YOSEMITE (the first part)

L to R:  Half Dome, Cloud´s Rest, Vernal Fall, Little Yosemite Valley, Nevada Fall-  Taken from Glacier Pt. Panorama Trail

Thanks so much to everyone who contributed to allow us to spend a wonderful 7 days in Yosemite for our honeymoon!!  We wanted to show you pictures and tell you our adventures during our stay there.  Here goes:

DAY 1:  Sunday, Aug. 21

The first day of being happily married we woke up to this wonderful view from our hotel room on the 16th floor of the Westin, Gaslamp Quarter San Diego!  We took the shuttle bus to the airport to catch our flight to LA at 10:30am.  We hadn´t had time to eat breakfast in the hotel since we spent our time trying to fit all our stuff into four suitcases :)  so we were forced to grab something in the commuter terminal and since we were famished we opted for the breakfast burrito instead of a muffin (options were limited here).  Bad choice since the eggs were those fake kind they make in the microwave:(

Once in LA we had about 2 hours until our next flight to Fresno and while waiting those fake eggs finally got to me.  And I spent the rest of the day making many trips to the bathroom and having Gabriel pull off to the side of the rode several times for me to throw up.  Yuck.  Longest 2 hour drive from Fresno to Yosemite ever!  But when we finally arrived and drove out from the tunnel to the lookout point of Yosemite Valley, to see Gabriel´s expression and excitement was priceless.

We checked into our hotel room at the Ahwahnee and checked out the big room with the fireplaces . . .

. . . went to the bar so that Gabriel could have dinner and I could have a tea . . .

. . . then off to bed to start the next day off well (Thankfully stomach viruses are only a 24hr. thing).

DAY 2:  Monday Aug. 22
The next day we had a big breakfast in the Curry Village coffee shop.  We ended up going here every morning for coffee the rest of the week.  After getting our fill I was able to get my forces back and we ventured to the mountain shop to buy ourselves a hiking guide book and a nice map.  Now we were armed and ready to begin our adventures. We decided to go back to the Ahwahnee and see the place in the daylight.  Beautiful.

After this we were excited to do a small hike and decided on the Mirror Lake Trail.  We got some good views of Half Dome (not in the lake:) and realized we would need to buy bug spray because if not, the mosquitoes were going to eat us alive!

Half Dome

Reflection of North Dome (not Half Dome) in Mirror Lake (or pond)

We hiked 3.8 miles total and then we headed over to Yosemite village for a delicious hamburger and shopping for essencials at the store. We bought things to make breakfast every morning and also a pack lunch everyday.  Then off to find our lodging for the next 6 days.  It was a small one room apartment with kitchenette and fireplace (although not necessary) located about a 20 min. drive outside of the Valley.  Sorry we took no pictures but we do have this one of a visitor we had outside our balcony two days in a row:

DAY 3: Tuesday Aug. 23

Today we woke up with lots of ambition:  Plan A- hike from Happy Isles to Glacier Point (via Vernal and Nevada Falls) to the Valley  Plan B- do the same but cut out the hike down from Glacier Point and take the bus (this was if we found ourselves too tired).  The total milage being 9.2 plus 4 if we chose not to take the bus.  13.2 miles.  It was a great hike! 

First we came to Vernal Falls- one of the two (the other being Bridalveil) waterfalls that has a true vertical drop.  That means it doesn´t hit any rockface on the way down.  

Vernal Fall with rainbow

About another 3miles up the trail is Nevada Fall.

Gabriel trying to get close to Nevada for a good picture-  watch out the granite is slick here in Yosemite!

   

On the bridge above Nevada Falls

Half Dome behind us- the side you don´t usually see:)

Excellent views of the valley, Yosemite Falls in the distance

Illilouette Fall with Half Dome in the background- getting closer to Glacier Point

We encountered this lovely bird on the trail.  When we went to take a picture of it  it seemed attracted to the noice the camera made and started to come towards.  We just keep taking pics until it was a few feet away and hopped up on this rock to look at us!  We referred to it as a wild chicken- does anyone know what it really is??

We finally made it to Glacier Pt. and we were exhausted.  We had decided to take the bus but upon arriving we discovered we had missed the last one by an hour.  So. . . we stretched, drank some water, took off our shoes for awhile, ate some snacks and off we went down the Four Mile Trail which would bring us to the Valley floor.  It´s really a beautiful trail: on the edge of the cliff, steep switchbacks, spectacular views.

Needless to say, we were pooped when we got to the bottom of the trail (it didn´t help that the last mile we had to be constantly waving our hands frantically in front of our faces to the hoards of mosquitos away).  It was late and we weren´t sure when the shuttle buses stopped running.  We had to get to our car in Curry Village.  A group of bikers were passing by as we stood on the road at the bus stop, they said there were no more buses- 2.5 more miles to walk!  But we Valley floor has some beautiful pathways and we saw this great sunset (my camara doesn´t do it justice).  

We arrived to Curry Village exhausted and hardly able to walk anymore!  We scoured down another excellent hamburger and fries and then headed to our apartment to wash up and rest.
Total milage for the day:  16.2 miles

Day 4: Wednesday Aug. 24
Today we had two things planned:  climb and eat dinner in the Mountain Room at Yosemite Lodge.  And that is what we did.  We went for our usual coffee in the morning in Curry Village and then we hung around there until 12pm when we were to meet up with our "climbing guide" in Camp 4.  Here I have to explain some things:  Most climbing in Spain is sport climbing which consists of using quick draws to go up a route that already has been bolted for you.  In the U.S. and in Yosemite it is traditional climbing which consists of you using gear that you have (nuts, bolts, cams) which you place in  the holes or cracks in the rock.  Gabriel and I don´t have this gear nor are we apt at placing it so we were going to be visiting the "climbing mecca" and were planning on not climbing.  Buuut, my brother Phil and his then girlfriend/now fiancé Tricia gave us as our wedding gift a day of climbing.  Phil´s friend Brandon spends his summers climbing in Yosemite and he agreed to take us on a climb!  It was definitely the icing on the cake for us, Thanks Phil, Tricia, and Brandon!!
Route:  Nutcracker (5.8)

Avg time to climb route: 2-4 hours Approach time: 5 minutes Descent time: 25 minutes Number of pitches: 5  Height of route: 600' Overview Nutcracker is a classic due to its interesting history, very easy approach, and five great pitches of perfect Yosemite granite. While climbing the route one will encounter liebacking, hand jamming, finger jamming, delicate smearing and an exposed mantle crux.

Belaying on the first pitch

Brandon and I belaying Gabriel up the first pitch

Here comes Gabriel!

Top of 2nd pitch

Brandon and Gabriel on top of the 2nd pitch, we were standing on a nice big flat rock

Amy going up

Brandon placing gear on the 3rd pitch

The next two pitches you´ll just have to imagine because we were having too much fun to take any more :) Here we are at the top:

We went out to the Mountain Room for dinner which was lots of fun and very delicious!!  Gabriel had steak and I had chicken:

additions to the yard

Over Christmas, my nephew Lucas brought along his chicken book along with plenty of stories of their backyard brood in Phoenix. I had been talking about getting chickens for some time and this was just the encouragement I needed to get started. We ended up with two Barred Rocks and a Rhode Island Red about 8 weeks old which Lucas, Andy and I picked out at Hawthorne Feed in Escondido. Everyone helped get the coop in place

Rosie, Matilda, and Zelda taking over

The pullets have adapted quickly to the backyard which they share with two dogs and a couple of cats. Little Bear initially tried to eat Rosie but L.B. has learned to be content with eating gophers and licking the cat... The pullets have appropriately acquired a taste for avocados and really believe they are the "top dogs" in the yard (walking straight over the sleeping Litte Bear instead of going around, challenging Molly for her avocado, and making a general mess). Now I just can't wait for them to start laying eggs...

Phil's fall update

Red Rocks, Las Vegas NV, Thanksgiving

The fall has been quite busy between work and various climbing trips. However the latest trip was something else completely. My friend Jesse had been talking for some time of bicycle touring down the California coast from Santa Barbara home to Escondido. Of course I volunteered to go along on this adventure, people come from around the world for adventures like this and we could do it on a weekend! However 230 miles of cycling is no joke (even for climbers accustomed to marching around in the mountains) so when the dates were set I started training, a little. Some mountain biking here and there. Another obvious hurdle was finding a touring bike. After some craiglisting I decided to turn my old GT MTB into a touring machine. New grip shifts, a new ultra comfy saddle, a rear rack, and street tires and I was ready to roll.

Santa Barbara Pier

We set off on Wednesday morning, riding from Jesse's place near Jesmondene down to the Sprinter station in Escondido in the dark at 5:30 in the morning to then catch the 7AM Amtrack train to Santa Barbara. Luckily I had grabbed an LED flashlight and my headlamp to equip my bike because we did end up riding in the dark more than I would have liked. We cruised Santa Barbara a bit and then headed down the coast. Our route followed a bike map put out by Adventure Cycling. The route for the most part is a designated state bike route. Coming out of Santa Barbara we were on surface streets and a sections of designated bike path mostly on the inland side of the 101 freeway. Later we were forced to ride the shoulder of the 101 freeway for 3 or 4 miles as there was just no other way, but then it was back on the coast for some nice stretches coming down to Ventura. We ended up at about 35 miles the first 1/2 day ghost camping on a beach as McArthur camp ground was closed.

The next day Jesse was feeling the effects of his all leather, rock hard, Brooks saddle so we settled on a short day positioning us for a death ride day through L.A. This was a good day with scenic, peaceful roads for the most part and put us in the last campground before L.A., a private RV park in Malibu, approximately a 40 mile day, jacuzzi at the campground and an English couple on Walmart bikes cruising from San Francisco down to Baja on a multi month tour.Path through Marina Del Rey

Friday's objective was to leave early and ride to Dana Point (there aren't any tent campgrounds in between). The ride down along the coast was pretty good. Morning rush hour along the 1 in Malibu didn't make for the most pleasant air quality but the coast was quite nice with a nice stop in Santa Monica to play on the Olympic rings. At Redondo Beach our route took us inland through Torrance and Carson and over to the LA river where we picked up a bike path taking us into the cold thick fog in Long Beach. The fog dissipated and soon, but not too soon we were in Huntington Beach and then Newport beach, but it was dark already and Dana Point out of reach, this had been in the neighborhood of 70 miles. We found ourselves eating subway sandwiches in a Starbucks and out came Jesse's smartphone and facebook to find us a friend in HB to stay with, so we backtracked...

Saturday took us down to San Clemente on a pretty mellow day although we were both tired and Saturday traffic in the OC was not real nice. The rolling pacific coast highway was however more enjoyable to me than just flat road. About 35 miles.

Sunday it was up early to go meet with God at the Oceanside URC. We rode through the Marine base and avoided the 5 freeway. Although we had originally planned to ride back to Escondido we settle on the Sprinter and it was enough to ride back to Jesse's house. About 30 miles. All in all a good journey. One of my knees bothered me pedaling quite a bit so unfortunately I will not find myself on the bike anytime soon rather I will be undergoing intense vertical rehab on the rocks with the ropes for the next several months.

Grandma´s Apartment

Welcome to our house! Well, it´s got some work to do and we won´t be living there until after we get married but here it is. It is a large apartment on the second floor (that would be 3rd in the US) right next to where Gabriel lives now, with his mom. It used to be his grandma´s apartment but since she died (when Gabriel was in his early teens) it has been used as a rental. For the past year or two it has been empty now. Within the next year we will be doing some work and buying new furniture. . . so here are the ´before´pictures. Please enter: Here´s our front door with the stairway to the left and on the right you can just see Tomasa´s front door.

The first room on your left when you enter is the kitchen which opens up a large enclosed patio. Right now the kitchen does not look anything like this. This past Sat., with the help of Jose (bro.in.law) Gabriel took out all the cabinets etc. and tore down all the tiles. We are planning on re-doing the pipes and tiles, probably going to tear down a wall were the table is, taking out the pantry to have a bigger room. Then we will make a u-shaped kitchen. We are currently playing with the kitchen-planner on ikea seeing what we like.

Here is the enclosed patio. The table you see here we hope to refurbish (Rosa, Gabriel´s sis, is pro at this kind of stuff) and use for our ¨formal¨dining room which will be in our living room.

Here is our spacious living room. We will be living in central Valdepeñas. Those two windows open up to the corner of the two main streets here, Calle 6 de Junio and Avnda 1 de Julio. We kind of rearranged the furniture that´s here to form what we hope to buy. The table will go where the table is, a couch with seperable foot stool will go where Gabriel is lounging, and the t.v. and cabinetes will go on the wall in front.

Turning the corner from the hallway you first enter into the aptment we have a real long hallway with four bedrooms and two baths. You can see the small bathroom at the end of the hall.

First bedroom: this will be made into a study/office type room. That means basically we´ll put the computer there. :)

This is the main bathroom. As you can see some tiles already started to fall when Gabriel was doing some work here. So we are going to re-do the pipes and tiles here too. Plus, change some fixtures which the nice discount Gabriel gets at his work.

This will be the master bedroom. We will buy new furniture for this room.

This room will be our "antique" guest room. The chairs plus a dresser with wash basin plus some other antique furniture will be put here. Most of the furniture in the house is like this: really old.

Here is the 4th room which is currently being used as a storage room for junk. . . that will have to be cleaned out :) So, as you can see if you plan to visit us we will have plenty of space for you to crash.

The end of the hall: a small bathroom. This will also be torn apart. The glass "shower curtain" (mampara in Spanish, I´m leaning words I don´t even know in english;) Gabriel just put in before we decide it best to redo the walls and pipes on all the bathrooms and kitchen, so he´ll have to take that down again.

Well, there you have it. I´ll have to take a picture from the outside and I have some kitchen in destruction pics too. :) I´ll keep you all updated on our work and the progress of our house!