Santa Barbara Wine Country Weekend

In observance of two years of being together, Emily and I decide to take a "weekend" away. We had originally thought of going to Napa Wine Country, but the flying and traveling seemed too big of a hassle. We left Wednesday afternoon. What a strange feeling to pack the car for a trip with two bags and a couple of water bottles. No cooler, no tent?!

The worst part of traveling out of San Diego is that you either have to drive through barren desert or Los Angeles. I'd prefer the desert. We got slowed by mid-day traffic most of the way through. We took the San Marcos pass out of Santa Barbara on the 154. It is a convenient shortcut that would surely have a nice view in the day time. We got to the Hadsten House, our residence for the next two nights, located in beautiful Solvang. Emily's big concern was finding a place to stay in Solvang that didn't have a big windmill. She scored big, the Hadsten House was a nice hotel with modern design. It also had its own restaurant. We enjoyed a good meal and a nice bottle of bubbly.

The next day we headed on foot through the Solvangian metropolis. We had breakfast at Paula's Pancake House ordering, of course, some traditional Danish pancakes. We leisured our way back to our room, having still a couple hours till the first winery would open. After plotting the wineries we wanted to visit, we hit the road and headed east towards Santa Ynez. Down a rural road we found Sunstone vineyard and winery. We made our way to the tasting room. First of the day. We tasted a couple of whites and a couple of reds. All of great quality. We also tasted their reserve wines which were delectable. We explored the winery and vineyards for a couple of minutes enjoying the valley and the scenery. It is easy to see why someone would want to get away from the city and start a winery in this place. The warm california sun and the nearby ocean breeze aren't only ideal for grapes. The topography and vegetation of the valley make it a comforting and awe inspiring place.

We made our way to the Buttonwood Winery and Vineyards, again just as the doors opened. Another great array of wines and friendly people. One wine in particular was like nothing we had ever tasted and was quite captivating. While we were tasting a bus had pulled into their lot. Our taste guide person told us that they were a group of Japanese Wine Distributors. They received a special reception in the garden area. Despite traveling in a large bus there were only a handful of them. We were tempted to ask to join them, but alas, stuck to our existing plans.

It was on to Rideau Winery. As we walked toward the tasting room a group of workers were de-stemming grapes. Again, good wines. We enjoyed a sit in their garden area under a giant oak tree.

We decided it was time for a bit of lunch and headed up the road to Los Olivos. We walked about and found a nice place to eat. We split a cheese platter and a pizza. They also had rosemary lemonade which was quite awesome.

Back to the tasting business, we headed to Roblar. Here was the biggest tasting room we had seen. Again, great wines. Like microbrews for beers, small wineries have a lot to offer. At each one there is a concentration on end product. They strive for a unique taste as oppose to making quantity. Also, they recognize that their audience's taste is of a higher standard. I'm not saying we can taste the difference in aged barrels or minute aromatics, but pour them side by side with most stuff in the supermarket and the difference is clear. They make tasty wines! We tried a Syrah Rose at Roblar and had to buy a bottle. On the way back, we stopped at Buttonwood and bought two bottles of our favorites from them.

We got back to the Hadsten House to take advantage of their free wine reception. Free wine? Yes. Please. We drank and snacked. It was just enough to get us to walk around downtown Solvang. You know how at disneyland they have all those decorated buildings, fine topiary, maintained gardens, small trinket shops and guide rails everywhere? Same with Solvang. We took in the cheesy scenery and shops exploring and joking. Eventually we made our way into a clock and trinket shop. Along the back wall were dozens of Cuckoo clocks. As we gandered and browsed an old man came up to us. We engaged in small talk. He told us about the clocks. More small talk. More about the clocks. More small talk. More clocks. More talk. Among our most favorite quotes:

"People ask me 'what is the best part of Solvang?' I tell them: Solvang."

"You know more about Cuckoos now than about 7 billion people in the world."

Eventually we plotted our escape and got out alive. Barely.

After some more exploring and posing for pictures with Hans Christian Andersen, we got back to our room. Not wanting to go far we had dinner at the hotel restaurant again. This time we were joined by a bus of senior citizens and a guitar player for entertainment.

Previously I had seen on the menu their burger. This was no mere burger. It beckoned to me. Beef, 3 cheeses, sauteed onion, sauteed mushrooms, avocado, bacon, goat cheese, spinach and a fried egg. I felt like Guy Fieri. It was of devilish delight. Rich, heavy and meaty. A perfect way to close a day of relaxation and tastings.

The next morning we were due back home. We hit up the free breakfast at the hotel which was considerably better than most free breakfasts. We packed up our car and hit the road, this time taking the 101 south. We stopped at Gaviota state park because there is this cool Railroad bridge over the beach below. We pulled up this road to the right of the park entrance which took us right next to the railroad line. We explored around and checked out the bridge and the beach and the pier. It is a wicked cool spot. We agreed to actually come back and camp one day.

We headed down the 101 into Santa Barbara. Our destination was the pier. Unfortunately, I talked Emily into believing that I knew exactly which exit it was. However, we made our way through a good deal of surface streets, taking a sort of scenic route by the shore. Eventually we stumbled upon this little beach between the cliffs. There was a little restaurant and everything. It was really cool. Not crowded, just tucked away for the lost explorers.

Eventually we followed some main roads and found the pier. We journeyed down, taking in the sun and the sights. We stopped for lunch at a seafood restaurant at the end of the pier. Steamed clams and fried calamari, scallops, oysters and shrimp. So fresh and yummy. We continued our walk on the pier. It was a beautiful day, who could ask for more?

We reluctantly got back in the car and headed toward the battle of traffic and the eventual ride home.

It is always nice to take time off and see new things and places. This was especially nice because we didn't have any hard plans and just went at a leisurely pace. Too bad we can't do it every weekend...

San Diego Beer Festival

Now, while we didn't travel very far for this one, it was still a lot of fun.

Every year they hold the beer fest, but for some reason this is the first time we knew about it. We hit the trolley to prevent anyone from being left out of the tasting. We first stopped at the Yard House to grab some food and a few warm up beers. Then we hit the streets and headed to the Beer Fest.

Each ticket gets you ten tests and they even provide the nifty tasting cups. There were tons of booths set up all around, all with microbrews, a lot from San Diego. We were hard pressed to taste a beer that was not interesting and unique in its own way. We cruised around and soaked in the live music and the crowd. We grabbed some meat on a stick from a food vendor and continued our tastings. That little mug is pretty big by the time you get toward the end. However, I persevered and took in all ten tastes.

On our way out we caught the wrong trolley and had to sit at the convention center till the next trolley came our way.

We finally got home safe after many great beers and great times. Only one year to the next Beer Festival.

--jeff

PS Pictures!

Photos!

You asked for it, here they are.


Check them all out,

Big Trip 2009

day 16

well, we are home. it feels good, only because we're not in the car and we are able to do laundry and eat out of a refridgerator. but it is quite sad to be at the end of our amazing vacation.

we got up and packed the car, and headed out of zion at about 7:30. which, as i remembered later, is actually 6:30 pacific time, which means we didn't need to get up so early, but whatev. we had breakfast at IHOP in st. george, stopped at a lovely gas station somewhere in nevada, had lunch in some crazy fast food conglomeration in barstow, and stopped near hemet so jeff could pee. yep, it was a tour of places i can use to make the memories of our awesome trip even more incredible and unreal.

our car was such a champ on this trip. it travelled over THREE THOUSAND MILES. its average mpg over the whole trip was over 42, it never gave us any trouble, never broke down, and it let us cram it full of way too much. it rocks.

jeff has been incredible as well. he has driven a good 85 to 90% of this trip, he seems to have an inability to complain even in freezing weather, he put up with my couple of small freak-outs, he hiked up crazy cliffs even with two crappy knees, and he took a ton of absolutely beautiful pictures which you will hopefully see at some point. he is amazing.

we have to get back to the real world at some point. jeff works saturday and i'll be going back on monday. but we're already thinking about ideas for future trips. this has been phenomenal in so many ways. thank you for reading!

em.

day 15

so this was our last full day of vacation. i can't believe it. we got up and went to rent special shoes, for use while hiking 'the narrows', which is mostly through water. the shoes look super cool. well maybe not but they actually worked really well, i was glad i didn't have to sacrifice a pair of tennis shoes that wouldn't have gripped as well anyway.

the narrows starts at the top of zion canyon. so we rode the shuttle in our cool shoes all the way to the end of the line, and then walked a mile in on a paved trail, and THEN we started into the river. the water was actually perfect, not too cool, and even though it was probably over 100 in the valley, the canyon walls are so high that most of the hike was in the shade. we walked upriver for a couple hours, going in and out of the water as little bits of shoreline appeared and disappeared on either side of the river. our ankles and feet really got a workout keeping us from falling on our asses as we wobbled over uneven stones and boulders, but it was totally worth it. the canyon gets incredibly narrow, and as we got in a ways, we were mostly on our own.

we stopped for lunch, went up a little bit further, and then decided to turn back because it's kind of a little bit exhausting wading upriver. the way back was a little easier, but by the time we got out of the river and all the way back to the hotel, we were quite tired.

luckily, we already knew that in zion the remedy for being exhausted is the zion pizza and noodle co. yes, folks, that's right. i've found a man who will cheerfully eat at the same place three nights in a row with me. i am so fortunate. this time we went back to pizza (with different toppings mind you), i stuck with my delicious uinta hefeweizen, and jeff tried a couple more local brews. it was the best way to finish up the last day of our trip. we're very sad that it's coming to a close but it's been a wild and wonderful ride.

em.

Day 14

Well, this was it. The big day. We got up super early and got our gear together to catch the first shuttle up the canyon. We hit the trail for angel's landing with our head flashlights lighting our way. Switchback after switchback we climbed higher and higher. The morning sunlight awoke and helped us through. We took the trail slow at our own pace and had it pretty much to ourselves. We hit Scout's Lookout just as the sun came into the valley. We rested for a quick moment, gearing up physically and mentally for the next half mile. With intense focus and determination we took to the last half mile. The lookout led along the spine of a rock connection to the pilar which is Angel's Landing. We held tight to the chain rails along the rocky clifs. Not more than 3 feet to either side was a sheer cliff 1000 feet high. We kept our eyes on the trail and our minds off the whipping wind. The last umph of the spine made us nearly free climb up to the top. Fear and excitement kept us going until we finally reached the summit. Three Hundred and Fifty degrees around us were beautiful views of the Zion valley. The tiny roads and buses scuttled 1500 feet below us. The edge and faces of the cliffs surround us at nearly eye level. Without a doubt this is the most amazing view in Zion. In all directions the vastness of the valley is breath taking. The sheer cliffs around us kept our adrenaline high. This was easily the most dangerous thing that I have ever done. The way back wasn't hardly, but definitely more tricky. Once we got back to the overlook it was a big relief as we headed back down.

We made our way back to the motel room and had just enough energy left to make lunch and sprawl out and relax.

The early time we hit the trail, left us with a good part of afternoon left. We decided that we just had to drive through the 1.1 mile tunnel. We made our way out and hit the tunnel. Considering that it was completed in 1930, the tunnel is real marvel. We loved it so much we stopped at a small shop down the road and turned back and went through it again. When we got back we hit the pool and soaked in the southern utah sun.

After we dried off we went back to our usual spot, the Zion Pizza and Noodle Company right across the street. This time we had pasta. Just as good. Sampled more local brews. Days like this just make it harder to think about returning to everyday life.

--jeff

Day 13

It was nice to wake up in a big bed, indoors and nice and cozy. We hit up the free continental breakfast (rockstars!) then hit the road. On the way down the i-15 there was a turn off for Kolob Canyons. It is an isolated part of the Zion National Park, with a cool drive and a couple of trail heads. It was a teaser for what would be the rest of Zion; Giant red faced cliffs forming commanding valleys and amazing views.

We scuttled down the road and took the small highway that eventually led to Springdale, the small town just outside the park. We pulled into our room at the Zion Park Motel, a cool little family ran motel. Because of our short drive there was still a half day left. We took one of the Springdale shuttles to the park headquarters where we took the in park shuttles to a small museum/visitors center. The shuttle system at Zion is great. They picked us up right outside our motel and got us right to the trail head. The shuttle systems at Zion and Glacier work really well and make sense as they draw more people each year. We were wondering why it was that Yellowstone hasn't incorporated such a system.

We took the shuttle to the Emerald Pools trail and hiked to each of the three pools. It was a short hike and there were a few people. The first few pools didn't blow us away, but they were cool. We hiked up to the third one not expecting much, but it turned out to be amazing. We made our way down the rocks, and found ourselves completely alone in front of a large glassy pool standing at the elbow base of two enormous red cliffs.

Zion is known for its giant cliffs and they do not disappoint. Touring into the area you are instantly humbled by the sheer magnitude of the earth. Wonder and fascination soon follow as you look into millions of years of geologic history. As you are swept into the magnificence of the rocks you learn that the enormity of the valley was carved by the small, trickling river to the left hand side of the bus. It is a place which demands awe and respect. Again - a place you just have to go yourself.

We returned to town and went to the Zion Pizza and Noodle Company, conveniently located right across the street. This is a definite place to hit up. Great pizza and a bunch of great local brews on tap. we knew we needed the carbo-load for the big hike to Angel's Landing tomorrow and we promptly did so.

--jeff

Day 12

If we hadn't already solidified our decision to leave, the night of below freezing temperatures, ice-solid feet and welcome mat of frost would have been a good motivater. We made record time folding up our tent and getting in the car turning the heat to maximum. After a stop for tea and a few hundred miles we were all warmed up. Eventually it was time for the essential nowhere town freeway exit diner to eat in. This one had covered wagons over each seat. Sooo rustic. The poor kid working there, he wasn't destined to stay there. God I hope he leaves for college and heads towards a coast. I tipped him well to help him on his way.

We pulled into Salt Lake City and searched for a WiFi hotspot. After getting lost and driving past the Mormon World Domination Headquarters, we got a connection, a reservation and directions.

We settled into our plush motel and soaked in the free, unlimited and hot showers. Soon though it was time for dinner. Travel Tip: If you go to Provo, UT on a Sunday don't expect to find anywhere that is open. Its a damn ghost town. Luckily one italian restaurant was open.

Luckily we are only staying here one night.

--jeff

Breakfast in a covered wagon in Shelly, id.

Day 11

We got up early again this morning, but stuck around camp and made some delicious french toast for breakfast. Then we started out northwards to see the other side of the park, even though we had heard rumors that OBAMA was going to be in yellowstone, in the area we had seen the previous two days. Our first stop was at artist paint pots, which is a spot filled with muddy geysers and hot springs, which sounds gross, and it kind of is. It’s also fascinating and mesmerizing.

We then went to norris geyser basin to see some more geysers. Many were inactive but we did catch a minor eruption of steamboat geyser which is very cool. Jeff’s camera lense cap fell off the boardwalk (which you are urged not to stray from, as you could fall through the crust of the earth into boiling lava) and immediately like 15 people sprang to our assistance and grabbed sticks to retrieve it. Very helpful.

We then drove to mammoth hot springs, where i started getting a little exhausted. Mammoth is the second most visited area in the park and by this time it was close to noon, and it seemed that most of the earth’s population had descended onto the area. We walked around for a little bit but i think jeff could tell i was a little over it, and so was he. We drove on a little ways, and i proceeded to have a minor freak-out, mostly about being tired of camping and being around too many people. So jeff suggested we leave yellowstone a day early, as we had pretty much seen all the major sights in the park in the first two days. We agreed to camp one more night and then head off towards Zion NP tomorrow.

It was a good call, because the freezing cold weather and the HAIL that fell on us as we got back to our campsite and tried to cook dinner made us very glad that this would be our last night camping. But we made the best of it, jeff made a fire and we had some delicious dougheys and went to bed ridiculously early.

Em.

Day 10

Having heard that yellowstone gets busy around the middle of the day and sights tend to be much less crowded during early morning and late evening, we got up early in an attempt to have the park to ourselves for at least a little while. This was a good plan in theory, but didn’t account for it being extremely cold at 6am, making us not excited to get out of the car to see these sights. But we drove around the southern loop for a while and made it to the grand canyon of the yellowstone, this deep, narrow canyon with two huge and beautiful waterfalls at its mouth. We took lots of pictures, and our walks out to the viewpoints were in fact not crowded at all, though, as we expected, they got busier and busier as the morning went on.

We visited the canyon’s visitor center, which i have to say is the most fancy, informative and interactive visitor center i’ve ever seen.

As the day went on we drove back around the south end of the park, along yellowstone lake, seeing bison here and there. We stopped at a place called ‘mud volcano area’ which smelled terrible but had some amazing geothermal features. Along the short trail around the area we watched a bison advance on a visitor who had ignored the multitude of signs that say ‘do not approach bison’. The bison evidently was bluffing, but the person backed off to be sure. People are stupid.

In the afternoon we made our way back to the old faithful area, to take showers and do some laundry before our dinner reservation at the old faithful inn. Showers were again wonderfully refreshing.

The old faithful inn is definitely my favorite lodge we’ve seen so far on this trip. It is amazing. I can’t really even describe it, it’s crazy. Just go visit. The food was good, we ate bison. I tried not to picture them wandering around with their crazy beards and shaggy coats. It was pretty tasty.

In the evening we caught old faithful’s eruption again, and then walked out to daisy geyser which was scheduled to erupt ‘within 30 minutes of 7:30’ according to the visitor center. We got there at about 7:20, and there were two other people waiting (which was quite nice compared to the hundreds that watched old faithful with us). The four of us waited until 8:05 and then jeff and i got up and left, but just as we were walking away we saw it start, and it was really cool. Not as tall as old faithful but very interesting, it shoots out at an angle. Our bitterness and frustration instantly turned to relief.

Em.

Day 9

As we sat in our tent with the gentle downpour of rain trickling all over our shelter, we contemplated what the course of action should be for packing up the tent and everything inside of it. Just then we caught a break in the rain and broke down our site as quick as we could. We took one last look out towards Lake McDonald and Glacier National Park and headed Southeast. The rain stayed with us for a great deal of the journey. We stopped at the scenic Missoula Cracker Barrel for an old fashioned country breakfast and hit the road again. The rain let up as we stopped for supplies in the “city” of Butte. Butte puts the state of Montana in perspective. It’s one of the biggest cities in the state and it barely fits the size of a town. No loss getting out of there quick. Soon enough we were entering Yellowstone National Park. We found our site and set up what we could. Luckily it was very dry and wet stuff dried almost instantly. After establishing our new home for the next few days, we still had daylight to kill. We headed down the road towards Old Faithful to see what all the comotion was about. Low and behold walking down the middle of the road was an enormous Bison. This guy didn’t give a crap about who was in front of him or the half mile line of cars beside him. We pulled over and watched this giant beast walk right past our car. What a badass.

Driving to Old Faithful the geothermic activity was readily apparent. Steam pouring out of every mound. Finally we got to the Old Faithful area and took a stroll around looking at the other features. Geysers and steam vents and hot springs; all so fascinating, unusual and altogether captivating. Soon enough it was time for the big show. We grabbed a seat on the side and just after the sun set for the day, Old Faithful erupted in a stream of super hot ground water and flowing steam. Yes it is hyped. Yes its pretty mainstream. But it really is something to behold and to wonder. It was a great introduction to the park and we reflected on the ride home about the beauty we had seen and what was sure to come.

--jeff

Day 8

Day 8

Sometime during the night it rained, but when we woke up the sky didn’t look too bad. But it was on and off raining by the time we got over to the river rafting headquarters. No worries, we’d be getting wet anyway, right?

Wearing our sexy ‘splash jackets’ and booties issued by the rafting company, we put in at Moccasin creek with 8 other people and nick, our friendly/cocky guide. I shouldn’t say that, it sounds mean. He was a very experienced guide and kept us all safe. He just wanted to tell us story after story that proved that point. But the trip was great, lots of fun, lots of getting soaked both by rapids and by rain. Fun times.

Afterwards we went to the glacier camp ground to take showers, which we needed REALLY bad. Then i spent the afternoon looking for a glacier sweatshirt which was partly because it’s just about the coolest place ever and partly because somehow i packed no hooded sweatshirts, and was being rained on all day.

We had a delicious dinner at the Lake MacDonald Lodge, which is beautifully though eerily decorated with hunting trophies of all the protected animals in the park, apparently from mr. MacDonald’s collection from before it became a national park. Kinda weird anyway though, right? jeff almost ordered the buffalo burger and i almost ordered the wild game fettuccini alfredo (duck, venison and some other adorable animal i can’t remember) but we both chickened out and got more mainstream meals, which were delicious.

In the evening, our last evening in glacier, the rain let up and we walked the trail of the cedars, which is a beautiful walk through a sort of rainforesty area. This walk is definitely built for non-hikers, it’s handicap-accessible, it’s less than a mile around and there’s a bathroom on the way. But it was extremely beautiful, and i think it’s really cool that they want everyone to be able to enjoy the park from OUTSIDE their cars, even for just a short walk. It was a great end to a great stay in glacier.

-em.

Day 7

Well we took the going-to-the-sun road again today, but this time we drove it ourselves in order to get to the other side of the park to access a super-cool and less crowded area called many glacier. Jeff drove over in the morning, and we saw another black bear crossing the road in front of us. Too cool.

The sun road is amazing and beautiful and a real monument to the WPA who built it so many years ago. It is also freaking scary. A one-foot high rock wall separates your car from a several thousand foot plunge. If you’re lucky. Because sometimes it’s just open. AND it’s ridiculously narrow, and on top of that some people who are clearly less acrophobic than i decide to bike it, and there are no bike lanes. Thank goodness jeff was driving on the way east, the much scarier way, and my only job was to quietly freak out. Which i did diligently.

But we made it just fine. Obviously. Many glacier is a cool spot. We visited the many glacier hotel, which is breathtaking, and from there took two boat tours across two gorgeous glacial lakes and proceeded to hikefour difficult miles up to grinnell glacier.

I thought i had ‘seen’ glaciers before. I hadn’t. Though we could not go out onto the glacier because of the danger of falling through, we got to see it up close in its entirety and it was phenomenal. GO. GO NOW. They estimate that all the glaciers in the park will be gone by 2030. Tragic.

The hike back was easier in some ways, but we were pretty exhausted from the ascent and jeff’s knees had stopped playing nice with him. We were pretty ragged by the time we got back to the boat dock. But our spirits were lifted a bit by the moose we saw coming out of the water at josephine lake.

The way back went smoothly, i even drove back over the sun road, white-knuckling it all the way even though it’s the easier way by far. some tacos, beer and foot-soaking did wonders once we finally got back to camp.

-em.

First Full Day In Glacier

Day 6

The beauty of the National Park was not to be limited in any way. We decided to get up early to catch the first shuttle up to Logan Pass. Waking up, it was much colder than when we went to sleep. We gathered up all of our stuff and headed over to West Glacier to find WiFi (with no luck). We then went back to the Apgar transit center. While in the parking lot, some deer feeding on flower planters and I was able to get really close to them for some great pictures (coming soon). Because of that distraction we were running late. We scrambled to make up a lunch and get all of our things. In the rush I foolishly forgot to change into my hiking boots. But we made the first shuttle. We were in a bus with an old driver and old passengers. Our combined age was still the youngest.

There is no drive more beautiful than the going-to-the-sun road. The cliff hugging road overlooks the most magnificent mountains, unfathomably tall with waterfalls gushing almost everywhere. You couldn't imagine a more beautiful, breath-taking and serene place. When we arrived in Logan Pass the wind was practically knocking us over with crazy chilly blasts. We had to start jogging up the trail to get warm. Across the high altitude plain we saw a herd of mountain goats. We stopped and peered at them through the binoculars. Further up we saw a few deer and bucks, a wolverine (SERIOUSLY) and an extremely friendly marmot. We just sort of kept following the trail, even though we didn't where it went or how long it was. As it climbed around the mountain, there were more amazing waterfalls and streams. This place seems to just gush water. It is so lush and beautiful, describing it does it no justice. We got to a lookout on the other side of the mountain and saw down to Hidden Lake. We also spotted another mountain goat and accompanying kid. On the way back there were many more people taking the walk and we knew that it was a good thing we went early.

We hopped back on the shuttle and went down to St. Mary. We stopped for some caffeine at the lodge. We then hopped back up to St Mary Falls trail head, seeing a black bear on the shuttle ride right by the road. The short hike led to another waterfall, this one a large two tiered flow. A short hike back and we hit the shuttle.

Another long shuttle ride over the summit, I don't think I could get tired of seeing this huge glacier carved valley. It's amazing.

We arrived back at our spot, made dinner, opened some wine and dragged our chairs to the lake edge and ended the day sipping away with our feet in the glacial melt waters of Lake McDonald. What an amazing day.

Drive To Glacier National Park

Day 5

Here we are. We are IN glacier. I don’t know what to do i’m so excited.

We got up this morning, had delicious huckleberry pie and more huckleberry pancakes, said sad goodbyes to janet and jack and levi and his family, and were on our way about 8:30. The drive was beautiful, forests and lakes and rivers galore.

We stopped for lunch and groceries in kalispell, mt. We bought groceries at Rosauers, which jack had mandated that we do several times during our stay, and he was very right, it was a good grocery store. I don’t know what kind of shady business going on at the other super markets in and around that town caused jack to be so adament that we go to this one, and i don’t want to know.

We got to glacier around 3:30. It is amazing here. Our campsite is right by MacDonald Lake, we can literally see it from our tent, and we went down and put our feet in this afternoon. Everything is so green here. It’s glorious.

Em.

p.s. we had to slow for a deer casually crossing the road on our way to our campground. Just par for the course around here i guess. This place is incredible.

We're on a boat!

Full Day in Coeur D'Alene

Day 4

If you’re ever going anywhere ever, see if you can stay with my uncle jack and aunt janet. They deserve an award for best hosts of all time. We started our day off with huckleberry pancakes. Here’s the the thing about people in idaho: they’re crazy about huckleberries. Now don’t get me wrong, i find these berries to be quite delicious myself, but there was a lot of conversation about the time and effort spent obtaining and maintaining levels of them (measured in GALLONS). But the point is, the pancakes were great.

We left shortly after for the lake with the ‘party barge’ janet and jack borrowed from friends. My cousin steve, whom i had not seen in like 15 years, joined us and was very excited to be a part of our day out on the water.

My cousin Levi and his wife Rainey and two adorable daughters Skye and Shea met us at the lake. The whole day was beautiful, although janet was convinced that it was ruined because it wasn’t sunny. The best/most hilarious part of our boating excursion was towards the beginning when jack hit a series of waves at break-neck speed, splashing most of the water in the lake into the front of the boat and drenching jeff, steve, levi and i. Good times. Also very cold times.

The boat adventure also included a delicious barbecued lunch, a tour of all the places steve has jumped off and hurt himself, a view of some beautiful lake-front houses, and some great conversation.

After we got back Levi and his crew came to janet and jack’s for more food, hot-tubbing, drinking, and continued discussion of huckleberries, which culminated in an agreement that janet would make a huckleberry pie (which she had never done before, a major sacrifice since it calls for so many of their precious berries), though by the time the pie was finished the girls weretoo tired and it was agreed that they would come back in the morning for more huckleberry breakfast items and pie. Too funny.

Arriving In Coeur D'Alene

Day 3

If anyone ever speaks poorly of the continental breakfast at the Super 8 Motel in Baker City, Oregon; do not believe them. It is an average to poor continental breakfast. Not long after breakfast we hit the road, despite the pleasant downpour. There really is a lot of farm land in this area and we must have seen most of it; a billion acres of corn and some millions of cows. Lots of cows. But we did see a couple of Elk off the highway during our drive which was a welcome sight. Those things are huge! We got to Walla Walla about midday and headed to the “Fort” Walla Walla Museum. The use of the word fort must have a different meaning this far north. Mind you, they did have a great deal of exhibits about the agricultural history of the area, if you are into old tractors and threshers. And if you know me, I’m all about replica antique steam engines. Booya. Their pioneer village also offered a glimpse into the olden days of Walla Walls. But, no fort. No guarded walls with canons and muskets. No actors in replica uniforms. Besides the name of the place, there wasn’t any reference at all to any fort that ever was there. I’m not bashing it, just truthifying it.

Following that excursion we took to downtown Walla Walla, which has a main drag with a really nice area of shops and restaurants. What attracted us to Walla Walla was the wineries. Down the main street, there must have been a dozen tasting rooms for local vineyards and wineries. We went to a couple of tasting rooms before lunch and enjoyed some tasty wines. One wine vendor gave us a great deal of insight to the area and recommended a great restaurant for us, T. Maccarroones(sp?). Awesome little italian restaurant (with a really nice bathroom, BTW). After hitting another wine tasting we were off bound for Coeur D’Alene. I can only vouch for part of this drive after tasting all of that wine. Didn’t take long before we got through Spokane and arrived in Coeur D’Alene where we were warmly greeted by our hosts Jack and Janet. They promptly offered us a glass of wine and I knew we would be getting along just fine. With a bit of afternoon left, we went down to the lake and walked along the boardwalk. Lake Coeur D’Alene is a massive and beautiful lake. We stopped at a boat that was on “open house” and took a look inside. I would hardly call it roughing it with the plush carpet and marble countertops. Unfortunately, it was just out of our price range at $280,000.

We returned to Jack and Janet’s and had a delicious dinner of Feta tacos(recipe officially stolen), plenty more wine and good conversation. We are looking forward to tommorrow and spending some time on the lake. We are already having a great time so far and this has been the “boring” part of the trip. Bring on the good stuff!

--jeff

day two

so google maps said our driving time today would be over eleven and a half hours. we made it in just over ten not including stops. BOOYAH.

we left bishop at 5. at 5:45 we were in the middle of nowhere in southwestern nevada, and we came upon a family of wild horses. that's right, kids. F-ing WILD HORSES. and you might ask, em, how do you know they were 'wild' horses, and not just regular horses since you were in horse/farm/ranch type country? well i'll tell you. one of them had a lower-back tattoo, several of them stayed out all night, and one took her shirt off for beads. also, when jeff got out to take pictures they booked it out of there pronto, instead of standing there awkwardly waiting for apples or carrots. it was freaking cool.

breakfast was one of the other highlights of the day. if you ever find yourself in hawthorne, nv (as we all do from time to time), try maggie's cafe. i could eat their biscuits for all eternity.

the rest of the day was pretty rainy, which was really nice. especially once we got out of nevada, which i've decided is not my favorite state. we went back and forth through oregon and idaho all afternoon. it was beautiful scenery, and guess what? people up here know how to drive in the rain. even when it's coming down really hard. even giant trucks. they don't freak out. it was nice.

we're now in baker city, oregon. the town itself is very cute. unfortunately my ridiculous fascination with the oregon trail (both the game and the trail) led us on a crazy search for a hidden visitor center and then to a below average restaurant named 'the oregon trail restaurant'. i gotta get over this.

the restaurant didn't sell alcohol. what? is that a weird oregon rule? we stopped by a liquor store on the way back to our hotel and they didn't sell beer. WHAT? we finally picked up some beer at safeway, which i point to as the cause of the excessive length of this post. but here's the point i'm trying to make: today was supposed to be just a driving day, boring and long and tedious. and it was really great. i love this vacation.

em.

Day One

We have arrived in Bishop at the classy Ramada Inn.

After fully and responsibly completing a full day of work, we packed up the rest of the car. Not much longer and we were on the road. We only had one stop in Kramer Junction for fuel. Few hours later we arrived here in Bishop and ate dinner at the Whiskey Creek Restaurant for bacon wrapped meatloaf. Score. We are going to rest up and hit the road at 5 o'clock. We have an 11 hour drive ahead of us and we are going to need every hour we can get.

--jeff

And we're off

Packed and ready to go!

24 Hour Warning

One day away from hitting the road and starting this thing. The car has had its oil changed and all systems check out. There are already a few things loaded into the trunk. There are a lot more to go. Fitting the rest of everything will be the real test. Hopefully we don't forget anything.

--jeff

Getting Closer

We are exactly one week away from departure. There are still a lot of things we need to do, but there are a lot of things we have gotten done. I had my last physical therapy yesterday and the knee feels great. Shouldn't have any problems dominating the trails and/or bears. Emily has furious tracked every possible destination in the parks with thumbs up and thumbs down. We have absconded all of our gear from the Fouseks. Computer technology is updated and primed for travel.

We still need to figure out how the hell we are going to fit all of this stuff in the civic. We remain on the lookout for a cheap hotel in or around Bishop, but I'm confident the price will drop soon.

One week. So far yet so close.

--jeff

Equipment Update

I am currently typing this on my new Acer Aspire One Netbook. This will prove an invaluable tool for our trip, as it will allow us to keep our blog updated, book hotels on the run and look up maps, restaurants and tourist trap highway attractions (eg., The Thing).

Em has also gotten NEW new hiking boots and they seem to be working well. We went on a good walk on Saturday through Mission Bay Park. It was just too hot to walk in Mission trails.

T-Minus 3 Weeks 1 Day.

--jeff

New hiking boots. Comfortable and cute too!

some serious hills

on this rare day that we both have off from work, we decided to hike cuyamaca peak. or try to at least. started out a little after 10 going up this fire road that looked on the map like it would be a more direct route. well, it was. because it kinda went straight up the freaking mountain. the steepness of the climb kinda took it out of us, so we got pretty far but not all the way up. the picture is at where we decided to turn around, clearly we're a little exhausted.

but it's good practice, a beautiful setting, and a crapload of calories burned. and a great way to spend a day off.

the cedar fire really did a number on that area. but less than two years after, it's springing back to life. it's pretty amazing. and the road was covered with caterpillars. awesome.

Hiking Practice

Went to Mission Trails Regional Park today. Did the typical loop. Took less time than before. Hopefully this means it is getting easier. There always seems to be at least a few people walking on the trails each time I go out there. I am glad the community is making use of it.

--jeff

Trying out the tent and mattress at home

About

This blog is the online diary of the travels and trips of Emily Fousek and Jeff Frank. Assumably, if you are reading this, it is because you are one of our family or friends curious about the adventures on which we have embarked. We regret not having started this blog long ago, when we could have blogged about our previous trips to Monterey, Death Valley, Cabrillo National Monument, Carlsbad Caverns or one of our many trips to Arizona. However this blog was created for the initial purpose of logging our big trip to Couere d'Alene, Idaho, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park and Zion National Park. Hopefully it will also serve to keep record of future unseeable trips to who knows where and God knows why.

We were also inspired to start this blog by both of our parents. We have both suffered a childhood of outdoor adventure and looking past the bad attitudes of childhood and short attention spans, its actually pretty darn cool. One of the things that seemed stupid at the time was when our parents would make us write a travel journal about our trip. How boring is that? Funny thing as you get older, you forget things. Thumbing through journals of trips form the Fousek clan or the scrapbooks of Frank Vacations past, the conjouring of memories, stories and good times is like warm chowder for the soul; creamy and tingly. However since we are such rebels and deviants of the system, we will not trap ourselves to notebooks, pencils, film and prints; oh no. We are taking this thing to the interwebs.

From the posting of this entry we are exactly 39 days to debarkation. Already we have been psyching ourselves up as we get reservations, read guide books and plan each day of the trip. We have also been getting ourselves ready. We have been using the internet to help watch our caloric intake and even as I am writing this we just got back from a 5 mile walk around lake Miramar. Hopefully by the time we leave we will be completely ready for any trail in our way.
As you follow us on our preparation and eventual trip you can expect updates on what we are doing to get ready, pictures and entries from along the road and (hopefully) daily updates from out in the wilderness.

Thanks for following us,

--Em & Jeff