many firsts

Ahoy,

Our actual final trip of the summer began over Labor Day weekend. We left LA late on a Friday to our flight that was the last flight of the day and delayed 3 hours, arriving in Chicago after 3am. Our road trip would take us from Chicago to Niagara Falls to Toronto to Montreal to Acadia in Maine and finally to Boston.

We took nearly the whole day on Saturday to drive to Niagara Falls. It's about an 8.5 hour drive, in addition to losing an hour. It was broken up by a stop for disc golf just before the border crossing. The course was at this very nice park that surrounded a school. Quick 9 holes, in the bucket. This border crossing was much faster than the Seattle/Vancouver one. The next morning we walked out to a diner for breakfast and continued walking to the Falls. It was a good day with some cloud coverage. My parents had been before a few times, but it was A's and my first time. We walked down the the horseshoe part and back pretty much, stopping for pictures. A seemed surprised by how big it is and unexpectedly impressed. There is so much more water there than in CA. We hope to see the American side sometime. My dad seemed like he wanted to go on the zipline. He kept asking me if I want to go, and if I did, he would go with me. So I think I'll have to take him ziplining eventually.

The area around Niagara Falls has that Vegas vibe, which was unexpected and not something I care for at all. We walked back to the hotel and drove to Toronto, again, stopping for disc golf on the way. Bronte Creek requires admission. It's a big park with tons to do. Disc golf here had 18 holes with a lot of variety. Probably the most technical of the places we played on this trip, but a good reason to go to the park nonetheless. Mom and dad were still into it. Dad stayed for all 18 holes, and mom tapped out when it started raining harder.

Upon arrival in Toronto, we walked around Chinatown and Kensington Market until we decided where to eat dinner. Mom and dad were happy to finally get Chinese food again. The next day, we drove out for dim sum in Scarborough. And we stopped at the Kim's Convenience shop! Probably the highlight of the day. Mom started talking to the shopowner and asking about her daughter, as if it's a reality show. She was very nice about it. In Scarborough, we also went to the botanic garden that had some really cool sculptures. And then, you guessed it, disc golf. This course was better for beginners because it was more open. A threw his disc right into a family's picnic. We got mosquito bites at this one, but a really nice park and course nonetheless. There was lots more to do at the park then disc golf. For dinner we went to, you guessed it, Chinese food. So good, so cheap - as my parents would say. The last stop was at the old Distillery District, now filled with art and cute shops.

Our next day took us 5 hours away to Montreal. We stopped at a park, but there was no disc golf. With a full day in Montreal the next day, I took us on an all day walking tour. I was also able to get French food twice before we went back to Chinese. We walked all over Montreal and up and around a mountain in the middle of the city. Kudos to my parents for keeping up with minimal complaints. They really are champs when it comes to adapting to our style of travel. We saw Chinatown, Old Montreal, Downtown, McGill, the waterfront, the royal chalet, the gay village... There is so much we still have yet to see. We were our own Chinese tour group with me as the ringleader. But I think they like having a tour guide and being led around, so they are willing to have us decide what to do. They do know how to google where Chinatown is. They got to chat with the restaurant owner at the Chinese place and remarked how impressive that the immigrants there have to learn French and English.

The next day we departed for Acadia National Park in Maine, about 6.5 hours away. If my parents are not going to be eating Chinese food, the next best thing is lobster. For dinner, we made it to a roadside lobster stand swarming with mosquitoes. I think everyone would say it was worth it. At all the places, my mom would ask what was their biggest lobster and order it. They were so concerned that A would not have enough lobster.

Our full day here would take us into Acadia National Park. One day is not enough time to accomplish all you want in Acadia. We started off at the top of Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the east coast at a whopping 1,529 feet above sea level. We covered a lot of ground subsequently: the wild garden, a stairs hike, an ocean hike, a climbing hike, another ocean hike, and the Jordan Pond. We also stopped at the restaurant for popovers and tea. We managed to pack a lot in and get lobster again. And weather was really favorable, perfect temperatures and overcast.

The following day was super rainy, so it was really lucky for us that it did not rain the day before.  Hurricane Dorian had made landfall in Maine. Fortunately, this was our departure date. We left for Boston and saw a recently flipped over RV on the way. For lunch, we stopped at a small seaside town for lobster, again. At this point, even A is tiring of lobster. Also, you guessed it, we made a stop for disc golf. A quick 9 hole forested, but not too dense course. We dropped off the rental car at the airport in Boston and got picked up by family. I was so happy to have not lobster for dinner. We hadn't been back to my aunt's house in 7 years. It was a nice evening with family. A and I flew back the next morning, and my parents stayed an extra day.

It was a fun trip filled with firsts for all of us. My parents are great to travel with. I'm really glad they let me arrange these adventures. They are willing to disc golf and walk all day. Dad is so adventurous and mom is tolerant of my antics in exchange for a personal travel agent.

happy trails,
jt

in a flash

Ahoy,

Summer happened in a flash.

We camped in Idyllwild for a night. It was pretty close. Probably about 2 hours. Of course, we stopped to play disc golf on a packed course full of families out for July 4 bbqs. The campsite was awesome and raised up off the road. Would be happy to camp there again. We got a last minute site, so it's nice to know there are places you can camp without a reservation 6 months ahead of time, even on a holiday weekend. I awoke to the people at campsite next to us arguing with each other. They stormed out of there. It was pretty entertaining. There is a high fire danger because there is so much forested, so for the first time ever we heard no fireworks for July 4. Good place to go if you have anxious pets. Also, we were pleased to find out our National Parks pass worked in the national forest there. It seemed like there were lots of hiking options, and we didn't really get into it. Lots more in store for subsequent trips.

Our next camping trip took us to Sequoia and Kings Canyon. Our site was in Kings Canyon this time. Trips past have had us closer to Sequoia, so I thought we would see more of Kings Canyon. We were pleasantly surprised with the steep granite walls and lack of crowds. John Muir has once stated it may be 'grander than Yosemite.' I was able to set up my hammock at our campsite and hang around while I waited for my PR to wake up. A lot of King's Canyon is accessible only by backcountry. We did the long hike to some waterfalls that seemed like the must do. And we saw the caverns and some bats. King's Canyon is nestled between Yosemite and Sequoia, and doesn't get a lot of attendance, but I would recommend you all check it out sometime in your travels. You will be pleased.

Our next summer trip took us to the Portland area. We jetted into Hood River to stay with friends on their amazing property abutting a river. They have so many fun things to check out: chickens, garden, old cars, trees, river, outdoor shower... We went on a long hike to a mountain top with amazing views. It was not crowded at all. It seems like every trail in California is always packed. I always notice and appreciate when we have a trail to ourselves. Our post-hike reward was a whiskey tour and tasting at Wanderback on their farm and barn. We had a great time chatting with the tastemaster and trying their repertoire. One of our highlights was stacking wood into the wood shed for winter - something we've never done before. It's a part of a totally different lifestyle. One of our favorite things about traveling is discovering how other people live. Another fun hike was to the top of Beacon Rock as we raced the rain clouds. We rounded off the trip with a night in Portland to get coffee and doughnuts before flying back to LA.

Our last thing on the summer list was to make a couch that converts to a bed. So now we are ready for anybody that wants to come stay in our tiny apartment.

happy trails,
jt

blink of a trip

Ahoy,

Our latest international foray was finally going to be Germany. We never can get that far East into Europe. There are too many good places before we ever get there. We flew into Sweden because it is a direct flight. So we opted to stay 1 night in Sweden. I was very pleased to find out Swedish households have a shoes-off policy.

With just a little bit of trouble coordinating, we were able to gain access into our airbnb. A was insistent on getting airbnbs, but for a 1 night stay, I think we should go with a hotel next time. The guarantee of having someone at check-in and luggage storage is worthwhile. We unloaded our things and went straight out otherwise we would have fallen asleep. We got so sleepy in a park, and there were so many benches everywhere that were hobo-friendly
(suitable for laying down). Along our walk, we saw some of old town, the palace, grand buildings, waterfront views. A tried to navigate us to an island park, but we did not make it and only got to the tiny island in between.

I saw Ikea food on a dinner menu, but we veered away from it. We went to sleep when the sun was still out, but sunset is at something close to 10pm. We woke up so early and made it to the big island park. There was a Disney-esque portion and a lot of very forested portions. Nothing was open so A couldn't get coffee right away. He loaded up on candy at the airport before our flight to Berlin.

For whatever reason, we got the first 2 seats on Easyjet. Let me tell you, sitting in the front is entertaining. The flight attendant was very friendly and funny. There was a group of rowdy uni students he scolded during the safety demo. Our stay in Berlin was in a quiet neighborhood. When we stay with airbnbs, I'm looking for places that have a neighborhood feel and off the tourist circuit.

We walked out so early in the morning. We saw Checkpoint Charlie, the Holocaust Memorial, the Tiergarten, and so many other things before we saw other people. There was a glass dome atop an administrative building that you need reserved tickets to enter. We weren't able to go up, but you should get the tickets if you go.

German customer service is the worst I've experienced in a developed country, and most developing countries. I'm sure they have other ideas of what customer service means. German food is not something I'm trying to go back for either. Two nights in Berlin and we were onto Munich. I was excited to meet up with our friends.

Munich felt like a smaller city, but still urban. There are a lot of things to see and do very close together. However, A opted to have us walk an hour out to the summer palace. Upon arriving, I was so sleepy and over it. Had we known there was a lot of garden behind the palace to explore, I would have insisted we take transit there so I wouldn't be so grumpy upon arrival.

To get back, we had a spat out on the street when he insisted we not board the tram because he didn't know how tickets worked. I had us board the next one and got us tickets by asking the conductor and asking the other riders for change for the machine. The brazenness of a grumpy and determined tourist!

At the English Gardens, we heard a hit and run between a cyclist and a dog off-leash. Everyone seems to be very confident about their dogs being off-leash in Germany. We spent a day walking around the tourist traps with Glu and then a day out to Neuchwanstein. It is the castle that inspired Walt Disney's Cinderella castle at the Disney parks. According to A, it was the only thing he wanted to do in Germany. It is somewhat disappointing as far as castles go. It never really saw battle or conflict, and was never complete. The guy knocked down a castle to build his more opulent, extravagant medieval castle during the industrial revolution.

The next day, we were onto Heidelberg. A last minute change in our itinerary took us from Frankfurt to Heidelberg. No one told us any good things about Frankfurt, so we cancelled our Frankfurt plans at the airport before we left the States. Heidelberg is like the Cambridge or Harvard of Germany. It's a little college town with a lot of history. There is a run down castle, that they market as ruins so they don't have to make repairs or maintain (in my opinion). It got wrecked during some battles and struck by lightning. Real action.

Our last stop on this trip would be Paris, which I don't particularly care for. We'd been before, and it was fine, but we were going for the direct flight back to LAX. Upon circumstance, A's bestie from grade school would also be there. All 3 of us made the pilgrimage out to Versailles. It really does feel like it because everyone is on the same trek. The palace was really opulent but on a totally unimaginable scale as far as how daily life goes about. There are some smaller residences behind that are much more realistic. And the village and farm all the way in the back of the property were really the highlights. I would have liked to have more time back there. It was so cute!

The air quality in Paris was worse than I had remembered. Everywhere was cigarette smoke or fuel exhaust. But the food in Paris was sooo delicious. Especially after Germany, I appreciated it so much more. We flew Norwegian again for this trip, and had no problems this time. Probably not going to make it to Germany again if given the choice. But there are so many other places to go to!

happy trails,
jt

cdmx

Ahoy,

This holiday break we went to Mexico City. It took me way too long to realize all the 'CDMX' everywhere was short for Ciudad de Mexico. I wanted to take the Metro to our hotel, which is all the way at the other end of the airport if you land internationally. It is only 5 pesos, which is about 25 cents. The train cars are older, and look like what we would consider vintage train cars here. It's pretty cute. They run very frequently. We got around a lot on the train - there is good coverage and frequent service, which might be more than I can say for LA.

We arrived to Condesa in the afternoon and just walked around the neighborhood. The neighborhood feels very European with a lot of sidewalk bistros, wide pedestrian boulevards, and lots of trees. At about 7000 ft elevation, I wasn't very hungry. Drinks are very cheap, beer and mezcal. We tried a lot of mezcal. And we had a lot of street tacos, which were mostly $1 each. They were all very good.

We went to a castle, of Chapultepec, the only castle in North America. It was so crowded; it was like waiting in a line the whole way through the castle. There was a lot of art. More art than I can tolerate. It was just endless! And then we walked through one of the main boulevards before making our way back to Condesa.

One of the days we took an Uber out to Teotihuacan. It was a pretty quick ride and efficient for 4 of us. I always waver between going with a tour guide or going on my own. I hate having to wait for the group and waiting to be released to explore with a limited amount of time. But sometimes guides do give good context. We were all pleased with the way we did it. It was a good use of our time and we were all on the same page for the most part. We made it back to the city earlier than we thought we would. A flooded the toilet at our friend's airbnb before we headed back out to Polanco. Personally, I think I could have done without visiting Polanco. It was so much like Beverly Hills.

We spent another day on the train to Xochimilco, remnants of old Aztec canals. Of the canals we've seen around the world, these were probably the least well maintained. It was so touristy, we tried to look for a spot where we could just watch the canal activities without participating. Afterwards, we took the train back to the Anthropology Museum, which A really wanted to see after reading it was one of the best in the world. No doubt that is true because it was giant. There is not enough time you could spend there to absorb all the information and knowledge.

Another day we took the train a short distance to Centro Historico. It was so crowded! There are so many people in CDMX. We tried to go to the library because it is an architectural marvel, but it was closed Dec 24-Jan 6. I also wanted to see the Chinatown. It was so interesting mostly for the fact that we saw no Chinese people - working or visiting. We were the only Chinese people. It is only 2 blocks, but still so interesting.

The old buildings in the historic center were fun to walk along without cars. There are a lot of street markets in there, but oh, so crowded!

There are so many parts of CDMX that we were walking along that just felt so much like LA. It is so easy to get to, the flights feel very domestic. And the people just feel so familiar compared to LA. We'd be happy to return. Who doesn't need to practice their Spanish every so often?

best,
jt

adventure time

Ahoy,

We met my parents in Salt Lake City for an adventure. My dad wanted to go to Yellowstone, but after some research I discovered it is closed in November due to snow. So I arranged a trip to Capitol Reef and Bryce. My mom asked 'Is it famous? Because I only want to go if it's famous...' She has to impress for friends.

First thing my parents told me when we met them at the airport was that my mom had found Chinatown. And it was 18 miles away. So we went to Chinatown which was all of one little strip mall on a street of strip malls. Probably the most underwhelming of Chinatowns we've seen. We walked in and out in under 10 minutes.

Capitol Reef was about 3 hours east of Salt Lake City and we were on our way. We stayed right outside the park so we could go straight there the next morning. There were cows grazing right next to the hotel. The town right outside Capitol Reef is pretty small. The last time we were there, A and I arrived too late and everything was closed. So we went straight out to dinner upon arrival.

I managed to get my folks out on 3 hikes the next day: 3 miles, 3 miles, and 2 miles, which is more than I can say for some of my friends. We hiked through a canyon to an arch while my parents stopped to admire every tree. We saw quite a bit of the park, and a fallen long horn sheep in the middle of the trail. When we finished the hike, we saw rangers heading in - one of them with a shotgun. I suspect the sheep had some sort of spinal injury because his hind legs were not moving at all. Capitol Reef has a lot to offer, but we had just missed harvest season. Apparently, you are allowed to pick fruit from the many orchards there left over from Mormon settlers. It is also probably the least crowded park we've visited, which we really appreciate compared to Yosemite in the summer.

My mom was complaining after each hike hoping it was the last one. She only wanted to go on one hike, she kept insisting. So the next day, we went on one hike that was almost 8 miles.

It's about a 2-3 hour drive south from Capitol Reef to Bryce. We took the scenic route and made it in time to grab dinner in town. I thought it was a small town given how popular Bryce is. I had been to Bryce a while ago and was eager to show A how cool it is. I've always thought it was so unique. We took a hike that went down into the hoodoos and saw a lot of different views. That hike was so varied and really gives a satisfying taste for a first trip. It was perfect weather for Bryce - just before snow and ice, and not muddy at all. We encountered ice only once at a waterfall, just enough of the elements for some excitement.

We spent our last day back in SLC. It was a Sunday so most things were closed, which didn't occur to me would be a problem until we got there. We spent the day wandering around the city. It's somewhat sleepy and suburban, which is not a surprise for a Capital city. A and I went to a bourbon bar to end the night, which had surprisingly good food for a good price and really good cocktails. Also, it was not busy at all. LA standards really make us appreciate smaller cities. I probably wouldn't like to live there, but it's nice to visit.

best,
jt

3 weekends in tents

Ahoy,

I had booked 3 weekends of camping back to back: Joshua Tree, Yosemite, and Yosemite again.

That first weekend in Joshua Tree rained so much! Lightning and thunder - the works! We happened to be camping outside in a tent during one of the most torrential rains of the year or past couple years. It rained for what seemed like all night. Fortunately it didn't start until after we were in our tents, probably from 11pm to 5 or 6 am. I was awake for much of it. Water started to come into our tent. It's waterproof to a certain extent, but there really was a lot of rain pouring down at a moderate to heavy pace for a long time. This made it really difficult for me to go to the bathroom. I really needed to pee, and I thought it would slow down at any minute. But it did not. I decided to just change my outfit so I could get it wet and change back into my pajamas. But when I got outside, I realized I totally forgot my headlamp. So I meanderingly made my way to the bathroom. A slept through this whole fiasco.

We awoke to a relatively undisturbed, but soaked campsite. Elsewhere in town and in the park was a different story. Apparently there were people stuck in their cars overnight, the roads were closed and washed out, there were boulders in the road, etc. All the park rangers were warning us extensively. But once we got into JTree, everything seemed fine. It was less crowded and more puddly, but we had a great time bouldering and scrambling around that day.

We got 2 weekends in Yosemite as a type of weather insurance - in case it rained one weekend, we could just bail and go another. It turned out to be great weather both weekends. We hiked one weekend up to Glacier Point and spent the following weekend just bouldering and eating ice cream.

A advertised that Glacier Point would just be 4 miles. In reality, it's 4.8 miles to the top and then 4.8 back down. The trail is mostly switchbacks resulting in over 3000 feet of elevation gain. It pretty much took the full day. The next day we went to watch the dawn wall at dawn before checking out the Camp 4 bouldering briefly.

The 2 weekends made it so we could do different things each weekend. And the leaves were changing color, so we got to see the progression of colors over the course of 2 weeks. It was pretty special to experience a seasonal shift since weather in LA is always the same. The first weekend we were able to fit 4 people, camping gear, and a bouldering pad. The second weekend, A had a fun time driving his first wife, the s2k, into the wilderness.

Camping was fun to do for 3 weekends back to back, but maybe it would be advisable to space it out some more in the future. We had all our camp gear out all month. It was nice to be able to put things away after the last trip.

best,
jt

summer in a snap

Ahoy,

Summer flew by in a flash. We had a lot of packed weekends. We made it out to tramway 1 time for a climbing trip. My highlight is always the dumplings after.

We went to San Diego twice. Once to see J, and another time for a beach weekend. The second time, we took the Amtrak. I would definitely recommend taking the train. It was so scenic and relaxing. We watched Terrace House. Adult beverages are allowed, and we witnessed the group next to us down 3 bottles of champagne.

We went up to the Bay once or twice. And we went to Chicago again for my brother's wedding. It was coincidentally on another hot and humid day. But for their occasion we had to be in formal wear.

There was another bachelor/ bachelorette party, in Mammoth and the beach cities respectively.

I went twice with a friend to the flower market to strategize and practice arrangements for her wedding. The LA flower market is really a cool and unique destination. They sell such inexpensive plants in bulk. It is a great experience.

Our weekends got booked up so quickly this summer. It was nuts.

soon,
jt

paperwork

Ahoy,

A and I went to Chicago to sign some paperwork. It was a very simple City Hall affair. In Illinois, you have to get a marriage license at least 24 hours before you can get married. We did not fill it out online before going, so I advise you to do it online first. Even though you have to show up anyway, they'll give you a hard time if you make them type in all your info.

We went on a Friday morning to City Hall. There aren't a ton of people in line for this on a Friday morning. It was fine. A very nice judge married us with a handful of family in the room. All in all, it was not very exciting - not a big deal. There were a lot of people dressed well for a basement office in the city, but it did the trick. It was just what we wanted. And it was a really hot day as we walked around getting pictures. Which was not what I wanted. We made our way from City Hall into Millennium Park to see the bean. It really was unseasonably warm and a slow crawl for our big group. Someone always needs water, or to pee, or coffee, etc. I was happy to push through and not have to go back out for pictures later.

We went onto dim sum in Chinatown before separating for an afternoon siesta. A's friend arrived from Paris and we went for a drink with him. My mom and dad cooked dinner at home that night. It was a lot of food. Some more friends arrived that night.

The next morning, we invited people in town to go on an architecture cruise on the river. I had been on a lot of these as field trips in grade school, but the architecture had changed. Architecture in Chicago is so dense and changes so quickly, it is easy to learn something new every time. We went on to get lunch at Billy Goat's where the owner came out to greet us. Our next task was to decorate our tent at the Bike the Drive festival. It was exciting to see it come together.

That evening was my mom's party. She tried to get me to wear a different outfit, but I, of course, objected. I objected to many things. There was a lot of food. And a lot of people I did not know. We tried to go to bed at a reasonable hour. Our bike ride the next morning had a call time of about 5am. The sun was up really early, so that helped. We rolled out of the house to the train to get to the start station at Buckingham Fountain. Divvy was so generous to be able to get us 30 bikes for the day. We all checked out bikes and rolled out later than I wanted. We were racing the sun because it would be really, really hot later. It was a gorgeous ride. So unique and scenic. It's the one time a year no cars are on Lake Shore Drive.

I arranged with my very generous friend to bring us food from Maxwell's, a Chicago classic. At the tent, everyone laid around melting in the heat. It was so fun to have all our friends out for a bike ride and picnic. Everyone was so concerned it would be cold, but no one anticipated it would be so severely opposite. It made us so happy to share the experience with friends.

A tried to convince some friends to go climb after. But everyone really needed a siesta. He was unsuccessful, but we went back the next morning for a climb at the most scenic indoor gym around. We went home to loaf around before going out to a bar for dinner and a drink. Our last bike ride of the day took us to Pilsen for some ice cream. We were like a bike gang ripping around the neighborhood. It was awesome.

We had 5 friends staying with us at the house, and it was really such a great experience. I really love that folks were willing to stay with us like a slumber party. It made it so fun to go home and just hang out together. It really was such a fantastic weekend with so many of our friends. We were so happy and touched that people came out for us. I hope folks had a fun experience and found something to love about Chicago.

soon,
jt

too long

Ahoy,

My friends orchestrated a surprise bachelorette party for me. It was so well done. I was so very, very surprised and impressed with what they came up with. They developed an urban scavenger hunt with friends holding clues at all the stops. They picked all these places I would have picked if I were to take my friends on an urban adventure.

The day started with M tricking me into a birthday bike ride. But it was actually for me! We plogged first. I lost my minion balloon walking around a pole too quickly. That was devastating. I am still devastated. We stopped at Pasta Sisters and Boba Guys where I found more friends. We also stopped at the Natural History Museum, library, Last Bookstore, the Perch, and Clifton's. All the clues were like riddles and so well done.

They tried to keep it a surprise. So it was really entertaining hearing about how they tried so hard to keep me in the dark. Someone had mentioned to me that they were coming to visit during that weekend, so I suspected something was going on. It didn't detract from the experience. It was a great day.

I also managed to plan A's bachelor party. They all went dirt biking for the main activity. They went to a Belgian brewery after and ended the evening at Wii Spa. He loved it. And now I don't have to go dirt biking with him!

soon,
jt

Pinnacles 2.0

Ahoy,

The last weekend in April, we embarked on a camping trip to Pinnacles. Remember last time at Pinnacles? We had to cut it short because the RRS got sick. Bummer. This time I was so glad he was in better spirits. On Friday, we drove up the dusty 5 to go into the winding green hills to get to the park. The drive in that portion goes on for a while, but the scenery is a pleasant surprise to find in middle-ish CA.

The pinnacles of the parked formed from volcanic activity and subduction. The pinnacles formations used to be geographically in LA and moved up as the plates moved. Apparently there are some remaining pinnacles here still. As the newest National Park - it was signed into Park status from monument status by Obama in 2013 - it doesn't have as much of the developments for visitors yet. There wasn't a gate to pay - you had to do so at the visitor center, which was more like a camp store with some brochures. But they had It's-Its! Have you ever found those at the camp store?

The raccoons are really incredibly bold. You can hear them as they go from camp to camp trying to nab food because you can hear the humans trying to scare them away. The moon was nearly full while we were there so it was very bright at night. The wildlife sounds are like a symphony every evening and morning. Truly remarkable. The weather was so perfect. The ranger told us that just the week prior it had gotten up to 95. We were treated to highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. A did just fine doubled up in his sleeping bags. I had considered getting him a sleeping bag liner, but really his sleeping bag is his sleeping bag liner.

Briefly the first night, we stopped through the Bacon Ranch to see the old homesteaders' set-up. The next day was our full hike of 9.5 miles. From the Old Pinnacles Trailhead, we hiked up to the High Peaks, into the Talus Caves on the west side, and back to the start on some really easy, flat trails. The high peaks were some really cool volcanic rock formations that are showcased more on the west side than east side. The trail had some really steep stairs that were drilled into the rocks by the CCC during post-depression days. It was a lot more secure than the chains of Angels' Landing. There was scrambling and headlamps necessary for the caves. And we were able to spot some California condors, recently recovering additions to the park. A lot of variety on this trail.

My first order of business was to have an It's-It once we got back to the visitor's center. The RRS sat around looking at climbing books, while I impatiently pestered him that I was ready for ice cream the moment we stepped in. He picked another hike for us on the East side. It included a walk through the woods, more caves, a reservoir, and more pinnacles. A lot of bang for our buck. I reluctantly did not protest despite our mileage doubling when we found out it was too crowded at the trailhead to drive there, which was difficult for me to get over mentally. Alas, the group wants what the group wants. It was a faster walk on the return to get to dinner over campfire! We got in over 15 miles that day. I was not so stoked for all of them, but it was a successful day nonetheless. I need to work on being less grumpy and not defaulting to 'no' so it was good for me. A is always good at making me do things that are good for me. 

Other things I learned is that when camping with L and E, we should assign one couple to prepare dinner each night. We always cook too much food individually. This was also the inauguration of my new hatchet. I had been waiting since the winter to test it out. A got to try his hand at making a fire without assistance from the kindling I made. This was such a fun trip. What a shame our next camping reservations aren't until October.

happy trails to you,
jt