VISIT TO CALIFORNIA August, 2008

In August we took a trip to California to visit the National Parks and Monuments and enjoy nature. It was a bit of a homecoming because Diane and I had lived in the Bay Area for 9 years. It was also the second visit of the family to the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

We had a great time in San Francisco.



We had fun visiting Alcatraz



Bart thought that Alcatraz was pretty cool!





Then we went to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. We took a great hike where we saw more than half of the 10 biggest trees in the world. The General Sherman tree is the biggest in the world. Its a monster.




The Sequoias were amazing!



Its hard to appreciate how big they are. Maybe this will help. Here is Diane and the boys with the President tree. The 4th biggest in the world. In the background is Chief Sequoyah. Another huge tree amgonst the 30 largest Sequoias. Its amazing to think those two trees have been growing next to each other for more than 2000 years.



Another highlight of the trip was black bears. Here is one we saw in Sequoia. In the end we saw six bears in Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks.



Then we went from Sequoia-Kings Canyon to Yosemite Valley. We started our first day with breakfast under El Capitan. An ancient tradition from the 80's.




We visited Glacier Point which looks down on the valley. Its my favorite view of Half-Dome.



Glacier Point was also the starting point for a classic Yosemite Valley hike called Four Mile Trail. It drops down 3000 feet to the valley bottom providing some spectacular vistas.



This view was our favorite and a heck of a place to have lunch.



We also visited Olmsted Point. It has a great view of the beginning of Yosemite Valley.



Alex loved climbing and hiking on the domes.



We also did a lot of fishing in Lundy Lake. One of our favorites. We always had great luck there and did again this year.



The best fishing started just after the sunlight left the lake. In the end we caught 38 trout, 2 short of our limit. They made it home fine and we are still enjoying them.



Our old friend Greg (aka Cuda) came from the Bay Area to join the fun for a couple days. We went to Bodie, a very cool Ghost Town.



Many of the buildings still have everything just as it was left when the town went bust. This is a fun picture of the old pool hall with the scene behing reflecting in the window. An interesting mix of the past and present.



We also visited Mono Lake and its tufa formations. Here is Alex with some tufa.



Finally we did a hike to 20 Lakes Basin. It easy access to 10,000 feet and not crowded. A beautiful place with golden trout. We didn't catch anything on this trip but it doesn't matter. The reason to go is the beauty and alpine environment.




Also another great opportunity to run around on some big rocks!



On the trip, Bart and Alex earned 5 Junior Ranger Badges. Alcatraz, Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Yosemite, Mono Lake, and Manzanar. Here they are after completing a ranger led activity to learn about Tuolumne Medows.



Then we went south to the highest part of the Sierra Nevada Range. Here is a fun picture of Diane through the Mobius Arch in the Alabama Hills. Also framed by the arch is Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48, 14,505 feet.



We also visited the Bristle Cone Pines, the oldest living trees (and things!) on the planet. We took and amazing hike on the Methuselah Trail where we walked among trees more than 4500 years old.



The Methuselah Tree is somewhere along the trail. They keep the individual tree a secret. Maybe this is the Methuselah Tree? It does look pretty ancient.



The Bristle Cone Pines do not have any predators because they grow at such high altitudes. We also visited the Patriarch Grove, which you can see behind Diane who is standing with the 11,000 foot elevation sign.



On the way back we stopped for one last hike at Olmsted Point. We climbed to the top of a dome above the point. A storm was coming in making the scenery very dramatic.



Another amazing Yosemite view. One last peek at the high country.



We had one last visit to the valley. It was a bit windy and the wind did amazing things to Bridal Veil Falls. As you can see the falls were blown upward in a gravity defying manner. Quite a sight!



Bart and Alex also got a chance to swim in the Merced River one last time. One of the many things they enjoyed on the trip. They have become excellent swimmers.




I think that everyone would agree that it was another wonderful Hope Family visit to the glorious wonders of the Nation Parks of the US.

A WEEK IN PARADISE

Like last year, the HIV Keystone meeting overlapped with spring break for the boys, so this year we all headed to Banff, Alberta for a family vacation. Last year at Whistler, the boys did a three day snowboarding school and found a new love, shredding down the mountain. Once again they did a three day snowboarding school. This time they went to three different mountains, Lake Louise, Sunshine, and Norquay. Here, Bart is in front with Alex close behind.




Alex and Bart with their Snowboard instructor, Randy. They were the only ones enrolled in the group class so they had great one-on-two training for group prices. They are getting pretty good.




Bart and Alex were at their last day of snowboarding school. Since the meeting was over, Diane and I did a hike at Johnston Canyon. We only had a couple hours so we only made it to the lower falls which were frozen. It was a good preview of the ice falls we saw later on the trip.




The Icefields Parkway connects the towns of Banff and Jasper. I believe it is the most spectular stretch of road in North America, maybe the world. Amazing mountian views with lots of big glaciers. Here is Bart and Alex with Bow Glacier in the background.




Halfway between Banff and Jasper is the Columbia Icefields. The biggest chunk of ice outside of the polar circle. There are 8 glaciers that drain the ice fields. The easiest one to experience is the Athabasca Glacier which is about four miles long. It is the most accessible glacier in the world. They have tours that go right up on the glacier. You can see the tiny snow coach in this picture.




We took the snow coach tour onto the Glacier. Because it was the start of the season we had the bus to ourselves. It takes you a couple miles up onto the glacier and you get to get out and walk around. I have been wanting to do this tour for 30 years.




It was cold and windy on the Athabasca Glacier. What an awesome experience.




We spent 3 days in Jasper National Park.




Visiting Maligne Canyon in winter is different than visiting in the summer. Normally it is only possible to look down into the canyon like in this picture.




Maligne Canyon is a slot canyon like Antelope canyon we visited on the Grand Canyon Trip last June (see July 2007 Blog). You can compare the pictures and see the similar features. There are two big differences.



Maligne Canyon is limestone, while Antelope Canyon is sandstone. The other difference is that while Antelope canyon is formed by flash floods, Maligne Canyon always has water running in it. However, in the winter the water is frozen and it is possible to hike the canyon with the right equipment.



As you can see the hike was pretty slippery at times. The tour we took provided waterproof boots and cleats that made walking on the ice without killing yourself possible.




In addition to the frozen ice of the Maligne River that runs through the canyon, areas where water runs down the sides of the canyon build up as spectacular ice falls. This ice falls was called Angel falls. That's Alex at the base of the falls.




Is that Nanook of the North? No its Diane!




There's Bart and Alex next to an ice fall they call "The Queen".




Between the ice falls and being able to walk in the canyon it was quite an adventure.




The Maligne Canyon Ice walk was a truly spectacular experience. Definitely better in the winter than in the summer.




In the town of Jasper they have a large totem pole. Diane and the boys made their own version. If you get the chance don't pass on visiting Jasper town and Canadian National Park.




We stopped at Athabasca Falls, about 30 Km south of Jasper. The frozen falls were very cool.




Jasper is thick with Elk.




We saw lots of Mountain Sheep




On our way out we stopped for one last look at Athabasca glacier. No snowbus ride this time. The sky was blue and the snow and ice were blinding. One of my favorite places on the planet. It was my fifth visit!




Here is a closeup of the series of steps the Athabasca glacier takes as it comes down from the Columbia Ice Fields.




The cherry on our Canadian ice and snow adventure was seeing a grizzly bear in Banff as we were heading back to the real world. Apparently it was eating grain that fell from a train.

A Smile and a Trophy

January 26 was the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. There were 5 very fast cars in Alex's group. His car, Hot Rod #20 pulled off a third place trophy. As you can see, Alex was very happy.

Winter Waterpark in the Wisconsin Dells

Between Christmas and New Year we went to Wilderness Resort and Waterpark in Wisconsin Dells. It was a great break from winter. They had 3 different waterparks. There were 2 wave pools and a bunch of waterslides.




Although it was snowing and nasty outside it was like a summer vacation inside




The waterpark was great. We really liked the wave pool and the water slides