Update since Las Vegas

Sunday, July 7th

Finally!! we have WiFi again so will update our blog.

We left Las Vegas on June 27th and went to Three Rivers, CA to tour Sequoia NP and Kings Canyon NP. Our RV park did not have WiFi. Friday, June 28th we hiked 400 steps up to the top of Moro Rock and listened to the Park Ranger talk, also toured the General Sherman tree and hiked two miles viewing the many giant sequoia trees. Awesome sight, hard to image a tree so large and so old! None of my pictures due the trees justice. Sat. June 29th, drove to Kings Canyon NP and viewed the General Grant Tree and did a short hike. Then drove the Kings Cayon Scenic Byway and hiked to Roaring River Falls and around Zumwalt Meadow and drove to the "end of the road" and headed back towards our trailer. We treated ourselves to a dinner out, cheeseburgers and french fries, very good.

Sunday, June 30th was a day to test our resolve and challenge our navigation abilities. In the process while stopped at Coulterville, CA,  B visited the "oldest operating saloon in CA" but only to get directions, while lb was talking to a very elderly woman running a B&B trying to figure out where we were.  We followed the "saloon directions" and did fnally make our way to Buck Meadows, CA, our home while visiting Yosemite NP. lb did laundry that night. The next day, July 1st, we toured Yosemite Valley (very crowded), hiked to Lower Yosemite Falls, watched rock climbers on El Capitan through a telescope, and bought a new light bulb for our left turn signal on the truck. Tuesday, July 2nd, we hiked to Bridal Veil falls and then drove to the Wawona area where we hiked in the Mariposa Grove. In 1947 Barry and his parents drove through the "Wawona Tunnel Tree" and then in 1957, the Bill Hargett family did the same thing. But this tree fell in 1969 so we were unable to reenact "driving thru the tree". We then drove the Glacier Point Road and had an awesome view of the Valley as well as three water falls and many mountains and Half Dome and North Dome. On our way down from Glacier Point, we saw a mother bear and a cub, close enough for pictures from the window of the truck.

July 3rd we left Buck Meadows and drove to Siver Springs, NV crossing Donner Pass in the process. We arrived at the lovely home of our friend, Sina, where we were treated to free RV parking, and a homemade spaghetti dinner, and good conversation!  July 4th, we were joined by Mike, Sina's son, and after a relaxing breakfast and coffee time, we all went to visit Ginger, Sina's daughter in Carson City. We then traveled to Lake Tahoe and enjoyed a delicious lunch at what else, but a Mexican restuarant! Sina is a friend we met in Kino Bay. Back to the Lenox ranch where Mike cooked steaks, corn on the cob, and garlic bread. The real treat was enjoying a bottle of wine produced from grapes grown on the Lenox Ranch!

Friday, July 5th, we left the ranch and headed to Lassen Volcanic NP. Arrived at RV park in Mineral, CA and drove to Park entrance and got brochures to plan tomorrow's activities. We awoke on July 6th to cool temperatures finally! That day was one of two free fishing days in CA (no license required) so we headed to Manzanita Lake in the NW corner of the park, where B spent 1 1/2 hours fishing for trout. This is a catch and release lake, but he enjoyed his time catching two trout,  and lb enjoyed sitting and reading a book. In the afternoon we hiked the Mill Creek Falls trail which they told us had an elevation change of 300 hundred feet. What they did not tell us is that you would do that "300 hundred feet change" at least 5 times during the entire trail. But we made it and slept very well that night.

Today, Sunday, July 7th, we drove to Prospect, OR Our friends, Francine and Jim, (more friends we met in Kino Bay)  arrived from Medford, with a complete homemade dinner of chicken, biscuits, cucumber/onions/tomatoes, fruit salad, and chocolate chip cookies. We enjoyed the meal and the visit.

This fills in the past several days. We are still enjoying all the scenery we are seeing and thankful we are able to take this wonderful trip. Life is Good!!