Calistoga Hot Springs

As if 2 weeks in dusty campsites and trails was not enough, today's MUD BATH day.

20 minutes hot mud, shower off, 20 minutes mineral water soak, 15 minutes steam, 20 minutes wrapped in flannel blanket with cucumber slices on eyes...
30 minutes outdoor massage to de-stress.
Lesisurely relax around Buddah pond.


Stations with water served on ice with cucumber and lemon slices were located throughout property.


Head over to 98 degree pool to float...
Indian Springs Spa has its own hot springs and volcanic ash. Note the steam fluming at end of pool.

Napa Lunch Cuisine....


Spa-ah-ah

Pack up for Napa Valley

The tent spent the night at our campsite at D.L. Bliss and we stayed along the shores of Lake Tahoe at the Best Western with a Fireplace. Our boating day ended at 3pm when the clouds and lightning moved over the lake. After dinner, we were driving up, up, up. As we got to Emerald Bay, there was accumulation of hail on the ground and fog on the road. It was damp as the temps plummeted. It was unanimous on the first vote...HOTEL TONIGHT.

We hit the hot tub and turned on the fireplace. We had a partial lake view for sunset.

After breakfast, we packed up. This concluded the camping part of the vacation.
It's downhill all the way to Sacramento from Donner Pass (North Lake Tahoe).

Then it got HOT HOT HOT!

Arrived in Calistoga about 4:30. Checked in and hit the saline pool, shaded with warm water. Made quesadillas and salad (almost finished the oil & vinegar).

Fabulous Lake Tahoe

CHEERS! As Riley captained the boat, Tom & Bets absorbed the awesome views of Lake Tahoe. 11 am Somewhere out there is a bouy which marks the deepest part of the lake, and we were determined to find it. Floating on the surface, we found: a styrofoam cooler lid, one red and one blue balloon, a log, a loon, and a pier post.

We drove past the North Shore casinos on the Nevada side. According to local folklore, it was here that Frank Sinatra arranged secret meetings between President Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe.

1pm Riley tubed along the North Shore beaches. Near the Coast Guard station, we finally spotted to deepest point buoy. No big deal really, since the entire lake is more than 1600' deep.

Look familiar? This is Fleur du Lac on Lake Tahoe built in the late 1930s by Henry J. Kaiser, supposedly as a gift to himself after completing Hoover Dam construction. Oh by the way, Fleur du Lac is home to the Corleone family in Godfather 2...KA-BOOM Fredo!

Here's a view of our Lester Beach from the water.

Happy Family :-) Near Meeks Bay on the West Side...ah! Best day of vacation!

Clouds were building all day. At 2:40pm as we enter Emerald Bay:
1. Running critically low on camera battery at the most photographed part of the lake and
2. lightning and storms approaching.
[See the boat with the red canopy behind us? We rented an identical boat.]

Protected by Emerald Bay is a castle Vikingsholm, built by a Norwegian woman and now run by California Parks.

It's still true, we're just livin' the...

Emerald Bay on Lake Tahoe - Friday & Saturday

Emerald Bay is an inlet with an island. There's a state park on the cliffs above, some campsites with a bay view, and there are BOAT-IN SITES along the beautiful shores. The deep water is emerald, then turquois, then tan water in the shallows.

On Friday, we set up our tent at D.L. Bliss State Park, north of Emerald Bay. The road rises high above Emerald Bay along cliffs with 10 mph turns. Like us, the only people in the campground were setting up. We headed to the beach within the park, Lester Beach. We found few people there, most had arrived along the sandy shores in boats. (Asked one boater for a restaurant recommendation. He looked like Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers. Coincidentally, Mr. McDonald would perform at Northstar on the North Side of Lake Tahoe Saturday night.)

Ate our first night's dinner about 40 minutes north in Tahoe City. Rosie's, decorated with wooden skis & sleds and refurbished wooden rocking toys, had food for everyone! Pizza, salad & taco salad.

On Saturday, Tom & Bets attended a Condo Time Share presentation at Eagles Nest at Heavenly Ski Area. Bobby gave us the hour-long pitch and we declined (who can commit to one week somewhere?). We walked away with $100 off voucher for a boat rental. That made the price justifiable, so we stopped at the Timber Cove Marina and reserved an 18' boat for 10am Sunday.

We did some laundry and hung out at the lake. Unlike Lester Beach which is a hike down from a parking lot, we discovered Baldwin Beach near Camp Richardson. The parking lot was packed, no surprise, because it is level with the water. We found parking a mile east in Tallac. This is a dog beach (pets not allowed on other beaches). We hiked in and wandered down to a strip of sand between Baldwin and Tallac which we named "Simpsons Beach". (NOTE: Due to the level of relaxation, no pictures were taken.)

We found this amazing lunch spot at Emerald State Park. Drove to the tent loop and parked. Walked up to the SCENIC OVERLOOK. Voila! View PLUS picnic table. We brought our sandwiches, which we purchased at 3 different shops along the same strip mall.
Weather was becoming cloudy and looking like rain. Decided to eat in town rather than rush back to the campsite and prepare something there. Dinner at Passaretti's Italian Restaurant. There were TWO wedding receptions being held there. Got a table at 6:30. Home cooked food, homey and delicious. It rained about 20 minutues while we were there.

Caught this spectacular sunset on the lake on our drive North to Bliss.

Night was falling on Emerald Bay...time for a fire and early to bed for our big day on the lake.

Lake tahoe

Set up camp after washing car and checking out Nevada side.Stevie nicks plays at harveys casino outdoor theater. $59 per seat in a small venue is a good price. Too bad were not ztaying closer. Had to hang tarp becuz our table is not shaded. Found a flat spot for tent and installed fly. Need to close it up tonight...temps 41 last night. Drove 2 miles to beach. Our site is not close to lake level. Too long to hike. Drove 37
inutes to tahoe city. Eating T rosies. Need to attend condo sLew pitch tomorrow to get $100 off boat rental. Ok my vacation time is cheaper than job rate.

Rock Slide Ahead

The vacation took on a new theme today: ROCK SLIDE AHEAD

In the 80s there was the Electric Slide. For us, we've always done the ROCK SLIDE. Classic. Our route on the Tioga Road, US 395, and Routes 89, 88 an 50 into Lake Tahoe took us through the high range and it is rocky. Our iPods played Rock N'Me, Rock & Roll, Rock and Roll Never Forgets, Rock Me Baby, Rock Steady, Roxanne...lol! We sang along to Switchin' to Glide, All you Need is Love, and other songs. AND RILEY DROVE US! (Shhhhh, don't tell the rental company)


Said GOODBYE to Half Dome. (Found the perfect tribute song for the tribute video to Half Dome, Harry Nielsen's "Can't Live If Living Is Without You".)

Here's a shot of Mono Lake (remember the Pink Floyd Album "Wish You Were Here"? The basalt formations along this lakeshore are featured.)


Tom & Bets hiked the Matterhorn in the Sawtooth Range north of Yosemite B.R. (before Riley)



We pulled into South Lake Tahoe to Roundabout "In and around the Lake, Mountains come out of the sky and they Stand There!"

We're in a lakefront room with a 2nd floor perch above the beach. WOW! Took a swim then walked to south shore before sunset.


Too beautiful to leave...so we ordered in a pizza. Hit the hot tub again and slept in beds. We camp 3 nights on the Southeast shore of Lake Tahoe at D.L. Bliss State Park. It's in Emerald Bay and it is BEAUTIFUL.

Can't find the transfer cable for camera...re-packing and will post pics soon.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.

Sentinel Dome - Best Valley Views

"Riley and the Captain" - From Sentinel Dome, Riley Captain Morgans in front of El Capitan.

Good morning from the Yosemite Lodge. Bought internet here for $5.95 yesterday.

We're packing up and moving on today. It's a floater day. If we get to Lake Tahoe we'll get a room there. If we get lured into a place on the way, we'll stay there...and we pass so many great places. Mono Lake, a detour to Devil's Postpile Monument...and getting out of Yosemite on the Tioga Road is VERY BEAUTIFUL.

Left camera charger and transfer cable in car and we have no time for pics right now.

Hiked to Sentinel Dome for the obligatory family photo which we take every trip here.


To get away from the August crowds, we enjoyed the views of the Valley from the Yosemite Lodge Pool...makes it feel like a vacation.

Bets took a picture of Half Dome from Merced River, including Sentinel Bridge in Sept. 2007 on the Autumnal Equinox. The leaves on the trees had already fallen. Riley waded into the middle of the Merced at sunset to re-create that shot for us. THANKS BOY!


Adios for today.

THE Hike

Chris prepared egg, bacon & sausage tortillas as the hikers drank Gatorade with Electolytes. 4:40am they departed the campsite.

Pictures of hike from the Top of Half Dome are amazing. We saw them on Chris' camera last night. Will post when we get them. The boys are hiking up there!


Tom cooks dinner while the boys finish hiking. (That's our tent behind Tom)


We made salad, grilled potatoes & carrots, portabellos and burgers.



They're Baaack....Here's the triumphant group waking to camp site 13.5 hours after departure.


They call themselves Team Quatro.


Dinner & reminiscing.

Y-O-S-E-M-I-T-E

Arrived Sunday.
Road Construction between Mariposa and Tunnel (28 miles) was dusty and held us back some. Tunnel View was WONDERFUL! To see the Valley again. Have NEVER seen it this crowded. Bridalveil Falls traffic knotted - no parking available. 3 cars deep at Cathedral Picnic Grove. Did our laundry at Housekeeping, gee it's good to be back home. Found out 80 people were checking out of Camp 4 the next morning. Met some folks who said they were hiking to Half Dome.

Spent first night at Curry Village in Tent Cabin. 10pm Quiet Time is VERY SERIOUS there.


Got up at 6am to wait in line at Camp 4, no reservation walk-in campground. Met John, Johnny and Chris again at the Registration Station at Camp 4


We hooked Riley up with them for a Half Dome hike (17.9 miles, 5,000' Elevation Gain...that's 5 Sears Towers!!!)

Set up camp in SAME SITE as our new friends and hiking buddies. Checked out the Valley from Glacier Point.

For Bets, the best part of Yosemite is HALF DOME.


Here's a look at Curry Village straight down from Glacier Point.



Riley and Johnny at 3:45am. Getting ready for Half Dome Hike. More pics from that hike courtesy Chris Rose...to be posted later.

Cedar Grove Overlook Hike

Kings Canyon near Cedar Grove is 8200' making it the deepest canyon in the country. The similarities to Yosemite Valley are unexpected. The polished granite lines the river with many unnamed formations resembling El Capitan, Taft Point, The Arches and Cathedral Rocks. (There is only one Half Dome!)

Driving into the canyon is 100% WOW! The extreme vertical, rugged rock walls host a 2-lane road carved along the edge.



We got to the Cedar Grove area with one building serving as Lodge, Snack Bar, Market and Ranger Station.

We hiked the Hotel Trail 2.5 miles to Cedar Grove Overlook. It was hot and every step was uphill---ugh! Then the last .5 mile was straight out to the promontory.

It was worth the hike! There was a meadow with high peaks along the north border.

The west view showed us where we came in.


Roads End is to the East.

There were controlled fires burning across the canyon, making the valley hazy.

After a cooldown, we drove to Roads End and enjoyed the shade and misty breeze at the Roaring River Falls.