Covered Bridges

Highway 49 at Oregon Creek, Nevada City, CA

     

The Bridgeport Covered Bridge in South Yuba River State Park, CA. At 251 feet, it is the longest single span covered bridge in the US.

The last leg - Bodie, Ancient Bristlecone Forest, Buttermilk country

We woke up leisurely the next morning. Had to pay for the firewood. Six dollars.rammaged through wallet, counted all the quarters and cents, had only
five. And a twenty. Should be just put in the five?
Or the twenty?
Maybe the $20, and take another two stacks.
Rummaged through bags, finally got the dollar.
We ate muffins, noodles and had tea.packed up, the next destination was buttermilk country, just spend an hour or two, and then we'll be on our way.
Buttermilk country is popular for bouldering, rock climbing and off-road. Its at the base of the eastern sierras, the best part was the drive that
gives a fantastic view of Owens valley and the white mountains, the high-desert landscape, Mount Humphreys, Mount Tom and the Eastern Sierra
Mountains. It got its name from the fact that a dairy, known among miners for its buttermilk, was once located along this route.
This place appeals to all abilities of climbers, has a diverse range of rock types and climbing styles, and all in driving distances.
So, off we went.
I was a bit reluctant as usual.
Of the sports and recreational activities, rock climbing appeals the least to me.
What’s the fun of climbing a rock? And scrapping a knee? Some fun that.
Anyway, we went since Dharma enjoys it, and Rebecca seems to climb without fear effortlessly. I thought I'll give it a shot too.
The dirt road takes us to the area; we drove 3 miles almost to the end and parked, and walked up to a group of easy looking rocks. I felt better.
The sign said that green flags marked areas that to being restored, so off-limits for now.
We drove away to a spot, and Dharma disappeared by the time Rebecca and I got out of the car.
I looked in all directions, and we shouted out to him.
No reply.
He looked down from the top of a pile. How did you climb? Why didn’t you reply back?
He was too excited to reply.
Rebecca did a neat climb, and I stumbled along. Not bad I had to admit. These rocks are definitely worth climbing.
No more stops we decided, now straight back home. Drove a couple of miles, a sign said Indian tacos. Its almost lunch time, lets get some. So, we drove into a smaller street and finally saw a home with the same sign.
Native American tacos and Indian fried bread - basically thick fried bread with minced meat, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions and sour cream. Homemade
It tasted really good. We ate some on the way. We drove into Bishop, we noticed the tri-county fair tents, the parking was a bit too far from the tents, so decided to skip that.
No more stops, I said.
A vista point, the freeway sign said. So, off we went. Grand view of the mountains and the valley, benches put for visitors, and a couple of boards with some details of the mountains. With gang graffiti sprayed in black.
Idiots. Thoughtless idiots.
Can they find some other place to announce their insane presence?
No more stops, I said again.
Dharma suggested the Inyo craters. It’s on the way.
Oh, sure I said.
The Inyo craters or mono-Inyo craters are a group of volcanic craters; the mammoth scenic loop takes us there. A short mile hike through pine trees brings us to the craters. There are no signs or boards about the craters. When were they formed and noticed? How big are they?
The carters are small, of course much smaller than the Ubehebe Crater in Death Valley which is the biggest. Trees have grown in the edges and even within the carter, a pool of green water at the bottom.
Hump, I grumbled about the lack of information about the craters.
No wonder many people don’t visit such places. What’s the point of taking a diversion form their travel, hiking a mile in the forest, and just seeing a hole in the ground with green water? And no information of its existence?
Anyway, we drove on till our next stop back on 395 to the day area again. Splashed in the river one more time. The trash cans were full and overflowing with the long weekend visitors’ trash.
We had spent almost an hour there, no more stops, we said again.
But stop we did.
Again by the river, parked the car, and again fought the shrubs and plants to find a way down.
A neat quite place with not a soul around. Splashed around in the cool waters, and drove on.
No more stops.
Back home, content with the trip. A weekend well spent.

LaborDay Weekend - Bodie, Ancient Bristlecone Forest, Buttermilk country

After visiting the state park, the road sign said 13 miles to Lee Viking - very rough road.

Should it be back the same way we came 3 miles on rough road, or 13 on very rough road?

Of course, we took the very rough. The rough road seemed not-too-rough, so the very rough maybe be just about rough. What’s the point of an SUV anyway?

Indeed the road wasn’t bad at all - dirt road, but wide enough, and plain. Plain not smooth. That was the rough part.

We passed by cars braving the road.

Stopped after the while to let the tire pressure low.

Rebecca has dozed off by then, and we managed to get lost. The directions led to a ranch with fiercely barking dogs, and then a road that seem to go

for ever. We could see 395 running parallel far away. So, weren’t back about 2 miles and then took another route. The sun was setting, and we wanted to

Set up camp before dark. Mono lake as usual looks splendid and serene. It looked wider to me than I remembered. 40 feet below its original level, it

Waters Los Angeles. Stopped by for coffee and air for the wheels. Decided to set up camp before hunting dinner.

Bishop is at 4000 odd feet elevation, and further Big pine is at 7000 odd feet, while the bristlecone forest is at 10,000 feet.

Ideally it is good to acclimatize at a slightly lower altitude before moving to higher ground.

Actually that would be a sensible thing to do.

Of course we weren’t so concerned.

We drove past Bishop, bright lights, and shops. Galen and Barbara Rowell's Mountain light gallery on the main street. Wasn’t Bishop a small town that

Friends of ours who had earlier lived complained about. Didn’t look small to me, there's a big casino, signs of parks and campgrounds, hotels and shops.

Signs of the tri-county fair. We even spotted the fairgrounds, small tents all shut down for the night.

Nah, we want to go to the mountains. Hoping we would get an empty spot.

The bristlecone forest is high on the White Mountains off 168 easts from Big Pine which is about 15 miles from Bishop. The difference is in the

Elevation. But then who cares with the destination being so close?

We noted a county campground board, but decided to check the White Mountains first.

Stopped off the turn for the visitor information center with a Hugh American flag.

Rebecca woke up, and soon we drove off.

No services for the next 57 miles the sign warned. We crossed the road that diverts to 75 miles off to Death Valley. Taken that road 3 years back, but

is still just as exciting.

Harsh weather places that you need to be overly cautious about as you travel. Fuel, food, importantly water.

We drove with an occasional car in the opposite direction in the canyon. A part of it is very steep - steep canyon that is. Most trees looked like small

Shrubs or even dwarfed trees.

I was concerned about the temperature drop and the dreaded winds I had read about. Didn’t want to wake up in a windy tent in the high mountains.

We drove in silence in the dark. The moon was up and bright, highlighting the canyon walls. Rebecca was unusually quite. Dharma mentioned acute

Mountain sickness that he had read about in the visitor's center. I wondered if the darkness around and the shadow of the canyons and the trees in the

Moonlight bothered her.

We reached the 10,000 ft elevation but seemed to drive forever. Where did the 3 campgrounds go? Where they unmarked to discourage too much traffic?

We drove back and located the Grandview campsite. This was supposed to be the best. When we wake up, the bristle cone would be right there facing us in

the sunrise.

It was hard to figure if there was an available spot in the campsites. Were the stumps marking the sites? Should there be numbered spots? We stopped at

at least 3 stops in confusion and looped back to the entrance. Dharma got out to check on foot, and Rebecca was just happy to get out of her car seat.

She moved to the drivers seat and promptly threw up and cried. In the silence of the place, her cries were magnified loud and clear through the night air.

We decided this was just not right, and drove down immediately. I sat with Rebecca making her talk. Forget camping, let’s check in a hotel, and get her

to recover and comfortable, forget camping. We drove to all the hotels and motels we could see on Bishop. No luck. All rooms booked for the tricounty

fair. The family campgrounds in Big Pine were crowded and revolting. We stopped by the casino parking lot, the camping guide said try the county

Campgrounds further to Bishop, and so off went back and mercifully found it just the place we wanted.

Already the altitude difference was great.

This is a big campsite with fewer compspot, so each spot was spacious and just right. We pitched the tent, and went to sleep. Streams of water was

running closely. The sounds lulling us to sleep.

We woke up early, Rebecca in good spirits. The White Mountains seemed tall and hugh right in front. Everyone else seemed to be part of the southern

California Ford Broncho club. hugh RVs, tough looking men and women, with a hint of a smile and their mean machines.

We made tea, took our time sipping it with marmalade sandwiches and packed back the tent.

No more rush.

Let’s just relax and keep a steady pace. No rush.

The plan was to drive to the ancient cove, hike a short one, and come back to the lower altitude.

No hanging around at 10,000 ft.

In the bright morning light, the drive seemed altogether different. We were relaxed and refreshed keeping a close watch on Rebecca. Any sign of

Difference in her behavior, and we would call off the hike.

Mercifully she was happy and chirpy as usual.

What a great relief. Children can be a nuisance with their energy levels, yet it is a million times better than an unusual quietness. The silence can be

deafening, the mind fears the unspeakable.

The sun was bright, and day was brilliant. Deep blue skies, white brilliant clouds, the air clean and the breeze and temperature just right.

Wow, is that wonderful or what. Just for a slice of sheer perfection in the mountains.

I shot a prayer of gratefulness. For the simple pleasures of living. For the health to travel and to enjoy the incredible.

We stopped by the picnic area, there was piñon , duglous fir and bristle cone trees all over. Beautiful spot, finished lunch, and decided to go for a 1

mile self-discovering nature trail.

Another car stopped by, and a boy, maybe 12 years old darted out. He spotted a cactus plant in excitement and shouted for us to see it too. over

Enthusiastic brat I thought, I couldn’t see his parents anywhere.

We put back out stuff, and started the nature trail. It is a challenge to keep Rebecca on the trail; her excitement takes her off to collect grass,

Stone, leaf, branch. The soil is dry and loose; the terrain is rough yet almost fragile. A short walk brings us to the open mountain facing the sierras.

far away, yet imposing and majestic. A little snow on top.

Miles away from home, ten thousand feet high up; it’s a great place to be.

We walked by reading the posted information on the native plants and interesting fact, passing another cactus, and then the Mormon tree plant. The

tea plant has bright green straight thin pipe like leaves, and looks like a bunch of green threads tied at the bottom. I picked a tiny bit and smelled

it, wonderful aroma. idea for a smoothing cuppa. Guess what the puiate Indians drank the tea since it could cure colds, rheumatism and kidney problems.

Whoa!

Wise natives knew its usage well.

Another was the pinecone, the Indians roasted them so it was eerier to break, and you needed to break open the cone, to remove the seeds 9 or nut. The

cone is hard, and has somewhat sharp edges; I have a whole new respect for the pine nut now.

and then comes the boy eagerly asking ' Have you seen the beaver tail cacti?

Oh, so this is a cactus seeker I thought.

How shallow first impressions can be.

He walked with a HP digital camera around his neck, his father carrying a bulky hogen tripod, and a contax camera. Started with, have you seen?

Beaver tail anywhere?'

What?

Beavertail cactus - you know the stems are flat resembling the tail of a beaver, that's why it’s called so. Have you seen any?

Nope, have you?

He went on rapidly about the two we had in fact seen earlier.

We chatted for a while on the native plants, the weather, and survival classes in France. About growing up in Netherlands with British English and

American accents, the French castles.

in these places, you should always wear shirts with full sleeves, and full pants, and a hat. the UV rays are very strong, and you can be bit by a

Scorpion. If you are in the middle of a desert, and don’t have water, then cactus can save you. Just cut the stem, and drink the liquid. you will live.

Oh, there are poisonous cacti in Death Valley, don’t touch them.

If you don’t know whether a cactus is poisonous or not, dig a shallow hole on the ground, cut the stem, and pour the liquid inside the hole. leave it

like that till the next day, the water will distill, and you can drink that.

Phew!

Interesting kid.

Very friendly. He showed me his pet hamster pictures.

It’s always a pleasure to meet kids like that. The world in their radar, confident and curious instead of the burdens of peer pressure and video

games.

We read and noticed Indian rice grass, Mormon tea, Utah junipers, piñon and firs, wrapped up the walk, and drove to Schulman grove. Dr. Edmund

Schulman discovered the bristle cone pines east of the Sierra Nevada, and the grove with he oldest bristle cone is given his name. These are the oldest

living trees on earth. The trees survive in the poorly nourished, alkaline soil with a minimum of moisture. In fact, the trees longevity is linked to

these inhospitable conditions. The younger trees have softer tissues, and may not live as long as the older ones. The forest is eroding away instead of

decaying. The 4,723 year-old Methuselah tree is the oldest. The biblical Methuselah lived only 900 plus years, and was the oldest man on earth.

40 centuries. Phew!

The trees live in harsh surroundings. High mountains, lots of snow, winds at high speeds, and they are fragile and irreplaceable.

We chose to hike the 4.5 mile trail, and the initial mile was the steepest.

A couple of young boys ran the trail, leaving their parents behind. We crossed each other every time either they or we took stopped for a while. Apart

from them, there are 2 more couples we met or saw on the way. No one else in the vast forest.

The first 2 miles were okay, till Dharma noticed slight discomfort in his knee. Since the trail was narrow, and the mountainside was steep, we didn’t

want to let Rebecca down. went slow the nest mile, and then let her down the last mile and a half. She walked with excitement.

The trees are twisted, exposing their roots and stem, standing in dignity as time passes still living, their shape polished by winds, snow and sand.

The soil is very dry, the views spectacular.

as we hiked, the scenery was wonderful, across us, the sierras looked shorter, although they stand more than 2000 ft higher. looked to the valley far

way, was that a dry lake there?

Away from the maddening crowd.

You need to be there to experience that.

high up in the White Mountains, it does have a kinda spooky feel, inspite of the clear sky and the wonderful weather.

We made out way back to the car, satisfied to finish the hike. Dharma's knee was aching a bit more, it was almost 5 o'clock, and we drove off to camp.

filled the tank at Bishop, and decided to camp in the mountains further west instead. 4000 ft was still warmer than the 10,000 odds.

The tall trees campground was closed, we wondered if we would have to drive back all the way again. Mercifully the next one was a small and still

mostly unoccupied. We quickly set u-p the tent, and started the charcoal fire starter.

Struggled to get the fire going, the paper caught on, but the charcoal was still stubborn. It was getting dark.

Waited, watched and tried everything, no avail.

Our neighbor campers proved very helpful. When dharma went over to ask them if firewood was available anywhere closely, the man came over leaving his

dinner immediately. The cut the wood pieces with his small axe into smaller twig sizes, rolled newspapers, placed the small pieces over, and lit. Whoa!

That was quick, the fire was roaring high in minutes. His wife came over, and we chatted for a while.

Thanks to him, we grilled our stuff.

Small mercies that make a difference.

I had emptied the veggies in my refrigerator, so we had grilled asparagus, zucchinis, tomatoes, white onions, corn

along with the marinated lamb.

Sleep was easy as we were totally tired.

Pictures - Bodie, Ancient Bristlecone Forest, Buttermilk country

Bodie, Ancient Bristlecone Forest, Buttermilk country

The long weekend comes, oh how we look forward to it!
As usual we planed the places we wanted to visit and wanted to leave on Friday night, come back by Monday evening.

Packed our stuff, read the maps, checked the weather, re-checked our stuff.
Still the camera bag wasn’t ready Dharma's various cameras and his lenses and their million accessories, what about the tent, sleeping bag, should we take the chairs too?

What the heck!

This weekend pleasure trip not a business drill.

Let’s slow down.

We’ll pack slow, relax, enjoy.

So, we packed our stuff leisurely and slept of. Slept as long as we could. Till Rebecca got up, and wouldn’t lie down nay more.

And off we went.

We started well, and drove on 50, got a glimpse of Lake Tahoe high up, hmm not very blue right now.

395 is a scenic route. It looks beautiful every time we travel by.
We stopped by the river for a short break; let Rebecca play a little, snacks and stuff.
Parked on the shoulder, and walked down to the river. Searched for a safe route down, finally walked by the shrubs and made out way.
The water was cold as ever. Kicked off our shoes, splashed the water, had our snacks, and lazed around.
Spent 2 hrs there instead of 20 minutes.
So far so good.
The weather was cool and just perfect. Next stop was for lunch at a day use area by the Walker River. We have stopped here almost 3 years back, and I can remember the place as if I visited it yesterday.
Dharma went to the river, and I was just getting Rebecca out, and she punked.
Again.
Cleaned her, distracted her with the squirrels , the chirping birds and the pine cones.
She seemed okay, we sat down for lunch, and yet another splash in the river.
Beautiful day and we set out to look for a campground.

We have wanted to visit Bodie every time we have traveled 395, but just haven’t been able to. Next time, we'll make it.

This time, we hadn’t planned Bodie, and yet as we approached 167 on 395, we made the turn.

Worthwhile.

Bodie is a ghost town - the largest presently that flourished when gold and silver was found in the mountains. In its hey days, the population was close to 10,000.
This is the year 1878. William S. Body found gold here in 1859. The mining camp grew slowly from 1860 to the mid-1870s
and then declined after the lure was somewhere else, several fires, World War I, and finally the fire of 1932, and that was the last straw indeed.

Today, about 150 well preserved buildings remain (about 5% of the original) thanks to the efforts of the state park. This was a large town, no city by its day’s standards.

There is the Methodist Church, saloon, school firehouse, Bodie hotel, several homes all frozen in time.

And the empty mines.

Too bad the firehouse had clogs and bad maintence issues and couldn’t save much.

All of them are in arrested decay - preserved but no restoration will be done -as they were after the fire, as the residents left them.

Homes have the wallpapers peeling away, beds, dressing tables, dining tables, kitchen with the utensils still in place. The Carriages and tool boxes are still intact. With layers and layers of dust. The materials are slowly tearing away and fading.

As you walk by each home, it is as if you are indeed visiting a home that has current residents. The current poor shape seems to diminish, and it’s like you can actually imagine life thriving among the deterioration.

You can walk into some homes, others are locked, yet you can peep through the windows to look in.

Interesting to see the sizes of homes then.
Small.
Much smaller to an average American home today.

so, we walked past homes that had the only best green garden in the town, home to the town sheriff's father, home of the family that ran stagecoaches, home of the man who brought lumber to the town.

Yet well decorated and well equipped.

The saloon, bars and shops are well stocked and still have the merchandise on the shelves. pool tables waiting for the putt.

In spite of the harsh weather, high on the sierras, the treeless terrain is dry - summers are punishingly hot, winters bring good amount of snow, gold and silver brought people here.

I can imagine dance halls, saloons and the church with folks gaily going about their lives.

This was a bad town too.
'Goodbye God, we are going to Bodie' - the prayer of a little girl wrote says it all. Legend has it that she prayed as she learned her family is moving to Bodie.
Crime thrived here just as any place where gold was discovered. Stagecoach holdups and murders.

The Wild West.

Bodie state park is more different than what I had read and imagined about. This is bigger and in better shape.

The best way to visit is to spend 2 to 4 hours.
Slow down.
Think and let the surroundings take you to a different time in the same place, listen and see.
It is worth the while.

Day2 - Fort Ross, Russian Cove

We had put up the cover for the tent. Lessons learnt from the cold of the previous night. Cannot see the stars now, but

then decided comfort and rest were more important than gazing at the night sky. besides we were too tired and slept off immediately.
No alarm clocks to wake us up.
Rebecca did.
about eight-ish. I crept out to check on the others.
Joe and family were on already their way home. Seemed to be in a rush. Smiles and good-byes.
??
No one knows. Wonder why.
Anyway, the others were slowly waking and moving about. Breakfast and getting ready.
We folded the tent, cleaned, packed and cleared the site, made tea, drank it slowly, and went across to join the rest.
The kids were off to the playground, I went to the swings to push Kirti , Kitchu and Rebecca.
Higher, more higher!
Swinging 3 tiny kids and I am getting a good morning work-out.
Angel akka made good quesadilla - Mexican pizza of sorts and we had some. The orange juice pack had leaked and the ice was

all orange-ish. I poured the remaining juice and passed it around.
Chatted around, everyone had finished b'fast and were packing. We helped to put down a couple of tents and packing too.
The check-out time was noon, and it was too soon for lunch. So, leaving after lunch was ruled out.
We decided to drive for an hour or so and then stop for lunch.
Fort Ross sounded good to everyone.
How about parking in the day-use area, spending some time there playing, lunching and then driving straight home?
Hmm, sounded good to me, but everyone else seemed to be on the move. Tomorrow’s monday, need to fix things for school, work etc.
Stephen and family decided to leave immediately. Reeve didn’t seem to do well at night. So, we packed lunch for them and sent them off too.
Rebecca spotted an alphabet-caterpillar as we wondered close to the Gualala River. It didn’t work. Maybe needs new batteries.
The river bed was dry and wide with lots of pebbles; it looked like a narrow stream.
Still beautiful with the high trees and greenery around.
We drove up to Fort Ross state historic park for lunch. Lots of vehicles around, and we found picnic tables close to the parking lot.
The kids ran to climb branches of cypress trees, and we took a few pictures.

Lunch was quick, and the question was whether to go down to the beach or visit the fort?

Fort Ross is an Old Russian fort built in the early 1800s.It was established for Russia's tsarist government exploration,trade and settlement in the North Pacific, and for establishing permanent settlements in Alaska and California.

It still has a gun blockhouses and sentries on the two corners without blockhouses, a well, chapel and warehouse filled with provisions for the fort; a barracks and three officials’ houses...




Already Sheina had thrown-up within the hours drive, Jamela akka had developed a headache, and Gigi and John was on the verge. We finished lunch, took a few pictures, and said good-bye to all. there was first day of school on monday, Vallejo
shopping on the way etc. We talked to the fort with Santhosh and Nithila along the eucalyptus trees. Bright red and orangish-brown leaves lay on the ground.



It’s a very short walk, and we immediately realized that we could have driven to the fort's gates and parked instead of the parking lot. That way, we could have used the picnic tables inside, and everyone would have visited the fort itself.

Too late. The fort is a small rectangular enclosure, and we quickly visited all the standing structures and also the well.

We let santhosh decide whether to go the beach below. He had a small leg sprain form the previous day's cricket. He said,yes. Nithila's was an immediate yes too. So, we walked out of the fort towards the ocean. The skies were downcast, and it was windy and bit cold. We walked to the edge, and looked below; the beach is a crude downhill walk. We lingered near and decided not to go down.


Dharma wanted to go the Russian cove and the Armstrong state park on the way back. So, we made our way to the cove. drive on CA1, the cove looks inviting. We parked and walked through a short over-growth of shrubs and trees to the open full of

big smooth pebbles and strewn logs. Dharma pulled a few logs together to mark the place we got out of the shrubs. Rebecca was all excited seeing the stones, and started and her collection, stuffing them to her jacket pockets.

We strolled lazily to the beach, carrying the stove and stuff to make lemon-tea by the beach. Dharma set up the set on the rocks by the waves, and boiled water. It was a while before we realized that it was a bad spot with too much wind, so we

moved the stove to the rocks behind. A nice small cave like enclosure of rocks. This looked like a popular spot, since it had a lot of trash on the ground. I made the tea, and we sat on the rocks to enjoy. Rebecca was busy stuffing pebbles in her pockets.

It was getting late; we moved out and drove back. Stopped for dinner at a nice Mexican restaurant, and all home-ward bound. Normally, we would put sort out clothes, shoes etc and put things back in their place before sleeping. It was

already 11:30 when we reached home, Rebecca was asleep and we dumped the things from the car, and zzzzzzzz. It was almost 3 days later that all the things went back to their places!

Over all a good trip, much better than what we anticipated. Just a few things went out of sync, here and there, otherwise everyone enjoyed it. sign!

some pictures

Day1 - Beach and BBQ

We walked to the rocks by the left, and the sandstone rocks were slopping and had holes as if to facilitate rock climbing.
This was easy enough for me too! We hung on the rocks for a while, and then came back to join the others.
Are you ready to go the lighthouse?
We had discussed about visiting the Point Arena Lighthouse after the beach. That would be further up north, about hours
drive.
The lighthouse is about 1 mile into the ocean, and a fabulous place.
What? Another long drive on the winding road?
I have never heard CA 1 being referred to with such disdain, and I flinched.
I checked myself, this is their trip, and not ours, so I better keep my mouth shut and go with the flow.
A few were very keen; others were outright not interested to go see a light-house at all, no matter how spectacular.
The sun was out, bright and I must admit, it was tempting to simply laze around.
The lazy lumps won.
Some one came clutching a flat piece of wood, 'how about Cricket?’
The idea got the men and kids up, and soon the game was on.
What’s cricket? How do you play?
Cricket is Indian baseball.
A bloke throws the ball; you hit it hard and run for a run. If the ball is back before your reach the stumps, well then
You are stumped.
It was nice to see the game, everyone played for fun...
Most of the women were under the umbrella, chatting, closing their eyes. This is relaxation indeed. I was busy watching the
game as well as keeping an eye for Rebecca.
Aunty wanted to go for a stroll. So I went along with uncle, and shanthi akka.
went for a while, and Dharma signaled to wait to Rebecca who had followed us.
We collected colored pebbles for Gigi and Rebecca was busy picking her pebbles and conversing rapidly. We came back, and
Jean akka wanted to go for a walk, Dharma wasn’t keen to join us, and so Off I went for another walk.
Soon, it was time to leave.

We reached the campsite, and Dharma went in to pay for the registration, Rebecca was fast asleep, and we were waiting by
the fish-wash at the entrance, listening to abalone divers talking of their day's catch. Interesting talk about
restrictions for smaller than 7 inch abalone, and the like.

I put Rebecca down in Santhosh's tent, since our tent was way off; we were going to hang around the others. We started
with the BBQ preparations. I just realized that I was terribly hungry.
So, I gobbled up some baklavas. Yummy! Hunger makes the sweets even sweeter!
The evening was great. The fire was soon up, with Dharma, Jeba anna tending, Denix joined in to grill. The camp bbq was
actually a small shallow fire-pit with stone around. The grill was a flat rectangular grill bought at the camp store.
Too small to feed the army.
It might have been nice if we had brought our table-top grill too.
So, we took out the marinated meat. Mine was a cosco pack of 3 types of marinate - teriyaki, garlic-herb and Mediterranean.
The others were freshly ground garlic, and marinated chicken. Mine was still frozen in the ice-pack, we sliced smaller
Pieces.
Started with the hotdogs and burger patties..for the kids. I was still hungry, soon the party begun.
I fixed a burger for myself, and went to check on Rebecca. She was awake and crying in the tent.
Aavi ! It hurts!
She pointed to her knee and shin. I could make out nothing, so I picked her and walked. She was crying even louder, so
Dharma got out of grilling and took her. It worked. Grape flavored tiny candy.
Maybe she was exhausted after the whole day in the beach. Maybe she fell, and didn’t realize it..
We sang songs, passed on plates, fixed burgers and hot-dogs, grilled some corn, and it was soon 10pm.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the bbq. Good. Gald the Costco stuff came out pretty well.
Already?
Camp quiet time.
There were more riddles from the kids, jokes and performances, time to call it a day.
Some on remembered the smores. Smores are actually short for some more whatever that is. And with each occasion of smore,
comes the differces in how it is eaten.
Girls - Place Hershey bars on graham crackers, Toast marshmallows, Place toasted marshmallows on Hershey bars to melt
Chocolate, eat as a cookie.

While Boys
Eat Hershey bars, Eat marshmallows, Throw graham crackers at other boys.

Good day.
End of day1.

Day1 - day on the beach

It must be 6:30, cos my cell phone alarm went off. loud and clear.
Shucks!
Who follows routines and alarms while camping?
No way was I going to get up and turn it off, too much bother, besides it was too cold out of the sleeping bag.
So, it just rang and rang.
Our neighboring campers were anyway up, so I wasn’t worried about disturbing anybody.
Rebz woke by 7:15, and I crawled out by 7:30, and went to check on the other tents. Mary aunty was busy heating water, and making coffee.
chatted for a while, and ppl were already taking showers and getting ready.

Good enthu.
All the kids rushed for b'fast of bagels, cereals, and such and then ran to the playground closely.

Normally, I would have turned my nose on the playground - hey, you are supposed enjoy things other than your routine, what’s' the point of
sticking to normalcy? But, this time I was gladly relieved - keep the kids busy and happy, you can relax better ;)

We chatted, lazed around, got ready, gathered lunch from those responsible for lunch, got our stuff, and hey, where are we going?
Consult the experts - Dharma, where are we going?
has annan.
But, you know the places here.
Hmm, not really, Dharma said weakly.
Aunty promptly put in a Tamil proverb something like among a group of blind ppl, the person with one eye is the king.
I put in 'just because everyone thinks you are the expert, don’t think that really are one’!
pssss, the air in the balloon went off. ha ha !!

Finally decided on the Gualala Point Park in Sonoma County.
I love that beach - it has the Gualala delta - the river flowing into the ocean. So, off we went.
The directions was simple, make a left here, and then a right.

The beach is a not so short walk from the parking lot. You can see it, but it looks as if it is way beyond. Thankfully, everyone was excited, and so pulled out their beach chairs, toys, lunch stuff etc and started the march.
I handled the first-aid kit to Rebecca to carry, she was excited and walked briskly first, and then went slowly lost her tempo, dragging her feet, allowing everyone else to walk fast. Nithila picked her and walked the rest. We walked on and claimed a spot close to the logs.

This is a long beach with great waves; the river flows in on the right, just below the road. The town of Gualala looks like a medditerean village across the road on a hilly terrain. The sand is almost black, and as you walk closer to the ocean, the pebbles are tiny multi-colored gems wet and sparkling. The left end is a bit rocky, and has a few rocks on the beach too. The sun was almost hiding behind in the skies, and breeze was a bit cold, just great.

Some settled down in their chairs, and others looked around. The kids ran to the water, and I followed suit. A clear distinction here - those wiser clutching their jackets tighter, sitting comfortably and watching, and the carefree, footloose running to the teasing waves. The Pacific is cold, the coldest ocean in fact. The sun was stilling not out, and so it was getting colder. Rebecca’s' terrified of the ocean waves, and was not willing to come close. So, Dharma took her for a walk and pebble collecting.


I wanted to go further, looked around; no one else seemed to think the same. Hmmm... Let’s give then some time.
So, I hung around, watching the kids frolic and shout with glee. This was fun. The ocean is always a wonderful place to be, albeit this particular beach is a lil wild, exploited and therefore presumably dangerous.

Gigi and Jean akka moved closer, the rest dipping and moving away. My flip-flops were old and loose, I was debating whether to leave them on the sand. I just wore them.

Mistake.
I lost them - to the ocean!
Boo! Boo! They weren't in the best of shape, but I’ve had them for more than 6 years, and what the heck!

We splash around and played with the waves. Rebecca wasn’t interested at all, I could see why. Nithila and I went in a little further and laughed, the waves were high, but lost their force and height as they reached us, so we had then by about our knees. The water was really cold. I could feel as if my feet were getting numb, my flip-flop almost coming out. I put them back on every time, as the water receded. Occasionally, we got a big wave and we laughed and turned our backs. Rebecca and Dharma were wandering by the logs and pebbles, the boys and Stephen and family hung closby, Eva and Santhosh were coming and going out. Uncle and David anna were by the kids. Only Nithaila and I were in the water. As I turned around to avoid a full splash, I lost balance and fell. Ohhh, that was cold, I was totally drenched, and still laughing another big wave came by.

Watching the waves at that height gives you a different perspective - as if the whole white foamy ocean is thundering and rushing to you. No wonder Rebecca didn’t want anything to do with the waves.

I was totally wet, but loved it. What’s the point of traveling, going to a beach and then not getting wet?
Hmm, cold or not, I hadn’t had enough. So, we went a few steps further in. Akkad and Gigi walked closby , but stayed out of the water. We called Santhosh and stood our ground. I was thinking abt getting out and taking off by flip-flops and walked a few steps away, and there came another wave, this time I lost it. The ocean took my one slipper!

I lost a slipper, but it was great fun. We hung around for a while, and then started back for lunch.

Let’s have lunch.
Oops! Some one had forgotten the plates in the car!!
Oh, no! What are going to have without plates, eh?
Hmm, no prob, I asked Dharma to get them, but then David and Juba anon went off. I was terribly hunger. We had a few fruits and water. Eventually, we finished lunch, and then the sun came out.

Wow! how it changed things.
The Ocean changed to the deep bluish-green hue, and sparkled. The beach looked incredibly beautiful.
With fun in the tummy, and the sun shining brightly, everyone got energized and also drowsy and lazy.
We walked to the rocks by the left, and the sandstone rocks were slopping and had holes as if to facilitate rock climbing. This was easy enough for me too! We hung on the rocks or a while, and then came back to join the others.

A camping here we go...

We went camping to Gualala (wa-LA-la as prounced by the native Indians). This was a lot different from our usual trips since we went with another 7 families (!), none of whom had camped by themselves prior to this.

Aiy yiy yo !!
Are we asking for trouble? Now, wait a minute, how did we get manage to get in like this?
Camping by ourselves is one thing, camping along with other campers is another, but to 'lead a
bunch of our own people to camp' , boy ! That’s asking for trouble.

Not that we have any issue with any folks, we dearly love them - just but the idea by itself overwhelmed and scared us. We arent good organising large groups, and
Most of the families have lived long enough in the US, to know how to enjoy themselves. Problem was at least that’s how we perceived them - are not outdoor types, and cannot live without the comfort and convience of homes and hotels. the idea of Camping was what others did, not them.
But then when you show a bit of inclination, maybe they could discover the simple pleasures too.

Oh, come on, we need to be better sports helping interested freinds with their first camping experience.
That should be fun.

We had our doubts.

EEw ! Can we escape this? Maybe work out a convincing excuse.
How about if we give detailed instructions to all, lists of things to take along, precautions etc,.and sure they can go by themselves. Cant them?

Nah! Gualala is in an incredibly almost unexploited part of CA1, along the Pacific, and it was too tempting to let go.

So, we let our concerns fly, and this was going to be our freinds trip not ours,
So we will go by their pace and their flow, and decided to pitch in. Turned out, that was a great decision indeed. Iam glad we did this.


Dharma was unanimously elected as the 'camping expert' eh huh.
By default I tagged along in the ‘Dharma and Mary are experts; you can ask them '...

He hee - did good to flatter us, and we had our our own laughs at the presumed titles.

Understandably it was a great excitement to all, specially the kids.

Yippee! We are going to live in tents.

There were worried moms ,and tons of questions - Will I be able to sleep? Are the restrooms clean?? Is it safe? Do psychotic killers roam the campsites killing people in their tents randomly? , and so on apart from what should I bring along? What's the weather like?

Come and find out yourself. I was excited myself. Camping is always fun espacillay if you go to a good place like this, and its always ncie to spend time with friends.

We travel in style when in groups with our pots and pans, cooking rice and microwaving stuff for meals. everyone takes turns to help out with the food and final cleaning. Everyone loves the fresh food, but invariably someone is tied up. We wanted everyone to experience the difference, and suggested minimum cooking. Of course, campfires, BBQ and smores are necessities. So, Mary aunty divided the
food stuff among the families and Dharma and David annan provided a detailed list of things to bring etc. beg, borrow or no Don’t steal, buy the tent .

So, we were well prepared.

Mary Aunty and a few others went on Thursday, seemed the site was off-limits to mobile coverage. Others started earlier by afternoon on Friday to drive the 3 hrs and reach before dark. We had no such concern, We started after work on Friday evening, loaded the car with our stuff (had packed the previous day ), bought ice for the ice-box, and then headed to REI by 6pm I think to pick a tent for a friend. Then, we started on 160 to downtown, to reach I80.



The sun was setting, and I was hoping to hit CA1 before it got dark, fat chance!, took comfort that we'll drive back by day. The surprise was in 116, Sebastopol off Bodega bay- most scenic drives are by beautiful forests, rolling hills, rivers are the like , generally not thought historic towns. This in Sonoma county is a historic resort and logging area along the Russian River. A delightful little town, we stopped for gas and food. It was cold, had burgers in a tiny
shop, excellent taste.
Made notes - to visit Armstrong Redwoods State Park on the way back. It was almost 8:30, and getting dark.

We reached Gualala by 11, and Dharma asked directions somewhere near the campgrounds at a bar - it was amusing to watch the group of people were jolly drunk, and still quite confidently gave some vague directions. So, we turned, and stopped by a patrol vehicle, the officer cautiously turned up his lights, as Dharma approached him, and confirmed the way.

This a private family oriented campground, in a Redwood grove, was still lively and active as we entered. It was full of abalone divers and Rvs.

We drove past to our registered sites, Rebecca was asleep, and ours was a little way from the rest.
We reached out stop, and Dharma asked me to set the tent, while he helped Santhosh. I started with it, and then eww, I had few campers around, but didn’t feel comfortable to set it all by myself.so, I picked Rebz and walked over to watch the rest. The REI tent was a bit tricky, eventually we set ours and watched the stars in our tent, and slept off by 11:40.

It was colder , and great to watch the redwood tree tops and a few stars.

Good start.