Trip to California Day 3

Hello,

As I promised before I continue with my day 3 of the trip, I am going to expand a little bit on Geocaching and how I got involved in it.

I live in NJ and most of us have AAA - on road car service company. AAA issues quarterly (I think) magazine. These issues cover travel adventures and some car things. One of the articles I read a bout 4 years ago was a story about woman who liked to hide her personal effects just so she could find them later. Her husband wanted to make her life more interesting and he introduced her to Geocaching. Geocaching is the recreational activity of hunting for and finding a hidden object by means of GPS coordinates posted on a website. The community is quiet large with about 2.5 million geocaches and 6 million geocachers. Geocaches are scattered all over the world, but most of them are located in US. There are Geocaches in the cities and in the parks. State forest and parks are also have Geocaches, however I recently realized that some National Parks do not allow placement of caches for preservation reasons. I always liked outdoors and I wanted to try this Geocaching. Geocaching is an activity required use of handheld GPS. At the beginning I only had car GPS and although it can bring you to the right location, it was not accurate enough and battery did not last long at all. I did not want to invest too much money into activity I was not sure I like, so I shopped around and found Geomate Jr. on Amazon: "The easiest and quickest way to get in on the geocaching fun, the Geomate.jr is an incredibly affordable and amazingly easy to use geocaching GPS--just switch it on anywhere in the U.S., and be directed to your closest geocache. It's really that easy! With over 250,000 pre-loaded geocache locations covering all 50 U.S. states, it's an outdoor adventure just waiting to happen anywhere, anytime, straight out of the box! No downloads, internet connection, or typing in coordinates necessary."

Geomate Jr is convenient when you have kids and want them to enjoy outdoors, it is also good for the beginner just to get hang of the game. However, if you want to get serious about Geocaching you have to get GPS that will allow you to have information on Geocaches without need to print it: description, hints, comments from people previously recovered the cache, etc. After a few geocaches found with Geomate Jr, I started to consider Geocaching as a hobby and I wanted to try to find Geocaches in less accessible places (state parks vs. city parks). Currently I own DeLorme 60N. Photography is my biggest passion. hiking will be the next and I try to fit Geocaching whenever I have that ability. In my trip to California I planned to find at least one geocache at each stop I made. Since I was planning to visit four national parks, I had to look for geocaches near the parks.

Back to the trip. This is my third day of the Trip. I've rented a car day before, got supplies at Trader Joe's, and saw as much a I possibly could in San Francisco. Everything was packed and ready to go by 8am. I checked out from the hotel, got breakfast in nearby coffee shop. I found very interesting that there are a lot of small coffee shops all over San Francisco. Some of them (including the one near Lombard Motor Inn) have specialty coffee types and some of them are really bizarre, i.e. beans are coming from the goat poop that ate certain plant. One cup of such coffee costs $18. I think my entire breakfast with large dark roast coffee and egg and ham bagel cost half of that. Money aside, I was not brave enough to try this specialty coffee. May be next time.

After quick breakfast I was on my way to Yosemite National Park. I have only been to one National Park before - Acadia, but I did not camp in the park, was not into photography just yet or hiking and knew nothing about Geocaching (Note: The only reason I was visiting Acadia National Park, because my cruise trip to Canada got cancelled and I decided to drive to Canada and then go home through Acadia National Park). So I was very excited to go to Yosemite. It was Monday morning - the Memorial Day and luckily there was not much traffic on the road. The ride was interesting I have never saw hills covered with sun burned grass going for miles as far as eye can see. Unfortunately I was on the highway and had no good point to stop and take pictures.

As I mentioned earlier there are no physical Geocaches in most of the National Parks and Yosemite is not and exception, so I chose location at the corner where Rt. 120 splits from Rt. 108 to go into the Sierra. The temperatures inland not far from Yosemite park border compared to San Francisco were about 10-15F higher and I hoped that in Yosemite Valley (4000ft) it will be cooler. The geocache was successfully located and I continued to my final destination.

Driving into Yosemite could be considered challenging for not so experienced drivers. The pavement was good but all switch backs are really get to you at the end. The first views of the valley and Sierra were amazing. I've been to Europe and Alps and mountains are not new to me, but my heart is always stops when I see vistas like that:

I did not not realize that there is almost an hour drive from the entrance gate at Crane Flat to the North Pine Campground where I was staying. As a result I arrived to camp much later than anticipated. The lunch was leftovers of Deep Dish Chicago Pizza from the night before. The camp was all set up by 2:30pm with tent in place and food and all smelly items in the bear box.

I planned to go to look around the valley floor, Yosemite Falls, Ahwanee Hotel grand room, enjoy sunset and star gazing at Glacier point.

It is Monday of Memorial Day weekend and although there was very little traffic on the way out of SF, crowd was rather large even at 2pm in Yosemite, making driving slow and parking challenging. If I to have more time I would probably try to walk (instead of driving) between facilities and focal points in the valley, but I decided to drive to safe time. I managed to park at the day parking lot across from visitor center. I located Ansel Adams Gallery for my next day morning photography walk, took shuttle to Yosemite Falls. There are a lot much better writers that have described the magnificence and grande of the surroundings in Yosemite, so I will not try doing it. All I have to say that you have to be these to fully take it in. Yes, I have to agree that having lots of people around can ruin the serenity, but just to see it all was amazing. Even simple WOW is not going to cut it.

After visiting Lower Yosemite falls overlook, I took shuttle to the next stop (Camp 4) and took hiking trail to Swinging Bridge, taking pictures of the Valley Floor and taking it all in:

By the time I was done taking pictures and enjoying the walk, I realized that it was about 4:30, I was about half an hour away from the car (I needed to go back to the shuttle stop, ride around, walk to the car...) and it was about an hour drive to Glacier Point (to catch sunset) from the Valley floor and I wanted to stop at the Tunnel View overlook. So the decision was made to drive up Glacier point, stop and the Tunnel View overlook and to have dinner at Glacier Point (Meal Ready to Use - MRE, read about it later) and wait for sunset and starry skies.

I could not see rainbow on Bridal Veil Fall and the Veil was not bery large, but I liked it

I parked the car at Glacier point parking lot a little bit after 6pm. Short walk to Glacier Point overlook revealed incredible vistas: Half Dome, Cloud Rest and the rest of High Sierra

In addition there were a few water falls I could see from the top:

All three sections of the Yosemite Falls (picture was taken without tripod and came out a bit hazy due to sun flood)

and Vernal Fall (bottom), which I was planning to climb and Nevada Fall (upper)

I could continue taking pictures, but realized that mountains will not walk away and I had to eat. So I had an MRE for dinner. I have a friend that gave me a few meals-ready-to eat (MRE) that could completely replaced need to cook dinner a few nights during the trip. MREs can be purchased from Amazon or any Army surplus stores, however the best out there are the one provided for military. If you decide to buy the one from Amazon and Army store make sure they have heaters. Some of them do not. MREs are very convenient and some of them taste really good (my favorite one is Chicken Noodle and Beef Brisket) . The disadvantage is that they are heavy so you can't carry them for backpacking. The advantage that you get enough food after log day of walking and looking around and don't want to cook dinner. In addition to main entree there are a few condiments. Condiments are not the same between the packs and you would not know what they are until you open the pack. There is a list of what condiments are but the combination varies between each pack. My favorite are skittles, bread and cheese spread.

Sunset was approaching quickly. As part of educational program of the Park ranger was giving a talk about the sunset that can be observed from the Glacier Point and the history. While ranger was talking I was trying to capture more of jaw dropping (in my opinion) views:

Almost right after the sunset when the last sun rays had disappear and most people started to go away, the different crowd started to come in. These people were waiting for stars. But somewhere is between sunset and total darkness (twilight) camera picked up very interesting shades of Half Dome:

And then stars started to come out

I was back at the camp by 11pm. I was tired but excited with all I saw during the day. Next day would be filled with the following:
- Drive around the Valley and taking pictures at sunrise following Michael Frye's book "The Photographer's Guide to Yosemite" (more about the book in my next post)
- Take Photography walk organized by Park around Cook's Meadow and take more photos of Yosemite Falls
- Drive up Tioga Road to Sub-alpine terrain of Tuolumne meadow and possibly climb Lambert Dome
- Get back to the Valley and photograph Half Dome reflected in Mirror Lake at sunset

The capture of day 4 will follow in my next post

Trip to California Day 2

Hello my fellow readers,

This is my second day in San Francisco. I am anxious to tell you everything about it, however I would like to share what places I wanted to visit/see in SF as compare what I actually did.

When I am planning my trips (any of them) I do very extensive research and trying to plan as much as possible and I can assure you I want to see as much as humanly possible and sometime impossible. So I was planning to be in SF for 2 days and a few hours in the morning of the third day and I wanted to see standard attractions and more. As you could guess from my earlier posts I like photography and I had to make sure that in addition to tourist traps I will be able to steal some awesome pictures from less known places.

I thought although SF is a city I will be able easily to cover most of it along the coast on the bicycle and I have to admit that was way too ambitious. So the plan was as follows:
1. After I rented bike I planed to have lunch at In-N-Out Burger
2. Ride across Golden Gate Bridge and Take pictures
3. Spend some time in Sausalito and take pictures of SF
4. Take ferry back to SF, eat dinner
5. Take night tour of Alcatraz and take pictures of the sunset
6. Wake up around 5am the next day
7. Ride the bike to Pier 7 and take pictures of Pyramid Building at sunrise
8. Go to see sea lions Pier 39
9. Have breakfast and rent a car
10. Climb Coit tower and see SF from the top
11. Buy groceries for camping
12. Drive out to Lands End and see Sutro Baths
13. Have lunch/dinner on the Baker beach (take more photos of GGB) and possibly see sunset
14. Drive up Twin Picks and take pictures of SF at night with or without fog
15. Wake up early and walk two blocks to famous section of Lombard Street and take pictures before crowd coming up
16. have breakfast, pack and drive to Yosemite
Option: visit Alamo square and Painted Ladies

So on day one I rented the bike, went to eat in In-N-Out Burger and then rode across Golden Gate Bridge. However it took longer than expected to cross the bridge and I spent no time in Sausalito with exception of waiting for a ferry. I had corn dog for a dinner before ferry to Alcatraz. I was way to tired to finish the entire walk around the prison. The only energy I had left was to take a few pictures of sunset (see my post Trip to California Day 1).

My very busy schedule for day 2 was fulfilled only partially.

Due to possible fog/haze forecast and me being tired from the day before I decided not to ride the bike to Pier 7. Instead I went to rent a car at 7am from Enterprise (Beach St). The Enterprise is not far from Pier 39, which is home for sea lions. If you never saw sea lions up close they are really a spectacle. They are loud and they smell bad, but they are so cute. Come early in the morning while sun just touching the pier and there are very few people out there and enjoy. If you are planning to take pictures be prepared to use long lens and tripod. I used 800mm mirror lens

Then I went to have breakfast at the little local breakfast place (Unfortunately I don't remember the name, but it is next to the Enterprise). I had a great breakfast: eggs Benedict perfectly cooked with grilled tomatoes and very good coffee.

After breakfast I went to buy groceries for camping. After the groceries the bike was returned (it was a relieve not to be on a saddle, trust me) and I drove to the Alamo square to see Painted Ladies:

I continued to Lands End and Sutro Baths, but got lost and came to Baker Beach instead. The view of Golden Gate Bridge is equally stunning from that point:

I returned to hotel and walked to In-N-Out Burger (yes again because it is relatively quick and relatively cheap) via famous section of Lombard Street:

After lunch I continued on foot to retrieve a few Geocaches (If you are not familiar with term Geocaching read about it in my next post). One Geocache was hidden near Fort Maison, however I did not find it. The second one was located in the area of The Wave Organ, so I decided to walk all the way there. On the way I saw that:

On the way from the Wave Organ, I noticed building that I was not planning to visit - The Palace of Fine Arts Theatre. I was surprised by the building unusual structure and decided to check it out:

I was a few miles away from the hotel, it was getting late and I had to eat something. I ended at Patxi's Chicago Pizza on Fillmore St. It is nice place and waiters know their trade, however service is very slow (may be because everything is made to order and it takes time to bake deep dish pizza, which I was not impressed with). After I finished with food I managed to go a few more blocks to the hotel. If my memory correct I did 13 miles that day. All I had to do now is to pack and go to sleep or go to sleep and pack in the morning. I will let you know in my next post. The things I missed were Pier 7, Coit Tower, Lands End & Sutro Baths and Twin Picks. These places will be my priority next time I am in San Francisco.

Trip to California Day 1

Hello again,

This is my first day in San Francisco California. This is my first time on the West Coast of the United States. (I have to say that I've been in Vancouver a few years back and I really liked the weather there so I hoped the weather in San Francisco with be similar - low humidity and clear air).

The flight from Newark NJ by Continental was OK. Since it was one of the first flights of the day there was no delay to take off and plane arrived a few minutes earlier. After I finally got the luggage and found way to BART things got a little bit confusing. (I was trying to find out how to get from the airport to the hotel I was staying in San Francisco: From the gate I was supposed to go to the Blue line monorail, then switch to BART, then to take the bus to Lombard Street). As I said the reality was a little bit different: The directions from Blue Line monorail were a little bit confusing - I had to go up a few floors, then down half the floor. The elevators to BART were very narrow. After I finally got to BART I had to get ticket, which in a way was challenging to people coming from New York area - first you have to choose how many tickets, then you have to choose how much you are going to pay per each ticket and then pay for the ticket (the system we used to on East coast is to choose your destination first, then choose number of tickets and then to pay amount is specified on the machine). I have to say though that people working at the airport BART station are familiar with BART tickets limitations and are very friendly and helpful even when there are a lot of people trying to get tickets on Saturday morning.

The BART ride was nice and relatively quick. After I got to the appropriate station I had to walk for 3 blocks to the bus station (If you are from NYC, distances between streets in SF are not as evenly spaced as in NYC). The app for MUNI was really good and helped to let me know when my bus is coming to the bus stop I was at. Ride on the bus took about 25 minutes and the hotel was very short distance from the bus stop.

I was staying at Lombard Motor Inn right off Van Ness Ave. Although prices were high I did not expect the Inn to be of a high quality (I came to SF on Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend). I was pleasantly surprised with the hotel. Please see my review on www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60713-d119640-r224944597-Lombard_Motor_Inn-San_Francisco_California.html

I wanted to ride bicycle over Golden Gate Bridge. So I rented bicycle from the little bike rental on Lombard Street a few blocks from hotel: Bike & View Bicycle Rentals and Tours (for my review of this place go to: ShowUserReviews-g60713-d7022852-r228204071-Bike_View_Bike_Rentals_and_Tours-San_Francisco_California.html ). I have to be honest and say that I was trying to prepare myself for riding bicycles in SF, however nothing can prepare you than experience itself (hills and all). I did walk most of hills :), but downhill ride was a blast. I also underestimated some distances in SF and without bike ride probably would never be able to see them, unless used public transportation.

The things that I've seen in San Francisco on the first day (5/24/14) are:

Fort Mason on the way to In-N-Out Burger that I had for late lunch (dinner per NYC time)

Fort Mason, Chrissy Field on the way to Golden Gate Bridge

Note: on the weekends or holiday you can only ride bicycles on the West side of the Bridge. However if you want to see the Bridge from the vista point overlooking San Francisco, you have to cross the bridge on the East side. Otherwise you will be going down the hill under the bridge and then up the hill again in order to get to that vista point.
Golden Gate Bridge from the other side

A little bit of Sausalito on the way to ferry to get back to SF
Down Town of SF from the ferry

Alcatraz (I was on the last evening tour, however in the spring fog is not too common, so I did not get the creepy feeling, that people were talking about, but the sunset was nice. Keep in mind it is very very windy on the island and temperatures are a few degrees lower than on the main land)

I was exhausted by the end of the day and cut the tour shorter (I left on earlier boat off the island). I have to tell you that the hill to the hotel from the Fort Maison was not too steep and I could probably ride most of it up, but I after such a busy day I walked it all the way to the hotel stopping at small convenient store to get something to to munch on before the bed time. I needed a good rest for the next day.