Vernal Yosemite

The waterfalls of Yosemite are at their fullest in the spring, we had a few days off, and so drove back over to the park to see them, staying two cold nights at Curry Village. But three nice days of hiking and driving.

In addition to all the usual waterfalls, there were some new
ones too; temporarily

Here, Yosemite Falls crashing down its 2400 feet to the valley; highest in North
America, 6th or 7th highest in the world

I wasn't the only one taking pix

More seasonal falls

Next day, Upper Yosemite Falls; note Lost Arrow Spire to
the right of the Falls

From the top of the Falls; plenty more snow in the high
country

Yosemite Creek just as it plunges to the Valley below

The western dogwoods were in full bloom (you can tell
them by their bark) (nyuk, nyuk, nyuk)

Another day, another hike...Nevada Falls

Vernal Falls

All a-bud along Tenaya Creek

Half Dome above Mirror Lake

Bridalveil Fall

Bridalveil from afar

And what account of Yosemite water features would be complete without Hetch
Hetchy, the dam?

And reservoir? and canyon, itself with great waterfalls...OK, I know it has always
been controversial, and still is; Grand Teton National Park has a commercial airport
within its boundaries; and Mt. Rushmore is an abomination unto itself...

Source of the Hetch Hetchy water system, which brings water from the Tuolomne
River, via the reservoir, and 170 miles of pipeline, under San Francisco Bay,
up the peninsula, ultimately to San Francisco; as alert readers know, our present
abode sits nearly on top of the main (buried) pipeline; I guess you could say we
live on the Tuolomne River...

California Quotidian, 4

It's been nearly two months since I posted last. March was consumed mostly with house guests Marie and Norm, en route to and returning from China, and assorted outings. The big news was that Penelope took her first steps in early March, and March 12 is regarded as the day she first walked. Ten months, two weeks. More on her below, since today is her first birthday.

Through March and April, I continued my digitization project--digitizing the family's 35mm slides--and have completed nearly 7,000. Four at a time, ten minutes or so per pass. Plenty of additional time reviewing, cleaning, organizing, recording, archiving, etc. I have a about a thousand to go, but, happily, saved the easiest for the last. They are mostly our 1989 family European vacation, already sorted and placed in chronological order, unlike much of what has preceded them. In any case, quite a few topics and pix from the digitization project relate to travel and therefore will find their way onto this blog...selected European sights and incidents, 1979-1998, hiking and climbing in the Winds, Montana, western snowmobiling 2003-2008, and more.

Daughter Rachel and her husband Will visited earlier in April. Although we talk nearly weekly, it was especially good to see her; first time since their wonderful Missoula wedding in August. We undertook a number outings, the four of us and the seven of us, down the coast and up to the City, and more. Penelope instantly took to them both, especially Auntie Rachel.

Penelope. I am sure her mama will more thoroughly document her achievements by her first birthday. At age one, nonetheless, she was walking very well and performing a variety of maneuvers associated with walking, falling down, getting up after falling down, changing direction, pivoting, scampering at least for short distances, etc. She can be very quick and has to be watched closely. She feeds herself mostly. Small bits of anything. Healthy stuff, always, of course. She favors flavor and spice. At PF Chang's she will avoid the egg drop soup but go enthusiastically for the hot and sour. "Baby-led weaning" has been a great success for Penelope and her parents. (Her dad Jeremy is a foodie). She has half a dozen baby-tricks: "babies rule!" "Penelope Power," "Penelope is number one!" etc. Although she plays quite well with her toys, she most enjoys "reading" books with her parents and grand-parents. She has a passive/receptive vocabulary of probably a hundred or more expressions--names of people, places, toys, objects--and can follow all sorts of simple requests ("bring the ball to Grandma," "keep hat on," "let's read the Nose book," etc.). Rebecca has been teaching her baby signing, and she has several signs down very well ("more," "all done," etc.). She uses her index fingers all the time, pointing to this and that, nearby and far. She waves bye-bye and hello, and often conjoins "hi" with a little wave. We'll let her parents figure out what the first words are. She is a happy baby, a constant joy for us to be with, and we are so thankful for the past months' time with her. Happy birthday, Penelope!

Rachel and Will with Penelope

Penelope shopping with Mama at DayOne on her birthday

Penelope Power!

Half Dome, 1990

Our trip continued, now coastal California, now inland. And a climb of Half Dome, another great western walk-up, in Yosemite NP.

The girls, somewhere on the coast; I remember there were banana slugs at the
campground

The Millennium Falcon among the Big Trees

Half Dome in profile

It's a long hike around to the far base and...

The cables that go up to the top (click to enlarge
and see the people ...)

To wit...

The summit

Closer up, with one of the residents

View from the top

Yosemite Valley

Lassen Peak, 1990

After Oregon, our 1990 family road trip turned south, and we camped at Lassen Volcanic NP. While the girls hiked in the valleys, I climbed Lassen Peak, another fine walk-up.

Rebecca and Rachel at Lassen Volcanic National Park

Lassen Peak

On the trail

Shasta in the distance

Summit area

Lava flows, presumably from the last big eruption, 1915

Shasta drive-by

Wheeler Peak, Nevada, 1990

Tempus fugit. Between 1972 and 1990, we had two wonderful children, lived in Columbus, Ohio and then in Dallas, Texas, earned six graduate degrees between us, owned three homes (well, "owned"), and had moved from the graduate student modus vivendi to that of young suburban professionals. Well, middle-aged suburban professionals.

Our modus transportandi had undergone various changes too. I have always thought of the early 90s as our automotive Golden Age. In the years before, we had owned two VW campers and an array of other VWs, Toyotas, a Honda, and a BMW.  By 1990, however, our fleet was one of the more unusual, at least for people who are not automotive fanatics.

After our 1989 family European vacation, in a rented RV, we bought the
Millennium Falcon in Dallas; a Ford van with a fully self-contained camper
package manufactured by Falcon; in 1990 we bought the 1974 harvest gold
Austin Mini, to become Rebecca's car, surely the most unusual car in the
student lot at Hockaday; we had been Mini enthusiasts since college, and
we'd love to have another real Mini

The automotive love of my life, of course, was the 1982 911SC; it later became
Rebecca's freshman year at Cornell; Vicki and I actually tent-camped out of this
car in Colorado and Wyoming in the later 80s (off the web)

Which brings us to Wheeler Peak in Nevada, summer of 1990; we drove the
Millennium Falcon from Dallas to the Oregon coast--its maiden voyage with
us--visiting the assorted Four Corners states and national parks en route, and
stopping here at the nation's then newest national park, Great Basin; Wheeler
Peak is Nevada's highest actual peak, a bit over 13,000 feet, and it is a
significant and very enjoyable walk-up from the campground at 10,000 feet
(not to be confused with New Mexico's Wheeler Peak, also its highest, also
a fine walk-up and which I did sometime in the late 80s)

From near the campground

On the summit ridge

I generally sign the summit register, if there is one; and in this case actually
photographed it

View from the summit

Ditto

The Great Basin

Teewinot Twice, Almost, 1972 and 1977

Fresh from my triumphs on the Grand and Middle Tetons, we resolved to do something together, namely ascend Teewinot, the pinnacly peak most prominent from Jenny Lake. Though not a technical climb, its east face route is not exactly a walk-up either. Its summit is a single monolith 4,000 above Valhalla Canyon. But we had equipment, growing experience, the weather was good, and Vicki was game. She always is.

The Grand Teton, left, and Teewinot, center, from Lupine
Meadows

East face of Teewinot; the route goes up through the
forested area on the right, passes to the right of the two
large pinnacles in the center of the photo (the Idol and
the Worshipper), then up assorted gulleys, ridges,
snowfields, etc.

Camping the first night near tree-line; always one of my
favorite pictures of my bride...

Next morning, below the Idol and
Worshipper

Working our way on up past the Idol
and Worshipper

Still higher...

Looking up toward the summit; at this point the weather
began closing in--we could hear thunder on the other side--
and at this altitude and season you get a wintry mix that
makes footing difficult; add in the relative lateness of the
day and the prospect of a descent in the dark...we decided
the mountain would still be there the next year, snapped
a few pix, and began our retreat

The "Cathedral Group" perspective...Teewinot, the Grand
and Mt. Owen; anyway, it was on that descent in 1972 that
we figured out that Vicki's climbing forte was not on the
downside...we got back to the camper just before midnight,
exhausted, in tatters (Vicki's jeans), and ready to re-think
any climbing that was off-trail; and so we came to add
climbing to bridge, tennis, and paddling, the major things
we do not do well together

Fast-forward to 1977, and we are back
in the Tetons, and I am doing Teewinot
as a very long day-hike, here pretty
close to where we stopped in 1972

Jackson's Hole, the Snake River, from the summit of
Teewinot; I was there alone and so satisfied myself with
sitting on the summit block, not standing

Looking northwest toward, I think, Lake Solitude

And Mt. St. John, and Mt. Moran and Jackson Lake

The Grand Teton and Mt. Owen from Teewinot; Gunsight
Notch in the middle there

North face of the Grand and Teton 

Glacier