Special Way to See the Grand Canyon

I was reading "Favorite Features of our National Parks" in my latest Vacations Magazine and I began reminiscing about some of our trips to the parks.  The best and the worst, most memorable, most fun, that sort of thing and I remembered something I just had to share with you.

I have a fear of heights so this is how I saw the Grand Canyon:

Wasn't my son a peach to join me so I didn't look totally ridiculous all by myself?

I was too scared to get near the edge, terrified when my family each skirted the cliff edges.  Then I found this sloping rock!  It was perfect to lay on and peer over.  It doesn't look like it, but we were looking pretty much straight down into the canyon.  Incredible.

So.....  my favorite feature of the Grand Canyon National Park is this sloping rock.

Seward, Alaska: The Seward Highway

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It is my first morning in Alaska, a little fishing village called Seward. I crawl out of bed full of excitement and wonder, so much like a child. The bright daylight feels like 8 or 9 a.m., but it's only 6 or 6:30. I pull on jeans, grab my backpack and slip out the door. Grab a hot coffee at the funky coffeehouse in a former church (above photo) and find a bench right on the point overlooking Resurrection Bay. With the morning sun coming up over the mountains, I watch the fishing boats pass by, men and women from all over the world on board, just as excited as I -- a whole new Alaskan day lies before us -- 17 or 18 hours of fresh, new day!
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- Tom and I drove the 2.5-hour drive down here from Anchorage after we landed at midnight AK time, 4 a.m. our time. We followed the Seward Highway around Turnagain Arm in the couple of hours of darkness AK has at this time of year, a mild, semi-darkness at that.

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They sleep. They call this "night." HA! I roll down my window, "HA, you sleepers! Sleep -- I laugh at you," I say with a conquering pump fist. Tom, asleep next to me in the passenger seat, is not yet intoxicated by the AK air. Dall sheep to my left, Beluga whales to my right, the famous bore tide (low, pictured above), moose -- these are my nocturnal playmates. HA! I yell out the window one more time, squeeze my empty coffee cup and embrace the biting air. I see nothing of my Alaska playground, but I know it's out there.

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And now, on my bench, 3 or 4 hours later, I see it, smell it, revel in it. I watch the sun rise behind the snow capped craggy peaks. The mountains here have a skirt of spruce trees with a sash across the middle of green, grassy tundra and snow covered rocky peaks at the top. Fog and bits of cloud float around, bouncing from valley to valley, glaciers and remains of glaciers streak down the sides. The tree line indicates how far the glaciers used to reach down.

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I giggle walking back to the B&B for my breakfast as I imagine the Busbees pulling into town after their night's sleep in Anchorage, awestruck faces pressed against the car windows. Welcome to Seward, ya'll, come on out and set a spell.
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Travel Info:

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Seward Waterfront Lodging. A small, bed and breakfast style inn. An older house, a little musky, too much for those with allergy problems. Two of the rooms (ours) are directly across from the bay, with nothing but huge windows between my bed and the Bay. Awesome. The owners were helpful in making boat arrangements, knowledgeable about the area, nice and great cooks.
The Fish House Fishing charters. Also, we called it the Tyler Brothers of Seward. They have a big store where you can get hunting/fishing supplies, Dickies sport clothing, snacks, anything that you'd need while visiting Seward.
Major Marine Tours We had an excellent glacier/wildlife tour that I'll blog about later. Take the long tour (8 hours) and pay for the buffet -- well worth it.
The Seward Highway - only highway between Anchorage and Seward, so you won't miss it. Get a tour book at the library or buy one called "Mileposts." In Alaska, all directions are given by mileposts. In any guide book, you can find great places to stop along the highway, milepost by milepost. Briefly: The Seward Highway -- mileposts 106 - 110 - Dall Sheep on the craggy mtn. tops. Mile 110.3 - Beluga Point. Get out, stretch, look for Belugas. Near Mile 101 - Bird Creek State Campground - great view of the Turnagain Tidal Bore -- the tide comes in as one giant wave, can be 6' tall. (get low tide time in Anchorage at airport, then add 2 hrs, 15 mins to it to find out low tide time at this viewpoint) Mile 79 - Big Game Alaska - Driving tour of Big Game, admission fee. Miles 47.5 - 44.5 -- numerous turnoffs for excellent photos of Upper and Lower Summit Lakes. (In Alaska, RVs can stop at turnoffs and spend the night, we saw several at almost every single turnoff.)
Seward Trolley - You don't have to rent a car in Alaska, you can take the big train almost anywhere. And once in Seward, you really could walk everywhere (long walks) or take the trolley. However, we had rental cars for convenience.
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My posts on Alaska: Dipnetting in Kenai, Seward: Exit Glacier, Alaksa Nellies Restaurant, Kenai Fjords,

Kenai, Alaska: Dip Netting

I love to stumble across surprises when I travel and the dipnetting in Alaska was such. For three weeks in July, when the salmon are running, a few beaches in Alaska, including the Kenaii pictured here, come alive and allow residents to dipnet. Just stick your net in, wait til you feel a salmon swim right in, then drag him up on shore and gut 'im.

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Families come from near and far, in campers and tents, to stake their claim on a part of the beach. It soon becomes one big party, reminiscent of ancient traditions, a joint effort at gathering food for the winter.

Shortly after arriving at Kenai, Doug and Brielle and I went rotating. Just to see what we could find. And this, my friend, is what we found. This young lady in her yellow slicker was pulling in her first fish as we walked on shore. The dipnet process involves a net almost 5' in diameter on a pole probably 12' long or more. The fisherman holds the net against the tide as long as it takes until he/she feels a salmon in his/her net. Then he/she flips the net against the ground and drags it ashore. Dump the salmon out of the net and bop it on the head til it dies. Slice it, clean it and throw it in the cooler, tossing the guts aside for the seagulls.
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I, personally, don't have the patience to deal with all the screaming gulls, but apparently, they do. The bopping on the head perplexes me. Is that more humane than to suffocate them as the SC fishermen do? Why smash their heads to smithereens?
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The regulations are fierce and well enforced. There is a 25 fish limit for the head of household and ten fish per additional family member after that. You have to clip their tail fins and mark your dipnet card for each fish. The beach is well policed.
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We met some great folks while we were watching the whole thing. While Doug talked with the yellow slicker gal above, me and B went to talk to this family. They had a cooler full after 4 hours and were headed home for the night. They freeze the salmon each year and whatever isn't eaten by the next season will get canned by Grandma Helen (last on the right) to make room in the freezer for the new batch.
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When Doug came down the beach to catch up with us, we met John Harris of Juneau. He claims that his grandfather, Richard T. Harris co-founded Juneau, married an Indian and received no fame for co-founding the town. He was rather upset about it all. Doug had a great conversation with him, digging out family roots and all. Then ol Mr. Harris dug into his cooler. Doug said, "Whatcha got in that sack, Mr. Harris?" and I shrunk. NO! Please. Anything but that. Please don't ask him what's in the sack.
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-But we lucked out. Rather than, oh.... say... explosives..... old Mr. Harris had smoked salmon in his sack. Nothing but smoked salmon! I expelled my withheld breath as Doug tried a bite of Mr. Harris' smoked salmon.
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As we left the beach, I noticed a fish count. Now if that don't beat all. In case you aren't upset enough at "the one that got away," there is a sonar detector up river that counts all the salmon that pass by, uncatched by the dipnetters downstream. As we left, there were 1,311 King Salmon that escaped and 14,434 Reds..... all headed upstream to spawn and die unless the fly fishers catch 'em along the way. What a sad, sad life. I found myself routing for the salmon, cheering them on. (not a great way to make friends in Alaska)
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My other Alaska Posts:
The Seward Highway
Kenai: Dipnetting
Kenai Fjords
Seward: Exit Glacier
Alaska or Busted
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CA: Yosemite National Park

145 years ago today, Abe Lincoln granted Yosemite Valley to California "for public use, resort & recreation." For 20 years following that, John Muir lived and breathed this area and promoted it heavily. Around 1890, the Yosemite National Park was opened.
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My first and only visit to Yosemite was in 2004 when we took our kids on a two week tour of the west. Yosemite is breathtaking. Our first glimpse was looking down on the Yosemite Valley (pictured above), lush, green, big. We could see 2 climbers moving slowly up the face of El Capitan, the rock face on the left in the picture above.

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Yosemite includes the headwaters of the Tuolumne and Merced rivers. During our stay, we rented rafts and slowly floated down the Merced, snuggled between 8,000 feet of mountains, waterfalls and canyons. Rafting is generally open in June and July, depending on water levels.

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We lodged in the primitive cabins at Camp Curry, which was built in 1899. It's a village that has cabins and canvas tents, a restaurant, stores, a pool and a huge rec. room. What I liked best were the rockers on the patio at the rec room, a great place to drink my morning coffee.

At twilight one evening, Marj and I returned from the showers only to find a bear between us and our cabin door. We stood transfixed & took a few steps backwards. The bear caught our freshly showered and cucumber-lotioned scent and ambled off in favor of a meaty raccoon or something.
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During our stay, we also rented bikes, mainly for transportation, and we enjoyed the heck out of those bikes, taking many rides while Tommy was fishing. While pedaling along, we'd occasionally be stunned into disbelief that we were amidst such beauty. If you visit the park, you'll find you just have to stop what you're doing and look in awe at your surroundings several times a day.
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Tom and Tommy hiked the 7.2 mile hike (round trip) to Yosemite Falls, the tallest waterfall in North America. The upper and lower falls drop 2,425 feet. It was pretty much an all day trip and definitely a great hike.
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Another great hike, much shorter, is the one to Bridalveil Falls. The ahwahneechee called this place Pohono, "Spirit of the Puffing Wind." The winds swirl about the cliff, lifting the falling water and blowing it from side-to-side. Tom and I climbed to the top and got soaking wet. The falls have a 620' drop with a beautiful rainbow at it's pool. We were both surprised by the rainbow and thought it most excellent to be looking down on a rainbow for a change.

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The other most memorable part of our trip was our attempts at photography. We sprawled out on the grass each evening and tried to photograph Half Dome as Ansel Adams did so famously. This was as close as we got and either the moon wasn't out yet or I cropped it out of the photo, which is something I'd do. But it looks like it was just too early for the moon.

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Happy Birthday, Yosemite! Thanks for the memories!

San Francisco Night Life

I'd like to introduce you to a tapas bar. Now, if you casually go around telling people you enjoyed a tapas bar, you will be shunned. It apparently, 95% (in biden-esque talk) of the time, sounds like you are saying "topless bar." So be sure to spell it out. t-a-p-a-s

So we went to Cha Cha Cha's on Haight, hippie zone. Wow. I will return here. The food was so good. You simply order several different carribean-based dishes and pass them around, family-style, putting a dab of this or a dab of that on your plate and snarfing it down.
Some guys, of which Tom is a customer, took us & another couple here for dinner and invigorating conversation.

Meet the two gentlemen who took us to dinner: Chris Heller and Larry Grey. Click here for their website. We had a fantastic time. I was encouraged to find two families at our table were homeschooling and had stay at home moms at the helm. They also were church goers. The media would have us believe all of this is out-dated, but I am here to say the traditional family is alive and well.
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After dinner, enroute to our motel, Larry drove us at the speed of light down Lombard Street. Understand this is the crookedest street in America. If you're unfamiliar with it, click here.
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On one of our other nights in town, we went back to Biscuits N Blues. We always go here when we're in town. This is where we first heard Elvin Bishop and Little Smokey Smothers. And on this night, we were introduced to Michael Burks, pictured to the right. He was pretty good, difficult to hear the lyrics, but great with the crowd. He had great guitar skills and his drummer was out of this world. Who don't love skills? numchuck skills, bowhunting skills

Another night, at Lou's Blues, waterfront, we heard Brad Wilson. I really enjoyed his music and he was great with the crowd, too, very, very personable.
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Biscuits N Blues has an excellent dinner menu. Go a little early so your waitress can hear you & eat dinner during the early show. I was introduced to fried macaroni & cheese here and now I'm hooked. (skip arby's version)
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Always leave time in the evening for a stroll along the waterfront. I've never felt threatened or endangered in San Francisco, not sure why. Be smart and you'll have a great time.

Day Two in San Francisco

Day Two in San Francisco, I checked in with David Blaine, via ABC. He said he likes to challenge himself because it challenges others, "you will ask yourself, 'could I do that?' In those moments of wonder, is magic."
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David Blaine was in the 24 hour zone suspended 5 stories above NYC. He reported that he underestimated it, "I misjudged this one," he said, "but I think I can get it done." I liked this: A reporter asked him, "Do you see the world differently?" His answer: "I thought I would, but no."
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After my DB check-in, I dressed and hit the streets. Walked the few blocks to Fisherman's Wharf, a seriously touristy area, but I was in the mood. Check out these Baby Alcatraz outfits -- hey, give little Junior a headstart on his life of crime.
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I hung a left and walked a few blocks up to Ghiradelli Square. The square is mainly a shopping area in what used to be the chocolate factory, I believe. There is a self-guided walking tour with the history there for you to read. It's very interesting, I read it on previous trips.
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I sat out front in the park on the waterfront and read awhile. Then I headed inside for a hot fudge sundae. Another San Francisco must.
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I watched the fog rolling around the Golden Gate Bridge. I meandered back to Fisherman's Wharf and caught a ferry just so I could get out on the water. It was warm, which is odd for San Francisco, it's usually chilly out there.
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I popped into the Starbucks on Sausalito and did a little shopping at Hubba Hubba's -- awesome clothes & awesome salesclerks.
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Before long, it was time for Tom S. to come out and play. We had a good time bopping around. Went to Union Square, up the bazillion floors in the Macy store to the Cheesecake Factory on top. Sat out on the deck and wrestled with pigeons for our fried macaroni and cheese. Then we each had a slice of cheesecake. That's a perfect place for dusk.
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Before we hit the nightlife, we buzzed through the Spy Shop back over by the waterfront. They have some seriously cool stuff. Did you know someone can purchase an item to put on the outside of your door peephole so they can look inside your room/house?? From now on, I'm blocking my peephole with a hunk of chewed gum.
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There was a pen that's really a digital camera and some headphones that enable you to hear conversations that are far away. Oh man, we wanted some of that.
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That sums up San Francisco By Day. My next post will tell you about the nightlife.

Hope you enjoyed the tour. Remember, tips are always appreciated.

San Francisco: More, so much More of my Excellent Adventure

My first day waking in San Francisco I began to parallel David Blaine's 60 hours suspended upside down on the east coast with my 72 hours right-side up on the west coast. It was a study of opposites. East/West. Upside down/Upright. Starving/Gorging. He was all over the news/I was not. You get it. - Inexplicably, he was never far from my mind.
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Coffee to the People is on Haight, the birthplace of hippies and beatniks. I never got there, but thought I should include it in my memoirs.
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I began each day with breakfast at Pergamino's Cafe on Columbus. You need to go there just for the Pomegrante/Blueberry juice. Heavenly.
And what a surprise - the outside waiter was from Germany! Woo hoo, I got to speak German again. We talked a little and he told me all the hot spots to hit in Prague.
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To the left is a typical street in San Francisco. This was probably Powell, near Union Square. We were taking a cable car across town.
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Obviously, taking the cable car is a must-do. Take it both during the day and at night. (Be warned: The drivers aren't too friendly and they are not concerned with time or schedules.)
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This is Coit Tower, as seen from the bay. You can get on various ferries at Pier 41 and take audio tours and ferry rides to Sausalito , Tiburon, Angel Island and Alcatraz. An audio walking tour of Alcatraz is a must for first timers.
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I always take a few ferry rides because I like to be on the water. Tiburon is less developed than Sausalito. If you're looking for shopping, go to Sausalito. If you're looking for peace and a nice restaurant on the water, hit Tiburon.


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The best thing to do in San Francisco is to rent a bike near Fisherman's Wharf, ride over the Golden Gate Bridge,ride down into Sausalito, over into Tiburon, then take your bike and your butt on the ferry back to Fisherman's Wharf. It's not a unique idea. You will be among hundreds of tourists, pot-bellies pedaling away, but it's still worth it.
This is a small harbour in front of Ghirardeli's. There's a tiny beach (about 2 feet) of sand where locals come to swim when they can tolerate the cold water. You can usually see swimmers exercising here in wet suits and bathing caps.
See the Golden Gate in the fog? Happy Pappy.
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The Twins.

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These ladies are awesome. Hilarious. Spunky. They own a nice shop near Union Square and we spoke with one of them on a previous visit. They must practice walking around town, because every step was in-sync, as was their posture. You see Sir Francis Drake respectfully allowing them to pass.
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So, OK, the last picture for today.

The marina at night. Tom S. and I strolled around in the twilight, hand in hand, savoring the waterfront. (If you're on the waterfront at dinner time, you must eat at Scoma's.)

In a day or two, I will finish my San Francisco Memoirs. Sad, I know.

San Francisco or Bust

Back to my Most Excellent Adventure, Day 5 or 6, I've lost count.
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We stopped at Point Lobos State Reserve and did some hiking. We had a fantastic day for it.
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This was the Sea Lion Point Trail. Tom is overlooking Headland Cove.The sea lions are very noisy. We wondered what makes them congregate on some shores and not on others.
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This is the west end of the park. We were hiking along a trail that passes over a half-collapsed sea cave. Sounds exciting, but we didn't see any indication of a cave.
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This trail ended with a great view of Guillemot Island where we saw a lot of nesting western gulls and pigeon guillemots. The king of them all, the boss guillemot was perched at the highest post, prominent beak held high. He will be featured in an upcoming post. We developed a special fondness for him.
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On the cliff overlooking these kayakers, we watched them spin and drift as they played hide & seek with a friendly sea lion.


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We left the park and continued our northerly drive towards San Francisco. Found a pack of sea lions (pack?? school? herd?) enjoying the warm weather.


This guy's obviously familiar with a camera.

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At last..... San Francisco!!!!

Big Sur, CA: To Sur, With Love

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(a little less talk n a lot more photos)

After breakfasting beside Morro Bay, we loaded up the love machine and went all "Big Sur or Bust." We continued north on the Pacific Coast Highway, through the Big Sur area and into Carmel/Monterey Bay for the evening. It was so beautiful, we kept having to pull over and take pictures and almost missed the sunset at Monterey Bay, upon which the whole trip centered. I mean we were racing towards the sunset. We found it out on a peninsula type thing with about 50 other people walking towards it, zombie-like. Very cool.
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Enjoy the photos, I'll keep my comments to a minimum (for me). Ross, stay awake, there is a special photo for you.

If you take this drive, you should plan for an hour or two at the River Inn, right in the heart of Big Sur. Take an hour to sit in the adirondack chairs, arranged in clusters in the middle of the stream, encouraging group conversation & relaxation with your feet in the water. River Inn also has fine (read:$$$$$) dining -- indoor (fireplace) and outdoor (creekside) -- or quick take-out. We got a couple of mediocre turkey wraps, takeout, and took them to an overlook (above) and ate our lunch in perfect picnic bliss.

The next two photos are from Julia Pfeiffer State Park.

A must stop along the scenic route.

Ten bucks to get into the park, you'll only be there an hour or less, but well worth it. There are some housing remains high on the hill and an interesting story about the wealthy people who lived there.

In the next two photos, we pulled over where we could walk down to the water without diving off a cliff. We took our papers and books, it was awesome. Here I am doing my Bible Study. I was reading Ephesians 1:1-23 about the love, kindness, grace and power we get from God through Christ Jesus. -- Magnificent! Somewhere to the right of my feet, sat a sea lion carcas. I was oblivious. Tom, downwind of us, wondered where the horrible smell was coming from.

The next picture is the famous Bixby Bridge.


OK, Ross, this is for you.

Tom was standing here with this fantastic view thinking about.....GOLF. He was telling me how awesome a golf course would be right here and then he told me, in great detail, all about his game at Pebble Beach. Look at 'im, you can see him envisioning it all, totally entranced. Bet he wouldn't have noticed a sea lion carcas here.

We made it! Monterey Bay, CA!

Tune in tomorrow for Point Lobos and San Francisco -- Days 6-9 of my Most Excellent Adventure in which I encounter (and approach!) another German speaking person.