...Yosemite!
This is a special vacation recovery edition. :)
Monday, August 1, 2016
From Dad July 31, 2016
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Re: Letter 84 of 3
Dear Riley:
The week just flew by and it’s hard to believe the family vacation is over. It was nice to be off the grid and largely disconnected from the electronic world, though I had a lot waiting for me when I got home and it will take a few days to sort through it all.
Yosemite was too grand for words and far more than pictures can convey. I just felt really small and in my mind couldn’t help but consider the words in Psalms What is man, that thou art mindful of him? In order to see the grandest vistas we were compelled to brave the unbelievable traffic, crowds of tourists (with full understanding that we were part of the headache imposed on others), and 100 degree weather on the valley floor. After 45 minutes we were able to extract ourselves from the madness and headed for higher ground where the view was spectacular and the tourist pressure greatly diminished. Unfortunately the Sequoia forest was closed for renovation so we didn’t get to see the redwoods. Material for another trip I suppose…
Lake Tahoe was my favorite place and I think I could spend a week there and still not grow tired of it. The condominium accommodations were comfortable but not plush. However, the price was an amazing find and the view of the lake from the high vantage point was breathtaking. Thursday we drove around the entire lake and stopped at every place that caught our fancy…that is…until we wore everyone else out. Leadelle and I were still game for more but all the swimming and sun took its toll. The water is like blue topaz and so clear that you can see 60 feet down. The sand was a coarse non-fouling mosaic that simply screamed for Josie to come and play. I think she could easily spend 8 hours in the water and sand without little thought or care for anything else. I think sometime I would like to experience the lake is over a period of several days from a sailboat with sleeping quarters. Throw out a line, cook up a fish, explore an inlet, and fall asleep under a sky ablaze with stars while rocking to the gentle slap of the waves against the hull. Yeah. That would be something.
One of the cool things we did was learn to use our camera to photograph the Milky Way. Very cool what you can capture with the right equipment readily available and a little attention to detail.
Well, Mom tells me you’re on so I’ll get this in your mail box. We pray you’ll see God’s hand in the work, and feel his approval of your offering. Stay the course and be not weary in well doing.
Love,
Dad
From Mom July 31, 2016 All Memories
Getting there, Saturday.
Silver Lake Camp. I'm so glad I happened upon this place!
Dear Riley,
We’re home from a great family trip. We sang, laughed, complained, ventured, swam, constructed, ate, fought, watched, marveled. That's the long and short of it.
Monday highlights: Yosemite. While our campsite was just 30 minutes from the entrance of Yosemite, the heart of the sights were 90 minutes away. It was a hot day. Elise got dehydrated (no cold milk to drink in camp ;) and we took a break down in the valley by the river where the kids played. She was able to hydrate enough to enjoy the rest of the time. Our favorite sight was actually the last place we stopped up by glacier point, Washburn point. I find myself feeling quite small when I spend time gazing at the wonders of the earth.
We ate dinner in Lee Vining, a tiny little town campside of Yosemite. It was pretty good. As we walked out of the restaurant, Dad said, “Hey guys, look at the snake. Wo! That’s a rattlesnake!” And so most of us were absorbed. But I was engrossed with your letter by then and hardly noticed the scene play out. The snake started for an area where people were out enjoying their dinners. So the property owner had to take it out.
The regret of the day was that our campsite sharers had offered us a true fish-fry that night. But we missed it. Really, we had to go out because I’d bought some backpacking food thinking it would make camping life so much simpler, but the stuff I bought was positively inedible.
Dad and I tried to take photos of the Milky Way, but they didn’t turn out.
Tuesday highlights: We broke camp. First we went to June lake beach to play in the water and picniced on the beach. It was a cold mountain lake, quite a beautiful spot. Then we started north. We stopped at the Mono Basin visitor center. It’s a beautiful large salt lake with an island in it. There are fresh springs under the lake, so it’s a rather unique place.
We were supposed to go to Bodie, a ghost town I’d visited on occasion while I lived in Nevada. But we were just going to stop for a minute and it would have cost $55 for the group. I opted out of that. We headed up to Gardnerville to shop to stock the condo in South Lake Tahoe. The town has grown significantly over the 30 years since I’ve been away. It is a nice place.
By this time I had a sinus infection and could hardly think in the store which felt like a meatlocker to me with tortuous, grating music blaring in my ears. The store layout was about as ordered as marbles dropped on a hard floor. Dad and I took so long just getting a few meals together.
The condo was up on the ridge and we could see Carson Valley (where I used to live) on one side and the front room, master bedroom and their balconies had a marvelous view of Lake Tahoe. The view alone was restorative.
We went out for ice cream cones right down by the lake. Then we shopped again for all the things I’d missed the day before. We bought three ½ gallon ice cream containers which disappeared PDQ.
Wednesday highlights: This was the chill day of the trip. I didn’t plan anything. The kids swam at the complex pool, played board games, watch a ton of Food Network TV. It actually felt really good. There was a comfortable breeze the entire day and the condo had to be open to it since there was no AC. It was a great day and a favorite for many. Dad and I went out, armed with more knowledge, in a quest to capture the Milky Way. It was a late night, but we got closer to our vision. It’s strange to me that we had such a unpolluted view from my front porch when I lived there. Since there is much more development now, we had to travel much further than I would have had to back then.
Thursday highlight: Lake Tahoe was beautiful. We traipsed around the lake stopping where we pleased, swimming at two different beaches. The lake is always cold, but it’s so clear and inviting. I didn’t actually swim, just waded. We got off late and had to run back to the condo part way through, so the kids were done by the time we got to my favorite place and weren’t interested in more. Darn hunger. We stopped for more supplies and went home.
Friday highlights: I gave the kids the choice of playing more up at Tahoe or heading home. The vote was to head home early enough that we wouldn’t have to stay in a casino hotel. So after checking out, rather than riding the Gondola or the zipline at Heavenly ski resort, we packed back down to the valley. I shared a cute little museum I used to attend of Mormon Station in Genoa, the first settlement in all of Nevada. Then we went to my old house and visited our dear friends down the street. It’s so good to see them faithful and strong after all these years.
We stopped at the country store I used to ride my bike to in order to purchase the jolly rancher sticks for $.10. Stuff costs considerably more these days. We got stuff to restock the snackpacks for the trip home and were off. It’s a long drive back, about 9 hours without stops. We got home just after midnight.
(My old house is yucky now. We drove right past it. Only the street made me realize this was the place.
I was Leesie's age when I left Nevada and most things were familiar, but with the passage of time and having never driven these roads, it was a little of an adventure everywhere we went. I was almost always right and we were never delayed getting places.)
Saturday we went to the temple with the Cam’s and then out to lunch with them. We picked up and put away and tried to get ready for Sunday. My van is making a funny noise which I think entails the brakes and I have to take it in this week. The Hyundai is rattling where it shouldn’t, so I have to take that in as well. Back to the grind.
We’ve had a good week. I’m tired. But I’m also so glad things just worked out.
I hope you’re doing well. You have a work to do in Thailand. I’m certain God will direct your path, even to the last day. I don’t think Dad and I will come to pick you up. I want you to focus on the work every day and not be pulled off planning a tour for us. I would really like to go back with you later, though. :)
Have a good week, Riley. We love you. We pray for you. I know God answers my prayers.
Love you,
Mom
