Back from Yosemite

Hello out there. Sorry it's been awhile but my access was rather limited in Yosemite although the next to last day I did find a good signal in the Ahwahnee Hotel which worked pretty good. Got to Yosemite on Tues., stayed thru today, then came back to my brother's place in Palo Alto. Yosemite was as beautiful as it was on our trip out here in 1994 with the boys. The Valley, Half Dome, and El Capitan are just natural places that my pics won't be able to capture very well. Four was a good number for this part of our journey, four days at Yosemite, four hours to do a pretty tough hike up to Vernal Falls and the John Muir trail above Vernal (just about did us in that day), and four bear encounters during our stay!! One of those was very close, a young adult was walking down the lane through our tenting area in Curry Village looking for people food (not people to eat, just scraps). He was about 40 feet from me and, like a good tourist, I did manage to get two shot of him before someone chased him away. All in all a beautiful repeat visit to Yosemite, one of my most favorite national parks. Sort of resting here in Palo Alto until Tuesday when we get on the Amtrak California Zephyr headed towards Salt Lake City. Bye for now, jim and sheila.

Hiking in Pt Reyes National Seashore

Spent a good overnight at the Inverness Valley Inn. The next morning we had a good breakfast with Stewart & Kathy and then went on a 4 mile (roundtrip) hike out to the far end of the Pt. Reyes National Seashore to look for mating elk. Nice day for the hike and we then drove south to Palo Alto and met with Jim's nephews, Christopher and Matt and Christopher's expectant wife, Kelly. Had a nice time with all. Tomorrow headed to Yosemite until Friday.

Arrived at Pt. Reyes, CA

Got an early start and left Mendocino around 9:30AM, headed down Rt 1 along the N. California coast. Very high cliffs along the way and the road winds its way along the coast. Met up with Stewart&Kathy at Pt Reyes National Seashore for lunch, then checked into the Inver-
ness Valley Lodge. Toured the park some more and finished off the day at Pt Reyes for dinner at the Pt Reyes Station House.

Mendocino, California

This quaint little town sits on the cliffs above the Pacific in N. California along Route 1. Numerous "hippies" stroll the streets and it is a town of small shops and restaurants. Spent much of the day walking along a trail at the edge of the cliffs, weather was pretty clear so the pics were pretty good. Dinner outside at a second story restaurant where you could see the hugh rocks and ocean waves coming in. Tomorrow we head to Pt. Reyes to meet up with my brother and his wife, overnight there at the Inverness Inn. Take care, j&s

Quiet Time In Seabeck/Poulsbo

Spent a more leisurely day around the Seabeck and Poulsbo areas with Ben, cruising in the old Altima. Pretty hot again today so good day to sort of take it easy. Sheila just missed a nice quilt shop in Poulsbo by about 10 minutes (it closed!!) but we may be able to swing by there tomorrow on our way to Seattle via ferry. Hopefully tonight we're doing a short hike near Ben's which sounds nice although the visibility isn't the best today. Ben got his Dad an "old guys rule" teeshirt, guess that will be seen on the tennis courts in State College this Fall. Take care, j&s

Arrived in Port Angeles, Washington

Well, we had an early start on the ferry leaving Victoria around 9:45AM Saturday morning. The Straits of Juan de Fuca were a little choppy on the way over to Port Angeles but we pulled in around 12noon. Ben came to pick us up and we headed directly out to the Washington western coast to see a few sites. It was quite a long ride out to the Olympic Nat. Forest and the Hoh National (rain) Forest. The coast was sort of fogged in from the Strait so the weather and scenery was pretty cold, yet a mile away inland it was bright and sunny. Unfortunately this is the dryest time of the year for the Hoh rainforest so it was also pretty dry there. Back to Seabeck and Ben's place where I'm going to attempt to download a few pics from the trip. Take care. j&s

Victoria

Arr on Vancouver Is. and motored down to Victoria on Thurs. early afternoon. Caught a cab to the Albion Manor B&B, unique place very close to Victoria Harbor. Wandered around most of the rest of the day. Nice breakfast this morning cooked by Don, three couples from Calif. on other rooms and a family from the UK. Bus tour to Buchart Gardens, very beautiful place. Early arrival back in Victoria, toured parliament bldg and the Fairmont Empress, another old stately hotel. Taking a siesta for awhile this afternoon and will spend last evening in Victoria roaming around the harbor. 9:45AM ferry tomorrow to Port Angeles and Ben's place in Seabeck. Bye.

Last night in Vancouver

Spent the better part of today exploring Granville Island which wasn't too much of a walk from the hotel, did have to take a busboat across the harbor to get to it. Covered with shops and markets, very interesting place. Tonight the United Kingdom is having a major fireworks display along the harbor, plan to walk back down for that around 10PM (stays very light up here fairly late). Early rise tomorrow with a bus, then ferry, over to Victoria on Vancouver Island. Take care, j&s

Arrived in Vancouver 7/27

Well the Rocky Mountaineer was quite a trainride. Left Banff on Sunday morning and traveled the Kicking Horse trail to Kamloops where we spent the night. Left this morning and traveled around the very arid area of Kamloops Lake and the Thompson River, eventually merging with the Fraser River in Confluence, following this all the way into Vancouver, traveling mainly thru the Fraser Canyon (very scenic). Arr Vancouver around 6:45 Monday evening. Spent most of Tues. at the Capilano Suspension Bridge in N. Vancouver. Main bridge was neat, about 200ft above the gorge and about that long. Also a treetop complex where you walked from one tree to another via shorter suspensions. After leaving here went to Stanley Park to the aquarium which was ok. Had a 4D film which was a BBC Planet Earth segment called Shallow Seas. Very interactive with water sprays, bubbles, vibrations along with the 3D effects. Bye and take care, j&s

Back in Banff

Traveled up to the Icefields near Jasper and rode a "glaciermobile" up on a large glacier. Visited many scenic spots on the way up there, spent the night at a little spot in the middle of nowhere, drove back down to Banff this morning. The Rocky Mountaineer RR leaves tomorrow morning at 8:15 for Kamloops where we'll spend the night. So far, beautiful weather. Sheila's birthday today!!

Lake Louise - Chateau Fairmont

Traveled from Banff via Lake Moraine to the Chateau Fairmont on Lake Louise. Hard to put into words how beautiful this place is. It sits on Lake Louise which is an aqua color from the mineral runoffs from the mts. Have a 5:30AM wakeup call to see the sunrise over Lake Louise. Tomorrow headed to the Columbia Icefields for a ride on a Glaciermobile, then overnight south of the Jasper National Park.

Touring Banff on 7/22

Spent our 2nd beautiful day in Banff touring Johnston Canyon, Bow Falls, Banff Springs Hotel, walked about 7 miles so far today. Might have to have another Canadian Lager for dinner to help me sleep! Yeah, like I'll need any help after today.

Where We're Going

Everyone at one time or another should have a roadtrip t-shirt made so this is an appropriate time for me to try my first. Here's our trip!

Getting Ready to Leave 7/20

Well, our grand excursion begins in a little over a week. Flying out of Harrisburg on 7/21 to Calgary, Alberta, CAN where we pick up a rental car and explore the areas of Calgary, Banff, and Jasper for about four days. Will keep you posted as to our travels. tx for taking a look, jim and sheila.