California Part 1

There is hardly a way to encapsulate a 9 day vacation into one readable blog. Rewind that. No way for someone as long winded as me to encapsulate a 9 day vacation into a readable blog, so I have decided to break it down into pieces. That makes it a little less intimidating anyway. I just have to remember a day or two at a time and not try to cram every detail into an epilogue that is as tiresome to write as it is to read. Let's be honest. We all have lives here. No matter how much you love me and my family, the interest begins to fade after the fourth, okay second, time you hear about the bacon for breakfast, outdoors in the afternoon, swimming at night. So, here's the highlight tape in three easy installments. Mostly because installments just feel like they should come in threes.

The best childhood memories as those that, when revisited, are every bit as magical as they felt as a child. Going to our cabin is one of those memories for me. The smells, the sounds; they are all the same. All, just as I remembered. So with the itinerary.

The first stop, as always, was the Stanislaus river and Beaver Creek. All the water is mountain runoff. In other words, freezing. I remember being a little girl and sticking my feet in the water and shrieking at the chill. The magic came as I watched Joshua do the same. Of course my dad and Ross weren't men if they just let the cold water run over their feet. No, real men jump head first into 20 degree water that causes such a shock you have to remember not to gasp before surfacing. Soon, Tina followed suit and there were three frozen swimmers fighting to stay upstream. Well, when they weren't deciding it might be a good idea to float down the rapids, bouncing off each rock along the way. Moving up and down the shore meant navigating the slopes and edges of the rocks. It only takes a second for a balance check to become a tumble or a trip for your camera into the water. Tina can attest to that. Beaver Creek is far less the test of agility and the thigh deep water made it an easy playground for Joshy. I can't share all too many memories as I vaguely remember getting there, sitting down, and then waking up and hour or so later. It is possible I was more tired than I thought. I do remember 12 years ago when Beaver creek was Tina panning for gold and me taking pictures of Jess and Dorney on the rocks, they the models and me the famous photographer. Since then Jess has far surpassed me in skill and interest when it comes to photographing people. Not to mention quite the diva when it comes to getting credit for the pictures I "borrow" from time to time for this blog.

From the river, the opposite side of Big Trees State Park is just what the name suggests...big trees. I don't know if big alone can convey the size and wonder of these trees. Trunks bigger than you can reach around. Bigger than five of you linked together can reach around. Trunks big enough that it takes seven people stretched finger tip to finger tip just to span its width. As we walked through the trail, Joshua was looking at the map of the trees and when asked, told us it was a map to find the bear. Soon, the family got in on the fun and would run ahead on the trail and hide behind a bush, shaking it and growling as Joshy got near. We would say, "Joshy, what is that?". He would then respond..."A bear...a Ross bear". All together he found a Ross bear, B bear, Papa bear and Jessi bear. Still, a two mile walk right at nap time is a long walk for a three year old and by the end, I ended up with a three year old on my shoulders. Grandma and Pop sat by the Discovery Stump while we navigated the trail, chatting up a retired professor from Purdue.

Along the trail there is a tree that had fallen long ago and is covered with the carvings of those who have passed by through the years. We could not find the names that we carved as children in the heavily etched bark, so we carved them anew.

Do you see a Ross Bear in this picture...