Grandma and Grandpa had the pleasure of a wilderness excursion with their two California grandchildren, Lillie and Lucy. A three day (2 night) trip to the foothills of the great Sierra Nevada mountains of eastern California. A great time was had by all. Here are a few highlights of the trip as related by the guest blogger; GP Czarnota.
We got to travel in style as we were upgraded to this Dodge Journey - for only another $12/day of course.
The two bedroom condo in Arnold, Mountain Retreat Resort, had all the amenities we needed - but to no surprise the fireplace was the biggest hit. Only $6.00 a bundle for wood.
$6.00/bundle is a bargain if you can get them to be this mesmerized by the fire for an hour.
A short dominoes game before bedtime and our adventures the next day.
We awoke to bright sunshine and this beautiful little creek outside of our condo. I am standing on the veranda of the condo as the two pose for a picture below.
Tall Trees National Park; one of several spots in the US that still has stands of Sequoia in their natural habitat.
We came here to get away from the snow.
The girls of course were fascinated by it. The first order of the day was to run in the snow so their feet could get good and wet and cold for the last part of our 1.5 mile hike.
The hike starts with the 'stage' called the "big Stump".
This fallen Sequioa was discovered in the 1860's during the California gold rush that occurred in the region at the time. It is believed to have been the largest Sequioa in the region with a diameter of over 30 feet. They counted over 2150 rings in this cross section. I wondered how you can cut a stump of such diameter?
An average sized Sequioa is very large with a typical height of over 200 feet and a diameter exceeding 15 feet.
As all living things - the Sequioas eventually die. This tree is believed to have fallen over 150 years ago and is now 'hollowed' by insects and decomposition.
The bark is soft to the touch and over two feet thick on average. More on its function later.
They can occur in clumps.
There roots can extend 150 feet in all directions so competition restricts the density to several trees in a given space.
The trees at the top are often damaged by wind or lightning.
Few trees of maturity (1500 years or more in age) have their original tops.
As you can appreciate - one tree has an extensive relationship with the biotic community around it.
The bark is the important 'skin' that protects the tree. The bark can withstand a forest fire, an important interaction with the Sequioa as the fire is the required stimulus to free the seeds from the cones.
These two are called the "mother and son."
They are actually both the same age but one has grown to be much bigger than the other.
The exposed tree of the "child" probably inhibited its growth.
This fallen Sequoia has a channel down the middle over 100 feet in length.
The girls crawled through the entire tree of course. The naturalists believe it has been 'resting' here for over 100 years.
Some trees you just can't move!
A stand of young Sequioas that probably sprouted after a forest fire at the turn of the 19'th century.
It takes a 100 years to grow a couple of feet in diameter.
Yet another fallen giant.
Time for a snack after a 1/2 hour of exploring the forest.
A healthy lunch of course!!
Cheddar cheese is one of Lucy's favorite snacks.
A channel through one of the trees.
This tree did not withstand a forest fire - which is unusual.
It may have been damaged before the fire and weakened as a result.
Two thousand years from now these could be giant Sequoias 30 feet in diameter.
Nothing wrong with a rest along the way.
... especially if Grandma and Grandpa can make it bounce!
"The mother of the forest" was the tallest and largest tree when the Sequioa grove was discovered. The owner of the land erected scaffolding and stripped the bark to reconstruct a tree in New York. (around 1880). It became quite a controversial exhibit as even then a segment of the population was against disturbing nature in this way. The tree stands in the forest black from 'head to toe' as it decays while standing among its peers.
Yosemite Park has a tree with a tunnel cut through s giant Sequioa.
The owner of this Sequioa stand did the same to attract tourists to his area in 1880. The tree is dying a slow death as a result.
This threesome is called the "three Sisters".
The girls renamed them the "three cousins - Lillie, Lucy and Ashley".
Disease can sometimes create unusual formations on the bark.
Grandpa made it with his pack despite a couple of bad knees.
I've got to do something about that so we can enjoy such wonderful hikes.
This tree suffered a burn from a very hot fire some time ago.
The thick bark is slowly closing the exposed tree.
What can be better at the end of such a hike than hot chocolate in the 'warming hut.'
The evening was spent watching a new video of a TV series called White Fang.
It's become one of Lillie's favorites (and a great incentive for completing home work :)
They slept for 10 hours that night.
Nothing like a 1.5 mile hike that probably was 5 miles long for them as they scampered through the forest.
The next day we explored more gold mining country near Angel's Camp.
We wanted to see the Mercer Caverns.
He discovered them in `1884 while prospecting for gold.
He felt some air coming from the ground. He acquired tools and started to dig.
This entrance into the ground is where he had started to dig.
Tours have been conducted here since 1885. He charged $.50 a tour back in 1885. Locals said he had finally discovered the gold he was seeking as he bought this sight for $1.00 as a gold mining claim.
The cavern has 220 steps down to its lowest level.
Many of the stairways are quite steep.
Scary at first - but soon the adventure overcame initial fears of walking down countless stairways to the bottom.
Rock formations of various calcium compounds.
Some of the formations such this 'bridal veil' takes many years to create as mineral water slowly drips along the ceiling and walls.
Resting after the 220 steps back to the top.
Lucy is clutching her little bag of purple colored amethyst we purchased in the gift shop. Lillie had a little chunk of Pyrite as her souvenir. After this - it was back to Milpitas to see how the California Cz's, Patrick and Nadja were doing with the painting.
Addendum by Mama CZ:
This sums up a wonderful trip for the Ls with GM and GP.
They came back all smiles and super happy!
Thank you GM and GP for taking us on this great adventure and for spoiling us greatly!
Thank you for the wonderful 10 days we had.
Thank you for all the games at 6:00 AM!!!, the walks to school, the trips to the mall or to supper, the many, many, many story times and all the cuddles and hugs and kisses!
Thank you for allowing Mama to spend so much time at school during the week and for taking such great care of our Ls.
And THANK YOU for the GREAT pre-b-day surprise, which will bring the Ls AND Papa many, many, many hours of fun and exercise!
By tomorrow morning tears will run for hours ... for sure and the house will feel rather empty and quiet.
Have a safe trip back ... we'll miss you already!!!
COME BACK SOON!!!
xoxo
Your CA Cz's
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