Letter 10

Letter 10: Kings Canyon to
From the Traveling Harrington’s.

May 1, Thursday, what a beautiful day in the neighborhood, clear skies and a down hill run to gas. The gas tank says less than ¼ full. Be sure to get gas before entering this park – none for sale within the park! The down hill 25 mile drive wasn’t scary, just constant down hill. Constant pressure of gearing down and braking. We made it fine - both the hill and the gas. We bought our first larfge bill of groceries, fixed Olivia’s glasses and struck out for Yosemite. We entered the valley through the tunnel entrance and WOW what a picture, a view of Bridal Veil Falls met us at the end of the tunnel. Then further on the road Horse Tail falls on the left and Bridal Veil on the right. When we arrived in the valley about 6:30 they advertised “no spots left”. The reservation places were closed, but a sign said one camp ground had space available. But when we got there it was full. Out of desperation we talked to a camp host and they told us of a cancellation, checked it with that host and we had a home for the night backing up to the river. First spot. Our neighbors had a campfire and we visited with them for a short time before retiring.

Friday morning, Fred went to the reservation office bright and early to stand in line for cancellations. We wanted to stay 3 more nights and fortunately they had one for us. We had to move. This reservation system for ALL National Parks allows you to make reservations 5 months in advance by camp site number. We are finding that many locals come here every year and spend a week or two. Needless to say for travelers like us that don’t know in advance where they will be and don’t want deadlines, it makes it hard to get in. So campers, if you have any idea where you will be, make those reservations early. If you want tips on getting a place, ask. In Yosemite we recommend spot #507. It is long enough and wide enough for us, the Suburban, and the slide out, without hitting trees or camp site boundary tire bumpers. Our new spot is a perfect Jo Adkins spot, where two rivers meet and a view of Yellowstone Falls. Angie, they have concrete bumpers around each camp spots. They were not a problem to park between, but the nearby trees do cause problems at some spots. Olivia drove over to the showers to wash her hair and use electricity to dry it. On the way she took pictures of the Pacific Dogwoods in bloom. One picture has dogwoods and apple blossoms or red bud blooming below Yellowstone falls. Fred has had some aches and pains and we went to the clinic here in the valley. They were very thorough and found nothing wrong. They were amused that Fred used prunes the day before to relieve one of his problems. Fred weighed in at 182 ….about 10-15 pounds lighter than departure date! This is a good thing!!!! It was nice to have such a good clinic right here. They are open 24 hrs a day and even have a dental dept.

Saturday, Fred arose to no stomach pain – the prunes worked! We took the free shuttle bus to the Yosemite Village and visited all the little shops, such as Wilderness, Hikers, bears, deli, village store and the Ansel Adams gallery, museum, watched a 30 minute movie named “Spirit of Yosemite”, and the Yosemite cemetery. After lunch at the grill, we hopped the bus to the Yosemite Falls and walked to the base where we could see all 3 falls, that make it the tallest falls. Back to the campground we met our new neighbors and shared their campfire. They had 2 little girl scouts and they cooked our marshmallows for s’mores. We have also met a full time motorcyclist from Fort Myers, Florida. He is in construction and because of a low activity, he is on the road like we are, camping in a 1 person tent, has all the neat equipment for cooking and is happy as a lark. We have seen all kinds of camping equipment, quite a few VW vans and the likes, lots of CampAmerica motor homes, tents, a few big motor homes, even though the legal limit here is 24’ there are many spots that would hold our 30’ trailer.

Sunday morning we left the trailer and walked to the shuttle stop and rode it close to the chapel, then walked to the Yosemite Community Church. We had not realized it has a congregation and this Sunday was their annual marriage renewal ceremony. This is a popular marriage site and most of the congregation had married here and come back each year. We were pleased to join them to renew our vows also. At the Village Store we bought bacon and milk and headed back to the trailer to fix pancakes. On the way it started sprinkling and then a little rain. We took a nap before making pancakes for supper.

The last night in Yosemite, our camp site was between a family from Holland and a young couple from France. The number of Europeans touring the USA is a surprise. USA interest among foreigners is very high, especially from European and Asian countries. The strong Euro (vs the American dollar) and school break time in Europe have combined to bring a tremendous number of over-seas visitors to the US west. Fred has really enjoyed talking world problems with the man from Holland. He finds the Dutch (I have met and visited with several others) very educated and worldly. For a country of 16 million, they have quite an impact on the world. Currently, many Dutch are emigrating to old East Germany and Poland because of the perceived opportunities there. When told of the trouble communicating with the French couple, he offered to translate. His English was near perfect, now I learn he speaks French also!

The couple from Normandy, France was very cute. They were about 30. They were obviously very frugal with their travel funds. They were in a small van with some conversions. It had an awning and a refrigerator, but little else. We invited them to join us in our trailer for a visit. They spoke very little English, but were eager to learn new words and tried very hard to communicate with us. We visited for about 2 hours. It was a pleasure to meet and visit with them. They had just arrived in the USA and started their 3 week tour. Their goal was to cook most of their meals in order to save money. They would eat out only on special occasions. We exchanged e-mail and street addresses. They invited us to stay with them in Normandy any time. Later, I wondered if we did them a service by teaching them some English words with a Texas accent!!!!

Monday we moved into Sonora CA. and parked at the Fairgrounds. There are many Fairgrounds in California that have RV parking with hookups. One other trailer was there – a Dutch family. The Dutch are everywhere!!! They were very interested in US politics. They want a Democrat president. I never understood why, but I think it has to do with economic policies affecting their country and them personally. The next one (and I will see other Dutchmen) I see, I will ask. It was a hoot to talk with them. We thought we would have internet service, but have problems connecting. This is very frustrating for Olivia. Fred isn’t affected!

Sonora is a very interesting little (population about 4,000) town. Like Waxahachie it has one main street running north and south. Unlike Waxahachie, this is the ONLY way to get through the town. All side street end at the mountain or just stop. Maybe the history of the town will give some clues about the design. I asked questions. There is wealth in Sonora. First came gold, then timber. Both brought great wealth to the area. Gold was first discovered in California at Sutter Creek only about 30 miles north of Sonora. Then other discoveries were made (including Sonora) extending the area perhaps another 100 miles further south. The locals tell me now every time they dig a hole in Sonora they find an abandoned mine tunnel. Maybe their early streets avoided mine shafts! In reality, the mountains restricted the town’s growth from east to west and forced the growth in a north and south direction. Traffic on their main street (Washington Street – also California Highway 49) is at congestion levels all day.

Gold is still mined in the area, but tourism drives their local economy. There are many stately old homes and quaint old buildings in the business district.

Tuesday we took the trailer to a repair place to fix several small things and while waiting for it, toured the little gold town of Columbine. They have restored the whole little city (it is a state park) to be like it was during the gold rush. Many school children were there watching the blacksmith and panning for gold.

May 7, Wednesday is Blaire and Fred’s birthdays. Happy Birthday Blaire!
We spent the day at the library working on line. We have not had service or cell service since we went to Kings Canyon. That is one of the reasons we had trouble with Letter 9 and the pictures. This letter won’t have as many pictures. We have found out we can only send 240 emails a day and when we send one letter to 84 people, then only 3 mass mailings will go out. So expect letters and pictures to come on 2 or 3 days. Please be patient.

After several hours at the library we said, this is enough and headed out to see the sights. Next week, at Angeles Camp, on the 17th is the annual Calaveras County Frog Jump immortalized by Mark Twain. They are preparing by hanging out clothes on the line across the streets. (How about having gingerbread men & women flags in Waxahachie?) We also saw several frogs in town. The town of Murphys was next and they have about 25 wineries, so we visited two –n Twisted Oak and Ironstone. Both had excellent wines and we bought a few bottles. Ironstone is an older winery and still family owned. They have a museum along with their winery and own the largest single piece of gold mined in North America since the 1850’s. We were so proud to hold the huge nugget. It is priceless. After that exciting event we went back to the trailer and celebrated Fred’s birthday by cooking steaks, new potatoes and asparagus with new peas in the pod.

May 8 we arose very early and started out by 7:15 because we knew we had 180 miles of little roads to get to Lake Tahoe. Words can not express all the country we are seeing. Mountains, ocean, snow, pastures, flowers: iris, Indian paint brush, daisy, roses, sun flowers, and yes bluebonnets. Today the road was narrow, twisting, turning, up and down, trees meeting over the road and beautiful. We actually made it to Tahoe in record time for us, 7 hours. About 10 miles south of Tahoe we crossed a pass and as we started down, the road went around a mountain and there was snow capped mountains and the lake in the valley. Arriving in South Lake Tahoe we found the city owned “campground by the lake” and it is. We are camped about 100 yards from the green, then blue water with snow capped peaks behind it. The weather is clear and very comfortable temperature.