Few words. Mostly pictures. Beautiful day.
Reminds me of a French impressionistic painting
The stream bottom is also a work of art
The trail isn't always easy
We get closer to the sound
Water flow increases
.JPG)
At last we reach the waterfall
Stay tuned
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
A Philosophical Discourse on Adopting the Full-time RV Lifestyle
I was half listening to a television talk show today and a guest commented that he was taking 3 months off to see the world and added: “not a bad lifestyle.”
What we are doing is using the best remaining years of our lives to see as much of North America as we can. I agree with the TV talk show guest: ours is “not a bad lifestyle.”
But like everything else in life, there were tradeoffs.
For me I had to give up some favorite possessions and sell some useful tools. Shedding those tools was actually not that difficult because in a motorhome they would be of little use. Where would I put a Bosch work site table saw, anyway? Sandy and I live a simpler lifestyle. The only possessions we own are those we really need. No more full storage barn or basement storage room.
The biggest adjustment was moving further away from children. We aren’t the kind of family that practically lives under one roof, but we got together often and always enjoyed our times together. Being somewhat handy with tools, I was also available for hands-on support and advice. And now that Jennifer and Brad are homeowners, I wish I had been able to help them with painting, repairs and/or renovations as I know they would have liked. But I am still available for advice.
Then there was the issue of selling a home in a downward spiraling housing market. For the past 15 years, every nail I pounded, every paint brush stroke I made, every bush and tree we planted and every improvement we made was done with two goals: 1) to make our home more enjoyable and 2) to increase the resale value.
We succeeded on point 1 and lost out on #2. We saw neighbors whose homes had no appeal, few upgrades and no quality sell for outlandish high prices just a few years before we decided to sell. There is the marketing truth that homes usually sell for just what they are worth. Selling ours for what felt like a lot less than it was worth was the hardest adjustment I had to make. But I am finally over that.
Sandy and I have revisited this topic often in the past eight months, but less more recently. We understand that had we stuck around and waited for a better price or a more appreciative buyer that we would have had to sell for even less. And in that time, we would have had to defer our Great Adventure.
We made other adjustments. We don’t have the comfort level of great medical/dental care three miles away. We don’t have Kojak’s French fries on Saturdays, we don’t get to see a few good old friends, but we are making new ones.
For me there were a few other comfort factors I had to relinquish. I had finally learned all the surrounding country roads and could circumvent almost any traffic problem. This knowledge of the countryside gave me a sense of belonging. In addition, I had made a lot of casual friendships with people who worked at local businesses and I enjoyed talking with them in the course of using their businesses. I had a part-time job where I had an important and appreciated role in that company’s growth and its respect in the community. As part of that job I met many area residents and formed friendships with them. All of these are some of the touchstones in life that help cement our feelings of belonging in a community. But any negatives from changing our lifestyle and our environment are far outweighed by the positives of seeing so many beautiful places and, when we get bored, we move on. We do get to meet new and interesting people; and when we click, we stay in touch by e-mail and blogs.
So, stay tuned as we continue to share our Great Adventure with you.
What we are doing is using the best remaining years of our lives to see as much of North America as we can. I agree with the TV talk show guest: ours is “not a bad lifestyle.”
But like everything else in life, there were tradeoffs.
For me I had to give up some favorite possessions and sell some useful tools. Shedding those tools was actually not that difficult because in a motorhome they would be of little use. Where would I put a Bosch work site table saw, anyway? Sandy and I live a simpler lifestyle. The only possessions we own are those we really need. No more full storage barn or basement storage room.
The biggest adjustment was moving further away from children. We aren’t the kind of family that practically lives under one roof, but we got together often and always enjoyed our times together. Being somewhat handy with tools, I was also available for hands-on support and advice. And now that Jennifer and Brad are homeowners, I wish I had been able to help them with painting, repairs and/or renovations as I know they would have liked. But I am still available for advice.
Then there was the issue of selling a home in a downward spiraling housing market. For the past 15 years, every nail I pounded, every paint brush stroke I made, every bush and tree we planted and every improvement we made was done with two goals: 1) to make our home more enjoyable and 2) to increase the resale value.
We succeeded on point 1 and lost out on #2. We saw neighbors whose homes had no appeal, few upgrades and no quality sell for outlandish high prices just a few years before we decided to sell. There is the marketing truth that homes usually sell for just what they are worth. Selling ours for what felt like a lot less than it was worth was the hardest adjustment I had to make. But I am finally over that.
Sandy and I have revisited this topic often in the past eight months, but less more recently. We understand that had we stuck around and waited for a better price or a more appreciative buyer that we would have had to sell for even less. And in that time, we would have had to defer our Great Adventure.
We made other adjustments. We don’t have the comfort level of great medical/dental care three miles away. We don’t have Kojak’s French fries on Saturdays, we don’t get to see a few good old friends, but we are making new ones.
For me there were a few other comfort factors I had to relinquish. I had finally learned all the surrounding country roads and could circumvent almost any traffic problem. This knowledge of the countryside gave me a sense of belonging. In addition, I had made a lot of casual friendships with people who worked at local businesses and I enjoyed talking with them in the course of using their businesses. I had a part-time job where I had an important and appreciated role in that company’s growth and its respect in the community. As part of that job I met many area residents and formed friendships with them. All of these are some of the touchstones in life that help cement our feelings of belonging in a community. But any negatives from changing our lifestyle and our environment are far outweighed by the positives of seeing so many beautiful places and, when we get bored, we move on. We do get to meet new and interesting people; and when we click, we stay in touch by e-mail and blogs.
So, stay tuned as we continue to share our Great Adventure with you.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
BEING A VOLUNTEER ON MOTHER'S DAY
On the menu was Caesar salad, home-made sourdough rolls and home-made split pea soup. Dessert was angel food cake with a whipped topping containing pineapple and coconut. It was all very good and our companions at the table were pleasant and hospitable .
As I looked around the room filled with at least 250 of my peers with gray hair or no hair, expanding waist lines and gimpy legs, I had a stunning revelation: Holy Crap, I really am getting old.
Sandy (at left)
George (3rd from left)
Then we came home and played Scrabble.
Pretty good day all the way around.
Some park flowers
And finally, one of the biggest feral cats I've ever seen
slinking around the area.
Stay tuned.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Our First Look at the Sequoias
So once again Sandy and I headed up California Highway 41 to Yosemite. It was a drop-dead-beautiful day in the High Sierras with temps in the mid 60s, lots of sunshine and a slight breeze.
The grove of trees is located two miles from the main gate. But due to the fact that the soil is still wet from winter snow melt, the paved road into the grove is closed to all but small park vehicles. The weight of big cars, small trucks and heavy shuttle buses would compact the wet soil and negatively impact the Sequoia roots where they run under the road. So we began our hike. We wear hiking shoes and I always wear Thorlos hiking socks with extra thick cushion soles. These socks are fabulous and help defer foot aches and pains. We hiked 5.6 miles today, so there were some aches and pains.
By now you are probably remembering that there are also huge Redwood trees in California and wondering what is the difference between Sequoias and Redwoods. The Sequoias and Redwood are all related, and if you are interested this site will provide more information: http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/cook/sec2.htm.
We also stood in awe of the "Grizzly Giant", estimated to be at least 1800 years old (below).
The Grizzly Giant tree (top photo) is 210 feet high. This photo provides some idea of its immense size. You can also see some fire damage to the center of the trunk. Fortunately, the Sequoias are very fire resistant due to their extremely thick bark. Interestingly, fire is necessary to help their seeds germinate under soil conditions enhanced by fire.
Finally, I recently discovered that my new digital camera will also take video images. So every once in a while I will try to capture something of interest. Here is my first attempt. It is a small stream running through the Sequoia grove. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JinM9qxt0_w
Stay tuned.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
The Perfect Hike ... Almost
Before we started living in our motorhome Sandy and I would often talk about going on hikes. In my mind’s eye I took this hike a couple of hundred times. The trail would be wooded and not too steep, but challenging enough to provide some good exercise. And this imaginary hike always took place alongside of a rushing stream complete with a waterfall.
Fast forward to May , 2010.
Each time we drove to the Yosemite south gate we would pass a turn out on Route 41 that was at a trail head. Sandy and I decided we would hike the trail on a nice day. Today was the day we hiked the Lewis Creek Trail. It is maintained by the Forest Service, and considering all the budget cuts in the past few years, the trail was a dream come true.
We could hear rushing water, the trail was not too steep and at times we walked on a carpet of pine needles. We saw lots of first-time spring flowers. And we saw a really pretty waterfall. I promise pictures later. I did not bring my camera this time. Just wanted to hike.
And hike we did. Somehow we missed the return loop of the trail and ended on a lightly traveled county road. We were pretty sure we were headed in the right direction. We flagged down a motorist who confirmed that we had about another ¾ mile to get back to the main highway. But once we got to the main highway, we had no idea of how far it was back to the trailhead. After about 30 to 40 minutes of the steep uphill climb we were running out of energy. At this point we had hiked pretty close to five miles and both of us had sore feet.
Then we got lucky and saw a California Highway Patrol cruiser go by. We signaled to him. He did not stop but signaled that he would turn around and come back. He was nice enough to give us a ride for the remaining ½ mile back to our car. Whew. Now I really wish I had my camera as I could have taken a photo of Sandy getting into the police car’s back seat.
We will go back and do this hike again and I will take some photos. This is, after all, a near perfect trail and we almost had the perfect hike.
Stay tuned
Fast forward to May , 2010.
Each time we drove to the Yosemite south gate we would pass a turn out on Route 41 that was at a trail head. Sandy and I decided we would hike the trail on a nice day. Today was the day we hiked the Lewis Creek Trail. It is maintained by the Forest Service, and considering all the budget cuts in the past few years, the trail was a dream come true.
We could hear rushing water, the trail was not too steep and at times we walked on a carpet of pine needles. We saw lots of first-time spring flowers. And we saw a really pretty waterfall. I promise pictures later. I did not bring my camera this time. Just wanted to hike.
And hike we did. Somehow we missed the return loop of the trail and ended on a lightly traveled county road. We were pretty sure we were headed in the right direction. We flagged down a motorist who confirmed that we had about another ¾ mile to get back to the main highway. But once we got to the main highway, we had no idea of how far it was back to the trailhead. After about 30 to 40 minutes of the steep uphill climb we were running out of energy. At this point we had hiked pretty close to five miles and both of us had sore feet.
Then we got lucky and saw a California Highway Patrol cruiser go by. We signaled to him. He did not stop but signaled that he would turn around and come back. He was nice enough to give us a ride for the remaining ½ mile back to our car. Whew. Now I really wish I had my camera as I could have taken a photo of Sandy getting into the police car’s back seat.
We will go back and do this hike again and I will take some photos. This is, after all, a near perfect trail and we almost had the perfect hike.
Stay tuned
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
A DISAPPOINTING TOURIST ATTRACTION
The term applied to this type of logging is “clear cutting” and by 1931 nearly 1.5 billion board feet of lumber has been taken from this forest. Occasionally a tree was spared, but not many. It has taken the last 75 to 80 years for the forest to renew itself.
The principal logging company was called The Madera Sugar Pine Lumber Company. Madera bought these small, narrow and extremely powerful steam engines to do the work. The engines were built in Lima, Ohio. With proper maintenance these locomotives perform as well today as they did well over 100 years ago.
Today Engine No. 15 is still in use hauling wide-eyed tourists on a one-hour round trip into and out of the Yosemite National Forest. This type of logging did not take place within Yosemite National Park because the park has been protected since 1899.
We can’t really recommend the trip. It is over-priced and, frankly, a little boring. But it was better than a day at the office.
Stay tuned
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Ten Reasons to Visit Yosemite
I am running out of words to describe this beautiful national treasure. So I will let 10 pictures do the talking.
Flowing streams
New moss on a Western Yellow Pine
Upper and Lower Falls viewed simultaneously
The highest waterfall in the United States
Seeing a bear munching on tender grass
Peaceful hiking trails
A mountain stream with a pleasant voice
A meal at the Ahwahnee, one of the great lodges of the Park Service
Great views everywhere you look
The unexpected
Stay tuned
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