December 3-4, 2015 Mariposa and Yosemite National Park, California

 

We drove south on highway 49. It is very narrow with hairpin turns and very steep with sheer drop off on one side and granite walls on the other side. Not the easiest for a big motor home. The lady at the cidery said the road would be fine, but she obviously had not driven along it in anything very big. John drove about 25 mph and did fine. We arrived into Mariposa, another old gold rush town.

We are parked at the  Mariposa Fair grounds. It is right off the highway. They are setting up for a Christmas Bazaar the next couple days at the fairgrounds. We could get our photo with Santa, if we wanted. We plan on going to Yosemite tomorrow, may miss the bazaar.

Good thing we did not bring the bus to Yosemite, not sure it would have made it through this near the entrance to Yosemite. It was too long for this road anyway. From the Tunnel view point looking down the valley. There is fog in the shaded part over the river. On the left side is El Capitan, in the middle way back is Half Dome and on the right is Cathedral Rocks over Bridal Veil falls in the shadow.

 

John and I at the over look. People always want us to take their photo then they offer to take ours. John hates it, but he grins and bears it. I have my down sweater on, John has lots of layers on, it was in the high 30’s-but sunny. El Capitan reflected in the Merced River with a rim of ice. I slipped on the ice here and broke my glasses and had to wear them crooked the rest of the day.

 

Yosemite falls reflected in the Merced River with a rainbow on the upper falls. The falls come to the valley floor in three cascades and are 2,425 feet tall, the tallest falls in North America.

 

We hiked to the bottom of the lower falls, then hiked a mile  of the Valley Floor loop- through beautiful forest to  the Ahwahnee lodge.

 

The lobby of the Ahwahnee lodge. It was built in 1927 and very fancy. We were going to have lunch there, but found out to eat in the dining room men have to wear long pants and shirt with a collar and women a dress, or long pants and a shirt with a collar. John had on shorts and a t-shirt  and I had on a tee shirt. We could have eaten at the bar, but we wanted the dining room, so we passed and had our packed lunch when we got back to the car. On the way back there was mist over the meadows and a deer.

 

Looking back across the meadow from the south side. Once again we took someone’s photo and they took ours with the Upper Yosemite falls in the background. It made it up the high 40’s by afternoon.

 

As the shadows fell into the valley there was more mist. This is Half Dome on the right. The light was really cool in these trees.

 

Another shot of Half Dome and mist on the way out of the valley in front  of Cathedral Spires.

 

Last light on the valley. El Capitan on the left.  We got back into Mariposa in time to make the grand opening of the new location of the Prospector Brewery, which is just across the parking lot from the campground.

December 2, 2015 Sonora, California

We went from Calistoga to Sonora to Indigeny Hard Cider. Another Harvest Host, we can stay for free.

 

Vineyards in Napa. Oak trees along the eastern foothills toward Sonora.

 

Main street Angels Camp, California home of the Calaveras Jumping Frog contest. I came here with my  3rds and 5th grade classes to see the contest. It is an old gold rush town.

 

Main street of Sonora, California. It was also an old gold rush town. The roads to the cidery was steep and narrow, the last road was a one lane road.

With a covered bridge. The first time the bus has gone over a covered bridge. The coach at the cidery with the apple orchard behind.

 

We tasted cider, infused apple vodka and apple brandy. Delicious. John in the brandy room, where it is aged and we tasted it.

The apple ranch has 80 acres here and another 100 at a Cedar Ridge apple ranch. They are put in the crusher on the left, then put in the large fermenting vats to the right.

 

This is the still where they make the vodka and brandy. Apple trees.

We went on the trail the old mine. The barn at Indigeny at sunset.

 

Sunset over the ranch.

November 29- December 1, 2015 Redway to Calistoga, California

We drove up to visit Kay and David’s house. Last time we were here they were just building it.

Highway 101 goes from 4 lanes to two lanes through the old growth redwoods here. The state wants to widen the highway, but the locals want to save the redwoods. Some of the big trees are right up to the white line on the side.  I would go with saving the trees and leaving the highway narrow. Their house is on 80 acres in hills in a thick chaparral forest. It is up a really, really steep 4 mile dirt road, mostly their driveway. This is the greenhouse and house behind the fall oak trees on the way in.

They are totally off the grid using solar, generator and a spring. It is a beautiful house in a really pretty area. Kay and John in the kitchen. We had left over turkey sandwiches for lunch  on their deck in the sun. It was only in the high 40’s, but warm in the sun.

 

We went on a 4 mile hike, on their driveway. I lived in these kind of hills as a child and love it.  Kay and Sue petting some little ponies in the neighbors yard. Oak trees silhouetted by evening light.

Kay, David and John on the road. Sunset out the bus window.

Some of the birds outside the bus at the Richardson’s Redwood Grove RV park. Oak trees lining the road on the way into Calistoga.

 

The coach at the Calistoga fairgrounds RV park. We soaked at the Calistoga Spa Hot Springs this afternoon. There are lots of hot spring resorts here, but almost all of them you have to either stay there or get an expensive spa treatment to soak. This place is one of the only that will let you soak. $25 per person, but worth it.

 

The sun came out, it was almost 70 degrees.  Old Faithful geyser in Calistoga goes off once an hour. Of course you have to pay to go in and see it, and we didn’t. Some vineyards along my bike ride this am.

 

We toured the Sterling vineyard today. You take a gondola over a lake  up to the ridge to the winery. We took the $39 each premium tour. Tasting is pretty pricey in this area.  It was self guided with different stops to taste wine. John with the different sizes of bottles.

 

Big and smaller barrels of wine. The view from the top of vineyards below.

 

One of the tasting areas on an outdoor patio. Then we went upstairs for the premium part of the tour. Through these lovely Christmas decorations and got to taste some of the premium wines and see the artwork. The wine was so so, but the artwork was nice. Ansel Adams, Picasso, Raphael- mostly wine and vineyard themes.

 

John on our way back down the gondola.  The tree and vineyard lined drive out of the vineyard.

 

In downtown Calistoga we went into the Man Supply and I came out with this fabulous man.  Looks like we will miss the Lighted Christmas Tractor Parade this weekend.  Here we are in wine country but we went to the one brewery to taste beers and have dinner in the historic Calistoga Inn.