Thanksgiving Weekend in Yosemite and Napa

We're both exhausted today after a red-eye flight back last night, but we managed to do and see a lot during our Thanksgiving travels in California.

We flew into San Francisco and then drove out to Yosemite National Park. We were hoping that on Thanksgiving day the park would be empty—not only were there a lot of tourists, but also some Japanese tour buses! Nonetheless, we got to see some beautiful mountains and waterfalls. While our Thanksgiving lunch was beef jerky and gas station snacks, we did manage to find a restaurant open that night that was serving a turkey buffet - so we got our turkey dinner after all. The next day we drove back into the park to hike around Yosemite Falls, visit the Ansel Adams Gallery, and hike down into a beautiful grove of sequoias. These were the first sequoias I'd ever seen - totally worth the hike. I only wish we could've spent more time there. Matt and I started making a list of things to do next time we're in Yosemite.

Late Friday afternoon we left the Sierras, drove back across the Central Valley, and into Napa, where we checked into our bed and breakfast. The next morning, after walking around the grounds of the B&B, we met up with our San Jose friends Brittany and Chris, who had driven up to spend the weekend with us! Turns out they are not only really fun, but also great Napa tour guides. We thoroughly enjoyed exploring wineries with them, and Chris shared his new favorite, which I also loved, Lambert Bridge winery. We also visited Sausal, Frog's Leap, Toad Hollow, Silverado, Duckhorn, and Mondavi.

Finishing up our brief Napa stay on Sunday morning, we then drove down to Brittany and Chris's house in San Jose, where we played a couple of games, met their kitties, and enjoyed dinner with them before leaving for the airport.

I feel that I could write much more but I am SOOOOOOOO tired and need to head to bed!


You can see pictures of the weekend here.

Tip Up!

As some of you know I worked with some farmers last spring on a grant for a wind turbine ... and the turbine is now up! Read the story.

You can also read more about the Popps—scroll down to "A Weekend at the Farm."

Walking Through Prairie Grasses

wow what a beautiful weekend! Despite 12-hour days of studying, I managed to take quick breaks both afternoons to go outside and get some sun. Saturday's walk was my favorite—I was a little "illegal" since I was probably trespassing, but I followed a trail through the trees and through prairie grasses just to the south of our house. It felt so good to have the earth under my feet, real earth, not paved. And trails that followed the natural contours of the land, not something that has been graded into place to look pretty. I had different vistas around every bend in the trail, the earth smelled good, and I was watching birds, from cardinals to a pheasant flying into the grass. Some days it sucks to live in the modern world. I tend to forget how much my soil longs for nature and peace. I love the moments that I can find that, but they stir up longings that I don't know how to deal with. I'd love to have my own land with trails through the prairie grasses and beautiful stands of oak trees, land that I can love and explore and watch through the seasons, and I'd love to get away from traffic and noise and find time for contemplation and simply being, but will it ever happen? I haven't found a way to make that happen yet.

Winter Cycling in Alaska?

Found a new blog from a cyclist in Alaska, courtesy of Eclectchickwho had the link posted on her blog. I took a glance at the Alaska blog and before I new it had read several entries. Fun reading!