Monday - Linda and Peg on their own!

Lenny and Reuben had another day at the sitters so Linda and I took off early for Merced Grove of Sequois. We hiked down in for about 1.7 miles to see these majestic redwoods. 

There's just no way to show you how big these trees are. It was a nice hike of about 4 miles even though we knew when we went down hill for at least a mile, we'd have to come back up. It wasn't as bad as we thought. We actually did the hike in about 2 hrs. 

So we still had time to head t Tenaya Lake for lunch and a little relaxation. 

Made it back to pick up the boys by 3ish. They were very happy to see us. 

Crab cakes and salad for dinner. Now going into the "big" town of Groveland, population 601. 

Sunday - hiking and biking in Yosemite Valley

Today was a first for Lenny and Reuben. They went to a dog sitter today because we couldn't have them with us in Yosemite Valley. Dropped them off about 7:30 and away we went, ready to explore. 

Stopped in the little town of Groveland for breakfast things, then on our way into the park. It's about 1.5 hrs from where we are staying. 

Drew and Erin wanted to hike the Mist Trail. Linda, Shan and I had done this 6 years ago after Shan's wedding so we opted to bike around the Valley. It was such a fun way to see what all the Valley has to offer. We went to Mirror Lake and around to the Lodge. Then Shan took off to explore a little more while Linda and I decided to take the shuttle to a couple different places. 

Mirror Lake

Mirror Lake.

While we waited for Drew and Erin to finish their hike, Shan took the opportunity to do some exercises for her knee

Then we started home. It was a lot packed into one day but it was a lot of fun. 

Picked the boys up and they survived quite nicely. Used Rover.com to find Robin our sitter. She was only about 5 minutes from our campground. She rubbed Reuben's belly most of the day. I don't think he wanted to come home. 

Shannon and Drew and Erin needed to pack up and get on the road. Then Linda and I took a must needed rest and a bottle of wine. We're happy we survived a whirlwind weekend. 

Tomorrow is another day. 

Saturday - Shannon, Drew and Erin arrive

The backpackers are ready for their 6 day trip into the wilderness. 

Then Linda and I took the dogs on a short 3 mile hike before the kids arrived. With a picnic lunch packed and lots of water we were off to explore Tuolomne Meadows and all that lay before that. 

Here's where we had lunch - Tenaya Lake. It was such a peaceful and tranquil spot. See Aunt Kay, I told you that you didn't need to worry about us. 

It's much cooler up here in Tuolomne Meadows, probably 10-15 degrees cooler. 

On the way home we decided to stop at the Iron Horse Saloon in downtown Groveland for dinner and a brew. It's the oldest, continuously run saloon in California. 

Shannon instructed Drew and Erin on putting up a tent. 

This may have been Erin's first night camping in a tent. 

Somewhat early night because Lin and I are getting the kids up early to get on the road for a trip into Yosemite Valley. 

Friday - 1st full day in Yosemite

John and Winter finally made it to our campground very late last night, early morning. 

After a great Shuffy breakfast, we all headed out for Yosemite Valley. It was packed with cars and people but we managed to see Bridalveil Falls and Lower Yosemite Falls. 

Bridal Veil Falls

Lower Yosemite Falls

After dinner cooked outside, the boys and Winter started to organize their backpacking stuff. They will be taking off early tomorrow for 6 days in the wilderness!  

Shanon, Drew and Erin should arrive tomorrow for two days. We'll see what fun they have in store for us!

The sleeping arrangements inside of our camper. Night all. 

Thursday - moving on to Yosemite

Time to leave Auburn Gold Country RV campground. Loved it. Was so convenient - right in the middle to see both kids. There are some long-term campers here. Will this be us in a few years? They had a fence, lights all over and a garden. WOW!

Wednesday - last day before we move to Yosemite

Today is our last day near Nevada City. The morning temps were cool so we set outside and caught up with Linda. 

We needed to go to a camping World to exchange a water purifier and it just happened to be close to a quilt shop!  How lucky can I be?  

Once we got those errands done, we headed northeast to Truckee. It was 15 degrees cooler there   We decided to show Linda Donner Pass and do some hiking.  

Standing at a viewpoint parking lot looking at Donner Lake. This was our view for lunch. Beautiful. 

After lunch we decided to hike up some boulders to walk through the train tunnels that the Chinese built. If it wouldn't have been for the Chinese, this railroad would never have been built. 


This tunnel was at least 1 mile long and there were several different tunnels ... hard work. 

Look how the trees and flowers grow out of the rocks. 

This was a marker on the trail we hiked. People used this trail between 1844 and 1869. Remember, this was the time of the gold rush. 

Some beautiful wildflowers on the trail. 

Summer Nights in Bevada City was fun, very diverse population. Music and vendors  in the streets. Even belly dancers. 

Tuesday - Spending time with Drew and Erin

After a lube change and grocery shopping, we got on our way to visit Drew and Erin. 

This is the Tower Bridge which is walking distance from their apartment. This takes them to Old Sacramento. 

Old Sacramento is interesting to walk the streets and see what some of the buildings used to looke like. 

This is the Capitol that Bill and Drew toured while I stayed with the dogs at the apartment. It's beautiful inside and conducts tours. 

Now it's Brewery time and then on to see the house that Drew and Erin just bought. So excited to see it!  

Here is their new house. So excited and happy for them. 

Last thing for tonight is to pick up Linda Zubler from the SAC airport and then back to the campground for a good night's rest. 

Monday - a day on our own

Since Shan and Carl were both tied up with the mundane things of life - work, we decided we would take a hike north about 30 miles, in the woods, along the south fork of the Yuba River. 

This was the longest hike we've done since starting this westward ho trek. It ended up being 6.5 miles. And it was quite hot, even though we were in the woods. The sun shone brightly so we drank a lot of water and stopped along the way when we had access to the river. Even Reuben got into the water up to his belly!  

The river wasn't very high but it was beautiful blue-green color. 

Soaking our feet. Oh that felt so good. 

To get to this trailhead, we had to go through the tiny town of Washington. They had a general store and a hotel!  

Once we got back to Shan and Carl's, we went out to eat at Sopa Thai ... delicious. And we couldn't be downtown Nevada City without stopping for ice cream at Treats. Yum yum. 

Back to the campground. We are all bushes!  Another early evening.