Jackson and I are back from a whirlwind fall break trip to the Bay Area.  It was a jam-packed 6 days in which we covered almost 6000 miles.  Most of that was by air but 1300 miles was on the ground. We had layovers in Las Vegas on the way out and Chicago on the return.

The first day was 18 hours long – the last 20 hours with an average of 15 or so.  It was grueling but we had a wonderful time.

We began in Silicon Valley checking out Apple and Google HQ’s, the Computer History Museum, driving by some of the famous start-up garages and otherwise geeking out the first day or so. Day 2 we toured Stanford after which we switched to more typical tourist stuff for the remainder of the trip.

I have been wanting to do a little web programming so I thought the trip would be a good excuse to launch this blog. It will also serve as a record of our trip for Jackson. Don’t expect any fancy writing – that’s not my thing.  Please forgive any transgressions in my grammar.   Also we packed light. All photos are from my 2 year old iPhone and quickly edited with free online software.  I’m actually pretty happy with how some of the photos turned out. Since I’m new at this blogging business I cut a few corners. It’s not as polished as many others you will see.  I had hoped to publish daily updates but there just wasn’t time.

Since I did use a blog template please note the postings are in reverse order. The last day’s entries are first – the first day is last.

At noon we took the Yosemite Valley Tour which wasn’t the best value of the trip. Except for a couple of anecdotes by the bus driver we could have done the tour better and faster ourselves. It wasn’t helped by the tour group of 25 very senior citizens, a number of which were barely ambulatory. Getting everyone on and off the bus at the various stops was an exercise. But I will say they were out there having a great time and good for them.

I wanted Jackson to see Yosemite and think he enjoyed it. It was sad to see everything so dry. To me the Ahwhannee Hotel was past due for an update. I was much younger on my previous trips. Maybe I’m just spoiled and more set in my ways.

The magnificent Yosemite Valley

Searching for rock climbers on El Capitan

Rock climbers appear as small ants from the valley floor.

El Capitan from the valley floor

We began the day by oversleeping an hour and a half. I was so tired the alarm went off for that length of time before waking me up!  So we had to kind of re-arrange our schedule for the day.

We began by touring the giant sequoias at the Mariposa Grove. Luckily we got there right before the parking lot filled up. The trees themselves are amazing. After leaving there we took on fuel for the car and ourselves and headed up to Yosemite Valley for a noon tour. Jackson kind of gasped as we exited the long tunnel and he got his first view of Yosemite Valley.

Grizzly Giant

Fallen giant sequoia root system.

After leaving Stanford early Sunday afternoon we began the trip over to Yosemite. The big news from the drive over was the drought.

We spent the night at the Tanaya Lodge which is a new resort and spa built right outside the park. it was a very nice place. That night we went on a flashlight hike back into the woods to look at the stars. It turned out to be a good star viewing area.

Roughing it at Tanaya Lodge & Spa – Yosemite

Night flashlight hike looking at stars.

Despite our best efforts we got to bed late again. After 4 very long days we were exhausted.

To get to Yosemite you cross through the rich central agricultural valley. We had seen signs of the drought in Silicon Valley. There were constant reminders to conserve water and things were definitely dry. Stanford’s beautiful fountains were all turned off as well as fountains in restaurants.

But it’s not until get into the agricultural areas in central California that you really appreciate the magnitude of the drought. It is another dust bowl in the making. This is my third trip through that area. I remember it being filled with lush crops, orchards & vineyards. Now you hardly see any crops planted and the orchards and vineyards are just shriveling up. Many of the irrigation ditches are bone dry. We passed by San Luis Resevoir and the normal water level easily appears to be 50-75 feet above the current water line. The hillsides are almost bare of grass. And it extends all the way over to Yosemite. It’s pitiful there as well. Water in the Merced River is mostly limited to the deeper pools – most of the riverbed is exposed. Of course there are no signs of waterfalls. There is dust just about everywhere you step.  I’m going to have to read up on this when I get home.