May 11, 2019
The last full day in Yosemite we let the kids sleep in a bit and then we set out on foot to the Mirror Lake Trail which has been popular since the 1800s.
It took between 2 and 3 km from our campsite to reach Mirror Lake. It is beautiful and true to its name we saw and photographed it in mirror configuration. We then decided to take the trail around the lake. The first part of it up to the river where there is a bridge was flooded, as seems the seasonal norm. So we followed an off-trail route with other people. We were trailing a deer for a part of the trail by only a few feet! We ended up hiking around 8 km which was great but farther than had been promised to Miriam.
In the afternoon we headed out to try and spot climbers on the base of Yosemite. This proved easy. There were dozens of climbers. They were in small groups along different parts of the mountain (some near top, some just starting) and the size of ants. We enjoyed watching them through our binoculars.
The next morning we headed to San Francisco. It was a long (4hr ?) drive but it was very cool as we crossed over the Bay Bridge and could see Alcatraz Island and the city.
Our hotel was Cow Hollow on Lombard Street. We went out for tacos to a local restaurant — it was tasty but expensive as everything is in S.F.
The next morning I went for a run down Lombard Street until it ended at the ocean (3.9 km one way). My GPS watch reported overall elevation loss of 160 m and gain of 160 m. (~500 ft.). The hills were very difficult to run.
The best thing was that Lombard happens to be the only main street in S.F. that has a wavy (think sine wave) portion called Lombard Gardens that lasts about a block and has residences along this brick laid road surrounded by gardens. Lombard then returns to being a regular street.
We walked leisurely toward the 10 am Alcatraz Ferry. We stopped into an absolutely delicious smelling bakery on the way and vowed to get sourdough (for which S.F. is known) on the way back. Book note: read the novel “Sourdough” for more on San Fran’s bread culture.
Alcatraz was pretty awesome. We all took the self-guided tour which is narrated by a former guard and includes audio clips of guards and inmates. It was awesome to be able to stand in jail cells, walk the hallways and stand in the places where escapes unfolded while having the details explained. You could even stand in a D-block solitary confinement cell. Creepy and made me think of Andy Dufrane.
On the way back to our car at the hotel we bought a 1 lb sourdough. We walked home via Lombard Gardens so Amy and the kids could see the prettiness. We then got into the car, drove across the Golden State Bridge and stopped at a park in Sausalito where we engulfed our bread with hummus, cheese and butter. It took about 5 minutes for complete bread annihilation.
We continued to drive (3+ hrs) to Van Damme State Park. The place is gorgeous. There was a gently babbling brook behind our campsite.
The next morning we went to visit the park’s beach and a pygmy forest before leaving. A pygmy forest has really old trees that are small and thin (ex. 80 yr old, only 1-2 ft high and a quarter inch in diameter). This is because of old soil that is acidic with limited nutrients. It looks very cool, science aside.
On our way we stopped at Chandelier drive-through tree. This was really cool. We couldn’t drive our own car through because it is too tall with the rooftop carrier and although Miriam wanted us to remove it Amy and I couldn’t fathom the effort. The tree is awesome.
At 5pm we arrived in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park Elk Prairie Campground. I should mention that the windy (winding, not strong winds) coastal highway 1 (and 101 too) is a gorgeous way to drive. We are in a cute newly built cabin. It has bunk beds and electricity but no washroom or kitchen. Very cute though. Amy and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. The park has a huge field with benches set up for elk viewing. Supposedly sometimes (often) there are elk herds but we only saw a cluster of about five. We’ll see how many elk the day brings today.
Elk at our campground
Our cabin
Sourdough!
Mirror Lake
Climbers on El Capitan
Alcatraz, view from the city
That's a big tree!
In the tree
Alcatraz cell block
San Francisco from the ferry
Near the Chandelier tree
Car wouldn't fit! About 4" too tall.
Bakery in San Francisco
On mirror lake loop trail
San Francisco street view
I too have annihilated a San Fran sourdough boule (with a quarter-pound of butter) in under 10 minutes. Sometimes I don't even need the butter (he lied).
ReplyDelete