Thursday, March 10, 2016

Headed to Vegas and Red Rock Canyon





FINALLY!  We caught her without a camera hiding her face!  Isn't she beautiful?











It takes awhile, but we finally make it.










Even monster Granma gives the rock climbing a shot!





No child left behind.




 A niche for everyone ... and everyone in their niche!



Living life on the edge.


It's a magical mysterious marvelous place.



Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Time's First Haircut

 It's time for a first hair cut - well, bang cut.

Here come the scissors!


 Snip, snip, snip!!  And, voila! (Cheetos and all!)


Monday, March 7, 2016

Fanning Time


Trying to recover from the heat of Death Valley, the kids whipped out their "Ticket To Ride" fans.  You see, I bought all of them hand fans and told them that whenever we went on a Granma-Granpa road trip they had to have a ticket to ride.  No tickky, no ride.  I'm told they may not know where their favorite toy is, but they do know where that Ticket To Ride is!


Heat or no heat, the vistas are astonishing!


Air conditioning, however, is a gift of the gods!



Sunday, March 6, 2016

Home By Way of Death Valley


As we descend into the Valley, above the roar of five kids having a wonderful! time, I hear a different kind of roar.  It gets louder and LOUDER and LOUDER, then, wh-oo-sh!  It was an F-15 (or 16 or 18...) from one of the nearby Air Force bases!  Minutes later we were buzzed again!  It was fantastic!
But enough of that...


Remember I said being at the top of the White Mountains in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the summer time was the best time to be there?  Well, August in Death Valley, not so much.



Our little Timer is wondering what Granma and Granpa are doing ...










She wasn't the only one...

   It was oppressively hot.  So hot you couldn't breathe, hot.  But beautiful.



The Why of The Pine

Here's a photo of Granma spending Granpa's money - probably on a coffee mug!  Just little trophies that the grandkids can fight over at my funeral.  I suppose if I had 10 or 1,000 they'd argue over who gets what, but those coffee mugs are truly near and dear to my heart.  They're one of my biggest vices, too!

The hand-drawn t-shirt is very near and dear to me, also.


Would that I could afford a whole set of Ancient Bristlecone Pine dishes.







The story of these pines is so amazing.  The first time we came here it was winter, and there were no tours because the climate is so incredibly harsh.  This time we were blessed to get a real tour and uncover a wealth of information.  I strongly encourage you, too, to time your visit for spring, summer, or fall.


Saturday, March 5, 2016

Granma Should Never Sleep In !!

These kids go and go and go.  They never even stop to watch TV.  And yet, they somehow managed to wake up before me, tiptoe and whisper around, until ...



S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E !!


And On We Go To The Ancient Bristlecone Pineforest!


Located at the tippy top of the White Mountains between Yosemite and Death Valley is a very, very cool discovery for the kids.  However, the road to this place was the most exciting for them.  It was a winding, curving, whoopty-do road - and I drove the whoops so fast that it would defy gravity and lift them out of their seats.  (I'm so thankful there weren't any law enforcement types around...)



These are the oldest living trees in the world.  You can see more on the Ancient Bristlecones by checking out my older posts:

http://www.thetravelerstwo.net/2014/12/the-methusaleh-tree.html



Monday, January 4, 2016

Viewing Half-Dome

Well, this is what we brought them to see:  the very famous Half-Dome of Yosemite National Park! 


 Looks like some specter wearing a hoodie, huh?


Actually, there are several half-domes in the Park, but this is the largest, tallest and most famous one.

From here we go to the Ancient Bristlecone-Pine Forest in the White Mountains.


Monday, December 21, 2015

A Wedding In Yosemite


Ha-ha!  Caught ya'!  She DOES come out from behind the camera from time to time.  And I see Master Calin's little head right down at the corner of the windshield!  There's Nina and Elliana, too.  Another lake; another passel of happy grandkids.  Even Granpa was havin' a pretty good time!












Someone else was having their own kinda good time - even though she needed her bangs trimmed.







What, pray tell, has this young lady mesmerized?

A wedding?  In Yosemite National Park?  How FUN!











We all thought it was pretty terrific !










Saturday, December 19, 2015

Yosemite Itself

Eventually we were able to drag the kids away from the river into Yosemite National Park itself.

This is going into the eastern entrance next to Nevada. 

 











Our official photographer may never be seen out from behind her camera!  It's like, "Kilroy was here!"  (Google that if you don't know "Kilroy.")



The Sierra Nevada mountains are rugged.  They're almost solid rock with little vegetation.  Until you find a valley that has captured enough soil for roots to grow in, this is what you see.   Sometimes the snow falls here at a rate of five feet a day!  Check out this link about the heart-breaking story of the 1846 immigrant Donner Party, http://www.legendsofamerica.com/ca-donnerparty3.html  Imagine this basin filling with snow right before your very eyes!



We weren't subject to snowfall of any kind as California has been in a severe drought for several years.
 

We did discover a lake however, and they loved it!




 And I mean ALL the kids loved it!