole plant and
animal communities bustle in the canopy above our heads – never got up there.
Now
it clicks - Mt. Tamalpais EL
2490 and Tamalpais Park are
adjacent to Muir Woods. In the 70’s David Crosby released a solo album appropriately
entitled “If Only Could Remember My Name” – one of the cuts on the album is Tamalpais High (about 3 pm) – Now do you get it?
THURSDAY October 15,
2015
WEATHER: a dry 68 with some winds and
clouds at 5 am. It was in the 80’s then cooled off to the 70’s with some clouds
by early evening.
TRAVEL: Travis AFB to Cypress Grove GC to Napa/Sonoma and back to
Travis. It took less than an hour to drive there from the
golf course about 42 miles. The 32 mile
trip back took almost 2 hours – there are not many accidents during rush hour –
the usual 55 or 65 mph speed limit slows to less than 20 mph because of the
traffic on the roads.
EARTHQUAKE of 2.0 supposedly yesterday about 12 miles from
here – 5 miles north of Vacaville – never felt a thing.
Finished reading
“The Chicago 50: Disaster,
Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights.” A quick
read, the Navy still holds the Chicago 50 as Guilty of mutiny. Although a young Thurgood
Marshall fought to have
the verdict overturned, the Navy upheld an appeal filed in 1945. All of the 50 are dead but the fight still
goes on to have the Navy overturn the verdict of Guilty of mutiny. They paid a heavy price for defying
authority. The questions are: Was it really mutiny? Did racial prejudice taint the verdict? The Navy upholds the findings.
 |
| There was not water on this hole see the brown grass |
The ranger from Eugene
O’Neill NHS called about 1215,
apologized for not calling back earlier and asked if I could make the 2 pm
tour. I was almost to Sonoma so I asked
if I could attend tomorrow at 2 pm. OK.
SONOMA WINE COUNTRY
Parked on the
square in Sonoma. A person at the Visitor’s
Bureau was very
helpful and
suggested that I visit Benziger Family Winery in Glen
Ellen then Cline
Cellars or Jacuzzi
Family Vineyards on the return to
Travis.
 |
| Sonoma - Murphys Pub at the end of an alley |
I walked the
square in Sonoma. Plenty of shops, restaurants, bistros and
wine tasting places. After a thorough
review I decided on a cold Harp at an Irish pub aptly named Murphy’s – it tasted good - right sized – a 12 oz glass
not a pint – it hit the spot.
 |
| Benziger -aerial view, the ring of trees left on purpose Natural - a home for birds and owls who control rodents |
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| Benzinger - vineyard |
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| Nothing to waste - nothing artificial From the land to the land |
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| Benzinger - a Jack London story |
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| Jack London Saloon Glen Ellen, CA |
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| Jack London Saloon Call of the Wild movie poster |
If I remember
correctly, Hueblein bought the rights to the Glen Ellen name from the Benziger
Family for $80
million. The money was put back into the
business to make it biodynamic.
On the way back
I stopped at the Jack London Saloon in Glen Ellen for a beer. Jack London died in Glen
Ellen. London wrote adventure novels at the
turn of the century: Call of the Wild, The Seawolf – some were made into movies.
FRIDAY October 16,
2015
WEATHER: 62 at 5 am, mostly cloudy,
cleared and up to the low 80’s
TRAVEL: Travis AFB to Danville, CA (toll on the Miller Bridge) Travis
AFB I've travelled this route before
239 EUGENE O NEILL National Historic Site, Danville, CA
Below is from the website:
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| The Gate - Lots of oriental influence due to Carlotta Black keeps evil out Chinese characters on door |
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| Tao House - front |
The hassle was
worth the tour . . . .
The ranger was
outstanding – only three of us on the tour
Eugene O’Neill had been a wanderer before he came to Tao House. Born in NYC on October 16, 1888, the son of James
O’Neill, an actor who like
other stars of the time spent most of his time on the road. The young O’Neill was raised in hotel rooms and
theater wings. He was sent to Catholic
boarding schools and Princeton University.
 |
| Entry stairway from living room |
O’Neill believed that the
theatre should be taken as serious art rather than pleasant diversion. He experimented and aspired to the
tragic.
In 1920 he received the first of his four Pulitzer
Prizes for the tragedy Beyond the Horizon – a play that combined the real
and the poetic in a way Broadway playgoers had not seen. Two years later, the tragicomic Anna Christie won his second Pulitzer Prize.
In 1936 he was
awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature- his plays up to this tiem. With the stipend, he and his 3rd wife
Carlotta were able to build a house he came to call his “final home and harbor”” Tao
House. His daughter Oona married Charlie
Chaplin – O”Neill did not
approve of the marriage and disowned his daughter after she married Chaplin.
They remained married for over 30 years and had 8 children. One of them Geraldine Chaplin may be remembered for her role
in the movie Doctor
Zhivago.
 |
| Tao House - O'Neill's writing room & desk He never displayed his the Pulitzer or Nobel awards |
At Tao
House he wrote the
autobiographical plays, that rank among the highest achievements of the
English-speaking theatre: The
Iceman Cometh, Hughie, A Moon for the Misbegotten and Long
Day’s Journey Into Night. For the last play he received
his fourth Pulitzer Prize, awarded posthumously following
the New York premier in 1956.
Long Days Journey Into Night
“At the final curtain, there they still are, trapped within each other by
the past, each guilty and at the same time innocent, scorning, loving, pitying
each other, understanding and yet not understanding at all, forgiving but still
doomed never to be able to forget.”
O’Neill on the characters who were based on his family
O’Neill on the characters who were based on his family
He suffered from Parkinson’s Disease that caused his hands to
tremble and slowly robbed him of his ability to write. He found himself blocked when he couldn’t put
pencil to paper. Effectively silenced by
illness, he died in 1953.
 |
| This is half the reason why O'Neil built here Danville is below but there was very little to it when he purchased the property The view to the other side is even better |
The house has
fantastic views and in the 40’s was very isolated. A couple purchased the house after the
O’Neill’s moved out – after 22 years the state bought the property and much
more for a state park – the state eventually donated 7 acres and the Tao
House to the NPS in the mid 70’s.
SATURDAY October 17, 2015
WEATHER: 60 and windy at 4:30 am – partly
cloudy -
TRAVEL: Travis AFB to Vacaville, CA to Travis
AFB
Vacaville is
about 12 miles east – down I-80. My
grill rusted through. I found an all
stainless stell one at Camping World in Vacaville yesterday, but the price was $278.99. I looked on line and Camping
World has it for sale
at $179.92 – same price as Wal-Mart. Camping
World honored the
price.
Earlier this
week I had that today would be movie day. I saw two good movies in Vacaville –
could have seen a 3rd but this isn’t like watching 6 episodes of 24
at home.
Bridge of Spies – Excellent ----- Tom Hanks directed by Steven
Spielberg
The Martian ---- directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt
Damon – better than expected – perhaps not as good as Gravity,
but then most of
this film takes place on land - a good movie.
The third movie I would have seen is Everest.
SUNDAY October 18,
2015
WEATHER: 56 at 5 am mostly sunny – clouded
up as I headed toward the mountains – reached a low of 48 around 6700 feet –
low 50’s in the Yosemite Valley – mostly cloudy – some rain – an occasional short downpour.
.
TRAVEL: Travis AFB to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Fairfield, CA to Yosemite
NP
 |
| Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church |
 |
| Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Hall - a little like the Golden Rondelle |
Mass 8 am at OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL Church in Fairfield, CA. This
is the same church I went to last week Sunday – same celebrant but the deacon
gave a good homily on servant leadership – well he didn’t call it servant
leadership but it was from Mark’s gospel.
The challenge
today will be finding a place to watch the Green Bay – San Diego game. Since they play a California team it
shouldn’t be too hard. However, if I’m
in Yosemite – - - that is
the challenge. There was no place at Yosemite where I could find the game
televised.
 |
| Big Oak Flat Infromation Station - not much here |
The drive Yosemite’s
western Big Oak
Flat Entrance and Information
Station took about 3
hours. It was another hour to Yosemite
Valley. I made the right decision. This is no place for a trailer. If you come here, stay in a hotel or camp in
a tent. Make reservations way in advance
and if in the summer be prepared for traffic and lots of people.
 |
| Pictures can hardly do it justice |
240 YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Yosemite, CA
You don’t need
reservations to enter Yosemite. The cost to enter is $30. Tthe several lodging options are full most of
the year. I managed to make a 4 night
reservation at the Wawona Hotel, about an hour south of the Yosemite Valley, still in the park, the
olest hotel in the park. The Wawona is not a five star today but in
its day it probably was. If you stay in
the park make reservations early.
You can drive in Yosemite but use the shuttle as much as
you can after you’re lucky enough to find a parking spot. Still running at this time of year but not as
many people to move. There are
campgrounds in Yosemite – not necessarily for RVs – no electric.
I’m right at the
edge of the season, Tioga Pass and the road to Devils
Postpile was closed due to
snow. However, because of the rain and
snow this is the first time the falls have flowed since June. A double-edged sword.
The drive into the Valley was just awesome – the sheer
granite cliffs, the falls, the valley view of Half Dome and El
Capitan. Even with the clouds and rain – Yosemite is indescribable – except
perhaps by John Muir.
Plainly awesome – pictures do not tell the story – you have to feel
it. I was thinking after visiting
majestic Yosemite, why the Grand
Canyon except maybe for
color and expanse. This place is a
wonder.
Yosemite Village – a small village with more than most small villages have – obviously
set up for plenty of campers and tourists.
A hotel, a lodge, a large store, a large deli/restaurant, visitor
centers, wilderness centers, even a theater.
I saw an excellent film about Yosemite . . . . . and of course people
but not as bad as if it had been summer.
The shuttle runs a
loop and will take you from parking to all the attractions.
The Mariposa
Grove of Sequoias has a history. President Lincoln signed the bill that set aside
the Mariposa Grove along with scenic Yosemite Valley in 1864. In the years following,
a fire started in the grove and we began a 100 year history of protecting the
trees from fire, Protection was good but
we discovered that fire actually promotes the reproduction of these trees. It clears away competing firs and cedars and
exposes bare mineral soil for the tiny seeds to take root. Mariposa Gove is closed for restoration.
 |
| Galen Clark first explored Yosemite - long befroe John Muir Lincoln signed an act in 1864 to protect Yosemite and the Mariposa Grove - given to California Fredercik Law Olmsted - Landscape architect |
Coming into the Valley there was a 3 mile controlled
burn to south of the main road in the valley.
Most likely due to the rain it was deemed advisable and fairly safe.
I bought a ticket
for Lee Stetson’s one man show “The
Spirit of John Muir.” The performance will be in the Yosemite
Theater at 7 pm. The only drawback is the one hour mountain
road drive back to the Wawona Hotel – maybe I can get a room for one night in the Valley.
MONDAY October 19, stay
2015
WEATHER: 43 at 5 am at the Wawona Hotel,
foggy. – 42 all along the Glacier Point Road – 54 in the Valley by afternoon.
TRAVEL: . Wawona along the Wawona
Road up the Glacier
Point Road to Washburn Point – Glacier Point and the Sentinel
Dome Trail and Taft
Point Trail to Tunnel
View (Inspiration
Point) to Swinging Bridge to Lower Yosemite Falls and back to the Wawona
Hotel.
I saw my first
California bear today –
frolicking in the woods above the Wawona Raod as I was travelling to the Glacier
Point Road – he wasn’t
interested in coming down by the road –
he scampered off into the woods. So as
far as large animals go – Mule Deer in Point Reyes and a bear in Yosemite.
240 YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
“It is by far the grandest of
all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter” John Muir
 |
| Wawona Visitor Center Thomas Hill Studio |
Wawona Visitor Center & the Thomas Hill Studio is adjacent ot the Wawona Hotel.
 |
| View of Half Dome and the snow in the distant High Sierra form Glacier Point |
 |
| Half Dome from Washburn Point |
 |
| Three Brothers from Washburn Point |
 |
| Snow on the Sentinel Dome Trail |
 |
| View of Sentinel Dome from the trail |
Sentinel Dome Trail – my hike with a long sleeve t-shirt over a t shirt with a pack were warm. This is at least a 1.8 mile round trip hike. I took me at about 1 ¾ hours. The view is well worth the walk. A great palce to get a John Muir moment. This is a 400 ft gain in elevation. Sentinel Dome EL 8,122 ft – better views than Glacier Point.
 |
| View from the top of Sentinel Dome - Half Dome on the left |
Taft Point Trail – a 2.2 mile round trip hike – again about 1 ¾ hours. Giant fissures in the rock here are at the edge. At times the walk in the woods was more like Muir Woods should have been than Muir Woods was itself. Supposedly only a 200 ft gain in elevation but maybe that’s 200 up then down than up again and the return seems more up than down. Taft Point EL 7,503 ft.
Bridalveil Fall Trail – a ¼ mile one way walk to the base of the falls. Bridalveil Fall drops
620 feet. A steep one way climb. This
fall never dries up.
Tunnel View - often called Inspiration
Point. When The Glacier Point Road is blocked by snow this
venue provides the best view of Yosemite Valley.
I walked about a
mile from the Swinging Bridge Picnic Area lot through the Yosemite Lodge grounds to the start of the Lower
Yosemite Falls Trail. This is paved 1.1
mile walk but it can be steep enough to stop some. It takes you to the base of Lower Yosemite
Falls.
Hard to believe
that the falls were dry just 3 days ago – they just started flowing Sunday –
been dry since early June.
This may have been
my best day yet . . . . .
TUESDAY October 20,
2015
WEATHER: it was 40 at 5 am at Wawona – sun burned off the fog in the
valleys. It was cloudy and cool in the
high altitudes.
TRAVEL: Winona Hotel to Yosemite
Valley and out of the Valley to Tioga
Road to Devils Postpile and back to the Wanona
Hotel. This was a trip into the back country – to
the eastern side of the Sierra - no services along Tioga Road. A 116 mile one way 3 1/4 hour trip each way. Add another hour of drive time for the visit
to Yosemite Valley VC. A lot of windshield time.
I asked a ranger
at the Yosemite Valley VC if she could tell me anything about Devil’s
Postpile – she said “it was a pile or rocks” – she confirmed
that Tioga Pass was open. that I would not need chains this time of
year, and it would take at least three hours.
With those encouraging words I headed for Devils Postpile.
I did note the
temperatures as I went up down, way up down, way up down,-up and down again. Lots
of mountain driving. Not all the ups and
downs are documented.
EL 3,000 58
EL 8,000 48
EL 9,000 39
EL 9.945 37
way up
EL 8,000 41
EL 7,000 48
EL 9,000 39
It was 62 when I
got back to Wawona.
240 YOSEMITE National Park
Tioga Road – leads to Tulomne
Meadows Visitor Center which is closed
for the season – through the Yosemite Tiogo Pass Entrance EL 9,945 ft and down to the Mono
Basin Scenic Area and US 395. This road is closed November to May.
Olmsted Point is along Tioga Road – .
 |
| Olmsted Point - The boulders were dropped by the glacier. They are called erateics |
 |
| Olmsted Point - view |
Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center – CLOSED FOR THE SEASON
Tioga Pass Entrance Station EL 9,945 ft and Tioga Peak EL 11,528 ft – rangers were manning the entrance station. It was cold and I didn’t stop to locate Tioga Peak.
Mona Basin Scenic Area Visitor Center – didn’t stop here but the Mona
Basin itself is high
desert – surrounded by the Sierras. The VC is on US 395 just north of Lee
Vining.
Well, the ranger at
Yosemite Valley VC was pretty much on target – it’s a “pile
of rocks.”
 |
| Devil's Postpile |
Devil’s Postpile is a columnar basalt formation. Due to volcanic activity is flowed
about 82,000 years ago. The basalt
lava was thick with a consistent mineral composition, and it cooled slowly
and evenly. As the lava cooled it
contracted and split into symmetrical, vertical, hexagonal columns that today
make up Devil’s Postpile.
 |
| Geology of Devil's Postpile |
Some 20,000 to
12,000 years ago a glacier flowed down the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River and overrode the fractured mass
of lava. The moving ice carved away one
side of the postpile, exposing a sheer wall of columns 60 feet high.
 |
| Devil' Postpile |
Originally part of Yosemite
NP, Devil’s Postpile lost it’s protected
status in 1905 with pressure from mining interests. They planned to dynamite the formation and
make a rock dam on the river. Activists
persuaded President William Howard Taft to restore Federal protection to Devil’s Postpile by proclaiming the national
monument in 1911.
 |
| Mammoth Mountain SkiResort Waiting for more snow |
It looks like there
is plenty of activity in this area – campgrounds – hiking trails - the long distance John
Muir Trail and Pacific
Crest Trail cross the
park. A shuttle runs along the narrow
road in the Inyo National Forest during the summer season.
Winter looks like
skiing at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area Resort – before you enter
the federal land..
WEDNESDAY October 21,
2015
WEATHER: 46 and clear at 5 am. A beautiful day – clear blue sky – got up to
the 60’s
TRAVEL: Wawona Hotel to Curry
Village – used the Yosemite
Shuttle to get around
the Valley.
I decided not to
spend another 6 hours driving by going to Hetch-Hetchy – it’s an hour drive to the Valley then another hour to the
turn–off near where I came in on Sunday.
Maybe if I was staying in the Valley – maybe on the way out
tomorrow.
Unable to save
changes on the blog this morning – this has happened before – just
frustrating. I lose a lot of time. Never
sure why – maybe it’s the location – maybe it’s the connection – just
frustrating.
I decided not to
drive from the Yosemite Theater this evening back to the Wawona, so I was able
to get a heated room with a shower bath at Curry Village. Accommodations are less sparse
at Curry but it is in
the Valley. The room was about the size of an old BOQ room at Fort
McCoy without a desk
– chest of drawers, carpeted, shower, closet, double bed, clean sheets. I could have gotten a regular $99 plus taxes
unheated tent for $29 but thought comfort was in my interest. This may not be a bad option if you come
prepared to camp – live outdoors.
240 YOSEMITE National Park
After arrival at Curry
Village I got on the
shuttle and went for a hike on the Mirror Lake Trail.
The route I took was in the forest but it must also have been a horse
trail – plenty of “apples.” I had to
watch where I stepped – but it was peaceful – a road less travelled. This is called Mirror
Lake because the water
reflects the mountains and cliffs above.
Actually, it is a “pool in an intermittent stream.” No water in the pool at this time of
year. I got to walk through the pool/lake. Even with the rain over the weekend, it was
dry. It was about a 2 ¼ mile walk. Fairly easy, as easy in Yosemite goes. I took the paved road back. Most people take the road to and from. No pictures – forgot my phone.
 |
| Yosemite Shuttle System |
 |
| This would be a day hike |
I explored more of
the park in the Valley. Saw the 30 minute movie in the theater
again. Perhaps, I would return to Yosemite – but stay in the Valley and hike the trails up to Lower
Yosemite and Vernal
Falls. Sentinel Dome and Glacier
Point are almost
directly above where I’m staying.
Trailheads for Vernal and Nevada
Falls are also not far
away.
Dinner was at the Mountain
Room of the Yosemite
Lodge.
Attended a
performance by John Stetson. He portrays John
Muir – tells stories of
his life. An all but full theater – good
performance – he told some stories of his adventures in the wild. I’m glad I’ve read a couple of his books,
visited Muir Wood and his home – it
made the portrayal more enjoyable.
THURSDAY October 22,
2015
WEATHER: it was 40 degrees at 7:30, in the
50’s with wind at Hetch Hetchy and 82 when I got back to Travis – clear with wisps of clouds
TRAVEL: Yosemite’s Curry Village to Big Oak Flat Entrance to Hetch Hetchy Entrance (I was the first day use visitor) to Travis AFB - a 4 hour return tirp with about 1 3/4 hour at Hetch Hetchy.
Hetch Hetchy –
“ a wonderfully exact
counterpart of the great Yosemite” John Muir
 |
| First in the Park on 10/22/15 |
 |
| The Hetch Hetchy Valley resevoir the waterfall on the left is dry - you may barely see the smaller waterfall in the center |
 |
| Hetch Hetchy |
 |
| View below the dam |
Congress passed the Raker Act in 1913 authorizing the construction of a dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley, as well as another dam at Lake Eleanor. The first phase of the dam was completed 1923. The second phase raising the height of the dam was completed in 1938.
Today the 117
billion gallon reservoir supplies unfiltered Sierra Nevada drinking water to 2.4
million Bay Area residents. The
reservoir is 8 miles long.
Hetch Hetchy’s relatively low elevation provides for one of the longest hiking seasons
in Yosemite. Numerous trails are in the Hetch
Hetchy area. I wanted to get back to Travis, do laundry and
prepare for tomorrow – I did little hiking ----- however,
WAPAMA FALLS TRAIL – a 5 mile round trip that follows the shoreline of the reservoir.
LOOKOUT POINT TRAIL – a 2 mile hike brings you to a rocky outcropping overlooking Hetch
Hetchy Valley.
At Travis I did laundry and prepared for
leaving tomorrow.
FRIDAY October 23,
2015
WEATHER: 56 at 5 am; warmed up quickly, 68
partly sunny when I arrived in Monterrey.
TRAVEL: Travis AFB Fam Camp to Les
Schwab Tire in Fairfield to
Monterrey Pines RV Resort . About 158 miles; a three hour trip in addition to
the hour layover at Les Schwab
Tire. They really impressed me.
 |
| Trailer at Monterey Pines |
I had the spare
mounted to replace the right rear trailer tire which was worn smooth on the
outside edge. Les
Schwab has several
locations – highly recommended – they certainly know service.
Monterrey Pines is a Naval MWR Facility – Golf course looks very nice –
well kept. The RV
Park - well the sites are not level – dirt sites –
enough room – quiet. We’re near the
Monterrey Airport – more activity here than at Travis.
WIFI available but
very slooooow at times.
SATURDAY October 24,
2015
WEATHER: 56 at 5 am - .
TRAVEL: Monterrey Pines RV Resort to Martinez (NPS van to Concord and
back) to San
Juan Bautista to Monterrey
Pines.
It was a 2 ½ hour
135 mile back along the road I took to get to Monterrey in order to meet the
ranger at the John Muir NHS and take the NPS van to the Port
Chicago National
Memorial. There were six of us on the tour. We saw a ten minute video on Port
Chicago. Additionally, I saw a 25 minute video on John
Muir that I didn’t see
two weeks ago when I was here.
During WW II, Port
Chicago on Suisun Bay
offered a deepwater terminal, rail connections and isolation from highly
populated areas – a perfect location for loading munitions.
The seaman assigned
as loaders were all African-American.
Still segregated, the black munition loaders were supervised by white
officers and black petty officers. The
facility ignored advice from the local long-shoremen’s union and the US
Coast Guard regarding safer
loading practices – specifically - two munition ships on the same dock at the
same time.
 |
| The Wreackage |
On the night of
July 17, 1944 two ships were being loaded.
The E.A. Bryan was
almost full. The Quinault Victory would start loading at midnight. Sixteen rail cars lined the pier loaded with
1,000 pound bombs, depth charges, and incendiary bombs. .
The Explosion
No one is sure what
happened - only that a 10:18 pm there
was a tremendous explosion, followed seconds later by a much larger one that
obliterated ships, pier, cars and humans..
 |
| Pier One Before and After |
Mutiny
Survivors
anticipated 30 days leave – as their officers had received – and transfer to
other duty, but the Navy granted neither.
Instead they were sent to Mare Island Naval Shipyard and on August 9 were marched
into the shipyard’s munitions pier to resume loading. Initially, 258 refused, saying they were
afraid to load. Threatened with death by
firing squad for mutiny during war, 208 went back. They were given bad
conduct discharges after serving out their
terms. The 50 who persisted faced the largest
mass mutiny trial in naval history.
The prosecutor
built a case on what was called “collective“
acts to subvert established authority.
The defense argued that while the 50 had refused to load, this was a
result of each man’s fear and not a conspiracy to overthrow a superior.
NAACP attorney Thurgood
Marshall publicly asked
hard questions about the base’s safety practices, but the 50 were convicted and given
sentences of 8-15 years. After the war the
Navy (President Truman) granted clemency to the 50 and put them on ships to serve
out their enlistments.
Their convictions
were not overturned, but their acts of civil disobedience brought to light the
injustice of racial segregation in the military. The 50 received dishonorable discharges.
When I made a
reservation for this tour on October 10 at the John Muir NHS, I purchased The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny and
the Fight for Civil Rights. I’ve since read the book, a National
Book Award nominee and Newberry
Honor winner. An easy read.
 |
| Port Chicago Memoral Plaques list names of all killed in the explosion Remains of the pier in the background |
320 men died in the Port
Chicago explosion
representing a cross-section of the base’s workforce: 202 African-American enlisted personnel
working as loaders (15% of all African-American deaths in WW II); 9 of their
officers, 64 members of the US Maritime Service serving as crew on the two
ships, 33 members of the of the US Navy Armed Guard assigned to protect the
ships, 3 civilian Navy workers, 3 civilian contractors, 5 US Coast Guard fire
boat crewmen and a Marine Guard on duty that night.
Their deaths called
attention to safety problems at munitions facilities. The Navy did address the issues of both
safety and segregation in the months following the tragedy. In 2011
President Obama declared Port
Chicago a National
Memorial. Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer wrote a letter in September 2015
requesting Obama to overturn the
Navy court martial conviction of mutiny. All of the 50 are deceased.
 |
| Mission San Juan Bautista |
 |
| San Juan Bautista inside |
 |
| Contemporary John the Baptist |
Mission San Juan Bautisita was founded on June 24, 1797.by Father Fermin Lasmen. This was the last of the 6 missions founded in the land of the Ohlone. There were at least 28 Ohlone villages in the area surrounding San Juan Bautista.
 |
| San Juan Bautista - Gardens |
The mission quickly
attracted converts and more than 500 Ohlone were living at the mission by
1803. The largest number of converts was
1,248 in 1823.
The mission sits
almost directly on the San Andreas Fault. Construction on the current
church began in 1803. Completed in 1812 it is the largest of the 21
missions. The native population declined
and the church was larger than needed.
 |
| San Jaun Bautista - Restored Mission Square |
The mission was
secularized in 1835. It was one of the
only missions that has always had a pastor and services held since 1812. In 1859 the Catholic Church received the mission and 53
acres of land.
Today the mission
is a parish of the Diocese of Monterrey. In addition, to being the only
mission still located on the original Spanish Plaza, other historical buildings
on the plaza are protected in the San Juan Bautista State
Historical Park.
SUNDAY October 25,
2015
WEATHER: 59 at 5:30 am, a pleasant day,
overcast until noon then the sun broke
through and it got up to the 80’s
TRAVEL: Monterey Pines RV Resort to Pinnacles
National Park, a 75 mile one
way drive past Mission San Juan Bautista
243 PINNACLES National Park, Paicines, CA
$10 per vehicle entry fee – honor system pay at the Visitor
Center.
23
million years ago multiple volcanoes erupted, flowed, and slid to form what
would become Pinnacles National Park. What remains
is a unique landscape. Travelers journey through chaparral, oak woodlands, and
canyon bottoms. Hikers can enter rare talus caves and emerge to towering rock
spires teeming with life: Prairie and Peregrine falcons, Golden eagles, and the
inspiring California condor.
There
are over 30 miles of hiking trails at Pinnacles National
Park,
ranging from easy, flat walks to more challenging, all-day hikes. I didn’t take any of the easy trails but did
spend over 3 ½ hours on the trail
 |
| Trail Map - I took the high road |
The Condor Gulch Trail starts at the Nature Center and after 1.7 miles uphill connects
with the High Peaks Trail – another .6 mile
uphill to the Tunnel Hill Trail – stayed on the High Peaks Trail another .7 mile along a very
steep and narrow section of the trail literally in the Pinnacles - to the Juniper
Canyon Trail – stayed on the High Peaks Trail finally a 2 mile down hill walk back to the Nature
Center. So the 5.2 mile walk took
3/1/2 hours and at a minimum 1 ½ bottles of water – if the sun had been out for
the whole walk 1 ½ bottles would not have been enough.
 |
| Going Up the Condor Gulch Trail |
 |
| Condor Gulch Trail looking down at the Nature Center parking lot |
 |
| Volunteer with antenna trying to locate condors |
I ran into a lot on people on the trail but there were stretches were there was no one. I took a lot of pictures – impressed with the scenery and where I was, was going, and had been.
 |
| High Peaks Trail view |
 |
| High Peaks Trail Looking down to the Chapparel Parking Area on the Other side of the Park |
 |
| High Peaks Trail steps cut into the rock the picure does not do justice to how steep this is |
 |
| High Peaks Trail - A view from the top |
I
would have explored Bear Gulch Cave and Trail (another
1 ½ miles) but was only took 1 ½ bottles of water. I needed water and headed for the parking
lot.
Pinnacles, has a different type of cave in structure than
the traditional Karst topography cave formation. The talus caves of the Park
were formed when steep, narrow canyons filled with a jumbled mass of boulders
from the cliffs above. The canyons are the result of faults and fractures in
the central area of volcanic rock. These shear fractures filled with gigantic
toppled boulders are clear windows into the geologic wonder of the Park.
The Civilian
Conservation Corps
built trails through the caves in the 1930's and these trails have endured
many storms and travelers. The stairways and bridges they constructed were
needed to navigate the caves without the use of ropes and ladders. Today, the
Bear Gulch
and Balconies
caves are principal attractions for visitors at the Park.
|
BEAR GULCH CAVE
The
Bear Gulch Cave
provides a home to a colony of Townsend's big-eared bats as they rest there in
winter and raise their young in the late spring and summer. Townsend's
big-eared bats
are listed as a "sensitive
species" by the state of California, and we are required to protect
them. The colony in the Bear Gulch Cave is
the largest maternity colony between San Francisco and Mexico.
The
lower half of the Bear Gulch Cave is
usually open from mid-July through mid-May each year, depending on the presence
of the colony of bats. The entire cave is closed from mid-May to mid-July while
the bats are raising their young. For
these last two weeks of October, the entire cave open – parts you have to belly
crawl in.
Pinnacles, Muir Woods, and the Grand Canyon were all set aside as national monuments in the span of seven days in
January 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt. Pinnacles became a National
Park in 2013. I think it needs a lot of
work – i.e. investment.
MONDAY October 26,
2015
WEATHER: 51 at 5 am, clear no wind – reached the dew
point
TRAVEL: Monterrey Pines RV Resort to Carmel to Del Monte GC to Soldedad way out there.
Unable to
download Chase accounts for
six days – and Quicken Support doesn’t work on weekends – called at 5:45 am – was
supposed to be a 20 minute wait – it was
more like 45. Internet said 0 minutes
for phone service; 10 minutes for a live chat. Lesson Learned: Don’t believe the posting. This
download problem has occurred before - frustrating. After a 45 minute wait I spoke to “John unintelligible’ who said Chase was still working on the problem
with Quicken – sounded like
a script read – and he would not respond to anything that was not in the script
- useless – no feeling – computer voices have more feeling and response. Just wasted a lot of internet connect time - I’ll
get an e-mail – I’m not sure I believe Quicken – waiting . . . . . . . . . .
Monterey Pines RV Resort WIFI has been non-existent for the last two days –
typical for a government facility. It is
slow to connect very very frustrating – might as well not offer it.
 |
| Missions San Carlo Borremeo |
Charles Borromeo was archbishop of Milan and a cardinal.
He helped reform the Chruch and opened seminaries for the education of
priests. He was canonized by Pope Paul V in 1610.
This was the seond
mission founded by Junipero Serra on June 3. 1770. Also called the Carmel
Mission it was Junipero
Serra’s favorite. He is buried under the altar. The missions was originally located near the
presidio of Monterrey. It was moved 5
miles south by Father Serra to be near the mouth of the Carmel River. Monterrey became capital of California and Carmel became headquarters of the
missions.
The Native American
population of converts reach 876 in 1795
but by 1808 only 550 converts were living in the mission. In 1818 Hippolyte
de Bouchard, working for Argentina landed at Monterrey and burned the
Presidio, the mission was spared. Spain
was at war with Argentina.
The church was
secularized in 1834 and the lands around the mission were sold right up the
walls of the mission. The church had to
purchase land in front of the church so priests and congregation could go in
and out without trespassing. The
buildings deteriorated and in 1852 the roof collapsed. The church and 6 acres of land were returned
to the Church in 1859 but the buildings were not usable.
 |
| Crypts of Francican Missionaries in sanctuary of Mission San Carlos Borremeo Fr Junipero Serra in center |
 |
| San Carlos Borremeo Side Chapel Kneeler where Pope John Paul II prayed |
 |
| San Carlo Borremeo church inside |
 |
| Plaque in side chapel commemorating Pope John Paul II visit |
 |
| Junipero Serra's room |
A new roof was
built in 1884 – replaced in the 1930’s and the restoration began. Pope John XXIII named San
Carlos a minor basilica
in 1961. Today it is a church in the Diocese
of Monterrey.
DEL MONTE GOLF COURSE which is part of the Pebble
Beach Golf Resort Complex is just 6 blocks down the road from where I’m
staying. Actually, the Navy course where
I’m staying looks better – so I’ll play both tomorrow. I had a very good portabella with peppers
& onions sandwich at DEL MONTE.
Our Lady of Solitude. A name given to Mary following
the crucifixion and before the
resurrection.
 |
| Front of Mission Our Lady of Sorows - Soldedad |
The
Esselen were a very small
tribe living near the coast south of Carmel.
The area was not heavily populated and this is the only mission built in
their homeland.
Within a year Soledad had more than 100 native
converts. In 1805 the mission’s
population peaked at 688. By 1810 the
population declined to among the lowest of any mission. Epidemics caused converts to desert the
mission.
In 1824, 1828 and
1832 floods destroyed the church and rebuilt chapels. The roof of the 1832 chapel collapsed in
1874. The chapel was reconstructed in
1955 – making Soledad the last of the missions
to be restored. The Convento was reconstructed in 1963. It now serves as a museum. Very quiet here – in the middle of large
farming plots – lots of land not many people.
Soledad was secularized in
1835. The last Franciscan left in
1839. The mission was sold but in 1859
the church and 42 acres were returned to the Catholic Church but no priest was
assigned..
Today the mission
is part of the Parish of Our Lady of Solitude in the Diocese of Monterrey.
Not an active church but services are held occasionally
On the return I tried to locate the commissary – no luck. I did drive through the remains of Fort Ord. Fort Ord was home to the 7th ID (Light Fighters). It was closed in 1994. What I drove through is now University of California – Monterey. I did gain entrance to the Naval Post Graduate School – Naval Facility Monterey. They have a small exchange. I bought some groceries and gasoline.
TUESDAY October 27,
2015
WEATHER: 54 at 5:30 am
TRAVEL: Monterrey Pines RV Resort Golf
Course to Del
Monte Golf Course and back to Monterey Pines
 |
| Monterey Pines GC Club House/Grill - Pro Shop |
 |
| Monterey Pines #7 stats |
 |
| Monterey Pines #7 from the tee I landed to to right of the green |
MONTEREY PINES GOLF COURSE. This is a Navy MWR facility but
open to the public. Large pro shop and
spacious club house and grill.. I played
with three other guys. Green fees were
$24 plus $2 for a pull cart. I shot a 44
with a 7 on the first hole a 6 on the 2nd and 1 lost ball on a par
3. I can’t be that good - a fairly easy
course. No water on the front nine –
it’s been dry – lots of roll. There are
few tress but I found wood and 4 holes but member’s bounce. We played 9 in just under 2 hours walking.
 |
| Del Monte #4 This is where my 2nd shot landed I did not make the birdie |
 |
| Del Monte #2 314 yd Par 4 |
DEL MONTE GOLF COURSE. This course is part of
the Pebble Beach Golf Resort Complex.
Its claim to fame is that it is the oldest course in the Monterey
area. Old Club House – nicely
remodeled. The Pro shop is long and
narrow, likewise the bar and grill.
Green fees are $110 plus cart or caddie fee. The least expensive of the Pebble Beach
courses which run $495+, $395+ and $270+.
 |
| Del Monte #3 361 yd Par 4 This is where my 2nd shot landed |
 |
| Del Monte - one of 5 Pebble Beach Resort Golf Courses |
I got the twilight rate for $40 – I jumped in front of the foursome
on #1 and teed off on #2 until – I caught up with a twosome and tailed them for
3 holes until they finally let me through on #7. I got to #9 in about an hour. Decided to play the back nine until I caught
up with a single on #16 who was stalled – we finished the last three together. I shot a 44 on the back – finished #1 and had a score of 46 on the
front for a total of 90 on 18. My best
round ever.
WEDNESDAY October 28,
2015
WEATHER: . started at 59 at 5:45; 80 by
afternoon. Sunny and clear – wind up to
30 mph from the north.
.
TRAVEL: Monterrey Pines RV Resort to Vines
RV Resort in Paso Robles,
CA. A two hour drive of only 110 miles
to the south, just off Hwy 101. Just a
place to stop along the Mission Trail.
Near Camp Roberts but 10x better.
 |
| Vines RV Resort |
 |
| Trailer Site Vines RV Resort |
 |
| Wayside Marker - Camp Roberts |
California is
awaiting El Nino – every 15 or 20 years - last El Nino was 1997 - the good
surf will be up
on the coast and it will bring snow to the Sierras which will fill reservoirs;
the bad too much rain
will bring floods and mudslides – 1 in 5 Californian’s live in a flood plain, they even say Great Whites will be out in force with El Nino;
the ugly mudslides have
recently closed I-5 – a cleanup mess..
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT: The Republican Presidential Candidates
Debate. However it was on
CNBC – a cable
channel that I do not get and I couldn’t find it on the radio --- content with
watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. I heard an NPR clip where the greatest applause
was received after a candidate made a remark indicating that precisely because
of the line of questioning –‘the
American public does not trust the media’ – He indicated that questions
were targeted to dig dirt and be divisive. Hear- hear. I don't think I missed anything worth while.
THURSDAY October 29,
2015
WEATHER: 55 at 5:30 am.
TRAVEL: Vines RV Resort to USPS
& Mission San Miguel to Mission San Luis Obispo though Fort
Hunter Liggett to Mission
San Antonio de Padua, Jolon CA to Mission San Miguel and back to Vines.
Quicken &
Chase finally reconciled after a week. Oh
- of course I got no e mail update from Quicken. I never really expected them to contact me. A
week to solve an “internal” problem -
unacceptable.
|
| I didn't expect a 7-10 nile drive through an army CTC in order to reach Mission San Antonio de Padua |
Looking for a
post office I drove 3 miles north to San Miguel and found Mission
San Miguel one block from the post
office. A 37 mile mile to San
Luis Obispo over the Cuesta
Pass EL 1,572. The mission/church is just off of
downtown. I was there before 10 am but
plenty of places for lunch or dinner or beverages – quiet – pleasant. About 70 miles back the way I came past Camp
Robinson and Fort
Hunter Liggett to reach Mission
San Antonio de Padua. It is undergoing restoration and earthquake
proofing. No wonder it’s a retreat
center – literally at the end of the road just past the inside gate to the
Fort. Back to Mission
San Miguel.
 |
| Mission San Luis Obispo |
Founded September
1, 1772 by Junipero Serra with Fr. Jose Cavaller, it was the 5th of the 21 California Missions.
 |
| Mission San Luis Obispo Inside of church |
The mission served
the Chumash, a maritime
culture that traveled along the coast and lived from Morro
Bay to Malibu.
The population of converts reached a high point of 961 in 1805, but
because of deaths, the mission maintained its population only by attracting new
converts from the area.
 |
| Mission San Luis Obispo Altar |
The current church
was built between 1788 and 1790. It is
the 2nd oldest mission church in California. In the 1930’s the church was returned to its
1790 appearance.
 |
| Mission San Luis Obispo - Gardens |
Today the mission occupies a full block of downtown San Luis Obispo and is a parish church in the Diocese of Monterey.
3 MISSION SAN ANTONIO de
PADUA, End of Mission Rd, Jolon, CA |
| Mission San Antonio Front of Church |
Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) was born in Portugal.
His given name was Fernando and he may have been from the wealthy de
Bulhoes or Bouillon family. One fo the
most famous early followers of St. Francis, Anthony was a gifted preacher. He was
canonized by Pope Gregory IX in 1232.
The mission
developed rapidly due to the leadership of tow Franciscan padres. The mission was visited by Juan de
Anza in 1776. The arrival of de Anza also meant that a new road from
Mexico to California was open. |
| Mission San Antonio Sanctuary |
 |
| Olive Tree Mission San Antonio |
Restoration was
begun in 1903. William Randolph Hearst purchased 154.000 acres of former mission lands. In 1940 the War Department purchased the Hearst Lands to
establish Fort Hunter Liggett. With funds from the Hearst
Foundation the mission was
completely restored in 1948. Today it
serves as a retreat center for the Diocese of Monterrey.
It is being re-restored and updated with earthquake proof technology
with a target completion of 2017.
 |
| Mission San Antonio - Rose Garden |
16 MISSION SAN MIGUEL ARCANGEL, 795 Mission St, San Miguel, CA
 |
| Mission San Miguel - front |
Founded July 25,
1797 by Fr. Fermin Lasuen. It was the 16the of the 21
Californian missions.
Michael the Archangel is one of the principal angels in the Bible. He is usually represented as an angelic
warrior and ready to do battle with the devil. |
| Mission San Miguel extended walls |
 |
| Mission San Miguel - altar |
The current church
was built between 1816 and 1819, native converts under the directions of Esteban
Munras painted the
interior of the church. San
Miguel is the only
Californian mission with its original wall paintings.- never retouched of
painted over.
The population at
the mission reached 1,076 native converts in 1814. The death rate here was not as high as at
other missions. There were still 658
neophytes at the mission in 1832.
 |
| Mission San Miguel |
 |
| Mission San Miguel Olive Press |
 |
| Mission San Miguel Electric Votive Lights Make a donation Press the button 2 hours |
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| Mission San Antonio - Sanctuary |
San Miguel was secularized in 1834. The mission was sold in 1846; the church and 34 acres were returned to the Catholic Church in 1859. It was returned to the Franciscans in 1928 and is a parish church of the Diocese of Monterey.
FRIDAY October 30,
2015
WEATHER: it got down to 46 just before
sunrise, 48 at 0815, sky is clear. In
the 70’s along the coast, 83 when I returned around 4:45 pm.
.
TRAVEL: Vines RV Resort to Hearst
Castle, San Simeon, CA
(along Highway 1) and return to Vines.
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| George Hearst - William Randolph Hearst's father |
There is a large
Visitor Center with some exhibits, a coffee shops, snack bar, wine
bar serving Hearst wine and of course the gift shop. A fairly large staff runs this place. There is a 15 minute 5 mile bus ride from the
Visitor Center to the Castle.
BUILDING THE DREAM
In 1919,
newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst hired San Francisco architect Julia
Morgan to build a
hilltop house on what he called his “ranch
at San Simeon.” Their collaboration
on the project lasted from 1919 to 1947.
Morgan designed a Mediterranean
Revival estate and
filled it with art and antiques from Hearst’s vast collection. It is said that only 10% of the art he
collected was used on the property.
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| Hearst Assembly Room Where Guests gathered for cocktails before dinner Note tapestries, choir chairs along walls - Guide hat & suit was outstanding |
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| Hearst Refectory - Dining Room Styled after a Gothic Monestery - Hearst was not pretentous with dinnerware - i.e. common tableware, paper napkins, glass was not crystal, plates were stoneware, although he owned Bonaparte China The silver was candlesticks are authentic |
Hearst has a huge collection of whole ceilings, tapestries, Greek vases, and Spanish silver. Many of these were used in the construction of his house on the hill. Morgan had to be patient – Hearst came up with ideas and almost always changed his mind. For instance the Neptune Pool started out as a family swimming pool and after it was built and redesigned 3x the final from finally stayed.
It appears that Hearst
always wanted
his house on the hill to be viewed by the American public as a museum. After his death in the early 50’s the Hearst
Corporation and family trust gave the house and several miles of shoreline to
the State of California.
5 MASS at Mission San Miguel de Arcangel. This is just 4 or miles up Highway 101 from here. Visited here on Thursday. The mass was said by a Franciscan. All Saints Day. His homily was on target for the readings – interesting to listen to – the congregation was less than 50 strong which included one Franciscan and five nuns. The mass following was for children dressed as saints. The congregation cannot sing – it was not pretty. The Bishop of Monterey will be the celebrant of next week's 5 pm mass in honor of Father/Saint Junipero Serra.
SUNDAY November 1,
2015
19 MISSION SANTA INES VIRGIN y MARTYR, 1760 Mission Dr, Solvang,
CA
Agnes of Rome (c291-
c304) was an early Christian martyr.
According to tradition, a non-Christian Roman official wanted Agnes to marry his son. When she refused because she was a Christian
the official had her condemned to death.
Santa Ines is located between
Santa Barbara and La Purisma on land that had
previously been assigned to those two omissions. As a result it never had the extensive land
holdings of the other missions.
Santa Ines was secularized in
1834. The church was never abandoned and
in 1844 Santa Ines became the site of the first seminary in California.
Since 1924 the Capuchin
Franciscans have had authority
over the mission. The church is part of
the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Solvang, CA is Danish – I was looking for kringle- there are bakeries. The motif of all the shops and hotels and restaurants along the main road is Danish. An upscale Wisconsin Dells with no water parks or beer bars pt cheap looking motels – of course there are wine tasting rooms – and not as much traffic. Looks like a nice place to spend an afternoon.
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| Hearst - San Simeon shoreline |
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| Hearst - ceiling in Morning Room Hearst was a collector of ceilings Every room is idfferent |
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| Hearst's backyard - the house was located on a ranch WC Fields is to have said 'you could send the children out to play and not have to worry - when they came back they would be adults' |
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| Hearst - art deco movie theater after dinner guests would be invited to watch a film |
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| Hearst Billard Room |
SATURDAY October 31,
2015
WEATHER: 48 at 5:30 am clear - .it got up
to 91 today
TRAVEL: Vines RV Resort to Paso
Robles to Vines
to San
Miguel to
Vines
Finished reading
Travels in Alaska by John
Muir. Unless you were a tree hugger, you probably
wouldn’t think about reading him, but he is an interesting read. A talent and an interesting read. Wonderful word descriptions. Actually, he does less “nature preaching” than Bill Bryson does in parts of A Walk In The Woods, which I found distracting.
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| Mission San Miguel but not the entrance to the church |
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| Children's All Saints Decorations Church in the background |
5 MASS at Mission San Miguel de Arcangel. This is just 4 or miles up Highway 101 from here. Visited here on Thursday. The mass was said by a Franciscan. All Saints Day. His homily was on target for the readings – interesting to listen to – the congregation was less than 50 strong which included one Franciscan and five nuns. The mass following was for children dressed as saints. The congregation cannot sing – it was not pretty. The Bishop of Monterey will be the celebrant of next week's 5 pm mass in honor of Father/Saint Junipero Serra.
SUNDAY November 1,
2015
WEATHER: 53 at 5:45 am GAINED AN HOUR DUE TO THE END OF DAYLIGHT
SAVING TIME high of 82 this afternoon.
TRAVEL: Paso Robles area.
Started reading
a book about Eugene O’Neill’s A
Long Days Journey Into Night – a book that could be used in a college course - traces the history of the
play, it’s productions and actors. Published by Cambridge University Press. Actually,
very interesting – a quick read.
PACKERS 10 vs BRONCOS 29. A Sunday night football game on
CBS played in Denver with a 6:30 MST start which means I can start watching it
here at 5:30 PST. It was an unfortunate
game. The Pack couldn’t defend and the
offensive line couldn’t hold back the rush and the Bronco secondary was all
over the receivers - well I think they
were lucky up to this point. Pack is now
6 and 1. Broncos 7 and 0.
MONDAY November 2,
2015
WEATHER: .57 degrees at 5:15 am cloudy –
forecast for rain – California only wishes it would – cloudy probably a good
day to travel – they call this California’s first winter storm – started
raining at 8:20 am - rained all day
TRAVEL: Vines RV Resort to Flying
Flags Resort & CG, Buellton CA to
Solvang, CA
Flying Flags RV Resort – arrived when it was drizzling – then rain for almost
the rest of the day – some clearing occasionally – gravel sites – manicured
lawn between sites - narrow roads. Looks
like there are a large number of full time trailers here. Nice – WIFI works
after you get connected Tengointernet – no charge – a lot better/faster than Vines RV.
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| Mission Santa Ines (Agnes) |
Founded by Father
Estevan Tapis September 17, 1804 It was the 19th of the 21
California missions.
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| Mission Santa Ines St. Agnes patron above the altar tabernacle |
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| Mission Santa Ines inside church |
Never a large
mission, at maximum it’s number of converts was 920 in 1817. Santa Ines was the site of the Chumash
revolt of 1824, which
spread to La Purisma and Santa
Barbara. The revolt occurred because natives were
being forced to work for the soldiers assigned to the mission without pay. It lasted several months and several buildings
at Santa Ines were burned. Of
course there is another story read below:
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| Mission Ines Gardens |
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| The Texas Missions used statues to tell Christian stories; by the 1800's they used art - here the Shepherds vist on Christmas |
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| Mission Santa Ines - layout |
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| Mission Santa Ines - the frontyard fertile valley and San Raphael Mountains |
Solvang, CA is Danish – I was looking for kringle- there are bakeries. The motif of all the shops and hotels and restaurants along the main road is Danish. An upscale Wisconsin Dells with no water parks or beer bars pt cheap looking motels – of course there are wine tasting rooms – and not as much traffic. Looks like a nice place to spend an afternoon.
