CALIFORNIA/NEVADA 2006

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This year we had the pleasure of attending the wedding of our nephew, Kyle Lewis.  Kyle and Cheryl Connolly were married at the St. Helena Catholic Church (located in California’s Napa Valley) on Saturday, September 23 with the reception being held at The Culinary Institute of America.  The couple and their parents planned a four-day celebration of the wedding.  We were unable to enjoy the Thursday night rehearsal dinner as we were en route after returning from fly fishing in Alaska.  However, we were able to join them at a wine tasting on Friday, September 22, as well as a farewell send-off brunch on Sunday, September 24.  The whole event was truly spectacular and we were so glad to be able to be a part of it!!  Here's a glimpse of the newlyweds!

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In conjunction with the wedding, we decided to explore Northern California.  We realized we hadn’t visited north of Napa Valley so this was a perfect opportunity for this adventure.   

FORT BRAGG (9/24 & 9/25):  No, this isn’t the city in the Carolinas with a large military base.  Instead this is a small town located on California’s famous Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1).  We enjoyed the drive from St. Helena.  Once we arrived, we spent our time there exploring the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse and MacKerricher State Park.

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TRINIDAD (9/26, 9/27 & 9/28):  We continued up the coast of California to the tiny community of Trinidad (~400 full-time residents).  Here we rented a cabin in the “Emerald Forest of Trinidad.”  It was a wonderful setting with cabins nestled among giant Redwood trees.  We spent our initial afternoon touring the town and buying locally caught fresh fish for a wonderful “fish taco” dinner.  We spent the next day at Redwood National Park.  Here we did numerous hikes among these gorgeous trees, including the trail to the Lady Bird Johnson Grove and the Cathedral Trail.  Truly amazing and spectacular!!  We spent our last day touring Patricks Point State Park where we saw sea lions and hiked to a beach littered with agate and chalcedony. 

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REDDING (9/29):  As previously mentioned, we were fly fishing in Alaska earlier in September.  Our hosts at No See Um Lodge, Jack and Sue Holman, returned from the lodge on Tuesday, September 26.  They were real troopers to invite us to stay at their home on Friday.  We enjoyed a tour of their ranch, its facilities and the animals – both theirs and those that belong to friends.  Then, we enjoyed a wonderful evening and a great dinner.  The next morning Jack took us to the local airport where the “regulars” gather to have breakfast and exchange stories.  It too was lots of fun!  While we were at the airport, we also took a look at Jack’s 1954 Cessna Tail Wheeler.  It was in a remarkable state of preservation. 

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BRIDGEPORT (9/30 & 10/1):  Upon leaving Jack’s we headed for Lassen National Park.  It was superb as was the weather!!  We arrived in Bridgeport, a tiny town, in the early evening.  The next day we visited the ghost town of Bodie, now a state park.  It’s an amazing collection of homes and businesses (some of which are fully restored and are now residences for the rangers) that were built near a gold mine.  The gold mine produced over 100 Million Dollars in gold from 1859 to about the turn of the century.  Then, the gold petered out and eventually the town was nearly abandoned in the early 1900’s.  At one time, the town boasted ~10,000 inhabitants plus 65 saloons!  It was a cold, windy day but the gray weather fit the scene perfectly.   We enjoyed the entire day reading about the town and its former inhabitants.

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YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK (10/2 & 10/3):  Upon leaving Bridgeport we drove to the northeast entrance of Yosemite National Park, Tioga Pass, at nearly 10,000 feet in altitude.  While we had been to Yosemite before, you can never see it all and if you revisit some of the sites, it’s still well worthwhile.  We began our exploration of the park by driving the Tioga Road, some 50 miles of incredible scenery, to the Yosemite Visitors Center.  The views were wonderful!!  Upon our arrival at the Visitors Center in late afternoon, we went to the Ranger Station to see exhibits and watch a video about the park.  We spent two nights in the park at Yosemite Lodge.  It was a great way to be in the very center of activity.  Our second day in the park we drove to Glacier Point which has incredible views of Half Dome, El Capitan and Yosemite Falls (at this time of year the Falls has no water but it’s evident where the Spring waters flow).   After enjoying the scenery (and taking lots of photographs), we took a couple of hikes in the area to get some different views.  We walked the Taft Trail and then hiked through the fissures.  Again, great views!!  Afterwards we drove to Bridal Veil Falls. It was still flowing and was a wonderful site!  

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PORTERVILLE (10/4):  As we were leaving Yosemite, we stopped at the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia trees near the south entrance and hiked through it.  Truly spectacular!!  We can’t get enough of these giant trees!!  We next went to Kings Canyon National Park and hiked through a beautiful grove of Sequoias there.  Then, we drove on to Sequoia National Park.  We took a few short hikes and stopped at all the turn-outs.  It was a beautiful day to enjoy these magnificent trees.  After leaving the park, we spent the night in nearby Porterville.

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DEATH VALLEY (10/5):  We commenced our return journey home by heading east to Death Valley National Park.  En route, however, we drove through Sequoia National Monument, our final spot to enjoy giant Redwoods in The 100 Giants Grove.  We didn’t arrive at Death Valley until late in the day.  We made it into the center of the Park to Stovepipe Wells where we spent the night enjoying the desert beneath a full moon!  The next day we drove through the balance of the park stopping at many locations.  Highlights include:  The Furnace Creek Visitors Center, Artists Palette, Badwater (the lowest point in the park and in North America at 282 feet below sea level) and The Devil’s Golf Course on the Salt Pan.  Upon leaving the Park, we went to China Ranch, a date farm, and purchased a variety of delicious fresh dates (5 lbs).   Yum, yum!!  Then we drove on to Las Vegas, Nevada.

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LAS VEGAS (10/6 & 10/7):  After spending most of the day in Death Valley, we arrived in Las Vegas just in time to check into our hotel, grab a quick dinner and then attend a Cirque du Soleil production, LOVE, that featured songs written and sung by the Beatles.  It was a blast and we both had a great time!!  The following day we spent some time on the Las Vegas Strip and then had dinner with our good friend, Louisa.  We called it an early night as we were headed for home early the next morning. 

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We always enjoy spending time with family and friends and we did that during the celebration of Kyle and Cheryl’s wedding.  We also love seeing new places in our beautiful country and we fell in love with Northern California.  We’ll definitely return to some (if not all) of these spots again!!