Yosemite National Park - Part IV (January 2017)

The parking lot where I purchased the snow chains earlier in the day was completely empty...and dark. It wasn't easy, clean, or dry, but I somehow managed to remove the snow chains with the help of a little flashlight I had in the car. It was a minor miracle that the light and batteries actually worked.

The parking lot was surrounded by tall pines, but looking straight up on this clear night revealed many thousands of shining stars. I opened the moon roof so everyone could stargaze for awhile.

Laurel fell asleep on our short drive back to our room. I carried Kellisa while Laurel stumbled to her bed and drifted off for the night. I gave Kellisa her medicine and formula before she joined Laurel in their bed. Lisa watched a little TV while I flipped through my book souvenir, "Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite".

The book shares stories and statistics of all the known deaths in and around Yosemite National Park. I read about falling accidents, people who got lost, BASE jumping mishaps, suicides, and finally the last chapter- murders. It was in this last chapter that I finally realized why the Cedar Lodge seemed so familiar.

Back in February of 1999, shortly after we found out Lisa was pregnant with identical twin girls, a mother and two teenage girls went missing while vacationing in Yosemite. I remember following the story as it was covered regularly in the national news. The three women were staying at the Cedar Lodge at the time of their disappearance. 

Yosemite National Park - Part III (January 2017)

Everyone has seen the pictures of El Capitan, Half Dome, and the many waterfalls plunging thousands of feet to Yosemite Valley, but much like the Grand Canyon and perhaps Crater Lake, nothing can properly prepare you for the majestic beauty unfolding before your own eyes.

The driving was still slow due to snow, ice, and the many curves along our drive. Progress was further slowed by the many cars navigating the same treacherous roadway. It was hard to steal a few views of the landscape with my eyes focused on the ice in front of us, but I managed to quickly match the sights so ingrained in my brain from years of admiring photos of Yosemite. I opened the sunroof to allow my passengers to gaze up past the towering pine trees to the granite walls and waterfalls reaching towards the heavens.

Even though it was cold and windy, the park appeared to have a large number of visitors as every parking spot was taken in the first several pull-offs and lots. Drivers were even blocking the already narrow travel lanes to view the sights and snap their own photographs. I gave Laurel a camera and she was snapping hundreds of pictures from the backseat.

Yosemite National Park - Part II (January 2017)

It was clear; my definition of an early start was completely different than Laurel’s interpretation. Leaving the room by 10am for a full day of winter fun in Yosemite seemed possible since everyone fell asleep at a decent hour. I hoped the crisp mountain air would further our restful night and lead to a productive Saturday. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Like most 7-year-olds, Laurel loves watching TV. I’m sure she thinks we are mean for limiting the hours she watches and thanks to parental controls on our TV; Laurel needs to ask one of her parents to enter a code for every show she wants to watch. She has figured out the code several times, but we always change it. Pure evil parents in the eyes of a child.

Laurel woke up at some unknown time and decided to watch the unprotected TV in our room. She was pretending to be asleep (hoping to avoid trouble) when Lisa woke up at 7 something. Lisa turned off the TV. As Lisa was in the bathroom, Laurel woke me up by asking if she could watch TV, tipping Lisa off that Laurel was faking sleep. Wanting more sleep, I answered, “OK” without knowing the firestorm it was about to create.

Lisa emerged and called Laurel out on pretending to be asleep while unapproved TV played in the room. Laurel held to her story and dug in for the long run. My sleep was over as soon as Laurel proclaimed, “Dad said I could watch TV”.

Trying to defuse the situation, Laurel was ordered back to bed for more rest, but she argued that she didn’t want to go back to bed. We didn’t know how long Laurel was up watching TV, but we could tell by the way she was acting that it had been awhile. We had my early start, but it was far from how I imagined.

Yosemite National Park - Part I (January 2017)

With over 4 million visitors per year and less than 200 miles from our new home, Yosemite National Park was closed due to massive amounts of snow and rain deposited from an atmospheric river. This magnitude of a storm (carrying more water than the Amazon, the longest river on earth) hits California once every 10-25 years. Snowfall was measured in feet (over 20 at higher elevations) and massive flooding was experienced in lower elevations outside Yosemite. Roads were closed due to avalanches, rock and mud slides. We had been living in California for almost a year and decided that the upcoming weekend would be the perfect time for our first visit to Yosemite.

The forecast showed a break in the nearly nonstop rain and snow for a couple of days leading up to the weekend. I was following weather reports and updates on Yosemite’s website to make an educated guess that the park would be open and we would be able to find enough open roads to get us to the park.

Yosemite has some of the tallest waterfalls in the world, including Yosemite Falls which drops over 2,400ft. Since this was our first visit, we wouldn’t have anything to compare the waterfall flow rates to in our own memories or pictures, but I was thinking it was a once in a generation opportunity to view the falls after being pummeled with so much snow and rain. I was also thinking the extreme weather and closures would keep some of the winter visitors at home.

Families on Foot - and Wheels

 

The new book, Families on Foot by leading long distance hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis and her husband, Brew will be released on March 1, 2017. 

The book will guide families to the trails from urban hikes to national park adventures and everywhere in between. 

Despite the name of the book, it will include information for families with special needs children and will include at least one family that hikes with wheels!

You can be pre-order Families on Foot here.

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California State Parks (Disabled Discount Pass)

Kellisa's Golden Access Passport for the National Parks got two new friends. The Golden Access Passport allows Kellisa and her family to enter any National Park Service managed site at no cost. It also entitles Kellisa and her family valuable discounts, like half off camping fees, tours, etc. Since receiving the Golden Access Passport at Grand Canyon National Park in 2006, it has been used many times.

Kellisa and Laurel both qualified for their own Disabled Discount Pass to California's State Parks. Like the Golden Access Passport, this pass is a lifetime benefit. The main perk is 50% discounts off entry and camping fees. 

According to the California State Park's website, there are 118 State Parks, 9 State Recreation Areas, 8 State Forests, 5 State Historic Sites, 9 State Fish Hatcheries, 1 State Nature Reserve, 11 State Reserves, and 11 State Wildlife Areas in California. 

The National Park Service manages an additional 28 sites in California, including 9 National Parks, 6 National Monuments, 3 National Historic Sites, 31 National Wildlife Refuges, 3 National Recreation Areas, and 1 National Seashore. California also has 19 National Forests managed by the US Forest Service.

I don't even know where to begin, but I see myself creating several checklists to start working towards in the near future. 

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Miners Ravine Trail

Stone Point - Fire House #6 - Sunrise Bridge (RT)

Roseville, CA

January 2017

Miles - 1.82

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Maidu Regional Park

Maidu Regional Park

Roseville, CA

January 2017

Miles - 2.68

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Atmospheric River (Northern California 2017)

Miners Ravine Trail

Stone Point to Sierra College Blvd. (RT)

Roseville, CA

January 2017

Miles - 4.98

A week ago, I had never heard of an atmospheric river. After nearly a week of non-stop rain, I now know the definition of an atmospheric river, "an extended period of strong winds, heavy rain, lower elevation flooding, and epic snow in the Sierras".

While many areas near us are suffering major effects from the atmospheric river, we are very fortunate to just be a little soaked. The little creek behind and below our house has swollen to the size of a fast flowing river. In between rainstorms, Kellisa and I squeezed in a quick hike.

Chicago Blizzard of 1999

Chicago O'Hare received 21.6 inches of snow between January 2 and January 4, 1999. 

I remember it well. I flew from O'Hare early (before the snow) on the 2nd to Orlando, FL to interview for the job that would eventually move us to Florida. It was hard to enjoy the palm trees and 80 degree sunshine because I was worried about the blizzard since I left Lisa home alone and we had known she was pregnant for about 30 hours. Thankfully, Lisa was able to stay home during the blizzard.

Even though thousands of flights in and out of Chicago were cancelled, I somehow made it home on the 4th. Not thinking ahead, I had parked my little Eclipse in an outdoor lot at O'Hare. When I got off the shuttle bus, all I could see was a massive expanse of white humps. I had a general idea of where I parked, but knew it would be a monumental task to find it. I started walking through the deep snow when I noticed that people were digging down to licence plates to identify the cars. With the wind and new snow, even once cleared plates needed to be dug out again.

It took nearly 90 minutes to find my car and another 2 hours to dig it out enough by hand to be able to leave the parking spot. Did I mention the temperature outside was -20 degrees and this was before cell phones were wide spread (I didn't have one), so Lisa was sitting at home with no way of knowing what was going on.

I eventually made it home, but had to leave my car parked in the street as I had to shovel our driveway which included a pile about 6 feet high where the plows moved the street snow to the edge of the driveway.

Before I left Florida, I had a job offer to bring home to Lisa. The offer allowed me to start the job in Chicago and move to Florida shortly after the baby was born (we didn't know Lisa was carrying twins at the time). We did not hesitate to accept the offer and I can't help but think the blizzard had some influence on our decision.

Fun Fact: Almost 11 years later, Kellisa and I would find ourselves in the middle of the historic Mid-Atlantic Blizzard of 2009.

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