Shortly after our return to ‘normality’ from Burning Man, we hit the road for the next adventure – exploring the Sierra Nevada region of California, where many of Luke’s fondest childhood memories were formed.
On the way into the mountains, we visited a summer camp Lair friend in Sacramento, Scooter, who was back for the summer taking a break from her life in Barcelona. It was awesome to catch up with Scooter and also Kelly, enjoing our first Thai food since our time in SE Asia earlier this year.
We also went to Jelley’s first IKEA! What a treat! 😀
Luke took Jelley on her first US college campus tour at UC Davis, where he went to school for a couple of years. It was quite mind-blowing for Jelley to see the size of the campus, the flash buildings and apartment complexes and of course, visit a couple of fraternity and sorority houses! Luke never thought he would return here, and it was nice to visit some of his favorite local places, in particular Burgers & Brew, for a burger and a cold brew! We were there a couple of weeks before the school year started back, so unfortunately did not have the chance to sit in on any lectures!
We were so stoked to be heading to Groveland on the outskirts of Yosemite National Park to spend a weekend of shenanigans with Luke’s best friend Gannon, and a few other of his school friends Cary, Matt and Mike at Gannon’s family cabin. Jel had only met Gannon briefly and it was awesome to spend a few days with Luke’s friends in such a beautiful environment. Many laughs were had as we finally drank good beer in America (Lagunita’s IPA, YUM!), shared songs with the guitar and hung out by the golf course.
Saturday was spent at Lake Don Pedro, where we hired a boat (what?! I don’t think we can do this in NZ without legit licenses …) and took a tube out on this gorgeous lake. We had so much fun, the boys tried to fit as many as possible on one tube, and the day was a blast until the ‘fun police’ showed up, in the form of the local sheriff. Unbeknown to us, it is required by law to wear a lifejacket at all times when being towed by a boat .. even though there was no one else around for miles, and Gannon was the unlucky one to be caught. After a slap on the wrist and hefty citation from the lovely officer of the law, our day on the lake was over. The most exciting news of the day was that Gannon has booked flights to come and visit us in New Zealand over Christmas, hooray!!
We also took the time to check out the closest lake to Gannon’s cabin, Pine Mountain Lake, where he and Luke spent a lot of their childhood summers swimming and getting up to general mischief. The weekend ended (after Sunday football) out at Rainbow Pools, where the guys enjoyed jumping off the top of the waterfalls and Jelley was a keen photographer from the bottom. We had such a great weekend away with Gannon, Cary, Matt & Mike and hope to catch them all at another stage in our time in California!
The first time Jelley ever saw a photo of Yosemite Valley online, she didn’t think it was real. The way the tall, granite cliffs perfectly formed around the valley floor, the hint of rainbow forming in the distance over a waterfall and the clear blue sky .. this looked like heaven! The photo below is actually the first photo Jelley saw of it, on a friend’s instagram page in December last year (thanks Alastair for the photo cred and inspiration!)
Jelley was captivated, and wanted to visit this National Park where Luke had travelled to as a child many years prior. Just as an example, there is the same photo we took of the Tunnel View .. the weather wasn’t quite in our favor as the haze from forest fires settled into the valley and also caused the closure of several key roads during the park.
It was fortunate timing to be visiting just after kids went back to school, and managed to score a site in the Upper Pines campground, right underneath Half Dome. We hadn’t camped since the very first stage of our travels in NZ in March, and it was great to reconnect with the outdoors and be based in the valley for 2 days. While we had a little brown mouse disrupt our camping experience in NZ, we were really hoping not to encounter any local wildlife (especially bears!) while in California.
A highlight of our time in the valley was the Mist Trail up to Vernal Falls, and coming across some John Muir Trail hikers who had been in the wilderness for 30 days, mystified as to why we were appreciating the view of the granite cliffs, as they had become desensitized to such beauty!
We stopped into the former Ahwhanne Hotel (now awkwardly renamed the Majestic Yosemite Hotel), learnt more about John Muir’s famous impact on the area and forming California’s first National Park, saw the towering Yosemite Falls, watched climbers on the face of El Capitan and took several other easier walks through the valley. Even though we were visiting in shoulder season the impact of high tourism on the area is evident, with free shuttle transport taking visitors around the valley and trying to combat the number of vehicles on the road. We could only imagine the 3-5 hour lines at the gate during the height of summer and we were so grateful to have left it until September to visit!
Leaving the valley, we were keen to explore more of the Yosemite National Park, and took the Tioga Road north to Toulumne Meadows. The drive in itself was so scenic, with incredible views, the beautiful blue waters of Tenaya Lake and even a lookout where, with binoculars, you could see climbers on the side of Half Dome.
We took a gentle walk around Tuolumne Meadows, aware of an 80% chance of thunderstorm and not thinking too much of it. We returned to our new campsite just in time, as hailstones nearly the size of golf balls began pelting down. Luckily a general store around the corner had hot food and Yosemite beer, so we could seek shelter through the storm, and count ourselves lucky to be under shelter. It was incredible seeing the number of through-hikers soaked to the bone as they continued on the John Muir and Pacific Crest Trail through the storm, and we couldn’t imagine having to hike through these extreme weather conditions!
It felt like we were waking up in a winter wonderland, as the thick layer of hail had frozen overnight, but the sun was shining and it was ideal conditions for another hike before we had to leave. Lembert Dome looked intimidating from ground level, but ended up being an accessible hike with school kids even conquering it, and the dome felt like it was in the middle of the world, with an ocean of pine trees stretching for miles to the mountains.
It was time to leave Yosemite and head further north in the Sierras to a special place for Luke, the Lair of the Golden Bear, near Pinecrest Lake. Luke attended this summer camp for 23 years, working the last 3 of these years, and ever since meeting Jelley had been sharing stories and memories from his summers at the Lair. This was Jelley’s first ever summer camp experience, and all she had to base her expectations from was movies (hello, Parent Trap?) and Luke’s never-ending stories. It was so exciting to be finally heading here for a staff reunion weekend and to visit the place that has held such a special place in Luke’s heart.
There were cabins, campfires, beach volleyball, a pool party, beer pong & snappa, tshirts, a beautiful forest and lake and everything else you could ever imagine. It was such a fun weekend meeting other Lair staffers from as long ago as 2006, to hear their stories of time at summer camp and to explore this area. The bond that the staff make over the 10-12 weeks they spend at the camp over summer is extremely strong, and it was easy to see why it would be the dream job for 18 & 19 year olds to party, look after kids and be out in nature.
The Pinecrest lake was a beautiful place to hang out during the day and recover from the late nights, and we happened to run into a presentation on the lakefront by the American National Parks organization for deaf people. It was such random timing, but we learnt a few key phrases in sign language, met some hearing impaired rangers, made some crafts, and learned quite a bit about the surrounding forest.
In between our trips within the California region, we have been fortunate enough to spend time with Luke’s family and base ourselves in Walnut Creek, in the east part of the Bay Area. We have spent countless occasions now packing and unpacking, catching up on sleep and laundry and visiting with various family members! We have also had the chance to go on a few special walks in the area, including to the ‘grandfather tree’ in Walnut Creek and up to Mt Diablo. It has been fantastic having such a great home base and spending time with the Weber family. If you are reading this, thanks so much!
The adventures don’t stop there! Be sure to stay tuned for our next post, where we share our experience spending a week in ‘the city by the bay’, San Francisco!
Until then,
A Kiwi & A Cali xoxo
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