Murphys

 

 

 

Our friends offered us to spend the night in Murphys (foothills of the Sierras) while Gina was away visiting her brothers. It was a quick, 24-hour trip, but enough time to throw blow-up beds in the car, visit the Columbia State Historical Park, visit the old-time candy shop and gold mining museum, play on the rocks, and then the next day catch crayfish in the river. We realized it was the first time we did a trip without Gina, who was naturally missed.

We decided to shrink Nate down

 

Big Snake

This fellow was hanging out on the trail behind our house. It's a California Kingsnake, 3-4 feet long, and apparently he doesn't appreciate people petting his tail because he pretended to bite me before taking off. I love his coloring though.

West Point Inn

 

 

 

 

 

My friend Steve invited our family and another couple to stay at the West Point Inn on Mt. Tam for his 50th birthday. I had only hiked by it, but for $50/night you get a 2 mile hike up the hill (Nate and Julie had no problem, as long as they were fed bubble gum) and then a room inside the creaky old lodge that used to be the end-point for the "World's Crookedest Railroad" in the 20's. A few of us did a mountain bike ride around the top, we made dinner in the big communal kitchen, and after the inn keeper went around turning off the gas lights (there is no electricity), we took our flashlights out for a hike under the moon. The next day we took turns trying to catch some of the western fence lizards that dotted the nearby rocks.

Outdoor movie night

 

Front-row seats at Lafayette's summer outdoor movie last week. At least the calendar said it was summer: the fog was ripping through the park so quickly, they repositioned the screen against the arbor so it wouldn't go flying. We grabbed blankets and drank hot chocolate to keep warm. We brought lots of goldfish crackers; everyone followed the rule that whenever a person was eaten by a shark, everyone had to eat one goldfish.

Tahoe Trip - Part 2

 

 

 

 

 

After we perfect the Tahoe traditions of reading-on-the-beach and drinking-cool-drinks-by-the-beach and even biking/swimming by the beach, we got a little more adventurous and rented a powerboat. We powered through the waves down to Emerald Bay where we docked, walked around the Vikingsholm mansion, and then ate lunch back on the water near the island in the center of the bay. On our way out the next day, we stopped by Northstar for a late-afternoon hop on the gondola and ski lifts to the top of the mountain.  

Tahoe Trip - Part 1

 

 

 

 

 

On a semi-whim, we rented a house in the Chamberlands area of Lake Tahoe for a quick couple-day getaway. It was cooler than Lafayette, and the lake was clearer and bigger than I remembered. We were visited by a large black bear on our deck (while our door was open!), who thankfully walked away. A more pleasant surprise was finding access to the private pool and beach next to Tahoe's oldest bar which jutted into the water, perfect for drink-sipping parents to watch beach playtime from afar. 

Last Day of Vacation in Lassen

 

 

 

On our last day we made it half-way through the park to play in the snow and walk along side King's Canyon Creek for our final taste of Lassen. On the way back home, we stopped through Chico for dinner, and the number one rated Yelp restaurant I found turned out to be a Mexican stand attached to a gas station (it was a dive, but the food was great). As with the rest of the trip, we endured the freeways by listening to audio CDs of Harry Potter, book 7.

Lassen Volcanic Park - Devil's Kitchen

 

 

 

 

 

It was a bit long by some smaller legs standard, but we eventually made it over boardwalks, through the meadow, and up the forested trail to the deserted and amazing Devil's Kitchen which smelled like 4th of July on steroids. Luckily there were lots of blue butterflies and giant black ants to distract along the way.

Large Obsidian Flow

 

 

 

At the Newberry Caldera in the Deschutes National Forest. Lots of sharp obsidian and pumice stone!