Sequoia, Part IV: More Trees and Lakes

We woke up and had a good breakfast in the lodge dining room, and then Stace and I took a trip out onto the big pond in a canoe. Stace then got in a kayak and sped around on his own. Violet relaxed on the bench, and we admired the nearby large black cows that seem to roam wild around the area.  

We then checked out and headed north further into the park, towards Kings Canyon. We stopped at another hiking spot and looped around to see a number of sequoias. 

Stace and Violet are at the bottom of this photograph!

The stream here sounded amazing.

We drove to Hume Lake, walked around the Christian camp, and then walked along the lakefront.

Until next time, Sequoias! We loved marveling at you, once again.

Sequoia, Part III: Montecito Sequoia Lodge

 On Saturday night, we arrived at the Montecito-Sequoia Lodge, for our long-awaited return to the place we stayed on our very first trip to the park, when Cora was an infant.

It's a lovely place that hosts weeklong family camps all summer; it would have been great to do when the girls were younger, but it was always very expensive. Besides a room, you get three meals a day and activities.

On Saturday night, we arrived in time for dinner, and one of the activities was s'mores making and a campfire. There's also a pool and a small lake with canoes and kayaks.

The food was very decent and filling, with lots of choices, plus several desserts. We took our meal out on the deck to enjoy the view.

Our room was nice and big - king-sized bed, and bunks. 

We had registered for a night hike to look at the stars, and were on our way there, when I checked my email and learned it had been cancelled because of the weather. 

Instead, we took a short walk around the lodge property, and then went in and played Boggle. There were a number of games available for guests. Violet was pretty bummed to miss the hike, but we tried to make the best of it.

Sequoia, Part II: Crystal Cave

 We drove on to Lodgepole Village from the Gen. Sherman Tree, and found ourselves in a complete and total downpour - sheets of water rushing across the visitor center parking lot. 

When it slowed a bit, we went into the visitor center and and the market for drinks. 

Thankfully, the rain stopped, because we had a visit to Crystal Caves booked, and that involved a long hike to the cave entrance.

Above was the road we drove to get to Crystal Cave, including that bridge over a river.

We then reached the parking lot where we checked in for our hike. And on our hike, we came across the river and this pretty waterfall.

Once at the cave, our guide was a recent college graduate named Cora! Violet volunteered to bring up the rear of our group, which meant we could get photos without the crowds.

The cave was well worth the visit, and we even got to see bats at the end, flying back and forth. 

At the end of our hike back to the car, we said goodbye to my parents. They were spending the second night at the same hotel in Three Rivers, while we had chosen to stay in the national park at a lodge for the second night.

Sequoia, Part I: General Sherman Tree

 We joined my parents on a short weekend trip to Sequoia National Park, one of Violet's favorite places.

We all spent Friday night in Three Rivers, the little town on the outskirts of the park, and drove up Saturday morning. Our first stop was the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree on earth.

Just walking the trail near the Sherman tree is a great experience - the air is filled with the scent of sequoias, pines and clean dirt, if you know what I mean.

Waiting for a bus?

We did a lot of walking this trip - Violet was able to RACK UP the P.E. hours!

Rewind a bit to Friday night - we enjoyed a really good pizza at Pizza Factory in Three Rivers, with a nice and full glass of wine. We were fortunate - my parents tried to go to the same restaurant Saturday night, and there was a power outage and many restaurants were closed!

Tidbits

Violet and Stace went up to Castaic Lake at dusk to take photos. Stace got a nice photo here...

This week, it was Winston's turn to go to the vet. I'd mentioned to the vet when I was in with Seb, that Winston has a wheezy whistle when he breathes, and he also had a cough earlier this summer. She said it would be good for him to have a checkup.

He screamed the whole way in the car (see below), but once we got into the exam room, he jumped out the carrier and went exploring everywhere. Funny, since Seb and Spencer never did that. 

Here's a great clip to set as an alarm sound on your phone!

Despite the traumatic car ride, Winston loves the cat carrier when it's at home on the floor. We had no trouble getting him in it. 

And, after a few tests, we know he's healthy.

Evie helped Cora with her coloring.

So cute. His arm is around her neck.

Who knew he'd like watermelon? 

Winston has calmed down with his food mania, though he still LOVES my oatmeal cake. If I have a piece and he's around, he demands I share. 

Violet was playing hide and seek with Evie in the bathroom shower curtain. She looks pretty with her big eyes.

Cora was filming an audition, with a box on top of a chair to get the cell phone to the right height. Evie needed to be inside, and the box (and phone) came crashing down. She promptly climbed inside for a rest.

Week in Review

 And, this week, Violet's summer vacation came to an end! My, that felt fast. It always does. Cora has a few more weeks until her college classes start.

Violet got all registered at her online school on Monday. Although it's online, there is a small campus and registration happens in person. 

She's a sophomore! First day of school was Tuesday. She's taking honors English, honors history, business, PE and algebra 2/trig online; and Advanced Placement art and chemistry in person.

This is not a normal position for Evie, so it made me laugh (and grab a photo).

Through the co-op I buy our wheat, honey and other goods from, I bought peanuts for our homemade peanut butter.

Seb has been having trouble, urinating in the hallway. It happened enough that I took him to the vet. Turns out he has crystals in his urine, so we've switched his food to a special food for the problem.

We went to Placerita Nature Center Tuesday afternoon, and the rattlesnakes were looking very friendly. Violet talked with Ranger Frank about volunteering at the center.

We have a new store in town that sells Amazon and Target returns and overruns. Lots of random stuff, in big bins on long tables in rows. 

The store gets stocked on Saturday, and everything costs $12. The prices drop each day until the cost is $1 per item on Friday.

I went for the first time on Tuesday, when items were $4 each. There was a lot of stuff to look through, but I found these four things. I later looked up their current prices on Amazon: the 8-pack of better-ingredient chips were $16.50; the 20-pack of electrolytes was $16; the bag of caffeinated mints was on sale for $26 (!) and the book was $9. So, I did pretty well!

A sunset walk in Castaic...

Also last week, Colleen and I went to see the Cinderella musical at the Canyon Theatre Guild, so we could see Carla (center) as the fairy godmother. Carla has taught Cora vocals for the past few years.

Liana stayed at our house with Violet, and Cora took them all to the resale clothing shop and a Japanese bakery.

Animal Tracks

 On Saturday morning, Violet and I went up to Agua Dulce, to take a guided tour of Animal Tracks, a rescue/sanctuary. Many of the animals should have been wild, but were unfortunately kept as pets. We watched a pack of wolf/husky hybrids in another large enclosure.

Violet was able to feed the horse and donkeys lettuce.

We started with an introduction to the organization and to a few animals, including this cheeky marmoset with the crazy hairstyle.

This cockatoo was LOUD! I can understand why an owner might not be keen to keep it for the long haul.

Did you know armadillos are great diggers, and like playing with balls? 

The fennec fox was so cute!

The porcupines were so sweet! We learned about their habits and got to see some quills up close, as the lady passed some loose ones around.

Some people try to keep red kangaroos as pets. One man who did so kept one of these guys with his large dogs. Well, in Australia, a kangaroo's natural enemy is a dingo, so this kangaroo was very stressed all the time prior to his rescue.

There were lots of capuchin monkeys, and a macaque.

Chrissy the baboon loves playing mama to the monkeys.

Violet was most excited to see the sugar gliders, tiny Australian opossums. They weren't part of the normal tour, but the owner took us into their little cabin and gave us a private look at the normally nocturnal animals mistaken for flying squirrels.

Animal Tracks also houses rabbits and ferrets, in the top of this photo.

These piglets were recent arrivals. They were so loud!

After Animal Tracks, which was right next to Vasquez Rocks, we went to a farm shop in nearby Acton. We bought a soap, jam and bread. Then we got a drink at a local coffee shop.

Before returning home, we stopped at River's End BBQ and shared a big hamburger.

We had a great Saturday together!

Meanwhile, Stace played golf with his work friends and they went to the Local for lunch; he then helped Christina with a Finally Family Homes project.