Lily Lake and Fun in Ft. Bidwell

Fathers Day was a rather lazy affair.

Bekki had suggested that we make a trip to Lily Lake, a lake just west of Ft. Bidwell, in the mountains. We packed up kids, food and wine into their car and drove up the dirt road to the lake. The road had several downed trees that had to be driven around and one spot where Dale put some branches over the edge of the road to be used to drive on.

Lily Lake

We were surprised that quite a few people were at the lake, it seemed so remote to us.

We’d forgotten a corkscrew so asked around if anyone had one. One guy came over with an awl and a screwdriver. As Dale was pulling the cork out with the awl, the guy came back with pliers, in the event, Dale could use them. We offered him a glass of wine but he preferred the beer he brought.

In the evening, we went down to Nate’s closest neighbor as she had invited several people over for dinner. She is listed in a directory for people who want to do some organic farming and 3 women were working with her, one brand new and another who’d been there for a few days. It was great to meet new people, ones who are so involved and kind to our kids, not to mention, have some great food.

Learning about caterpillars

Some Fun Along the Way

So the plan for this trip is: drop off almonds in Larkspur, go to Vallejo and visit an adjuster friend, then head up to Ft. Bidwell to be with our oldest boy and his family for Father’s day. On Monday we will head up to Oregon City to help out our youngest son’s family while he is traveling, then all of us will go to Seattle to play for a few days. After Seattle it is back to Ft. Bidwell for our granddaughter’s 16^th birthday party. Then home. We’d thought about going up to Canada, but think that we should go home before departing for Alaska.

We made it to Larkspur before the market opened, about a 3-hour drive with the RV. We carried almonds to the Fat Uncle stand and the woman working it set up everything.

Fat Uncle Farms in Larkspur

After the market opened we walked around, I was looking for coffee. We’d been in a huge hurry and hadn’t taken the time to make any. Instead, I found a stand that had Navarro wines, Pennyroyal wines and cheese made from both goat and sheep milk. We sampled wines paired with cheeses. OMG, I wanted to just crawl into the sample box and absorb the wonderful cheeses. Wine was great too, we just may need to join the Pennyroyal wine club.

We did find coffee and moved on down the road to Vallejo to meet our friend Joe. Joe is an adjuster friend who I got to know several years ago. His wife is a wonderful woman, but unfortunately working.

Joe, another friend of his and I left Dale to sleep and we went off to the Pirate Festival. If you have never been to a Pirate Festival you need to go. I thought it would be more of a kids affair but there are people who go all out. The Festival in Vallejo is at the river front. There are singing groups at various places, a canon fight, performers, food and lots of vendors. Many booths sell pirate or that era style clothing, some very nice. There’s also hand-made jewelry and pottery.

The Pirate Festival was quite fun and I told my oldest son that our grandkids would like it.            

The King was issuing pardons

He thought that they would try to go next year.

From Vallejo, Dale and I had a 7+ hour drive to Ft. Bidwell. Although we were on the same highways as our daughter-in-law, we were unable to meet up for a meal. We only saw her when she flew past us on the road. But the drive was nice and it was great to arrive at Ft. Bidwell.

Murphy's Law When Trying to Leave

Another 24-hour turnaround trip. We had planned to leave early Sat morning, drive to Ft. Bidwell, then on to Oregon. Well, that plan changed quickly.

Nate called and asked if we’d deliver almonds to their newest farmers market, in Larkspur, just north of San Francisco, a 4-hour drive without the RV. But we’d need to be there by 8am Sat. This meant leaving Fri evening and sleeping at a rest stop. No rest for us, that’s for sure.

Then we heard from an adjuster friend that he could meet up with us Sat a.m. and maybe we’d like to go to the Pirate Festival in Vallejo. Now that sounded fun.

We didn’t need to do much for the RV, except for a good wash job and to refill the water tank. I also wanted to pack more clothes as we will be gone for a couple of weeks.

I had several loads of clothes to wash and also promised a sick neighbor that I’d make her some chicken soup, making the stock from scratch. As a daughter-in-law was sick too, I said I’d make her soup also.

While roasting chickens, making the stock and soup I did laundry and repacked the RV. We were about ready to leave to pick up product from our middle boy when Dale was making a last close inspection. He found a bulge in a rear tire of the RV. He changed the tire and put on the spare. Upon closer inspection he found that the steel belt was actually worn thru.

Dale then went to the other side of the RV and found that the rear tire also had worn thru to the steel belt. Mind you, it was 5:15 on a Friday afternoon.

We got online and by that time, the tire store we usually shop at was closed. We found one open until 6 so Dale quickly went there. Unfortunately, there were no tires for our RV. Dale then went to Costco where they did have tires to fit and were open until 8pm. Unfortunately, Dale had rushed off without any cash, check or debit card. But he came home and got back to Costco by 7:30pm.

Finally, by 9pm, we were off. 1^st stop, the kitchen to pick up the product. On the way Justin called, he’d forgotten some paperwork at his house so we should stop there. We got to his house, nope, now we were to go to the kitchen. We loaded up the product but then had to go back to his house as there was something more we needed to pick up.

Back at Justin’s we ran in to deliver food and say hi to everyone. I’d left my door open as we’d just run in and out.

We finally jumped into our truck, it was pushing 10:30 by now. We got down the road when Justin called. Oops, we were missing someone. Twinkle had gotten out and we’d left her behind.

Back to Justin’s to get Twinks.

Finally, we got on the road and drove ½ way to Larkspur. A very late night and we were so glad to see the rest stop.

Camping Equals Food

We woke up to a fridge working, everything refrozen in the freezer and everything cold in the fridge. What a relief, however, much of everything will need to be tossed. But when one considers misfortunes suffered, we won’t complain.

We needed to pack up the RV so didn’t have much time to spend around the campground. We needed to stop at Schat’s for last minute purchases and wanted to pick up bbq for dinner. It is always about the food!

The view to the east of our campsite

June Lake

June Lake

Yummy stuff from Schat's

Back to Lone Pine

Bear cans had to be returned to the Interagency Office and who better to take care of that than the 2 of us. Besides,

we needed a little away time!

We decided that we’d catch some cool air, and decided to camp at June Lake.

We got away late so didn’t get into the Lone Pine area until late. Then we drove up to the Lone Pine campground and couldn’t really tell which sites were easy to back into. We ended up camping on a sloped pull thru.

View from our campsite at Lone Pine Campground

Another view of the campground

After dropping off bear cans we started the drive up to June Lake. We’d had a biscotti at the campground and thought we’d make it to Shat’s in Bishop for a snack.

Breakfast view

I was driving when I drove thru Big Pine. The speed limit is 25mph and since the air was cool I put the windows down. As I drove we caught the smell of BBQ. We passed this little place, it appeared to be an old coffee kiosk. But some people were there, in line and some eating. I made a U-turn and back we went. We split a tri-tip meal that was the best I’ve had. We were so full and happy!!!

After a stop at Shat’s for Macaroons and danishes we were off to June. Off to the cool air! But be careful what you wish for, it just might come true. We found June so cold and windy, low 50’s with wind gusts up to 45mph. Thank goodness for down coats and thermals.

We were able to get a campsite, one that was long enough, without a reservation. After parking, we set up the RV only to find that our fridge wasn’t working at all. The food in the freezer had thawed and food in the fridge wasn’t very cold.

Dale called the RV repair that we go to for everything and the owner said that because we’d parked overnight on a slope, the fluids had mixed. He said for us to turn off the fridge for 4 hours then try to restart. We were not happy thinking that now here might be another expense. Especially, as we are leaving this weekend for an extended trip. UGH.

We did as directed. I used as many veggies as possible with our defrosted shrimp. We drank our not so cold champagne. But enjoyed the view anyway.

After 9pm I reset the fridge and we hoped for the best.

Kings Canyon Between the Storms

It rained all night with thunder and lightning. The thunder went on and on sometimes not stopping, just continuous. We could only imagine what was going on, on the trail and hoped our kids were not getting soaked.

The rain let up some so we packed up a picnic lunch complete with wine and tablecloths. We thought we’d have a picnic at Zumwalt Meadow.

Grizzly Falls

Roaring River Falls

After a stop at Grizzly Falls, we drove east to the Meadow. Of course, as we carried our picnic to a table it started to rain. As we carried everything back to our truck it started really raining. It was time for a picnic in the RV.

Late in the afternoon, when the rain had stopped, we headed back to the Meadow for a little hike. It was cool but at least not raining.

As we started to walk we hoped that we’d see the boys if they came out of the mountains.

Zumwalt Meadows

The River runs thru the Meadow

We took the loop trail around the meadow. It is mostly unpaved and partly thru rocks. Emilio was able to walk the entire way. When a deer headed down the rocky steps toward us, Emilio got a little frightened, but then the deer ran away.

The Meadow

As we were heading back to our truck we saw Justin’s truck pull into the Meadow parking lot. They’d been rained out. Turns out that everything they had was soaked, there was no way they could spend another night on the trail.

Our intuition was correct, and fortunately, we’d planned for a large dinner and sleeping for all. But we were so happy and relieved to have our kids back. 

At the End Of The Road, Kings Canyon

The reason we came to Kings Canyon was to leave Justin’s truck at the End of the Road. This is literally the end of the road and one can only hike out from here. There is a small Backcountry Ranger Station where people can obtain last minute backpack permits, or find out weather reports, or discuss various trails with a ranger.

At the End of the Road, there is a parking lot for people obtaining permits, or for those who walk a short trail to the Kings River. There is another parking lot for those who are actually hiking. We were to leave Justin’s truck in the lot for those actually hiking.

On the drive up to Kings Canyon, I’d listened to our local Public Radio station. They had a forecast of rain in the mountains and snow at the passes. I was a little concerned for the kids.

A guy in the campsite next to us stopped me and said he’d just been at the village store and saw that the weather was going to close in. I began to get more concerned about kids.

We decided to get Justin’s truck up to the hikers lot so that, in the event, they had to hike out quickly it would be there. We drove up to the hikers’ parking lot and found it to be packed so we had to leave Justin’s truck at a lower lot.

The Village Store is the only place in the park where there is internet, not fast internet at all, but at least a place where one can send and receive emails, contact with the outside world. The internet is so slow that to get into a blog site, it might take 5 minutes just to load the first page. There is no cell phone service so there are no texts or hot spots.

The Kings River Overflowing

We went by the Village Store to check emails and correspond with kids and grandkids, answering some questions that they’d had. Then we drove back up to the hikers’ parking lot. A parking space had opened up right in front of the trail so we re-parked Justin’s truck.

View to the trail into the mountains

It is raining off and on and it appears that there is some weather going on in the direction of the trail the kids are on. But we are snug in our RV.

A Bit of Luck in Kings Canyon

We got home by 9pm, picked up some dinner and ate. After doing 3 loads of laundry, dishes, and packing up items we’d forgotten, we got to bed by 1am then up again at 5:30am. We were on the road by 6:30am, an early start to Kings Canyon.

Dale drove our truck and pulled the RV while I drove Justin’s truck. The plan was that I’d drive faster and get a campsite while Dale drove more slowly up the hills. He also had Emilio along, who talked and sang loudly the entire time.

I got into Kings Canyon, looking for the campground we’d camped at last year. When I couldn’t find it I ended up driving to the end of the road. By then it was 11:30 am and I was quite upset, sure that it would be impossible to find a campsite. I drove the other way and realized that the campground we’d stayed at before was closed. Another campground was closed and a 3^rd campground was a tent only. That left 1 campground that was packed full of people.

I drove down to the Ranger Station down by the village store and stopped to inquire where we’d be likely to find a campsite and what we should do. I was also very concerned about Dale driving the truck and the possibility that he’d forget and shut down the motor after the long pass.

The Visitor’s Center/Ranger Station is very small, but a bunch of people had just exited so I was glad to find that I was the only one who needed to speak with the ranger. A couple of people were looking at the items for sale. I explained to the ranger that my husband was a bit behind me with our 5^th wheel, but we needed to camp and was there anywhere for overflow or anything.

The ranger told me that Sheep Camp was closed, but….. Sheep Camp was still closed but…… I asked if I should wait and she said I might want to. The ranger then gave me a map of Sheep Camp and pointed out pull-thru campsites that would work well for us.

I drove down to Sheep Camp and the gate was still closed. I then drove back to the open campground and it was packed with people. There wasn’t a single space for us. I then drove back to Sheep Camp, the gate was closed but a guy in a small truck was parked just off the road at the turn into Sheep Camp. I asked him if he was waiting for it to open and he said yes. He asked me if it was my impression that the campground would open and I told him that it was what I read into the ranger’s answer.

The guy in the small truck pulled up closer to the turn in and I parked right behind him. About 5 min later, rangers drove up from inside the campground and unlocked the gate. I drove right to the pull-thru site, by the river, where our slide out would face the river. I put 2 chairs out and drove up to secure the site. Fortunately, there were only the 2 of us in the campground so I didn’t need to worry about someone taking it.

Our Campsite

The empty campground

I pulled around and started to get out of the truck to get the payment envelope. The other guy was there and we were talking briefly. I’d just told him that I didn’t know the license plate # of my truck. I said that my husband should be coming up the road soon, I turned and looked at the road and there was Dale driving up the road.

Emilio is glad to get out of the truck

Our campsite is set up

I laid into the horn on Justin’s truck but couldn’t tell if Dale saw me or not. But within minutes, Dale had found a place to make a U-turn and he came into the campground. I led him to our campsite and we were feeling quite smug.

The Hike Begins

The boys had been busy working until driving up, so hadn’t packed up their backpacks. They hoped to pack in the early morning then get on the trail. Our granddaughter and I were to drive vehicles over to the other side of the Sierras.

This plan changed when the truck stopped. Dale did not want to leave me alone with a truck that might not restart as the road into Kings Canyon is a long uphill pass. He refused to go along with the boys.

Boys got up around 6am and started sorting gear and food. It was soon after that Justin realized he’d forgotten his bear canisters at home. These are cans to store food that are bear proof, a must for camping in bear country. These canisters are also for rent at the Interagency so now he had to go down after all.

Each grandkid had their own fishing pole and they were so excited to have the poles attached to their backpacks. Lucian announced that he was ready to hike and had his backpack on. I looked and saw that his fishing pole was put together, sticking into the air. Yes, he was ready to go, but the pole wasn’t. I told him, that although he was ready to hike, his pole wasn’t ready. We laughed and took the pole apart, repacking it.

Once everything was packed Justin realized that his hiking clothes also got packed, but as everyone was ready to go he decided that everyone should start and he’d follow. The 3 kids started out first, they were so anxious to get on the trail. As the trail follows the face of the 1^st hill, we could see them for quite some time. The youngest, Sequoia, had many rests but seemed to keep going.

 Nate, Camilo and his son followed and soon caught up with kids. We watched until they went to the backside of the hill and onto the next mountain.

After about 3pm and a couple of other delays, Justin left with a very heavy pack. I watched as he started up the trail. I was feeling what many mothers feel as their kids leave and there is nothing more we can do. He is nearly 40 years old but I still want to make sure he is safe. They are always my babies!

Treats on a Camping Trip

6:30 am came early, too early, with a wake-up call via a knock on the door. I threw on my robe and there was the host. “You can’t camp on the road” and “you didn’t pay”. Yes, we are fully aware that we cannot camp on the road, but as we told you last night, our truck won’t start. And yes we will pay now and for 2 sites since our older grandkids had set up a tent. The empty campground was going to fill up in minutes I was sure.

Dale tried to start the truck but nothing, then he sprayed the brake cleaner and there was a sputter. He sprayed again and after more sputtering the truck sprang to life as if it had never played stalling games with us.

We got set up in the same campsite we’d stayed in several weeks ago.

The plan was that we’d go down to Lone Pine, a town about 20 min south of Independence. There is an Interagency Office at the south edge of Lone Pine which issues backpacking permits, passes, and gives info on the backcountry and surrounding National Parks. Justin had named Dale as one of the backpack leaders so that Dale could get the permit, thus saving Justin a trip down on Thurs a.m.

We promised the kids that if they were good, no running, no acting crazy, that we’d get them a little something plus then stop for ice cream on our way back to the campground. While Dale picked up the permit, kids found Jr. Ranger vests and lots of hand puppets to play with while they waited.

A stop for ice cream in the over 100F day was so welcome and a treat for kids behaving.

Back at the campsite kids ran like wild Banshee. Apparently, they found a secret place by the river where they could rock hop and look for lizards to put into the bug box.

Later we built a fire, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and waited for boys to arrive.

I got a text from each boy with an eta. It was after 10:40 pm. Nate was to be arriving in about 15 min. Soon a car whizzed past us and we wondered it if was Nate. Sure enough, we got a call from Nate, “where are you?” We explained that we watched as he flew past and that he should come back down the hill and we’d be waiting. Dale ran out to the road, flashlight in hand, and there came Nate, whizzing down. We watched as the car lights made a U-turn and we were reunited with our kids.

      After lots of wine and food everyone was ready for bed and the long hike ahead.

Summer Plans and Revisions

We had quite a summer planned, and as usual, life got in the way. We’d planned for Dale to backpack across the Sierra with two of our boys and 3 of the grandkids, plus an adopted boy and his son. Then, the day after returning from the Sierras we’d go to the UK and travel for a month, return home and then be off to Alaska.

Unfortunately, as I haven’t worked since last year, and after several vehicle repairs and unexpected expensive home repairs, we decided to postpone the Europe trip until next year. I called United and they canceled the UK, giving us until Feb to rebook a new trip. This was quite a relief as I was afraid, with cheap seats, we’d lose our tickets. We do lose tickets to Les Mis, a concert at Royal Albert Hall, a performance at the Globe, opera in Oslo and a tour of Highclere. Alas…..

I’ve been on standby for most of this year so planning the hike has been iffy. I’d wanted to go, but I hike slow and felt that it could hinder the hike rather than help. But it was something I really wanted for Dale to do and the boys were so wanting him to go along. Also, someone needed to drive from one side of the Sierras to the other in order to get kids back home.

As last week was ending, and I was not called out, we made the decision to go with the hiking party. The hike would start in Onion Valley, just out of Independence on Hwy 395, go over Kearsarge Pass and end in Kings Canyon, 25 miles and 5 days later.

On Tuesday, Dale and I loaded up 4 kids, 3 of them hikers and one little, who needed to be taken care of during the hike. We drove up to the Upper Greys Meadow Campground, about 10 miles east of the Onion Valley trailhead. The campground is at about 6,000’ and quite a climb, even for our truck.

We arrived at the campground after 7pm, hot and tired of the 4-hour drive. Kids took off running, the campground nearly empty. Winds were howling off of the Sierras on thru the exposed campground.

Dale thought that he’d fill the fresh water tank before parking, turned off the engine and coasted to the faucet. Well that was a mistake, remember Palm Springs? We didn’t! So there the truck was, on the campground road, stuck. Dale sprayed the brake cleaner into the intake, but nothing happened. We waited and then sprayed and hit the gas but nothing. 

Finally, with winds howling, no light, we decided to camp right there and deal with it in the morning. We’d take our chances on someone arriving in the night and needing to drive past us, as we took the whole road.

We got the slideout out, made dinner and all of us fell asleep quickly.