Where we finally go to San Francisco, but not Alcatraz
Which you would think was a good thing because people tried to get out of Alcatraz all the freaking time and died terribly. But seeing as Curtis’ two Estonian friends, Margus and Arvo, came to the City for the very purpose of seeing Alcatraz it was a minor set back. Instead we wandered around aimlessly until we accidentally walked up to Coit Tower, wandered down to some quaint oldschool part…
Obama said we needed a vacation- So we went to Mono Lake!
Actually Curtis and I had been planing to go to Mono Lake ever since I pleaded with him to understand that the fragile saline ecosystem appealed to my inner environmental engineer. In case if you have not heard the back story, or slept through environmental engineering fundamentals, Mono lake is a saline lake in the great basin that is fed by various freshwater streams. The city of LA quite some…
Hetch Hetchy Day Hike or as we like to call it Hetch Hedgehogy: the story of our water source and a brave hedgehog
Trailhead: Evergreen Rd down into Hetch Hetchy Entrance Station, parking lot by dam
Distance: ~ 4 miles rounds trip to Wapama Falls, we went ~ 1.5 miles past that and in addition got to see rattlesnakes & bears!
Stately Parks in the Santa Cruz Area
Deciding we needed to see the Ocean, Curtis and I ventured through the central valley and over some winding mountain roads to Santa Cruz. We visited the Wilder Ranch State Park and took a cute little low altitude bike ride to the Natural Bridges State beach. I officially decided I much rather like biking at sea level with minimal hill-age. Word to the wise though, the lengthy network of bike…
Day Hiking Inspiration Point, Yosemite: Our second trip focusing on an Inspiration.
Trailhead: Behind Tunnel View, off of Hwy 41 right outside of the Valley
Distance: ~ 2.5 miles, but filled with steep switchbacks and hot in the summer sun!
Valley Floor Day Hike instead of unpacking!
Trailhead: Parked by Bridal Veil Falls (parallel because parking area was full) in the Valley.
Distance: ~4 miles ( we walked there on the trail and back partially along the road/bike paths) Flat with but unexpected hills compared to the road.
Lovelock, NV to Groveland, CA: The Finale of Our Roadtrip!
The finale is a bit of an overstatement. It was more like a great pleasure to get out of California Lake Tahoe Memorial Day traffic and find our hotel that basil took an instant liking to. Meaning he wanted to chew all the antique furniture, of course (We bunny proofed!). Leaving Lovelock, NV we put our lovers lock on the chain in the town that replicates an ancient Chinese tradition of people putting…
Twin Falls, ID to Lovelock, NV: Day 4 of trip to CA
After leaving Twin falls it was a jaunt down to the state of Nevada where Jackpot the first town across the border, in the middle of nowhere. It has a giant casino, of course. Our drive through Nevada was interesting, meaning flat roads with large snow capped mountains surrounding you. Two stops of note are listed sequentially below The town of Elko, NV which claims itself to the biggest small town in…
Butte, MT to Twin Falls, ID: Day 3 of Trip to California
After two days of driving until you want to die, the fun-er and less strenuous portion of the journey came next. This ensured that I would be able to check out more of the sights and attractions that Curtis would pretend to not like, but secretly enjoy. So before we left butte would check out three classic “Only in Montana” tourist attractions, and force Josh to drive the three (Basil…
Hello! I am a 30-something outdoors-lady, backpacker, and resident of Groveland, California - 
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