We are finally home and it’s been a very long day. A good day, mind you, but so long! It’s now 10:54 and I can’t really write much because we do have to get up at a decent hour tomorrow.
I will just quickly say we did a lot of the northern part of Isle of Skye. We dealt with one whopping pothole that scared me a ton. We dealt with temperatures in the 40°s. We dealt with crazy wild winds. We dealt with rain. That’s a lot of dealing!
If I could post my photos I would. For some reason it takes time for the iPhone photos to appear on my iPad so maybe it will be tomorrow when I get them up here. I’ll wait a few minutes to see.
BUT … well … um … the best/worst story of all. Dan and I went to a fabulous (and very costly) dinner. It was about 45 minutes away from our lodging. (It’s Mother’s Day, after all … so I guess I was celebrating me or some such thing since I made the reservation. Hah!) What with the light sky it wasn’t bad getting home rather late (especially for me since I’m not behind the wheel!). When we arrived at the Redwood House (our lodging) we were busy gathering our things and I grabbed coats and the like. Suddenly Dan asks, “Where’s my bag?” That’s the bag that holds his wallet, passport, phone … you know, all that important stuff.
Uh-oh.
We looked and looked I mean we searched everywhere. Dan swore up and down (not literally swearing but you know what I mean!) Finally Dan used my phone and the FindMy app. But it was so curious. It showed that his phone was in the car. Nope. NOWHERE! I suggested it just hadn’t updated and he must have left it at the restaurant. FORTYFIVE minutes away. Sigh. I told him to try and buzz it. No sound. I finally was annoyed and said I should call the restaurant.
Gee … well … um … I was putting what I was holding into the trunk as I was preparing to give up and call when I realized there was something heavy around my neck.
Yep. Me. I was the culprit. I had picked up his bag and put it around my neck. NO clue why.
He was relieved. I was just annoyed with myself.
But I guess all’s well that ends well.
Except my pride. It ended poorly. Heh!
And darn … photos still haven’t appeared on the iPad so I guess you only get my embarrassing story and nothing else. Rats! I hope I can find a few minutes tomorrow morning to post things. So sorry!
I’ll start by writing about sleep. On a train. On a top bunk.
Or maybe I’ll just write that I did a whole lot of reading through the night. I figure if I can’t sleep I may as well work on finishing my book.
But, really, the train was fine. The ride was smoother than some, and the top bunk, while needing a new mattress, worked okay. I do think, though, that it’s our last time getting this kind of room. If we do another sleeper train I’ll be seventy or older and climbing up and down a ladder that is completely upright is not an easy feat. This train has a double room and while the bed is tiny I’d just work on making myself as small as possible and share it with Dan.
We woke at 6:30 and got dressed. Oh … that, too, is rather humorous. I didn’t want to climb down while Dan was getting dressed because there really isn’t room for the two of us to get dressed on the “ground floor”. So there I am, on my back, attempting to put clothes on. I’m sure I looked hysterically funny.
Then we went to the dining car for our breakfast. We had ordered a full Scottish, nice coffee (decaf espresso for Dan, cappuccino for me), and orange juice. As has been so very typical on this trip, something wasn’t available. This time it happened to be the coffee, because their machine wasn’t working. So we both got “coffee in a bag” … like a tea bag but filled with coffee, as you might have guessed. Not quite the same as the nicer coffees we wanted, but nothing to weep about. Publicly, anyway.
As we waited for our meal (orange juice had already arrived), a younger couple (okay, okay, nearly everyone is younger that the two of us!) sat down. They were clearly speaking American English, and I think Dan asked where they were from. “California.” “We are too! Where in California?” “San Jose.” Heh … talk about coincidences. And they live somewhat nearby. Crazy!
Our meal appeared. (Darn, I forgot to take a photo of that — all I did was this “before shot” above.) Breakfast was fine, but being as I don’t eat at that time of day I couldn’t come close to finishing mine. And yes, it included haggis. And no, I wasn’t even repulsed. (I apologize to my vegetarian and vegan friends.)
Back to our room we went, preparing for our arrival. (Below you can see the pretty view from the hallway window, and the hallway itself, looking both ways.)
It didn’t take very long.
Hello Inverness!
We opted to take a taxi to our lodging, in order to drop off luggage. It was only a bit before 9:00AM and with check-in being 4:00 we sure didn’t want to be hauling it around. We quickly dropped the luggage off at Aye Stay, which happens to be around the corner from where we stayed when we did the Great Glen Way walk.
Then it was walking time. Lots of memories!
Since we missed out on good coffee earlier we went to get that. Of course it would just be wrong to have coffee on its own, so we suffered and ordered a couple of croissants. Sometimes you just have to be brave and suffer, you know?
More walking …
I thought maybe Dan would want to take the stairs you see above. Then he could return and tell me if it was worth going up. He, however, didn’t agree with me.
We eventually reached the castle. When we did our walk in 2023 the castle was covered in fencing because it was being fixed up. Now it was looking quite nice, but I can’t say it’s the kind of castle I enjoy — it’s newer than many. I like the old and decrepit ones. (Is it maybe because I can relate to those? Hmm.) We didn’t go in. They have turned it into an experience and when I saw all the stuff in the photos at their site I knew it just wasn’t our cuppa plus it was costly. So we just walked around.
While doing that walking Dan noticed a museum below it, so after the castle we headed that way.
Well, we didn’t last long! We’d both slept (or not slept) so fitfully last night that Dan hit the wall and while I didn’t feel tired I felt like I was going to faint. (That’s more likely to my having food too early in the day, and not having enough water.) So while we didn’t plan to have lunch we headed to a restaurant just so we could sit, drink water, and eat a bit.
The restaurant wasn’t worth photos or writing about, but we were happy to spend time there.
Leaving the place, we walked more, and investigated places for dinner. We had crossed the river Ness when it began to rain so we popped into a small spot for tea (for me) and, if I’m remembering correctly, espresso for Dan. No food this time. We didn’t really even need the drinks, but it was a way to get out of the rain since we’d not brought our umbrellas.
Yes, that was silly. It’s Scotland, after all!
The rain died down so we went into a few touristy shops just to enjoy the beautiful wool clothing, then did more restaurant research, and just walked a wee bit more. (Can you hear my Scottish accent now?) I loved this busker sign …
Finally it was check-in time so we aimed toward Aye Stay, passing by an episcopal church on the way that had some trees blossoming to the side — just gorgeous.
We picked up our key (no one is at this place … you just find your room number on a board and then find the corresponding key), and found we were on the first floor. So some stair climbing ensued. I believe I counted nineteen steps. I’m glad my suitcase is small. Too bad for Dan!
Our room is quite nice, and I’m not on the top bunk!
The photo above is the view from our room.
One of us then took a nap while the other started her blogging for the day.
As we were sitting in our room the wind got pretty wild. We weren’t sure if we would go back to the city center for dinner or eat closer to “home”. I knew that if that wind continued I did not want to go over the bridge.
And no, we didn’t go over. Not because of wind, though: that had died down. But we were just taking it easy, and opted for a short walk. I ordered soup of the day (split pea) and mussels. They even brought me a bowl of water with a lemon to clean my hands after eating the mussels. That was something I’ve not had before, but it was a great addition. Both my plates were from the appetizer section. Dan ordered Chicken Balmoral. All was yummy.
Walking home the church bells began. I recorded just a bit … and do excuse the video work: we were walking and I wasn’t being very steady.
The theater near us had a poster for Marriage of Figaro. Sadly we’ll be long gone by the time they get here.
Oh … side note … I forgot to mention the games my ears play when I’m in certain environments. As I was attempting (and failing) to sleep on the train there was train noise, of course. But what my brain and ears tell me is that a radio station of rock music is playing. Later it was a crowd cheering. Sometimes just people all talking. I don’t know that that’s about my bad left ear. I tend to think it’s just my brain trying to make sense out of noise. Or maybe I’m just weird.
Stop nodding your heads, please!
I think I’ll try to remember to post walking info here. I am well aware it’s not always accurate, but it’s just fun to see what my watch thinks I did. As long as it’s high enough I’ll agree with it. 18,048 steps, 7.15 miles, 7 flights climbed
When it was time, we were told we could board the train. We walked and walked … I think our car was the second to last. We used our room key to enter room 2 in car P. Such a tiny room, but it’ll do.
Taking this train is costly, but it allows us to have one night lodging, a train to our next location, and breakfast. Plus it means we don’t lose a day in travel.
We managed to get things into the room, although Dan’s luggage wouldn’t fit under the bed. After filling out our breakfast form we walked it down to the dining car. We weren’t required to walk it there, but just figured we’d do it anyway. We asked for a 7:00 dining time, but were told it could be 6:45 or 7:15, as 7:00 had already been filled up. 7:15 it is.
This means we get up around 6:30. I set my watch alarm and my phone alarm since I’m never sure if I’ll feel the watch or hear the the phone but between the two surely one will work!
After tooth brushing and all I climbed the ladder to my bed. It’s all rather funny attempting to maneuver on the top bunk, but I managed and as I write this I’m just hoping I sleep some.
Of course I can’t post this until tomorrow, so stay tuned and I’ll fill you in on the sleep bit.
Boarding the plane was pretty darn quick. It was all done by facial recognition … except when it wasn’t. The camera didn’t see to recognize Dan! He had to then have his passport scanned and all was well.
We got to our sets (row 5, Polaris). I know, I know, fancy schmantzy … but these days I just can’t deal with tight spaces and the inability to sleep. Plus I blame my brother Greg who got us seats in business class once. He suggested we wouldn’t be able to go back and he’s mostly right (we do premium economy on occasion).
We were offered a drink. Speaking wine for me, water for Dan. Yep, he lives on the edge. Then it was a bit of sitting, followed by taxiing, followed by taking off. It was smooth until there was mild turbulence, which they apologetically said would delay our meal. Not that we were hungry anyway.
After a bit of time I looked at my watch. 4:20 AM.
No, not in San Francisco. But when I get on a plane I set the watch and iPad to the destination time, hoping it will get me to accept the huge eight hour time change.
I did a bit of a jigsaw puzzle, and read a bit, but my brain really didn’t want to concentrate on anything. I actually wanted to sleep! Sort of a good thing, but there was dinner to eat. What to do? (Some people suggest you do NOT eat meals on the plane: I’ve yet to convince myself to do that.)
What to do was start writing this.
Food was a bit late, due to turbulence, according to the announcement, but eventually we received our drink and warm nuts, followed by the appetizer. That appetizer was lovely, and was enough for a full meal as far as I was concerned. That turned out to be a good thing: our dinners were not quite so appealing.
After dinner it was lights out for the two of us, and we did a good amount of sleeping. Dan is, in fact, continuing to sleep as I type this. But it’s 11:35 AM at our destination so I’d prefer to try to stay awake now. (It’s 3:35 AM at home.)
Where we are:
Breakfast was served near the end of the flight. I would have preferred lunch, since it was lunch time at our destination, but since I only eat two meals a day anyway, I sort of tried to convince myself it was lunch. It was, as usual, too much food and not terrifically exciting.
This flight really flew by. Yep, that’s about how funny I can be! And then we arrived.
Hello Heathrow!
We went through the passport control in mere minutes, but oh all the walking one does before and after that. It’s a great way to get steps in after such a long sit, though!
Then it was Heathrow Express to Paddington Station.
From there we had to find our way to our hotel via the tube. It took a while, but we did figure out how to do that.
Oh … but it DID take us a while to walk from Euston Station to our hotel. One of use (me!) was using a map app and got confused. Then someone else (he!) took over and managed to also get confused for a bit. We figure this is par for the course and today we had a number of “oops!” moments so perhaps we got it out of our systems early. Who knows? but we got there. Eventually.
Side note: we had to opt for roller bags due to the things we (Dan, really) needed. I’m so torn between the roller bag and our packs. My back isn’t great, and I have neck problems, so a pack hurts, but it sure isn’t fun carrying luggage up stairs, and there were a lot of stairs to get from one place in the tube to another.
Our hotel is nothing exciting, but it will suffice: we are only here for one night and tomorrow we take a night train to our destination. London was just a quick stop.
After dropping off our stuff we went to find an ATM and then a pub. Well, except I first realized I’d left my phone in the room so we had to go back. Another mistake!
ATM was found, money was pulled from there, and off to The Lamb we went. Dan ordered fish and chips and I had a chicken and leek pie. Both were yummy pub food and just what we wanted for our first night here.
Cheers!
On our walk back to the hotel we went past this interesting building.
And then it was time to finish this blog, post my daily flora photo, and hit the hay.
I’m not sure I will be able to post every day: it will depend upon time and internet access. But I will actually write every day so I can post later if things don’t work.
Yesterday afternoon I played my final opera performance as a tenured member of Opera San José.
Thanks to Bill Everett for this From The Pit photo!
After the concert I was honored at a reception, and then it was off to Il Fornaio where we had dinner. (MANY thanks to Pam Hakl for arranging this!)
Today we board a plane and fly overseas. What a time!
This morning I paid a hefty fee to our accountant, for his tax prep. I changed the bed sheets, washed all the towels, cleaned the toilets, straightened things up around the house, took the recycling and compost out, showered … all the stuff one must do before a trip, of course. Dan did a lot as well. Still, we were ready ahead of schedule.
My sister drove us to SFO … thank you, Carolyn! It took a few minutes to check our luggage (more on that later), and NO time at all to go through security. We are now comfortably seated in the Polaris lounge.
After our champagne we had a somewhat light meal, and now we are sitting back in some comfy chairs, waiting for boarding time.
We’ve had a trip planned for quite a while. Flights have been purchased. (And how we hope nothing gets canceled, but we have to be ready, of course.) Trains are scheduled, along with one bus.
About these trains! What an adventure that is!
Some trains were purchased early. Possibly too early — the prices could have dropped more, who knows? Some were purchased late because they only became available later. Some that I thought would be a straight shot ended up with a transfer. Two then turned out to include a few hours in towns where we can spend a bit of time in before moving on. One was split in two not because I opted to do it but because that particular train company said “it’s cheaper if you split this in two but you can stay in the same seats and same train.” Okay then. On one day we have three trains to take, each leg being with a different train company. (The UK has a LOT of train companies!)
Oooh … guess I just gave you a clue about where we are headed, eh?
But we aren’t headed there quite yet: I have four more opera performances (La Traviata, to be precise), and a few more lessons to teach. When we do board our first plane I plan on a celebratory glass of bubbly: retirement will have been achieved!
Meanwhile, I’m not only packing in my head (which I do for months), but I’m starting to set things out to get a feel for what I must bring, what I should bring, and what I want to bring. The must column will certainly go in the pack. The should list probably will. The wants? Well, that all depends upon weight!
Speaking of weight … yes, I weigh things. A lot. I was thinking of bringing certain pants, but then I weighed those and compared to some new ones I’m feeling are working well and nixed that first pair. I weigh shoes in order to decide which pair I’ll pack (only two pair of shoes for this trip). I weigh purses to choose just one. I weigh underwear and socks. I weigh … well … everything. Because every ounce counts!
But in any case, things are getting set out (currently on top of my printers), so I can get a handle on the all of it. It looks like a lot, but things will get put inside packing cubes and it’s amazing how it all fits. Most everything is merino wool, and that fabric can easily be rolled and squished and still come out looking pretty darn nice.
What a mess, eh? But no worries, it’ll all get sorted!
I’m attempting to use the Sudoku Method for packing this time. Heard of it? After putting it together three of these items (one of each — top, bottom, layer) will be worn on the plane which cuts down, obviously on what gets packed.
When I make the final choices I’ll try to take a photo to show people what I’ve opted to choose. Maybe. Sort of. Unless I cheat.
I would love to say we can manage with carryon only, but we are on one smaller plane going to and from one country, God willing: those are the flights most likely to get canceled because of this abomination of a war someone in our country jumped into on a whim. Sigh. Those little planes are also much more picky about weight and we might not be able to keep our bags as light as they require. 10kg … can we do it? Dunno! That’s 22 pounds, and honestly I really don’t want to carry more than that on my back in any case. The carryon bag/suitcase/pack has to measure 21,5″ x 15.5″ x 9.5″ and for that I’m okay. But then the personal item can only be 15.5″ x 11.5″ x 8″. Mine is 16″ x 12″ x 5″. So the big question is just how picky are they and am I willing to take a chance? I’ll have to ponder that. Or buy a new personal size bag. I’ve been reading up and it appears I’ll probably be fine but …??
So what else has been done or needs to be done?
Well, today we got Covid shots and then drove to get our International Driving Permits. We have a house sitter who can stay here, as well as neighbors who always keep an eye on our place. Mail has been stopped for a month (and then I have to stop it again since we are gone for other a month). Our house sitter can collect a stack of what I’m sure will mostly be junk mail when that first stop comes to an end. Well, junk mail and all the money people are going to send me because they want to sponsor the trip. Right?
RIGHT!!! (I can hear you all agreeing with me. So thanks!)
After our earlier visit to DEVA we thought we might come again because it seemed as if there were signs that we’d find some nice flowers in March or April. Then we started reading reports of the rain the park had had and seen photos that implied perhaps even a February trip might be a good idea. Because of that we made reservations for both late February and March, and waited for more news.
Well, even more rain meant now might be a good idea, so early this morning we headed on our way.
The drive was uneventful — especially for me since I didn’t do the driving. Here are just a few shots (the train bit was in Tehachapi).
While in the Panamint Valley, just prior to heading up the mountain, we saw a car veer off the road on to the playa. That’s a huge, ugly, rotten, illegal thing to do. Dan held on to the horn for a good long time and whoever was driving must have gotten the message. But driving on the playa just ruins it for everyone else. What a dumb thing to do!
As we neared DEVA we saw a lot of the yellow … desert gold was definitely plentiful! There were places that were just blanketed. We also saw evidence of Phacelia … the purple does stand out! Eventually we pulled over and did a bit of investigating. I took a few iPhone shots just for the record. (Tomorrow I’ll get more serious about some macro photography.)
I learned about the name Stovepipe Wells…
Dan drove to a few different spots, just to get ideas of where we might shoot in the next few days. We also visited Salt Creek, where we saw more pupfish than we’d ever seen before! Stay tuned for the video … maybe It’ll appear soon, or maybe we’ll have to wait until I get back home.
More driving and I did pull out the Canon with the macro lens. I hope some of the shots turn out nicely — won’t know until I get home, though.
Eventually we headed to our motel. Places in DEVA were outrageously expensive so we found a Motel 6 in Beatty, Nevada for less that 1/3 of what we’d pay in the valley. It’s a drive, but so be it!
We checked in — the kind woman at the desk moved us to the first floor and we were relieved since the elevator was broken and we have a lot to haul into the room. She had her Fox News running — we are in a different part of the world now. Go figure.
For dinner we went to Smokin’ J’s BBQ. I had a turkey sandwich, Dan had turkey slices with fries (and more), and we ordered a salad to share.
Too. Much. Food.
Who knew? But in any case, it was just fine and it was one of the very few places open. Beatty isn’t exactly a hoppin’ happenin’ sort of place. (Population 880)
Then back to our hotel we went. We have to get up far too early in the morning so I am quickly writing this before a bit of reading and then sleep.
Stay tuned for more adventures. Today was just a “gotta get there” day, after all.
My watch and phone alarms went off at 5:30 AM. I woke (actually I was sort of awake already) but noticed Dan’s alarms didn’t go off. Hmm. I figured I must have misunderstood the time he said we needed to get up. I decided to check his phone to see what time he’d set: turned out he hadn’t set it at all. Double hmm. So I woke him and, yes indeed, he wanted us to rise at 5:30 AM. Oops!
Thankfully we are pretty quick to get up, and we weren’t planning on even a hotel coffee before leaving so we dressed, loaded up the car, and headed to Badwater and Manly Lake. It was pretty dark outside …
I’d never seen the lake with enough water to qualify as a lake, but the November 18 storm they had here meant it would be a good time to check it out.
Don’t get me wrong … no one would be boating this lake. No swimming either, but we did see a few people walk into the water to have pictures taken.
The light was pretty. A very pastel sunrise appeared. I actually took a few Fuji camera shots, and a lot of iPhone photos so I could find decent ones for this blog.
We stopped one other time for another view looking back from where we had come. I noted that while it looks rather dead right now (no flowers), there were lots of little green things growing.
We also drove the short road to Devil’s Golf Course. No one was golfing. (No, you can’t really golf there.) I should have snapped a boring photo just to say we’d been there. Too late now.
Finally we made our way to Zabriskie Point and Dan got the car parked. We didn’t head up to the point, though: it was breakfast time. First up was coffee, and then it was granola and banana slices in milk. Food is so yummy when eaten outside in a National Park, I think.
After breakfast we went up the walk to the top of Zabriskie. It’s an extremely popular spot for tourists and Dan doesn’t usually go there any more, but I wanted to get some shots to post here so he was accommodating. He’s nice that way. And of course he took photos too.
Funny/weird side bit: I saw a man walking up on his own. When I got to the top I heard him telling awful stories to a family there that he somehow nabbed … talking about people who’ve fallen to their death at various locations. Mentioning how far they’d fallen. Talking about other horrors, like someone accidentally driving their car over an edge. Eek! Not quite the thing vacationers are probably wanting to hear. When he finished his spiel he turned around and walked back down. Hm. Odd to witness all that.
Okay … but back to our adventures!
After Zabriskie we went to drive to Echo canyon. We’d been there before and I had fond memories of eating lunch at the end of the canyon, where we had reached an old mine. (I also was remembering being bothered horribly by yellow jackets.) So up we went. And hey, we spotted yellow flowers. That was fun.
We also stopped to shoot Eye of the Needle.
When we reached the Inyo mine we unpacked for lunch. The weather was pretty nice: no need for a jacket, but not hot enough to be out of the sun.
Then back down the road we went. Dan had a very brief rest while I went out and shot some other yellow flowers.
These gravel roads are really something to drive … and I’m grateful that Dan does them as I’m uncomfortable navigating them.
I took another photo of Eye of the Needle. Just because.
People camp along some of the roads here. These days they have to get a permit for many of them, and have to camp in designated spots. (Dan used to just pull over and sleep wherever he wanted, and he can still do take some places. Me? I camp in a room. With a bed. And a bathroom. And electricity.)
From Echo we drove to Stovepipe Wells to tank up, and then, a very short hop away, we drove up to Mosaic Canyon. I think I know why they call it that.
We walked a bit up the canyon, finally getting to a spot that is a lot of smooth granite.
I had been up that before, but today I decided I wasn’t up for slipping, which I’m prone to do on that stuff. So that was the end for of the trail for us and back to the car we went.
The sun was quickly moving and while Dan initially thought he might go to “his rock” (a spot he likes that has good views) he decided instead to go to the “power pole road” spot. Dan had to move quickly to get his camera gear out. I only took out the the iPhone so I could post here. I find shooting sunsets and landscape things to be very challenging and I wasn’t in the mood for that challenge.
Dan is an extremely patient photographer, unlike yours truly. He is so good at waiting for the right light. But of course one never knows if the right light will show up or not! There were some incredibly interesting clouds, and they were light from the top … but, alas, it wasn’t to be tonight. When all went gray he packed up.
Next up … food! Since we were so close to Stovepipe Wells we opted for dinner there tonight. It wasn’t exactly an epicurean’s delight, but it filled our stomachs and it was nice and convenient.
Then it was back to our hotel. We arrived back somewhat early, but that gave us time to relax, I could finish up this blog entry, and early to bed is probably wise since I’m assuming it’s an early to rise morning.
Greetings from Death Valley! We are search at The Ranch at Death Valley or maybe it’s the Inn at Death Valley, or if we were to get very hopeful, the Oasis at Death Valley, but I’m pretty sure that last one is the expensive place. But when I made the reservation it was for the ranch, and when I look at the provided notepad it says the inn, and Dan said something else said the oasis. Go figure. I guess they just like to keep us guessing!
We woke quite early (for me, anyway) had our coffees, and after brushing our teeth (and my making the bed) we headed out. Our car had been loaded last night, so it went rather quickly.
The drive was just fine because my personal driver did it all. Yes, Dan did every bit of the driving. I guess I need to offer to drive on occasion. But today was not such an occasion. Go figure.
Going over Pacheco Pass was lovely. Fog. Nice light. And a shot through the car window (I could touch these up, but not tonight: I’m lazy that way).
The drive continued. I attempted to shoot through the window some more … capturing a Joshua tree was near impossible which was a disappointment as I always enjoy seeing those on our way to Death Valley. This one image will have to suffice — through a window and a fast moving vehicle!
We arrived at Searles Valley … such an odd place. And then the very bizarre city of Trona. I try to imagine what it is like to live in such a place … but nope, can’t imagine it at all! Dry. Dusty. And quite … um … unusual.
We reached a nice spot with a view, and I asked to pull over. I took a few shots, and then Dan saw a group and offered to take their photo. Turns out they were from Holland and he spent a bit of time recommending spots to visit in Death Valley. He’s handy that way!
We arrived at the visitor’s center where Dan got our permit and yakked with a ranger there about what roads were open now. (There are more opened than we thought, which was nice.)
Since we were early we then took a little loop before going to the Ranch.
After checking in we unloaded the car. Dan had purchased a little wagon sort of thing that worked quite nicely for unloading everything.
Our room is just fine. Nothing special, but rather roomy — with TWO queen size beds — and clean. It’ll do!
Then we walked to see what our dinner options were. First spot was the “tavern” which was serving what seemed mostly like lunch food, second was an grill that had dogs and burgers, then there was a buffet ($29 per person and I don’t believe that included drinks), and finally the saloon.
We ended up at the “Last Kind Words Saloon” even while knowing it wasn’t the least costly, but it looked nice and it was the final spot we looked at so why not? We had to wait a while to be seated so Dan had his alcohol free beer and I had a glass of merlot as we waited.
Eventually we were called in. I had chicken tacos (listed as a starter but PLENTY of food) and Dan had a burger. Nothing here is inexpensive, but it’s Death Valley and that’s to be expected. Thankfully we’ve brought food for our breakfasts and lunches, so we only have to pay for dinners. Whew!
Tomorrow we will head out on some sort of adventure. When it comes to places look this I leave it in Dan’s capable hands: he knows this area so well, and I’m happy to go along for the ride.
Yes, we’ve decorated our house for Christmas. We even did a bit more than many recent years because our whole family will be here come January 2 to help us celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. (FIFTY years?! How in the world did that happen? No pretending I’m 49, I guess.)
This year I used the ornaments we put up when the kids were … well … kids! Things they made, or things my mother bought us as each child was born, and lots of bikes because Dan was an avid cyclist back then. It was fun to unpack them all and enjoy them once again! I know the kids will crack up at some of their hand crafted works of art. (Hint: macaroni glued on paper, anyone?)
But of course a decorated house doesn’t mean we are necessarily not going anywhere, right? (If we weren’t I wouldn’t be posting here right now!)
So yes, we are packing for a very short trip to Death Valley. The timing worked well: a friend who is playing Nutcracker in San Jose can use our house rather than dealing with a two hour (or more) drive each way to get to and from the hall, and we have a house sitter. I know my friend is looking forward to the stay: our area has fabulous decorations … people drive here to see them. So she and her husband and daughter can enjoy those as a special little treat, and we can enjoy knowing our house is inhabited while we visit Death Valley.
Oh … and she can enjoy some Clementine mandarin oranges while they are here as well. The tree is bursting with them!
