Here are pics of us stopping at Cherry after our backpacking trip.Never too tired for fishing, swimming and a picnic!
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Cherry
Here are pics of us stopping at Cherry after our backpacking trip.Never too tired for fishing, swimming and a picnic!
We saw a bear!
Last Wednesday we went to Yosemite with Jim's family who were visiting from teh east coast. It was his Uncle Richard's 60th birthday so we celebrated with a lunch at the Awahnee, a hike to Vernal and Bridalveil Falls and got to see a bear in a meadow on the way home! In all our travels in the Sierra's we have never seen a bear in or near Yosemite. The bear was eating the greens. Big thrill!
More backpacking pics
A view of Cherry Canyon, Gracie coming thru a meadow and Drew's feet after hiking 12 miles!
Backpacking Pics
The lake behind the pic of the kids, me and the dog is Cherry Lake. The pic of all 5 of us is int he parkinglot berfore starting. That is why we are still smiling!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Yep - we are crazy!
Our friends often call us crazy for the things we do and the predicaments we get ourselves into. I never really thought that was true....until yesterday. Now I am sure that our family, collectively, has a screw loose!
Yesterday we set out for our first backpacking trip. We had new gear and it was a spur of the moment trip, but those who know us know that we always do careful planning - especially if we are going to be out in the outback.
So we pack up five back packs with enough gear for an overnite trip into the Emmigrant Wilderness, just outside of Yosemite. It was a hot day we had packed what we thought was enough water and food to get us in 5 miles and back out the next morning. Food is the tough part because the kids eat a lot just sitting around the house - when they are excercising, it is crazy!
So off we go.... Daisy Mae was wearing her own pack filled with her food and 4 bottles of water for herself. In the first 2 miles, she drank two bottles and we had at least 8 more miles to go! That should have been our first clue that water would be an issue. But not to worry, we had water purification tablets and were heading towards a lake.
We walk about 6 miles in and still have not reached a water source and we had 4 bottles of water left! We had drank about 12 bottles already! So we stop and send Jim without a pack up the trail about 15 minutes to see if he can find the lake. The kids and I kick back and rest. Jim comes back about 30 minutes later and reports that the lake is a 15 minute hike away straight uphill and that it is stagnant. Ick!
So we all stop and rest and have a bite to eat: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit, tuna, trail mix.... And we develop a plan. With only 4 bottles of water left and no water source on the trail, we need to head back down toward the trail head. Keep in mind we just hiked 6 miles uphill from 6000 to 7000 feet with between 8 (Grace) and 35 (Jim) pound packs on our backs. Mine was 25 pounds and Drew's was 20 pounds. We decide the best plan was to hike back out the same day when the weather cooled so as not to get to hot and thirsty. So we rest up until 5:30pm and then start the trek back down. It took us about 2 hours to hike the 6 miles back out -- We used up the last bottle of water with 1.3 miles more to go! It took us 4 hours to hike in because that direction was all uphill.
We managed to get back to the truck with very tired legs and pretty darn thirsty! But it is nice to know that we can back pack 12 miles in one day with a 1000 foot elevation starting at 6000 foot elevation.
It was a great test run and we have a list for other gear we want/need. And we realize the dog drinks A LOT of water.
If it is not crazy enough that we did a two day trip in one day, we ended the day with a stop to swim and fish at Cherry Lake. We did not leave the lake until after dark and made it back to the cabin by 10:30pm.
It was a long and crazy day - but nice to know we can push ourselves and are all in pretty good shape.
Yesterday we set out for our first backpacking trip. We had new gear and it was a spur of the moment trip, but those who know us know that we always do careful planning - especially if we are going to be out in the outback.
So we pack up five back packs with enough gear for an overnite trip into the Emmigrant Wilderness, just outside of Yosemite. It was a hot day we had packed what we thought was enough water and food to get us in 5 miles and back out the next morning. Food is the tough part because the kids eat a lot just sitting around the house - when they are excercising, it is crazy!
So off we go.... Daisy Mae was wearing her own pack filled with her food and 4 bottles of water for herself. In the first 2 miles, she drank two bottles and we had at least 8 more miles to go! That should have been our first clue that water would be an issue. But not to worry, we had water purification tablets and were heading towards a lake.
We walk about 6 miles in and still have not reached a water source and we had 4 bottles of water left! We had drank about 12 bottles already! So we stop and send Jim without a pack up the trail about 15 minutes to see if he can find the lake. The kids and I kick back and rest. Jim comes back about 30 minutes later and reports that the lake is a 15 minute hike away straight uphill and that it is stagnant. Ick!
So we all stop and rest and have a bite to eat: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit, tuna, trail mix.... And we develop a plan. With only 4 bottles of water left and no water source on the trail, we need to head back down toward the trail head. Keep in mind we just hiked 6 miles uphill from 6000 to 7000 feet with between 8 (Grace) and 35 (Jim) pound packs on our backs. Mine was 25 pounds and Drew's was 20 pounds. We decide the best plan was to hike back out the same day when the weather cooled so as not to get to hot and thirsty. So we rest up until 5:30pm and then start the trek back down. It took us about 2 hours to hike the 6 miles back out -- We used up the last bottle of water with 1.3 miles more to go! It took us 4 hours to hike in because that direction was all uphill.
We managed to get back to the truck with very tired legs and pretty darn thirsty! But it is nice to know that we can back pack 12 miles in one day with a 1000 foot elevation starting at 6000 foot elevation.
It was a great test run and we have a list for other gear we want/need. And we realize the dog drinks A LOT of water.
If it is not crazy enough that we did a two day trip in one day, we ended the day with a stop to swim and fish at Cherry Lake. We did not leave the lake until after dark and made it back to the cabin by 10:30pm.
It was a long and crazy day - but nice to know we can push ourselves and are all in pretty good shape.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
FBI Beagle
This is what the world would look like if beagles had bazooka spud guns! Note the ear all hung up in his shades! I, for one, would NOT feel safe.
A little breakfast
Most of us have fried eggs for breakfast. Chad has fried "duck and spud"! He eats duck and potato food because of his allergies. And he doesn't really eat it fried but it made for a great pic!
Sonny and Cher Return
Chad went home on Monday. But before he went, we did a Chad photo shoot. He is such a good sport!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Tea Time
We all went for tea today for a delayed mother's day celebration. That is my sister in law, mother and mother in law with us. The food and tea was delicious! And it was fun to spend a little time doing girly things. But to make sure the day was not too girly, Gracie and I stopped on the way there and bought new running shoes, power bait and salmon eggs (for fish bait)!
Friday, July 13, 2007
Ro and Jim
My Aunt and Uncle visited this week from Chicago. She is my mom's sister. They had a ball with the kids. This is a pic from an amusement park that they all went to. The highlight of their trip was when they took all the kids to Toys R Us to pick out their own new toy! Lucky kids!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Poor baby
I just found this pic of when Daisy was a pup (4 months old) and broke her leg. She was hit by a little girl on a sled.
Monday, July 09, 2007
While at Cherry - there were tons of water sankes. One was particulary big and we were worried it might be a rattle snake - so Jim saved the day by cutting off its head with a paddle. Turns out it was not a rattle snake and it also turns out dead snakes freak me out even more than alive snakes! Its head was moving all around and opening and closing its mouth when it was no longer attached to its body. ICK! YEP - I screamed like girl....Me and my girls
This is a pic of Daisy, Grace and me on the back of the pontoon boat leaving Cherry Lake - my favorite place in the world. This was after three days in the outback in 95 degree weather. Daisy Mae is so tired she can barely keep her eyes open! I love my girlies and I love my pontoon boat! And I LOVE Cherry Lake!
xmas in July
On the 4th of July, we were in the boat parade at the cabin. The theme was patriotic or any American holiday. We chose xmas - complete with Santa (played by Gary).
Horse Camp
Last week Gracie went to horse camp up at the cabin. She had a great time learning about horses and going for rides.
Marty
This is Marty.....he says everyone "takes him for granite".
Honestly -- this is where Marty left his hat and sunglasses each nite while we were at Cherry.
Some pics
Last week while at the cabin, we spent a lot of time on the boat, on the lake or just hanging out in the sun. Here are a couple of cute pics and more will be posted when I have time. One day we rented a seadoo which was the greatest thing that has EVER happended to Drew! He loved it and is thinking up ways in which he can save enough money to buy his own. That is Mari on the ski between Drew and Jim. Drew kept trying to throw Mari off.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Cherry Trip
We just got back from a couple days at Cherry Lake. The location, was, as usual, beautiful! But this time, it was hotter than hell! In the closest local town it was 108! So we figure it was at least mid-90's at the lake. We spent most of the time in and out of the water and fishing. It was too hot to do any hiking.
We did have a very strange experience.....one morning we were across the lake jumping off of cliffs into the lake and a group of guys come up in a few boats looking for a camping spot. They chose a spot right close to where we were jumping and start unloading. We watched in disbelief as they unload a CAT from the boat! Turns out that one of the guys always brings his cat with him camping! The cat hunts for lizards all day. It was really weird to look across the lake and see a cat wandering around. Every so often Chad, the beagle, would spot the cat and start howling!
We also saw a record amount of snakes on this trip. They were all in the lake - ick! At one point we thought one big one might be a rattler so Jim cut its head off with a paddle! It was horrifying!!! I will have pics to post next week - stay tuned!
On the way home, our kayak blew out of the pontoon boat on the road! Our friends Tina, Marty and Mari were in a car behind us and saw the whole thing happen. We are so lucky that no one was hurt!
We did have a very strange experience.....one morning we were across the lake jumping off of cliffs into the lake and a group of guys come up in a few boats looking for a camping spot. They chose a spot right close to where we were jumping and start unloading. We watched in disbelief as they unload a CAT from the boat! Turns out that one of the guys always brings his cat with him camping! The cat hunts for lizards all day. It was really weird to look across the lake and see a cat wandering around. Every so often Chad, the beagle, would spot the cat and start howling!
We also saw a record amount of snakes on this trip. They were all in the lake - ick! At one point we thought one big one might be a rattler so Jim cut its head off with a paddle! It was horrifying!!! I will have pics to post next week - stay tuned!
On the way home, our kayak blew out of the pontoon boat on the road! Our friends Tina, Marty and Mari were in a car behind us and saw the whole thing happen. We are so lucky that no one was hurt!
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