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Travels with George and Marta

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Travels with George and Marta
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Volcanic Eastern California

Travels with George and Marta Posted on August 15, 2008 by MartaOctober 11, 2014


Hot Creek Geological Area
Hot Creek Springs Near Mammoth

July 10, 2008 – Mammoth Lakes California
California Road Trip and Family GTG

Day 5. We checked out of our condo and had a couple of hours to kill before meeting our family. We decided to do the volcanic driving tour. The area is surrounded with geological features like hot springs, calderas, obsidian domes.

We topped off our tank (4.99/ gallon ! ). We knew it was 5.30/gallon in Bridgeport so we filled up in Mammoth where it was a little cheaper. We stopped off at the visitor’s center where we picked up the brochure for the drive.

Our first stop was Hot Creek Geological area. The creek from Mammoth flows towards Crowley Lake. Along the way, it mixes with hot springs to become Hot Creek and enters a gorge. You can drive to a lookout over the hot springs where there are turquoise and yellow colored seeps and pools. Previously, you could use the hot springs but they have been closed recently due to scalding hot water.

Next stop was Inyo craters. To reach the crater, you a back road towards Mammoth and turn off on a dirt road. We weren’t completely certain which direct road to take since we didn’t see a sign coming from the opposite way. We took a chance on one of the roads and came across a wonderful meadow filled with mariposa lilies. We were hoping to see these lovely flowers. We pulled off to the side and walked across the crunchy prickly pine needles and enjoyed the beauty and solitude. And we were on the right road. We came soon to the parking area for the crater and walked a short distance to the rim. Below is in the crater was a brilliant blue lake.

Next up, Obsidian Dome.I was curious about this area especially since there was an interesting sounding wildflower hike. We have never done the hike because it is across white glass pebbles that can be hot on sunny days but I wanted to see the dome. It is a mile long pile of black obsidian glass. It was formed by slow moving lava from an eruption about 500 years ago.

It was getting late so we headed towards Mono Lake but made one more stop to see Panum Crater. It was too hot by this time and the area was very exposed. We walked to the rim and that was enough for me. We headed to a picnic area next to Mono Lake where we found a bit of shade. We shared our cheese sandwiches with one of the local gulls.

We headed into Bridgeport and turn off to Twin Lakes and Annett’s Mono Village at the end of the road. We didn’t know if our family would be there yet or not. The drive was pretty across a large open pasture before reading the foothills and the mountains closed in around us. We reached the lake and continued along the shore until we reached the Village. We pulled into the office parking lot and arrived just after our family. Great timing.

Volcanic Eastern California
Hot Springs Geological Area

Volcanic Eastern California
Hot Springs Geological Area

Volcanic Eastern California
Field of Mariposa Lillies – Calochortus leichtlinii

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Posted in California | Tagged CaliforniaRoadtrip | Leave a reply

14 year old to be charged with manslaughter

Travels with George and Marta Posted on August 15, 2008 by MartaAugust 15, 2008

The Skagit County prosecutors plan on charging the 14 year old boy who shot and killed the hiker on Sauk Mountain with first-degree manslaughter. The prosecutors feel there is enough evidence to prove recklessness.

More details have come out in the past weeks. The boy was only 120 yards away. He shot across a popular trail. He did not take time to positively identity the target with binoculars – only the scope on the gun. The woman had been wearing a blue parka which she had taken off and was putting away in a pack. The woman she was hiking with was near her on the trail. And she was shot in the head.

The hiker’s death may also result in changes to the state laws regarding young hunters. As this article in the Seattle Times says – “How old is ‘old enough’ to hunt in Washington?”

Posted in Hiking | Tagged Hiking | 1 Reply

Yurt camping

Travels with George and Marta Posted on August 14, 2008 by MartaNovember 13, 2014

We’ve been wanting to go camping – or I should say – we’ve wanted to try camping again. We got a small taste on our trip to California but we haven’t tried sleeping in our tents on hard ground for a while. G and I both have back problems and really wonder if we could sleep even with a nice therma-rest mat.

But I remembered another option – Yurts. My French instructor went camping last January and stayed in one on the Washington Coast. It sounded so cool. Here is how they are described as on the Washington State Park site.

These circular, domed tents are made of extra-heavy, durable canvas and have spacious interiors with skylights, screened windows, hardwood floors and locking doors.

G was laid off this week so we can go any day of the week. I went out to the Washington State Park site today to see when would be the earliest we could get a reservation. Surprise! I found an opening on August 25th at Cape Disappointment. Cape Disappointment is at the mouth of the Columbia River in the Southwest corner of Washington. The area is called the Long Beach Peninsula and is a great place to go beach combing, kite flying and relaxing.

We haven’t been to this area in over 25 years so it will be fun to revisit the Long Beach peninsula area. We’re hoping the weather is good but even if it isn’t – it will be fun to be at the ocean and sleep in a yurt. Don’t you think these are so cool?

Yurt at Cape Disappointment

Posted in Hiking | Tagged Camping | 3 Replies

Beverly Turnpike

Travels with George and Marta Posted on August 5, 2008 by MartaAugust 5, 2008


Beverly Creek

Teanaway Valley is a hikers paradise. The river runs from Mt. Stuart along the eastern slope of the Cascades near Cle Elum. It also a very unique botanical area due to the serpentine soil in the area. The plants that grow in this area have adapted to the unique soil which have a high percentage of nickel. You will see both typical Cascade plants along with some plants from the Great Basin desert. We have been hiking in this region for over 20 years and try to do at least one hike in the region every year.

This year we decided to do Beverly Turnpike on Sunday (8/3/2008). We had been on the upper regions of this trail when we were training in 2004 but we couldn’t remember exactly when we had last hiked the lower portion of this trail.

To reach the trail head, take I-90 east to the Hwy 97 Wenatchee exit just past Cle Elum. Continue on Hwy 97 until you cross the Teanaway River and turn on Teanaway River Road. This road continues for 13 miles. Just before you reach Beverly Creek, turn off and go about 1 mile in to the trailhead.

It took us about 2 hours to reach the trailhead from Seattle. There were about half dozen cars in the lot. Not bad for a warm August weekend. The trail start to climb. At 1/2 mile it passed the junction with Bean Creek Trail. The Beverly trail continues on climbing with the creek.

The open forest was dotted with summer flowers; Prince’s Pine, etc. It must have been hot since most of the spring flowers such as lupine were dried to a crisp. After about 2 miles, the trail opens up onto the scree area. The area was covered with creamy buckwheat flowers. We stopped for lunch along the creek. It was so relaxing and peaceful to sit and listen to the water. We were alone and had seen no one else.

We decided to go a bit further but eventually called it a day. We didn’t go that far – maybe two miles. But it refreshed us and cleared out minds.


Beverly Creek

Beverly Creek
Field filled with Buckwheat

Beverly Creek
Hmmm… Now what Indian Paintbrush is this? ( Castilleja elmeri )

Beverly Creek
Scarlet Gilia

Beverly Creek
Campanula rotundifolia

Beverly Creek
Natural arrangement

Beverly Creek
Butterflies on the trail

Posted in Hiking | Tagged Hiking, Teanaway, Washington

Little Lakes Valley

Travels with George and Marta Posted on August 4, 2008 by MartaAugust 4, 2008


Little Lakes Valley
Chickenfoot Lake

July 9, 2008 – Mammoth Lakes California
California Road Trip and Family GTG

Day 4 dawned and I glanced out the window to discover the smoke from the fires north of Tahoe had drifted along the eastern Sierra slopes. I could barely see mountains.

We decided to return to Rock Creek area to hike up Little Lakes Valley to Chickenfoot lake. We had been in the this area in 2004 and hiked to Mono Pass when we were training for Mt. Whitney. The trail to Mono Pass starts at the same trail head. We could see the valley from the trail and wanted to return some day and explore the area.

We drove south on Hwy 395 about 15 miles to Tom’s Place and turned in Rock Creek Road. This road climbs up in a short 10 miles along creek lined with aspens and rock slopes filled with brilliant tall red penstemon, lupine, white prickly poppy (argemone) and coyote mint to the trail head past Rock Creek Lake. The elevation at the trailhead is 10,300ft. It seems strange to be able to drive to a point higher than Camp Muir.

The area is called Mosquito Flats and it is well named. I was prepared this time and covered my body with deet. The flowers started right at the parking lot. The area is white sandy volcanic soil and can be hot but the day was fortunately overcast. The trail climbs along Rock Creek, a favorite of fly fishermen and is surrounded by mountains. At .5 miles, you reach the junction with the trail to Mono Pass. Keep left and head towards Morgan Pass. Shortly after the junction, you reach a short rise and can see the valley laid below and ringed with tall peaks.

The valley is a chain of interconnected lakes. You pass the first lake, Mack Lake and then climb a short bit to the next lake, Marsh Lake and soon reach Heart Lake. Along the lakes you pass wet grassy meadows with willows and elephant heads. Leaving the lake, you climb up through rock slope filled with gorgeous white and blue columbines before coming to Long Lake with the peaks getting closer. Past Long Lake, you climb up to higher meadows. The trees have shortened and the rocks are granite. There is a turn off to Chicken Foot lake which is more alpine. It is ringed on one side by small pines and on the other side by the granite face of Mount Morgan. The meadows along the shore are filled with a very cool form of kalmia. It was our destination for the day (5.8 miles RT, 800ft elevation gain, 11,100 FT high point).

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Posted in California | Tagged CaliforniaRoadtrip

Tragedy on Sauk Mountain

Travels with George and Marta Posted on August 3, 2008 by MartaNovember 13, 2014

Just last week, we hiked Sauk Mountain. The day was overcast but the flowers were great. It was not remote trail. It is located just off of Hwy 20 near Rockport. Out in the country but not the remote wilderness. There is a state park along the hwy just as you turn off. You drive through the edge of state park on a narrow road which winds for 7 miles to a parking lot. The views are supposed to be great even from the parking lot.

Views, wildflowers and short hikes are always popular with hikers. But yesterday, there were also hunters. Bear hunting season opens August 1st in Washington. Sauk Mountain with its open hillsides filled with berries and flowers is also popular with bears. This brought hunters to the same mountain.

Yesterday, a young hunter mistook a hiker for a bear and fatally shot the hiker. The mid-50’s woman was bent over getting something from her pack. She was wearing black. The hunter thought she was a bear and fired a shot. The hiker was hit, knocked from the steep trail and was killed.

Investigations are still going on. I am still hoping to hear more details. One local report says she was just 10-15 minutes on the trail. That would have but her on the open slope starting up the switch backs. The grass was tall but I am still amazed that someone who was from the area would not think about how popular the trail was and not take time to make certain it was not a hiker. Especially on a Saturday morning in August.

It does feel a little creepy to have been on the same trail less than a week ago. I have become much more aware of the hunting seasons. We may want to think about wearing bright clothes. I don’t often wear black but G does. Hmmm… maybe it is time for a new hat for G.

I’ve also heard that she was an avid hiker and was doing what she loved. My heart and thoughts go out to her family and everyone involved.

Posted in Hiking | Tagged Hiking, Washington | 5 Replies

Nectarine Berry Crisp

Travels with George and Marta Posted on August 2, 2008 by MartaAugust 2, 2008

Nectarine Berry Crisp

The local stone fruits are just coming in at the local farmers markets. The berries are at the height of season. There are great selections of raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and tayberries in the markets. I have been serving sweetened berries with vanilla ice cream but I got a craving for a crisp. I had several interesting crisps while in California. I like a topping that has a nutty whole grain flavor versus more pie like topping. This month’s Bon Appetit had several good summer fruit recipes including this one for Nectarine Raspberry Crisp that caught my eye. It looked very easy especially since it used melted butter instead of creaming in soft butter.

I cut the recipe approximately in half to serve myself and G. I always find it challenging to come up with a pan size that is half of 11×7. I decided to use a round 8″ pan instead.

Today I went to our local farmer’s market and found some fresh nectarines and tayberries. I made it again and I think the tayberries are even better than raspberries. I love boysenberries and tayberries are similar – a cross between blackberry and raspberries. It smelled wonderful coming out of the oven. I’m going to serve it with a big scoop of Ben and Jerry’s Vanilla.

Here are my modifications:

Topping

1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup quick-cooking oats
2 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs dark brown sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
generous pinch of cardamon
2 Tbs finely chopped walnuts
3 Tbs unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly

Fruit Mixture

3 nectarines but into 3/4 inch thick slices
1/2 pint container of fresh berries (boysenberry, tayberries, raspberries or blackberries)
2 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs cornstarch

Mix flour, oats, sugars, cinnamon, salt, cardamon and walnuts in a medium bowl. Add melted butter and rub together mixture until it comes together (can use fingers or spoon).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8 inch pan. Combine nectarines, berries, sugar and cornstarch. Pour into pan and spring topping eve over fruit. Bake until fruit mixture is bubbling and topping is golden, about 45 minutes. Cool 20 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.

Nectarine Berry Crisp

Nectarine Berry Crisp

Posted in Cooking | Tagged Cooking, Dessert | 3 Replies

Sky Meadow

Travels with George and Marta Posted on August 1, 2008 by MartaAugust 1, 2008

Sky Meadow Hike

July 8, 2008 – Mammoth Lakes California
California Road Trip and Family GTG

The Mammoth condo is great. It is one bedroom with a living room. It has everything we need and is very clean. We decide to go out for breakfast at the Good Life Cafe. It is warm and sunny and we can sit outdoors.

We decided to take it easy and do a short hike from Lake Mary to a Sky Meadows. (4 miles RT, 970 elevation, 10,050ft high point). It is just a short 5 miles from the town area to the basin of Mammoth lakes at around 9,000 ft. The parking for the trailhead just past Coldwater Campground just beyond Lake Mary. It serves both Sky Meadow and Duck Pass which was our second choice.

The trail ascended gently through the open forest. After about .9 miles, we came to Emerald Lake. There were several families who had come out to the lake to fish. The mosquitoes were out in force so we slathered on DEET. Unfortunately, I didn’t put any on my arms. I thought they would be fine because I was wearing long sleeves. Not a chance! They feasted on my arms through the cloth.

The trail continues around the left side of Emerald lake passing a junction with a trail up over to join Duck Pass trail. It crosses over the Coldwater creek which feeds the lake and continue along the stream with the banks filled with flowers; monkeyflower, lupine, swamp onion, phantom bog orchids, and paintbrush for another .3 miles before entering Gentian Meadows. Across the meadow is a wonderful view of Blue Crag. The meadow was filled with elephant head, spirea, lupine, paintbrush, corn lily.

Continuing on and up through the open forest, you come to a water fall. At the top is Sky Meadow. We spent about an hour exploring the area. On the rocky slopes we found gorgeous paintbrush, coyote mint, blue penstemon, pink rock penstemon, western columbine, Above the meadow were the granite crags.

We returned to the condo for a relaxing evening.

Sky Meadow Hike
Emerald Lake

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Posted in California | Tagged CaliforniaRoadtrip | 2 Replies

Drive to Mammoth Lakes

Travels with George and Marta Posted on July 31, 2008 by MartaOctober 11, 2014

Mt Lassen National Park

July 6 – July 8, 2008
California Road Trip and Family GTG

My niece organized a family camping get together at Twin Lakes outside of Bridgeport. We decided to drive down and spend a couple of days relaxing at Mammoth Lakes before joining the family. It would give us a chance to take our hybrid on a road trip and visit one of our favorite areas in California.

We drove to Ashland Oregon the first day. For a distraction, we took the Silver Falls Scenic Drive Loop through the small Oregon communities of Woodburn, Mt Angel, and Silverton. Lovely vistas of the rich agricultural area of Willamette Valley. We stopped at Silver Falls State Park for a picnic lunch. It is a great state park with lodge built in 1940. We didn’t get to do any of the hikes to the falls but would love to come back when we have more time.

A quick stop at the Costco in Eugene for gas (4.12/gal), we made it to Ashland around 4pm. We stayed at The Palm Cottages in Ashland. It is a great funky mid-century motel. We loved the gardens and the funky decor. We had a good dinner at Standing Stone Brewery in downtown Ashland.

We hit the road early the next day since we planned on driving all the way to Mammoth. We turned off at Mt. Shasta and drove through Lassen National Park. The flowers were in their prime and it was a gorgeous clear day. But we could see the smoke billowing to the south from the fires around Paradise. We passed several roads closed between Quincy and Chico and there was a lot of activity from helicopters carrying water and road crews.

Around 5pm we made Reno. Another stop at the Costco for gas (4.09). The haze from the smoke was pretty bad. You couldn’t see any of the mountains towards Tahoe it was so hazy. The drive down 395 was lovely as it winded along Walker River. Unfortunately, there had been a bad fire a couple of years ago and the craggy Jeffrey pines were reduced to black sticks. Just before we reached Mono Lake, a bobcat scrambled down the rocks along the highway and dashed in front of our car. It was so cool to see the wild cat. We pulled into Mammoth shortly before 8pm. It is at 8,000ft so we had a little difficulty sleeping the first night.


Mt Lassen National Park

Kings Creek Meadow – Lassen National Park

Mt Lassen National Park
Lake Helen – Lassen National Park

Mt Lassen National Park
Eagle Peak – Lassen National Park

Mt Lassen National Park
Mule Ears – Wyethia angustifolia – on the slopes south of Lassen

Posted in California | Tagged CaliforniaRoadtrip | 2 Replies

Sauk Mountain

Travels with George and Marta Posted on July 27, 2008 by MartaJuly 27, 2008

Sauk Mountain

Plans were made early in the week to go to Sauk Mountain. It is known for the spring wildflower blooms and views. Mid-late July is perfect time to visit to catch a gorgeous hill side filled with color. We did *not* expect clouds and heavy mist during a Seafair weekend but it is what we woke up to Sunday morning. Heck, we were going mainly for flowers anyway so what’s a little mist?

We left Edmonds late – around 9-ish and arrived at the trailhead around 11am. The turn off is easy to miss coming from the west on Hwy 20. Watch for signs for Rockport State Park and a gravel road to the left. If you reach the park, you’ve gone too far. Turn around.

The road is a narrow single lane with few pullouts. I was glad I wasn’t driving when we got to curves. The clouds were low down and we were driving in fog. We met one or two cars. It was drippy when we arrived a trail head. We pulled on our polypro and rain gear which we brought along.

The flowers started right away. Tiger lily, goat’s beard and valerian were the dominant blooms with splashes of purple lupine and penstemon. The plant boys got right to identifying plants. First off was the bracted Lousewort – Pedicularis bracteosa. After a couple of switchbacks, we had groups of rocks to plant hunt around. Here we found heuchera, saxifrage and alpine blue bells. We were constantly surrounded by flowers everywhere we turned.

The switch backs are well done and make it easy to meander up the hill. The mist would open and close giving us glimpses down a couple of switchbacks but never opening up to see any father. We could hear the drone of traffic on Hwy 20 off into the grey.

As we got closer to the top, the clouds closed in and it started drizzling. The trail swings around the side of the mountain and we came across a couple of patches of snow. We never saw any of the small lakes below. Near the top, we decided to stop and have lunch. It was already after 1pm and everyone was hungry. There was no purpose to go any further since it was wet and you couldn’t see squat.

The drizzle didn’t let up. It was a wet cool 1-hour descent back to the parking lot . My pants were soaked below the knees from the wet foliage. We stripped off the rain gear and threw it in the back of the car. We headed off to Cascade… for milkshakes.

The flowers were wonderful. It was good that it wasn’t a hot day because it would have been a very hot climb up the exposed switchbacks. And we have a reason to return since we never saw the view.

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Posted in Hiking | Tagged Hiking, Washington | 2 Replies

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