Chillin in Klamath Falls, Oregon

As you probably have noticed, I have not been very vigilant in keeping up with my blog. So much to see and do, I actually am finding it hard to just relax and write. So... since I am now in Klamath Falls and have had a couple of days to really relax, read, eat some good food and drive nowhere, I thought I would attempt to catch you up on my travels.

First, a couple of observations about California roads: 1. They must use snakes as their ruler for everything but the interstates. Outside of the "Road to Hana" in Maui, I have never seen such twisty, turny, roller-coaster roads anywhere else I have traveled. Highway 49 in Eastern California on the edge of the Sierras is especially crazy. However, that said, the roads are in excellent shape and fun to drive! (I also am averaging well over 40 mpg on these crazy roads!!!)

2. The medians on Highway 5 and othe interstates and divided highways have miles of flowering pink and white oleanders and varieties of roses giving the highways a rather striking strip of color. The white, pinks and reds are alternated and it is really quite beautiful. Kudos to Caltrans for a job well done!

After leaving Oceanside (I will return!) I headed to LA to meet an old college friend for lunch. It was great seeing him and we enjoyed reconnecting after about five years. I then headed to Angels Camp in the Sierra's of East Central California. I left Oceanside at 62, hit 102˚ in the valley as I flashed by acres and acres of orchards, plowed fields and ranches, and then 56˚ Angels Camp. It was a long and beautiful drive.

Angels Camp is located in Calaveras County, made famous by Mark Twain's 1865 short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County". In town there are frogs everywhere doing everything possible from drinking wine to playing piano.

The area is known for its wine and outdoor fun. While I didn't do any wine tasting (best when with a group) I did head to Big Trees State Park and enjoyed the amazing, huge Sequoia trees.

This state park is a must see if you are in the area and quite frankly is more accessible and enjoyable than Sequoia National Park (which I'll get tp in a minute.) The Sequoia groves in the park are well-managed and the trail exceptionally well taken care of. It was a great afternoon stroll through these amazing trees. In the images, The burnt tree at the lower right is called the "Mother of the Forest." In 1854, this massive tree was stripped of her bark, which was then reassembled and transported as an exhibit in New York and London. The exhibit saw both interest and outrage. The once beautiful tree, no longer protected by its fire resistant bark, soon died.

The image on the lower left shows a downed tree in the early 1900's. The image above it is the same tree today. The downed Sequoias take a long time to decompose. It is a time-release vitamin for the forest around it.

The image on the right, 2nd one down shows a downed tree with the trail going through it. For reference, I am over 6'4" and the green branch you see on the left is above my head! Sequoias are by volume the largest living single organism - dwarfing even the blue whale! This is a type of redwood tree. The tree with the actual name is the tallest living thing in the world and I will walk amongst them in the near future.

While staying in Angels Camp, I visited the little town of Murphy's. This is a great little town known for its wine tasting and the Murphy's Hotel, known as the place where many famous people including Mark Twain and Ulysses Grant stayed. This old historic hotel also has a marvelous restaurant and provided a wonderful dinner.

Before heading out the see the national parks, I met with some old friends for lunch at the South Gate Brewing Company restaurant in Oakhurst, CA. To get there, I had to drive highway 49. I have been on roller coasters that were much tamer than this drive! Along the way I saw a number of motorcyclists with knee pads. Apparently they race on that road and from what I have heard, a number of them have paid the price. It is really a crazy drive but once I got used to turning the wheel to the left and right constantly and doing almost 360˚ turns, it was enjoyable! After my roller coaster ride, it was great to relax with Chris and Holly and catch up after a decade!

Kings Canyon National Park!

Angels Camp is about four hours north of Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks so, off I went. I hit Kings Canyon first and was impressed by the depth and beauty of the canyon and its trees. This park has ponderosa pine, incense-cedar, white fir, sugar pine, and scattered groves of giant sequoias who intermix and coexist. It also boasts the largest remaining grove of Sequoias in the world. Unfortunately because of the massive Memorial Day crowds (I do not do crowds well,) I was unable to get to see the General Grant tree in Kings Canyon (the 2nd largest tree in the world) or the General Sherman tree in Sequoia National Park (the largest tree in the world!) That said, I was able to enjoy many of their somewhat smaller relatives in both parks and especially in Kings Canyon.

I was very disappointed and saddened by the condition of Sequoia National Forest. In September of 2021, lightning started a series of fires throughout Sequoia National Park and National Forest. These fires took three months to contain and burned over one fifth of all Giant Sequoias trees. The park is covered with blackened tree skeletons and due to the drought, even those areas that weren't burnt, have brown leaves on the trees. Unlike the green of Kings Canyon, there is not one part of Sequoia that I could see from the highway that was not affected by the either the fires or drought. I was so saddened I did not take any photos in Sequoia.

After the disappointment of Sequoia NP, I was a little apprehensive about my trip to Yosemite. It is only about an hour and a half south of Angels Camp and a beautiful drive. Yosemite turned out to be as I remembered, Gorgeous! Green, well-maintained and the majestic cliffs, meadows and waterfalls were amazing. I did short hikes to the upper and lower Yosemite Falls as well as to the footbridge of Vernal Falls (a very strenuous .8 mile up along the Merced River - very steep - thankfully it was dry because it was so steep, I am sure you would slide on the asphalt trail - especially on the way back.)

After my tour of Yosemite Valley, I went to view the valley from on high at the tunnel view vista. This is a magnificent place to see the valley as well as El Capitan, Half Dome and Bridalveil Falls. While there in the late afternoon, the sun and the falls worked together to put on a color light show. I have included a shot from both my cell phone and my Canon to show how amazing this light show was!

Cell Phone Shot

Canon 80D shot

I am certain many will think I added the colors. The entire rainbow of colors can be seen from reds and oranges at the top of the falls all the way down to indigo and violet at the bottom of the falls. The complete ROY G BIV of the spectrum of light could be seen by the naked eye. Amazing! The wind was also doing a number on the falls, at times pressing it to the right and others to the left. Occasionally, it would die down and the falls would return to the middle. An amazing sight and great way to end a wonderful day at this truly wonderful National Park.

Oh, and I almost forgot, I also got some photos of a bear while I was there! He/she was pretty curious but a screaming baby soon scared it away!

With Angels Camp in my rear view mirror, I headed to San Francisco to enjoy lunch and a great visit with my niece Jamie and her husband Ike. We ate at a great little Greek restaurant and talked about travel work and living. A very enjoyable couple of hours! After lunch, I headed to the Golden Gate Bridge for a little sight-seeing. I have been to San Francisco a number of times but it always great to get photos of the bridge!

Then it was off to South Lake Tahoe for a few days in Nevada. Stay Tuned! Another National park is calling! - I will update this on Wednesday.

Lions, Tigers and Bears! And Finally, a Sunset!

Tuesday the 24th of May found me heading south to San Diego to visit the world famous San Diego Zoo. I decided to enjoy my exploration and chose not to take many photos (this is becoming a theme as I have only taken a little over 400 shots so far this trip and many of those are duplicates where I am playing with light levels and composition. That said, because the editing takes so long, I will create a special folder on this website focusing on this trip after I return to my home in Mt. Joy, PA in July. Until then, enjoy my cellphone pics and an occasional shot from my Canon.)

The zoo has an impressive number of aviaries.

My Mom and I enjoy watching birds and this zoo provided introductions to some amazing birds. Here is just one example - the Andean Cock-of-the-rocks!

You are also greeted when you enter the zoo with a flock of flamingos.

The zoo also had areas set up for reptiles, animals of Australia, Africa, the polar north, South America and of course local US animals. All were enclosed in areas that looked similar to their natural habitats. Overall - well done.

The zoo is vast and I also took a tram ride over the zoo as well as a bus ride through the zoo. Needless to say, I covered a lot of ground and saw many amazing things during my morning and early afternoon stroll.

Keeping with the theme of my journey, I headed to Cabrillo National Monument next to see the Point Loma Lighthouse and look down across the bay towards San Diego.

I also had wanted to visit the tidal pools but high tide prevented that from happening. As you can see from the Point Loma Shoreline shot, the waves were crashing in and the sun had yet to come from behind the clouds.

It was interesting watching the various Navy planes and helicopters doing maneuvers out in the bay. At the observation point where I took the bay shot, there were placards that identified and gave some information for the various types of airplanes, helicopters and boats/ships you might see.

Knowing what Southern California traffic is like, I decided to eat during rush hour and found a great little dockside seafood place to while away a couple of hours. Great food and conversation. I met a young lady in medical residency near Philadelphia taking a break in San Diego while attending and presenting at a Gastroenterology conference and preparing for her upcoming wedding. Small world! She and her future wife are both residents in the Philly area, she in surgery and her future wife in Cardio.

After an uneventful journey through the clouds and haze back to Oceanside, I relaxed and prepared for the next day just tooling around in Oceanside.

Wednesday, May 25th started much like the previous two days in Oceanside. The weather was mild (high 60's and very overcast. After taking care of some chores including taking a walk and finding the local post office, I set out to explore the Oceanside Pier and area. The pier is the 2nd longest in California.

While walking down the pier, I got to meet a couple of the local Brown Pelican neighbors.

After walking the length of the pier and back and somehow pulling a muscle in my calf!?

I gutted it out and decided to walk the beach, sticking my toes in the Pacific. Within two months, I was able to stick my toes in both the Atlantic and the Pacific!

After walking over a mile up the beach (or should I say slightly limping!,)

I came to the Oceanside boat basin. Lots of beautiful sailboats. At the end of my walk was a really good restaurant right on the water. so for the 2nd evening in a row, I could enjoy dinner wharfside!

While at dinner, the sun decided to appear for the first time in three days. So I walked the mile + back to my condo to retrieve my camera. I was finally going to get a sunset!

I decided to take advantage of the pier so I walked about another half mile down the coast and set up for the sun to set behind the pier. It was a beautiful evening and except for a small bank of clouds hiding the sun before it reached the pier, it still offered a picture perfect way to end a really nice day.