Anniversary

Our anniversary, 36 years this time (!), is the culmination of a season of celebration every year. Mother's Day, Father's Day, my birthday, Ralph's birthday, and our anniversary are all in a 5 weeks window. Throw in a wedding and a graduation, and there's a lot going on!

Going out to a restaurant for dinner, or to a resort? Too much pressure (in my own mind, of course) to make it significant. So I suggested we do something significant, so we'd enjoy dinner and being away from home. We went for a hike in Pinnacles National Monument! Check out that link to a USAToday article with much better photographs than mine of this beautiful place.

Ralph and I enjoyed our 5-mile, fairly strenuous hike too much to stop often for photos.

The scenic vistas, climbs up rock faces, and occasional caves added to the glory of this trail through rock monoliths and steep hillsides.

We stopped to visit with a ranger who was monitoring the condors.
We didn't see a condor, but we enjoyed learning about them!

We'd hoped to add a second hike to our day, to some caves, but these fogies enjoyed our leisurely morning hike to the point of not leaving enough time for another, which means we want to go back another time.

Onward we drove, to Monterey, and the charming Jabberwock Inn. I loved the Craftsman design and William Morris style wallpapers, and our stay there was great.

Charming wallpaper with rabbits and foxes.

Yummy treats in our room!
Good planning ahead, Ralph!

Highway 1, through Big Sur, was our route home.

Ralph says it's the last time he's ever going to drive that way again, at least with me in the car! It's true, I ask for conservative driving around the sharp turns and cliffs of the coastline, and I made Ralph stop so I could admire the elephant seals north of Cambria, when he just wanted to get home.

Me, admiring.

Ralph, ready to go.

It's a beautiful drive, and I think I will never make it again!

As for the busy celebration season, we happily witnessed the wedding of Erin and George in Redding. We've known Erin all her life, and we're proud to be included in her special day!

With long-time friend, mother-of-the-bride, Denise

We were also very happy to celebrate our daughter-in-law's graduation from UCSD. Congratulations, Evelyn, and all happiness for you and Joseph!

We're so proud of you!

Gotta wear real shoes

After I'd lived in California for several years, I was packing to visit Flagstaff, AZ, my hometown, and I realized I didn't have any appropriate shoes. I had sandals, canvas shoes, gym shoes, shoes with decorative cut-outs or woven leather, and dressy shoes, but no sturdy, waterproof, dirt-resistant shoes for wearing in snow or on dirt walkways.

I came ready with some dirt-worthy walking shoes this time, and I put them to good use. Of course we made the obligatory trip to Red Mountain, and we enjoyed sharing with newbies. What a magical place this eroded cinder cone is, with weird hoodoos and cinder  hills! Funny thing is, with just adults making the hike, it didn't take as long as usual!

We didn't do more than stroll along the rim of the Grand Canyon the day we went there, but we enjoyed the beautiful view as part of our lunch date with Mom. What a decadent day, driving to the Canyon to eat lunch (Navajo tacos - yum!) in the El Tovar Lodge: the original craftsman-style, Fred Harvey railroad stop right on the rim of the canyon.

Mmmm, a Navajo taco is Indian fry bread topped with chili and taco fixings.

Here's Ralph, taking pictures of us during our hike at the top of Oak Creek Canyon. I love the rocks!

Here's another hike, on the Sandy's Canyon Trail, where we saw pines and aspens, sandstone and basalt, wildflowers, and even a cute little horned toad!

We also hiked on the Kachina Trail, on the San Francisco Peaks. That's 11000' altitude.

There were also hikes taken around our cabin in the woods, but I opted for relaxation on the deck, instead!

Here's Pamela, who blew out her Italian hiking boots on our first day. She made the rest of our hikes wearing her Teva sandals. So much for real shoes!

Pamela tied the semi-detached soles to the tops of her boots to make the hike out of Red Mountain.