A Weekend with Moms in Montecito Lodge, Sequoia National Forest

We couldn't wait for Mother's Day to appease our desire to whisk away our mothers and spend a weekend with them. So a quick check on our budgets and a few clicks here and there we were booked and headed out to Sequoia National Park for a weekend in the mountains and a night in Montecito Lodge.

The Montecito Lodge is an all inclusive, open all year round resort. We loved the idea that we need not have to worry about anything else once we've checked in, except to look for stuff to do. The meals are included in our stay. Since we only stayed for a night, it included our dinner and breakfast, but lunch is available for those staying longer and I believe they can even pack a lunch for you if given a heads up, if you're going out for a hike. Lodging and worry-free meals for 4 adults for a weekend in the mountains for $200 including tax? Why not! They even have wi-fi, too! Which I felt weird using. Not used to being connected while I'm in park!

It's the almost the end of February, in which normally most of the mountains in California would still be blanketed with snow. It is expected to be completely snow country in January till early March, unless it's an epic snow season, then of course it extends. But this season, it was not. It's not even a normal winter in California standards. We drove up to the Big Stump entrance after gloriously missing the turn off to 180E from 99N freeway. Kari got mesmerized driving and me, sightseeing to nothingness on the 99. We toyed with the idea to change plans to Yosemite instead since we were getting close to its exit! It got quickly brushed off with the closest exit and turned on the opposite freeway to get back on track.

It was a slow day at the entrance when we arrived. My mom excitedly fished out her Senior Annual Pass, a lifetime pass for senior citizens all for $10. She's been eager to use it again since she got it on our last visit to Yosemite years ago. I just tucked away our own annual pass, hers supersedes it anyways! It was nice to see her face get excited, even giving the ranger her ID without being asked 'cause the instructions said so, she said. Made me smile.

(** For more information on the America The Beautiful Inter Agency Annual Pass click here to get redirected to the National Park Service - Support the parks!)

At the "Y" from the Big Stump Entrance in SEKI via 180

Driving into the park, we already weren't expecting much snow. But we were taken aback at the complete absence of it around us..  in February. At this point, I was already not regretting leaving the snowshoes behind.

Making a right turn at the "Y", we found the Montecito Lodge sign on our right, with three carved wooden bears (I think it was missing Goldilocks!), not long after and made for the turn off. We were now leaving the park boundaries and entering the National Forest area where the resort is located. The sight of the lake welcomed us as we drove up to the lodge to check in. I can see the lake to be abuzz with guests swimming, paddling and all during the summer. Kari and her mom have been her during that season when they picked me up from a backpacking trip before and they both said it had been a busy lake and it was all they could do to just lounge by the beach and watch kids and families have some water fun.

Check in was quick and easy. The check-in desk can be found right by the lodge's main entrance as you enter it, and opens up to large space of long wooden tables, that was to become the mess hall during meals, and the space extends further more to a sitting area filled with several couches by a big fireplace.

We decided to locate our rooms and dump our belongings first then explore the grounds before dinner. Finding the right staircase closest to our room was a bit tricky for me, there were several small staircases leading off of the main hall that leads upstairs to the rooms. But Kari quickly figured it out.

Our room was not very big but adequate enough to accommodate sleeping 4 ladies. We won't be staying cooped up in there anyways! It had a queen bed in the middle of the room and a bunk bed by the door. The bathroom looks recently redone, small but clean. And it has an ample closet space. Though I don't know how it would fare for a week-long stay for a family in winter, outerwear and all.

Exploring the grounds, the swimming pool, slightly off of the lodge's entrance, was closed for the season. However the hot tub next to it was bubbling and steaming with a few folks enjoying it.

We walked in the direction passing the pool and found a small climbing wall behind the lodge and beneath the outdoor deck. It was empty and appearing to be only offered during their summer season for the kids. After all, winter season is for snowshoeing, cross country skiing and they even have down-hill skiing and snowboarding! Found a non-functioning lift on the opposite side of the lodge. But due to lack of snow for the season, these were not being offered that time. Too bad, would have been nice for a ski-in/out shindig with half the price on big winter resorts!

After walking around the grounds and goofing off for photos on the outdoor deck, it got too chilly already and we all decided to check out the indoor amenities.

From the outdoor deck, doors lead inside to a recreational room with a couple of ping pong tables, couches by a fireplace, table and benches for endless board and card games and a bar! With a decent selection of beers and wine.. score! Beer on hand, challenged Kari to a game of ping pong while the mothers got comfy by the fireplace with their respective books on hand. Then dinner was served.

Meal is served buffet style and have options for every picky eater. We picked a table next to a big family who were all there celebrating their "Abuela's" birthday. They even brought their own cake for the occasion! Their joyous celebration was contagious, couldn't help smiling at them!

After dinner, kids and wanna-be kids were gathered around the fireplace and a resort employee facilitated some marshmallow roasting for some S-mores to end the night. We stayed longer on the lounge area, reading and talking before we all retreated for the night and get ourselves ready for a day of exploring the park.

The following morning, after a yum buffet of breakfast (my favorite way of having breakfast.. ever!), we cheked out, perused the small gift shop across the check-in desk and a routine my sister & I do when we travel, mailed out a postcard to her. The car loaded up, we were ready to explore Sequoia National Park!

Some tree hugging commenced. Some awestruck moment staring at fallen giant Sequoia trees. And since it was not the peak season of summer, the road looping around to get to Moro Rock, Auto Log and Tunnel Log by the Giant Forest Museum was open for private vehicles. We drove and stopped at each landmark and even went to climb the 400 steps up to the top of Moro Rock. My mom, who is not a 'hiking gal' per se, but grew up playing outside when she was young, was happily climbing those steps and really determined to finish it. Slowly but surely she made it!

Some more pictures below!

Vandalism in the Wilderness

Recently, a friend tweeted a picture to me while we were chirping about a totally different topic, chirping about our backpacks. On the photo, her backpack was leaning on a sign that states the wilderness place they were exploring at the time the photo was taken, the Golden Trout Wilderness. I can't post the picture on here since I do not own that photo, but I was able to dig up mine  from a different place, the San Gorgonio Wilderness, on our way up to it's namesake's peak. It's a little bit better than the sign that I saw on my friend's tweet, some of the letters on that sign have already been scraped out.

I get sad with vandalism period. And I get even deeply saddened when I see vandalism in the wilderness, a place where I, as like many others, deem this place as an escape from the hubbub of the city. Seeing these vandalism, I do not want to be reminded of what I'm temporarily leaving behind. I can wield my cellphone for that!

I think I've been lately shrouded with this curtain of knowledge that everyone who ventures to enjoy the wilderness has the same love for it as I do. Can respect it and have the need to leave it as natural as we can possibly can for the next onslaught of hikers who'll want to enjoy the same space that we just did. And learn the basic Leave No Trace principles.

I can still hear the voice of my mother when we were just kids; "Leave everything as you found them!".. and "Put back what you took out!" and of course "Close what you opened!". I'm just now realizing that even my mom, who was born and raised in the rural area though not outdoorsy, have always been teaching us the LNT principles, even before the educational program even started. If you really think about it, the LNT principles does not even have to only apply to the outdoors, it is quite applicable in everyday life, too.

So what are the Leave No Trace Principles?

There are 7 Leave No Trace Principles:

• Plan ahead and prepare
• Travel and camp on durable surface
• Dispose of waste properly
• Leave what you find
• Minimize campfire impacts
• Respect wildlife
• Be considerate of other visitors

If the enumeration or outlining seems a bit too much or it may seem to "textbook-y" , this quote is easier to go by, and my personal favorite.

"Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints"

For a more extensive read on the 7 principles click here or visit the Leave No Trace website at www.lnt.org 

Beetle Rock Educational Center Volunteer Clean Up

It was a gorgeous Saturday to be outside and what better way to spend the day than to give back to the park that has always been there to aid in my nature wanderings.. and plus there's a bonus hiking/ tour at the end of the day!

Brief History

The Beetle Rock Educational Center is located inside Sequoia National Park in the Giant Forest Area, across the street from the Giant Forest Museum. It is only open during Summer.

In the early era of Sequoia National Park, the Giant Forest area was the hub of everything in the national park, kind of like the Yosemite Village, at present, in Yosemite Valley. This area of the park had about 300 hundred structures built around, including tent cabins, a market, a bar, a gasoline station, park employee housing to name a few. It's a hubbub of activities.

The park service and naturalists that guarded the motto "Preserve and Protect" became concerned that the congestion of activities are affecting the environment of the Giant Sequoia Trees that this park protects. By 1998, for the safety of Giant Sequoia Trees and it's visitors, the Giant Forest Village was shut down. Then most of all the buildings were removed and some were moved, like the Post Office to the Lodgepole area, except for the market and the Beetle Rock Hall.

The former market (and I was told, also housed a bar) was changed and is now currently serving as the Giant Forest Museum with the General Sherman Tree standing tall and proud in front of it.

The Beetle Rock Hall used to be the recreational area for all the park employees to use, but now serves as an educational center to learn things about how Sequoia National Park was before and as a historical landmark.

In 2012 the Beetle Rock Educational Center was closed due to budget constraints and underwent a review as to it's future purpose and usage. But not wanting to lose this historical site, if it will not be utilized, the Sequoia Natural History Association (SNHA), plans to open it this 2014 summer, for leaning about history and will include the Summer Barn Dance on Saturday nights.

Clean Up

I received an email from SNHA regarding a one day weekend clean up event for the Crystal Cave that includes a private-before-they-open-it-to-the-public nature tour of the cave. I jumped on the phone and called in to register. I have been to the cave, Kari hasn't, and I thought it'd be a cool way to spend the weekend. Throw in some good karma into the world, plan our own camp out and a day hike or 2.

However, they only had space for one volunteer and I wanted this an activity for both Kari and I. So we accepted to get assigned to the Beetle Rock clean up, instead

We met at SNHA HQ for a quick orientation, before the convoy of official and civilian vehicles made it's way to our respective destinations, with the convoy breaking up for the cave volunteers to leave the Generals Highway and veer towards Crystal Cave and us continuing more up the highway to our own location.

We soon reached our destination, parked our vehicles and grabbed our gloves & water bottles. We were a smaller group, just 6. It seems Kari and I were the only first timers and more seemingly the only "outsiders". We were with 3 naturalists and employees of SNHA and (I'm going to guess on this since I didn't' really get to ask) a long time friend of the association. We may be new faces to the vets but they sure didn't let us feel like outsiders. Outdoorsy folks are always good-natured, I guess.

It's raining pine needles!

We got a brief history background of the building from our activity leader, Tara, before we started with work outside of the building. Fire-proofing it by clearing the pine needles on the roof, raking off the immediate surrounding of the building and clearing any debris left from whatever winter left (not that old man winter really paid attention to California this season.. but still.). Though I have never raked in my life (we owned an outside broom made of dried palm stalks growing up, never owned a rake), I had fun! Serious work out I must say. And with a view, this beats going to the gym!

We took our lunch break on the newly cleaned deck. A good spread of build-you-own ham sandwich, an assortment of fruits, vegetable and cookies provided to us. We enjoyed some Sequoia NP history, hiking, backpacking story swapping before we had to break that up and go back to work, cleaning up indoors.

Found more poop in there! So, she tells me.

Now, I am not a rodent lover, nor am I fascinated with them one bit or anything associated with it. I just can't stand it. Some people fear spiders and snakes, mine is this. So, it was with great zen like mind control that I had to play in my head in order for me to start and finish the clean up inside.

The place was the party hub of every sized rodent, I think, in the park! There was rodent poop everywhere and of every size! It got properly soaked with bleach first before we started sweeping them mopping around (safety first! No Hantavirus, please!). Kari and I took the big hall area, while the others took the other sections of the building. Boy, was I happy when our leader declared at 3 p.m. that we were done for the day! I'm done finding poop surprises! Haha.

We closed up shop and the building will be for inspection the coming week, I think. Hopefully, in between now and then, no more rodents will make a temp home of it. Yeah, sure. Haha.

We were gifted with a short but informative nature tour after our day's work, but that's for another post!

An Inside-Outside Weekend - Part II

Part Deux - The Outside Weekend

Got this day down to get my Sunday hiking fix that my better half usually does not like to partake of. But she surprised me today that she wanted to get outside with me. Got me thrilled! Little did I know that she already had something in mind. We hopped in the car and after a quick stop to get coffee, off we went to The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens.

We both have never been here before and were utterly surprised how has this flown under our radar for so long, being so close to our humble abode. Our trusty mode of transportation did not even need to jump on, nor off any of the web of freeways! We vowed to ride our bikes here on our next visit.

Address, Location and such..

The Huntington is located in the small quiet city of suburban San Marino, CA. Sandwiched between the cities of Pasadena to the North and San Gabriel/ Alhambra to the South. And approximately about 12 miles NE of Los Angeles. For mapping purposes, here is the complete address:

1151 Oxford Road,

San Marino, CA 91108

There is free parking available, as well as bicycle parking, though we did not see them when we arrived, might be caused by a close off area for construction and/or maintenance.

Fees

• Adults (Weekday) $20/ (Weekend) $23
• Seniors $15/ $18
• Youth $8
• Kids below 5 years old are free!

You could also sign up for an annual membership, the lowest level will set you at $120.00 for up to 2 adult cardholders. KS and I already have plans of coming back here often and with 2 more weekend visits, we'd pretty much get our membership's worth already. Throw in 10% discounts on classes, books and stuff - it was something we couldn't pass up.

By the Children's Garden.

Hours

• Weekdays: 12:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Weekends: 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

They are closed every Tuesday and major Holidays. They do have longer hours during summer time, which is about from Memorial Day till Labor Day.

Food

You can't have a picnic inside the premises. However, there is a Cafe inside and a Tea Room by the Rose Garden area. The Cafe serves the usual American fare of salads and sandwiches. While the Tea Room is a buffet type of scones, pastries, fruits, cheeses and such. Reservations are recommended for the Tea Room online or by calling (626) 683-8131.

Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens

I was pretty stoked to check out the library. Without prior knowledge nor research about this place, I was slightly disappointed to not being able to see the actual library. It is, however, understandable, considering that they house the a wide array of books, from ancient to modern. In the area open to the public, we've even seen old publications of books and some scribbled notes on old notebooks from Mark Twain's display glass case, a copy of The Canterbury Tales circa 1343-1400, the Gutenberg Bible and that giant of a book, The Birds of America by John James Audubon to name a few.

Tertiary History of the Grand Canyon District
With Atlas - Dutton/ Holmes (1882)

We didn't get to check out the Art Collections. We're reserving that for later visits and intend to allot that visit just for the art galleries. Checking out the map that was given to us, the European Art are in a separate building from the American Arts. And they have, as well, a separate building for changing exhibits. Pretty clear, there'd be lots to see!

So not really pressed for time and with lots of re-visits planned already in our heads already, we took our time strolling along the front part of the gardens and the huge conservatory. There is a Children's Garden located next to the conservatory. The garden looks a lot of fun for the kids. It reminds me of a garden the Queen of Hearts would have on the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland.

The Conservatory housed different species of plants divided in different climates. Couldn't stay far too long in the tropical one, KS was having the time of her life though scrutinizing every leaf, moss and flower she could get close to.

We arrived on a weekend that they were holding the Clivia Festival in the Botanical Center and got to vote for the People's Choice category! The lady who was assisting us with our admissions had asked us if we were there for the Clivia Festival. We had to confess, that not only was this visit spur of the moment, we do not even know what a Clivia is! She was right though, by the time we left, we'll know what (and then some) are Clivias (Off note: I can't help singing the Activia jingle and replacing "Activia" with "Clivia".. lol).

We're glad we found this place. Now we have another choice of a botanical garden on our side of Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles County Arboretum is the others. And this one is closer, too! Not that the Arboretum is far though. Can't wait to spend a day here with our moms and have some tea! Should we don some fabulous hats and white gloves and spend a lovely day at the gah-dehns? haha.

An Inside-Outside Weekend - Part I

Part Un - The Inside Weekend.

The L.A. Weather has lately been great for any outdoor activities, and last weekend was no exception, but on Saturday, we were bound to spend it indoors.

Had this corner to ourselves.. almost all day.

Santa Cruz cousin, who recently went full forced in pursuing climbing when she moved to Santa Cruz, was in town for a family visit and with a handful of text messages and phone calls, she managed to convince her bike-every-weekend brother (Chris), to cancel the Saturday morning bike ride to get in early and avoid any weekend crowd to a climbing gym she had found previously in downtown L.A. Having only been to a climbing gym once and liked it but never got around to going back to one by myself, I tagged along to their little excursion.

In condition to Chris' agreement to cancel the bike ride and try climbing, he's only willing to climb with ropes and harness attached to him. Reading up on the climbing gym we were originally headed to, it seems to be more focused on bouldering. Scrambling to find an alternative on the morning of, we found Stronghold Climbing Gym in the eastern side of Los Angeles. We were first skeptical if this gym exists at all, as it only comes up on Yelp and not even on Google maps for directions, had to type in the address. We found out soon enough after arriving why it was so. They barely opened about 2 weeks ago, according to the gentleman behind the front counter, who was helping us.

Address, Directions and Parking

The Stronghold Climbing Gym

650 S. Avenue 21,

Los Angeles, CA 90031

To get an idea, the area they are located in has several landmarks. Within the 1 mile radius, they are surrounded by Lincoln Park (East), the L.A. County/ General Hospital on the (SE), and the San Antonio Winery (a block or 2 to their West).

Coming from the West side along Main St., turn right onto Avenue 21 (East turn Left). You'll see a giant Horse sculpture on the corner. Do not be discouraged by the black metal fence that's missing an actual gate, keep going along Avenue 21, and from this point on you'll see several parking spaces on both sides of the street, pick a spot and continue to walk beyond the black gate straight to the gym's front door. Parking beyond the gate is for resident artists only of The Brewery.

Also, there are bike racks located by the gym's front door.

Rates and other 4-1-1's

• Day Pass is $20
• Shoes rental - $4
• Harness rental - $2
• Chalk bag rental - $2
• Packaged Equipment Rental is $5 (including harness, chalk bag, shoes..)

As soon as you walk in through their front door, you'll notice several iPad minis installed to your left. If you haven't filled out and signed their waiver before you came over, the tablets are there for you to do so. We arrived there just a bit after they opened, plus they're quite newly opened, so the waiver station was empty and we breezed through it. But one can tell that this joint will be popular soon enough, so I'd suggest filling up a waiver before arriving. All participants must fill this out. As always, if a minor is participating, a parent or legal guardian must sign for the minor.

After filling out the waiver, go ahead and walk over to the counter ahead of you to pay your dues and pick up rentals, if you need any.

There are a lot of cubbyholes available to stash your stuff in, installed alongside the wall between the doors to the Men's and Women's bathrooms, past the front counter. You won't miss 'em - they're painted in a lovely red!

They've got a couple of shower stalls in the women's locker room (not sure about the men's - didn't get to check! On hindsight tho... haha). There are more lockers (with locks! Don't need to bring your own) located in here, too. Do completely read the instructions first, if you're unfamiliar on how to operate those types of lockers, they're posted.

Climbing

Their bouldering routes can be found on the front part of the facility. From mid way, all the way to the back, you'll find the top rope climbs (they've got lots!).

I think this newbie, (me!) has gotten enough free taste of this climbing situation to seriously take a formal class to climbing. Don't get me wrong, the cousin was really awesome in teaching.. knots, harness, safety, commands. But she lives too far from me and consistency is the key. Good thing I found out, Stronghold Climbing does Intro to Climbing classes every Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 12:00 p.m. for $35, but free for members.

This way I could get certified to belay at this gym, too! Win-win!

Las Vegas Bound With Our Snowboards.

Snowboarding in Las Vegas.

Initial reaction: Snowboarding in Vegas?
Secondary reaction: There's snow in Vegas?!

Yes and yes.

We first got wind about this mystical ski resort in Las Vegas on a New Years Eve trip back in 2007. Just like everyone, we've ever told to since then, our reactions were just like above. A ski resort in the desert where we go to gamble, party, drink and be merry was kind of.. unbelievable. But we did find it, rode and left, went about our merry way back to The Strip - where we were staying, during the days when all of us were still just transients in this brightly lit city. The resort was small and incredibly lacking in snow that year. And sadly, filled with obnoxious folks literally trashing the place (they got creative using trash bins to do tricks; imagine how things went when they tripped over them).

Needless to say, the first time we visited the Las Vegas Ski &  Snowboard Resort, was our last. Until this year, 2014.

Last weekend, we were originally headed to Brian Head Ski Resort in southwest Utah. Mapped it, was about a 3 hour drive from the Summerlin neighborhood in Vegas where we were staying. As always, coming from Ls Angeles after work and arriving at Joe's house Friday night, does not mean straight to bed. We all haven't seen each other during the Holidays (the longest time, since Joe & Maggie moved to Sin City, permanently).. so drinks, catching up, lots of laughter and late Christmas gifts needed to happen. Next thing we knew it was 2:00 a.m.!

Post Christmas Coffee brewing gift!

Honestly, I wasn't hopeful any of us would wake up on time to leave by 7:00 a.m. and be at Brian Head by 10:00 a.m. But to my surprise, Chris found me and Maggie having coffee already in the kitchen. Yet, we're still incomplete. In his pajamas, Joe came trudging down the stairs with his morning greetings. With Kari not far behind, though she's not coming to snow play with us.

Coffee over by the breakfast counter, we briefly toyed with a hike in Red Rock Canyon or pick somewhere close to ride. The Las Vegas Ski resort was only 40 minutes away. We all have skipped riding a season or 2 or 3, so picking a snowboard day was easier to pick than a hike. We soon quickly loaded up Smurf with our boards and boots and took off, with a promise to Kari that we'll be back for dinner.

The drive up did not look promising for a good snow to ride. Remembering the cacti in the foothills were dusted with snow on our 2007 trip, I was starting to think if we made the right decision choosing riding over hiking. The resort wasn't crowded, so parking was a breeze. We got our lift tickets, $70 All day; $60 half day. Pricey, but considering the proximity, kind of understandable.

Still a bit apprehensive, we took our first lift ride on Chair 1, with Maggie staying on the bunny hill, not wanting to get convinced to join us. We've all been out of commission for a season or 2 or 3, so the first ride downhill was sort of a discovery ride. Quickly finding out that it's just like riding a bike. You never forget and just pick up where you last left off. And to my happiness, my apprehension was for naught. The snow conditions were actually.. good! It wasn't the feathery fluffiness of a fresh powder but it sure as heck not ice, nor slush! Considering how dry it's been since winter arrived on our calendars, the conditions were a pleasant surprise, so can't say much on the lack of the entire resort's coverage; a few trails were closed (mostly the diamonds).

From www.skilasvegas.com

Although the resort is small, we never felt crowded nor stayed too long on the lift line. They only have 2 chairs, apart from the chair lift and magic carpet from the bunny hill. You have Chair 1 to take you to the West slopes and Chair 2 to the East slopes where you can also find the terrain park area.  (Tip: if you're completely not into doing tricks in the terrain park stay on the zero wait Chair 1).

There is a bar and a restaurant located on the second floor of the main lodge. The food was an ok American fare of burgers, chicken sandwiches, pizza, etc. with good portions. We didn't get to check out the bar if they have any craft beers on draft. Should be a perfectly good reason to come back, IMO.

All in all, Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort is a good place to come get your quick fix on the slopes especially once you're tired of the usual humdrum of the casinos. If you're staying in the Strip, it's only an hour's drive away. So if coming up during the winter season, best to bring along your skis and snowboards, for "just in case". Oh and if you ski bike and have one, bring that, too. They allow Ski Biking with all access on the slopes; they just don't have any for rent, so bring your own.

So in true Vegas fashion, we had to end our slope day with a trip to a buffet. Much to the local's (Joe's mostly) dismay, we were headed out to brave the chaos of the Strip and went for the new place (at least to me) Wicked Spoon in the Cosmopolitan Hotel with the lure of the grilled bone marrow that Maggie (most likely) strategically planted in my always hungry mind.

• Directions: (from The Strip) Take 15N to 95N/Reno to 156S/Lee Canyon Road
• More resort info: www.skilasvegas.com 

Some National Park Love

1st of October 2013. The U.S. Federal Government shut down due to inability to settle on funding. All federal agencies were closed or will be closed by the next couple of days, including all 401 National Parks. About 800,000 federal employees will be left in limbo with their jobs, and about 21,000 of those are from the National Park Service.  

It also, just so happens to be Yosemite National Park's 123rd birthday, 1st of October 1890. The first government shutdown that I will actually feel has shutdown my first ever visited national park. I love the Google doodle today in honor of Yosemite, but felt sad once you click on it, it takes you to all the news links about closing off many of the country's national parks, monuments and the offices/ information centers of the national forests.

My twitter feed today was filled with alerts from different accounts of national parks, forests and monuments that they will be left unattended and will not be updated until the federal employees get back to work. I felt bewildered. First, I never knew a whole government can actually shutdown. Second, I like most of the twitter accounts of those federal lands. It was the only branch of the government I can actually directly communicate with, and get a straight up answer on an inquiry. It was the only branch of government that I, personally felt, was working with the public. Plus, I have never encountered any randomly annoyed park ranger, a federal employee, like those one would find in some other agencies (*cough dmv* *cough post office*). Unless of course you've disrespected the land that a lot of us are passionate about. National Park Service folks seem to always be happy and eager to help you out.

Our fall trip Sequoia is on hold. Grateful we're not that far from it and there are options available while we wait for it to re-open. It is most unfortunate though to those coming from all over the world and finding out their destination has been closed off, without a heads up.

Hope the federal government opens up soon. Can't wait till we can flash our annual park pass again.

We all gotta start somewhere..

I have vague memories of hiking and going on travels with my parents since I was a kid. But back then, we never called it that - it was just "getting out of the house".. to see a falls, drive through really winding roads that were called "chicken intestines" (yeah, I know - who would call it that?? - but it was fun), multiple trips to beaches (having grown in a tropical country w/ lots of islands - this was a common thing), checking out to see bats in caves that we'd need the assistance of a local to bushwhack through.

All of it came to a halt though, when I reached my teenage years. Those were the years that the company of family were replaced by friends, trips exploring caves became movie theaters, eating out are no longer picnics but at restaurants with fellow teens. We still had our family trips to my family's ancestral hometowns with occasional explorations but my priorities to keep what kind of memories changed.

Fast forward to my 20's, on our way to yet another night of binging on drinks and jumping on good beats - we found ourselves instead on a spontaneous trip heading north and driving into Yosemite National Park in the late late Friday night with nothing on us but the clothes that we were able to rustle up at someone's house (in exchange of clubbing clothes) and a sense of adventure. We drove into the park in the wee hours, happy to have missed the ranger at the entrance (can you say: free entrance?) and giddy of the unknown in the darkness. It was everyone's first time at Yosemite and one of us was even visiting this country for the first time, we didn't know what to expect. Come to think of it, I don't even think we had any expectations, at all. None of us knew anything about the park, except that it was there.

Travelling with a bunch of girls (and one guy) - bathroom break was inevitable. It was in the wee hours, so when we arrived any establishment we would find were bound to be closed. We never even thought of campground restrooms.. heck, we never even knew about campgrounds! That was how naive we all were that time. I vaguely remember us deciding to just park somewhere and walk around to try to find a place to do our "business", when an off duty ranger or park employee happen to walk by and offered assistance to a group, who look like they don't belong there. She offered to take us to their barracks/housing and use their facilities (the girls & guy got separated for a bit). We were in and out fast, grateful for their kindness but didn't want to overstay the hospitality.

Later that morning, cramped up inside a rav4, I had my first wolf encounter. Couldn't sleep, decided to climb out of the car and light up a smoke (my smoking days are long gone). As soon as I opened the car door, I got into an intense eye to eye contact with this magnificent creature. By the way, that was just a one sided recollection of the event. I highly doubt I looked intense in the wolf's eyes, 10 years later I can still picture her in my mind. Needless to say, I didn't get a chance to do what I intended to do, and back to the car I crawled.

The morning after, we explored around the park as much as we possibly could. Explored a river we came across. Scrambled up some rocks to get some pictures in solitude.

Even hiked halfway to the famous Yosemite falls. We didn't make it all the way to the top. It was a pretty high traffic area and a hiker that passed us cared enough to share with us his little off the trail area to get closer to the falls, half way up. It was the perfect setting for a picnic lunch. I can't even remember where we were able to gather up some food for lunch!

That weekend, that happened 10 years ago, was the weekend I got my first taste of the California wilderness. Albeit, unplanned, we were able to experience a lot of the park, its wildlife, scenery, rivers, falls, huge trees and met some of people that loves this park.  Its fangs got me good but like some bites, its venom sat still in me, quietly, bidding its time. It took a few more years before I finally started on the learning curve of maneuvering the ins & outs of our public lands (bless the intarwebs for this!). That, however, is another story.