Sammy and the Babysitter

For those of you who know Sammy, I just had to post these pictures. Suzy Maddalena had taken care of our precious baby while we were camping in Yosemite with David. Suzy was just remarkable!!! She and Sammy hit it off immediately. The reason Sammy is wearing this unusual contraption (life jacket with a little noodle attached to the top of it)was so when he would run outside he would not be able to get through the fencing. He just loved running around their property and playing with the other dogs. Apparently, Suzy said Sammy was quite fascinated with her cat and horse. Sammy definitely had a great time while we were away. Thank you Suzy!!!!

Beautiful Visions that Inspired John Muir

These are some parting shots of the scenes of Half Dome and the valley from our campsite in Yosemite. David brought us to one of his special places on earth. You can almost feel John Muir's presence here. Thank you David for this shared gift of a lifetime.
We are so very blessed.

Lee and David - A Moment in Time in Yosemite

After David and I set up our tent, the three of us took a walk down to Snow Creek where we enjoyed a couple of hours sitting, reflecting, resting, and dipping our hot and tired feet in the creek. It was such a beautiful setting and the spiritual connection was palpable. When David and Lee were sitting together talking, it reminded me of a day at Steve's pool in Freeport when David was only about three years old and he and Lee were together having a special moment like this. I was so happy to capture this grownup moment in time.

Things I've Never Seen Before in Yosemite

As Fall approaches, we all use pine cones to decorate for the upcoming holidays. Well I just had to share some pictures of pine cones which I am sure most of us have never seen before. The pictures on the left show a pine cone in different stages; a fleshy green stage, a partially eaten green pine cone, and finally a pine cone that has been consumed and its dried out remains. This just fascinated me!!! Don't ask me why.
Also, the picture of the red plant was of interest to me. The plant is called Snow Flower and has no chlorophyll at all and grows wild in the forest. Isn't that amazing????
The Yosemite forest had so many interesting facets. I am quite surprised at my own childlike excitement when discovering these things for the first time; so much so that I just had to show you these pictures.

Camping in Yosemite with David

We met up with our son David on Labor Day and made our preparations for the next day's hike and overnight in Yosemite. David has been a wilderness leader now for two summers at Camp Tawonga, a Jewish summer camp in Yosemite. It was just wonderful to see our oldest son in HIS environment which he is soooo passionate about. He helped us with our packing and prep and also had given us a fabulous lead on a "babysitter for Sammy" while we were going to be away. So with Sammy safely settled, we woke up early the following day dressed in our hiking gear as well as our GRISWOLD FAMILY VACATION T SHIRTS which David had given all of us for Christmas last year. David carried most of the gear which included our sleeping bags, pads, food, and Bear Can. A Bear Can is a container in which you put anything that has a scent that a bear would smell (this included deodorant, food items, wrappers, lip gloss, etc). This container has a locked top in the event of a bear visiting our campsite searching for food. David had quite a load but apparently he was up to the task. We hiked 4.5 miles on the Porcupine Trail which led us to the Snow Creek area which has phenomenal views of the quarter and half dome mountains. Along our hike, David informed us of the necessary information on how to live in the woods; such as digging your own hole so you can go the the bathroom; using smooth sticks and stones for cleansing, and filling the hole with the dirt and leaving a curved stick in the dirt to alert other hikers that this area was already used!!!. Trust me, I told my son that I was not about to use any sticks or stones for cleansing; I would be using tissues or wipes and would gladly carry it in my personal "garbage" bag until we reached civilization. I have to admit that camping in the wilderness with no modern conveniences was quite a stretch for me but I did it!! Thank goodness there are no pictures of that!!! Ha Ha Ha!! Also, David told us about how we would need to purify the water we take from a creek or stream using his pumping system which has a filter attached to it. Since we are supposed to be consuming at least 2 liters of water a day, we will have to replenish it however we don't want to use water that might contain microorganisms, etc. in it. It was amazing to watch him to this when we were at the creek later on in our trip. When we reached our destination, I assisted David with the putting up of our tent and Lee assisted with dinner. David made an incredible coconut curry veggie stir fry with rice. Wow!! Boy did it taste fabulous!! You know the expression "clean or lick your plate clean"????......well, that is how you are supposed to clean your plate and utensils so that it won't leave a scent for bears. You use the water that cooked the rice, pour a small amount into the plate, move the remains with your fingers, and then drink the liquid. Doesn't that sound tasty and something I would love to do!!! Well I did it but really couldn't drink all the "liquid". I am glad to say that Lee helped me out in that department. You should have seen, however, David clean the stir fry pan. Oh my goodness!! The reason we did this is that the "mantra" of hikers in the back country, "Leave No Trace". By utilizing the remains of the cooked food and water, we were able to conserve on the fresh. Talk about being Green!!!!!
After dinner, with additional layers of clothes put on, I wanted to try out the sleeping bag in the tent. I have to admit that I fell asleep right away and woke up in the middle of the night staring at the incredible stars above. What a day!!!

Do You See What I See???

As we walked around the Redwood National Parks, I could not help myself. I had to take pictures of the images I saw in the woods. I was a child all over again excited with my imagination and anticipation of what I might find. Do you see what I see???? Click on each picture to get a larger view. Please let me know what you see using a comment post!!!!!!

Highway 101 in California

Traveling along Highway 101 was visually beautiful. The Pacific Ocean was gleaming and its waves provided surfers with an opportunity to show off their skills. The coastline here is very different from Maine. It has a lot of cliffs and rocks jutting out from the ocean and on the sand. (Makes you appreciate Goose Rocks Beach even more!!!)
Here is an interesting fact: During World War II, there were "Disguised Houses" placed in the cliffs along the coastline which were actually military observation platforms that were manned and armed in the event of another Japanese attack along our California coast. These disguised buildings looked just like little houses with dormers. If anyone has ever seen the comedy movie 1941 with John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd, you come away with a renewed understanding of the fear that gripped our California neighbors during that time.