Friday 2/16/17
On a day trip while
staying at Andrea's we paid a visit to our friend Kathie in Newport Beach, CA.
Now retired, Kathie has led a fascinating life culminating in a career as a
gourmet chef. While learning that art in the kitchens of various starred
restaurants in France, Kathie befriended and was befriended by Simone Beck,
co-author of Julia Child's first cookbook. When in France Julia lived and
cooked in her house adjacent to the Beck estate in the countryside outside of
Cannes. Late in Julia's life Kathie bought Julia's house, where for decades
Kathie operated a fine cuisine cooking school.
Our Friend Kathie, the Gourmet Chef
But
easy it’s not. The hike involves four miles round trip with a 1200 foot
elevation gain. At several junctures there are narrow, smooth, slippery marble
chutes requiring something very much like rock climbing to negotiate them. On
the first one we encountered I had made it about half way up the 45-degree
incline with no handholds when suddenly I felt I was walking on a large hamster
wheel. Then I fell to my knees
with a painful thump and slid back to the bottom. Finally, I succeeded and trudged on. When we reached another
such chute a hiker who had just conquered it helpfully told us not to feel
embarrassed about struggling there. “I’ve been a rock climber for 25 years, and
I had a hard time with this one.” This made me feel much better.
Hiking Golden
Canyon. At
Golden Canyon we took a half-mile walk with a ranger-led group and learned a
bit about the geology of the area.
A
slice of life on the road: On one day in Death Valley (more on that later) I
was up at 6:00 am hiking around the hills taking in magnificent views of the
valley below. When Kate awoke she prepared for us a tasty breakfast of
(vegetarian) chorizo and eggs. We then made our way 35 miles round trip (in the
rig, thank God) to Badwater Basin where we participated in the ranger walk,
after which we hiked on our own a couple of miles out onto the valley floor.
For lunch we drove to the Tibisha Shoshone village where 30 members of the
tribe continue the centuries of Tibisha habitation of the valley. We ate
delicious “Indian tacos” there (like regular tacos but much bigger, with fry
bread instead of tortillas). Then we proceeded to the ranger walk at
long-defunct Harmony Borax Works (which only operated for five years in the 19th
century, but that was long enough to produce the “20 Mule Team Borax” ad
campaign and ultimately to bless us with trickle down economics). Back to the
slice of life. Late in the afternoon on this day Kate turned to me and asked
“How are you enjoying your down day?”
But I’m ahead of myself. When last we checked in, we were
leaving Palm Desert and Joshua Tree National Park. Our next stop was the San
Diego area. We camped at San Elijo State Park campground in Encinitas.
The weather was beautiful (as it always is in Southern California). Lots of
surfer girls (and boys) on hand.
We explored Encinitas, and the SoCal vibes from my youth got
to me. I felt like saying “Mom, I’m home….”
Also while in Encinitas we found another Westfalia Airstream
Sprinter! This was the second one we’d seen on our travels. Well, we thought
it was the second one. We had caught a glimpse of one earlier while
driving in Palm desert. It turned out that this Sprinter is owned by our new
friend James, who lives in Seattle and is out on his first five-month adventure
in the rig. We told him we’d only seen one other Sprinter on the road, in Palm
Desert. “That was me!” he said. So we’ve only seen one. His rig is the 163rd
of the 237 total Westy Airstream Sprinters ever manufactured. He showed us how
to find this information on a doorjamb label (We’re number 65).
James and his Westy Airstream Sprinter
While in the area we visited Fran, the widow of Kate’s
brother Mike. Fran took us to a wild sort of old folks blues jam at the Downtown Café
in El Cajon. It was good to see Fran, and a nice way to spend a Sunday
afternoon.
Kate and Fran at the Old Folks Jam
After our Downtown Café stop we dined at Tribute Pizza in San Diego,
where Anna, Fran’s daughter (Kate’s niece) works. We managed to recruit other
customers to cheer madly when Anna expertly tossed pizza dough in the air. Anna: "I’ve
never been so embarrassed in my life.” Don: “Great. That’s what we were going for.”
Anna
Fran, Kate, & Anna
The next evening we took Anna out to dinner at a restaurant
she picked. We had a great meal and a lot of fun getting to know Anna better.
She’s planning her own road trip with a friend in the fall, to try out as many
restaurants as they can. Anna is a foodie, and is building a career in the
restaurant business.
Dining Out with Anna
While still in the San Diego area we were able to arrange a
long coffee date with Kate’s niece Vanessa. It was a really good connection
with Vanessa, one of the five daughters of Kate’s late brother Mike. We sipped
coffee in an Encinitas park and talked about old times and future plans.
Getting Together with Vanessa
In the San Diego area we also were able to arrange a lunch with Billie and her daughter Kim. Billie was part of
an inseparable group of friends of Kate’s mother Dorothy, who played bridge
together for four-plus decades. Billie is 95 and has just moved from northern
California to a new home near San Diego where her daughters live. She was
elated to tell us she had just passed her driver’s license test and is approved
to drive until she’s 99!
Kate and Billie on the Threshold of Billie's New Home
Our next stop was in
Orange, CA for a visit with Andrea. Kate has known Andrea since Kate was 16 and
Andrea was 9 months old. Kate was Andrea's babysitter during a challenging time
for Andrea (she was born blind) and for Kate (her mother had recently suffered
life-changing injuries in a car accident). Andrea works as an instructor at a
nonprofit organization that teaches tech skills to the blind. Devoted readers
(if any) will remember that we visited Judie, Andrea's mother, in the Sun Valley
area in October.
Kate and Andrea
We parked our rig on the
street at Andrea's house for two nights and managed to sleep there without
getting arrested -- opening vast new possibilities in our minds of ways to stay
overnight for free. During this visit Kate and Andrea had a chance to remember
old times together and to catch up on current events We also got to sample some
great down-and-dirty Mexican food and Argentinean empanadas from local
restaurants.
While in Orange at
Andrea's suggestion I had my first ever pedicure. Not bad, but I'm not
particularly vain about my feet. This one will probably last me for the rest of
my life.....
Lovely to Behold.....
Kate and I were lucky
enough to stay in the house as Kathie's guests 20 years ago. Kate joined
Kathie's cooking class and I provided a valuable service as diner, eating all
the wonderful stuff they created during class. Years later I returned with
Sarah and two of her college friends during Sarah's year abroad. The girls
learned some cooking techniques from Kathie and I again helped out by eating
everything.
On our current visit with
Kathie we spent a brief but wonderful time reminiscing and laughing, and
laughing some more.
Continuing
our tour of Southern California, we visited Jim in La Canada, near Los Angeles.
Jim and I have been good friends for the past 60 years, beginning in junior
high school. These days, spending time with Jim often means spending time with
Kate’s longtime friend Dawn. Kate and Dawn met through a mom’s group when their
first-born children, Laura and Joseph, were toddlers 33 years ago. The mom’s
group has continued to get together at least annually since then. More recently
(a few years ago), Jim and Dawn “found each other” with a little help from us,
and they’ve been an item ever since.
While the ladies spent time admiring the cactus gardens at the Huntington
museum.....
.....Jim and I had a
day at Santa Anita racetrack.
Jim and Don with Seabiscuit at Santa Anita
Santa Anita is easily the most beautiful
sports venue I’ve ever seen, and Jim and I are expert handicappers. Each
of us could easily make a handsome living just betting on the ponies. Not. But
on this trip, we both came away big winners. This was a first, and probably a
last.
After
a great visit and several good meals, we said our goodbyes to Jim and Dawn and
Headed toward Death Valley.
After
crossing the mountains on the Angeles Crest highway and passing through
Lancaster and Palmdale, our first stop was the Panamint Springs Resort.
Panamint Springs is situated in the Panamint Valley at the foot of the Panamint
mountain range – technically within Death Valley National Park, but one valley
short of the actual Death Valley. Kate was initially unimpressed with the
Panamint Resort.
But
after we settled into our campsite and awoke the next morning, we realized we
were in a beautiful place.
Moving
on, we arrived in Death Valley where we stayed several days at the Texas
Springs campground, which we used as our base to explore the valley.
Early Morning View from Texas Springs Campground
Among
our Death Valley adventures:
Hiking Mosaic
Valley.
It’s been a while since we’ve been truly on the road, long enough for me to
forget the true meaning of an “easy” hike. Mosaic Valley is beautiful, no doubt
about it.
Kate negotiating one of the tricky spots
I’ll
admit though that the hike yielded some spectacular views.
When
we finally reached the end of the climb, we found that someone had thoughtfully
created an opportunity for photographic proof of our feat.
Viewing the
sunrise from our rig. We haven’t quite figured out why some sunrises and sunsets are
gorgeous and some aren’t, but we were treated to some early morning beauty from
our Texas Springs campsite.
Ubehebe Crater.
“This
hike will be easy. It’s just a mile.”
This was my introduction (enticement) to exploration of the crater. It
entailed a 50 mile drive into the desert – 50 miles away from the nearest gas
station, water, food, cell tower, etc. The crater itself resulted from a
volcanic explosion about 2,000 years ago. It’s a half mile across and 500 feet
deep.
The
hiking path around the crater requires a steep climb of about 300 feet followed
by a meandering path around the crater’s edge and beyond to the edge of a
smaller crater. More than three miles. I only say this for the record. The path
was scarily narrow for a while, but in all it wasn’t too difficult. The crater
and the surrounding desert offered food for the soul, as we say.
Walking in Badwater
Basin. One
of the unintended themes of our travels has been rain. Seemingly we have a
knack for finding rain where few others have done so. Badwater Basin is the
lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, at 282 feet below sea level.
Kate points way, way up to Sea Level (the tiny white spot on the slope above)
Badwater is also the site of the highest temperature ever recorded on earth
– 134 degrees. But when we arrived for our visit at, it was raining.
Nonetheless we trekked out with the ranger for an interesting talk about the
forces at work shaping Death Valley. In a few sentences: The earth is
stretching east to west hereabouts due to tectonic plate movement. It’s also
sliding south to north due to a different variety of plate movement. The result
is an up-thrust of mountains to the east and west, and a stretching and
collapsing of the valley floor. Mountain rains and snowmelt wash rocks and
minerals into the valley. Because the valley is so low and hot – shielded from
rainstorms by several mountain ranges to the west -- the runoff water
evaporates, leaving the minerals (salt, borax, chlorite, etc.) to form a crust on
the valley floor. Get it?
Looks like snow, but it's salt.
Walking in the
Moonlight at Salt Creek. On the night of the February full moon, we walked
into the desert with Ranger Mike. Flashlights were not allowed, but moonlight
was quite enough to illuminate the trail. Mike led us through various exercises
designed to help us experience the nighttime desert through the eyes, ears, and
noses of the animals inhabiting the area. It was beautiful and informative.
Kate using her eyes, ears, and nose in the moonlight.
Hiking in the
Daytime at Salt Creek. Later during our stay in the valley, we returned to Salt Creek to
explore in daylight. In the midst of dry, parched desert Salt Creek somehow
holds its own. Ten thousand years ago all of Death Valley was a 600-foot deep
lake. Today Salt Creek is the only Death Valley wet creek still in existence.
When we looked close we could see pupfish swimming in the stream.
Pupfish
must be the toughest fish anywhere. They have evolved to survive in water with
three times the salinity of ocean water, at water temperatures varying between
freezing and 120+ degrees.
When
you hike the Salt Creek Trail, you know you’re in the desert and on your own.
Still,
it could be worse. In 1849 a group of would-be miners tried to take a
shortcut through the valley to reach gold country and got lost. Eventually they
had to kill their oxen and burn their wagons to make jerky to survive and
escape on foot to the gold fields. We escaped by eating grapes and Zone Bars
from our pack.
After
the ranger-led portion, we hiked on for another 4-plus miles. Ranger Mike had
assured me that this is the easiest hike in the park. Easy peasy. Well, no.
There were some unbelievably steep and narrow passages. Enormous blasts of
gusting wind nearly blew us over the edge from time to time.
But
as usual, the rewards (above and beyond survival) were wonderful scenic vistas.
Hiking
Mesquite Dunes. The dunes are formed by a combination of winds carrying sand and a
mountain barrier acting as a windbreak. We first spent time with Ranger Chris
on the dunes, learning about the abundant wildlife that somehow thrives in the
valley. Coyotes, kit fox, kangaroo rats, beetles, grasshopper mice,
sidewinders, and more. Chris taught us to spot the tracks of each type of
animal and then turned us loose to find evidence of the denizens of the dunes
by spotting tracks on our own. It was fun. We also saw the pure art created by
wind and sand.
We
returned at sunrise the next day to witness another aspect of the beauty of the dunes.
Our neighbors during our
week at Texas Springs were Randy and Trudy. Hailing from the state of
Washington, both had careers in the military. Randy maintained B-52's on the
flight line in Greece and Greenland, among other assignments. Trudy had a
shorter military career; until recently she worked for a university – as one of
those people who call to remind you that you're an alumnus and you really need
to give money.
Randy, Trudy, & Kate at the campfire that never was.
We spent a very pleasant
evening with Randy and Trudy having cocktails at our campfire (except we forgot
to light the campfire). They gave us lots of information about great campgrounds
in the Southwest, including one in particular from which you can walk into a
town in Mexico, eat great Mexican food, and get FREE margaritas! Sign me up.
Hold off on building the wall.
Leaving Death Valley, we
backtracked a little to travel west and north into Owens Valley, notable as
the source of much of the water supply for Los Angeles, via the Los Angeles
aqueduct. Under way we were treated to stunning views of
the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains.
In the valley, we walked along a canal that feeds the L.A. Aqueduct.
Our next stop was in
Bishop, about half way between the Mount Whitney Portal Road and Tioga Pass (to
Yosemite). In Bishop we were referred
by Chuck at the Chamber of Commerce Information Office to the best restaurant
in town, the Back Alley.
Favored by locals, the
Back Alley is a combination restaurant-bowling alley located behind a motel. We
arrived at 5:30 without a reservation, and the place was full. Turns out it’s a
very popular Valentines Day venue for the locals. Eventually they found room for us. Kate and I had the excellent lamb
chops and lobster tail respectively, and enjoyed the special Valentine decorations and the red carnation at our table. Not clear if the red lighting was special
for Valentines Day or just standard for bowling alley restaurants.
We spent a couple of nights at the
J Diamond RV Park in downtown Bishop.
Home Sweet Home at the J Diamond
Interesting person note:
While at the RV park I briefly met a fellow overnight RV’er – so briefly that
we didn’t even exchange names. He was visiting because he had taught at the
Bishop Paiute reservation in the 1970’s for a few years. He had returned to look up
a man who had been his favorite young student back then, only to discover that his former student had been murdered this past year in a drunken bar fight.
The J Diamond RV Park is
next door to the justly famous Schat’s Bakery. If you’re ever in Bishop,
Schat’s is the place for breakfast, lunch, and/or a million fabulous bakery
items to take out. Not that Schat’s needs our recommendation. They really are famous.
While in Bishop we
visited niece Teresa, one of the seven children of Kate’s late brother
Mike. Teresa is a school
psychologist for the Inyo County schools, and has lived in this Eastern Sierra
town for six years. Kate and I had a nice dinner with her and her boyfriend
Uncle Jerry (in-joke). Jerry is a public health inspector for the county; he
and Teresa are both avid hikers and rock climbers. It was fun to connect with
Teresa in her home area. Our children, nieces and nephews are scattered so widely
that it’s sometimes hard to stay in touch in person. One of the benefits of our current
adventure is that we can visit
and stay in touch.
Teresa, Jerry, & Kate
Back on the road again,
we’re headed we know not where – probably south and east, staying as warm as we
can.
