Just very quickly: this video was taken of us on our guided naturalist hike in Yellowstone. Along with our guide, Ashea, we’d been viewing this bear as he ambled along his path, but veered off to find a place to have our lunch. We were being watched -and filmed - by tourists on the opposite side of the Yellowstone river. Thanks to Duncan H. for this clip.
Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44FWJstUIqo
We had to discharge our civic duties and vote on Tuesday, June 6th. Then, it was off on a McClain road trip.
Our destination was Yellowstone, but it’s impossible to ignore some of the awesome locations along the way. From San Diego, the most direct route is I-15, and the most obvious stopover is, well, Las Vegas. That wild and crazy city was out of character with the nature oriented plan for the trip, but we enjoyed it.
By coincidence, the day before our departure, we were talking with a neighbor (one of the members of the neighborhood “black and tan” dog owners clique.) He mentioned that the Cirque de Soleil show “Ka” was the best he had ever seen. We don’t always take suggestions literally, but he mentioned other shows he’d seen, and his views sounded in line with ours, so we took it as a credible recommendation.
We ordered tickets for Ka online and got front row seats at the late show. The theatre was designed with structures staged on all four sides. Just in front of our knees was a wide rail the entire stage width. It was used often during the show, so the actors were literally in our faces. The production was just incredible – we learned later it is the most technologically advanced show in the world. The stage is a moving platform that can be vertical, horizontal, or almost any position in a half sphere. It was used to great effect to show mountains, oceans, and more. You will distrust your own perceptions. Just go see it, it can’t be described.
The morning we departed, we walked around town. The Bellagio has the water fountain “ballet”, now surging to Elvis’s “Viva Las Vegas”. If I remember correctly from our previous visit to the Bellagio, when it was owned by Steve Wynn, the music was more classical. During the morning, they make a test run, so we watched as the engineers and divers ran their operational tests. They couldn’t resist the music either, and we watched as one burly guy lip-synced Elvis. Very funny.
From Vegas, we headed once again northeast, towards Utah. this state is home to some of the most beautiful territory we’ve ever seen. We stopped in Zion National Park and buzzed past Bryce Canyon. We’d been to both before, so it was really a refresher. Both are worth spending days to view their wonders.
OK friends, family and spammers (our biggest readers - thanx for all the hints about riverboat gambling, online casinos, viagra and other drugs).
Our next adventure is a Road Trip to Yellowstone National Park. And along the way, there are wonderful western sites to see - Indian ruins, dinosaur tracks, and a few of the places Fred lived in his childhood.
We’ll be on the road on Tuesday, if the Landcruiser is willing and the crick don’t rise.
Sorry to say that the blog can’t accept direct comments - due to the overwhelming interest from spammers. But you can email us at our usual locations.
One of our favorite books from the last couple of years was Laura Hillenbrand’s “Seabiscuit, An American Legend.” It took life in the film “Seabiscuit”, which told the story but lacked the richness of the real saga. The PBS special (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/seabiscuit/) added some of the fibers of the story and the historical feel of 1930’s film of big races and photos of the real players. But the book builds an emotional bond with the characters that the film left pale. I have to confess that I cried when Seabiscuit died. Of course I knew he was long gone, but I’d come to love him as my own, and I cared about him and how his owner, Charles Howard, loved him so much he buried him in a secret spot known only to him.
Santa Anita racetrack, near Pasadena, was Seabiscuit’s home track. Recently, Fred and I took the “Seabiscuit Tour” that Santa Anita offers during their racing seasons. We went and were more than rewarded for the trip. What you’ll see is a vintage racetrack - bigger than what we know at the Del Mar Fairgrounds (where the Biscuit also raced). Santa Anita keeps its historical flavor and charm despite the fact that many of the betting booths now host a computer screen rather than a live clerk.
The tour starts with a tram ride through the barn area, more like a small town of green and white barns. The owners often personalize their barns, and the number of mini jockey statues is amusing.
Next, you have a guided walking tour through the receiving barn, the grounds, the paddock, the silks room, the jockey’s room. A former jockey educated us on the process of defining weight, and the whole costuming process. The boots, helmets and
You’ll see the statues of Seabiscuit and George “Iceman” Woolf, who was an incredibly talented jockey who rode Seabiscuit when Red Pollard was laid up with injuries. The tragic story - omitted from the movie - is that Woolf died during a race at age 35 when he apparently slipped into diabetic shock/coma and was trampled to death. Read the book and you’ll fall in love with him, too.
The finale of the tour is meeting Fighting Furrari, the “star” of the movie. As movies often end up, the leading man is more handsome than the character he plays. Seabiscuit was well known to have knobby knees and an awkward “egg-beater” gait. Furrari has beauty, but wasn’t a winner.
All in all, it was an enjoyable day. Oh, and it cost nothing. And included general admission to the track for the day. If you go, get there early enough to watch the morning workouts. Check the Santa Anita website for season info - it ends soon. But I imagine they’ll continue the tours next season.
Just a short note about Bentley. Despite his German heritage, he’s not fond of cold weather or snow. We’ve learned this on our ventures into the snow country. He takes his walks, but is ever-so-eager to get back to a warm condo or into the car.
But he surprised us the other night, when he accidentally stepped onto the partially frozen swimming pool at our condo. And the ice fractured and he was swimming. Fred heard him splash and thrash and pulled him out. We towelled him off, and started out to dinner.
Fred wanted to show me where Bentley fell in, and Bentley walked right up to the pool, stepped right onto the ice and fell in. Again.
Another towelling and we finally got off to dinner. Bentley’s no worse the wear for his dip. But I doubt he learned a darn thing!
For years, our ski trips have been planned in advance, dates crafted to fit the calendars of a group of busy friends. This year, Fred and I decided that for once, we’d be snow trackers, follow the weather reports for Mammoth, and strike when the snowstorms arrived.
I’m happy to disclose that our strategy was a success. We made our lodging reservations on Friday for Sunday arrival. And in the last four days, it’s probably the best snow conditions we’ve ever skiied. Two storm days brought the sweet skiing where the slopes have fresh tracks on every run. Wednesday gave us a sun filled, warm day to enjoy the new snow. The storm expected on Friday came a day early, so we get yet another dump of “pow”. We don’t mind a bit of bluster, so not everyone would enjoy every minute of the days, but boy, is there wonderful snow to be skiied.
I can’t recommend this spur of the moment planning enough!!!
One thing I’ve learned in the process of managing this blog is that there’s an axis of evil harvesting the innocent email addresses of blog administrators. Like me. Oh, and the longer your blog is online, the more damn spamn shows up. Nearly every one is for viagra, online casinos, phenteramine, or other drugs or vices.
I tired of deleted the swelling number of items, so now any of you kind readers who want to comment must first register and log in. Sorry for the hassle, but I hope that it won’t deter our witty and interesting friends from adding their color items to this blog.
Sunday Evening, our friends James and Min arrived from LA via Las Vegas. We were all excited about skiing together on Monday. James is a real expert, and he’s been coaching Min, who had never skiied before he started teaching her. We went pretty much all over - it’s impressive that Min just skis wherever. No fear. Late in the day, conditions got pretty icy, and Min took a scary fall and slide. But she seems to take it in stride, though she was a little banged up.
Monday and Tuesday were more warm spring conditions. Every day we went out, expecting that the snow would just be crummy, but through some miracle, we found great snow in several places.
On Tuesday, we were looking for a shortcut to return to our side of the mountain, but discovered the best snow of the day! Just below the McCoy Station is a run called Roger’s Ridge, and it was terrific.
Wednesday – SNOW!!! – we’ve been waiting for some new snow to refresh the runs. This morning, after a chilly and windy night, it started snowing. We waited for a while for some snow to accumulate before suiting up in warm gear. All of the lifts to the top of the mountain were closed. It was windy and cold and sometimes disorienting when the visibility faded. We both get dizzy when we can’t get our bearings. But how fun to have some fresh snow!
Thursday – The weather cleared up a bit. Just a few inches of snow on top of the hard-pack base. We met with our “heaven and hell” run. Remember Huevos Grande? Last week, it was great; just a little challenging at the top. Due to windy conditions today, the top was HORRIBLE. The wind had shaved any remaining flakes from the slopes, leaving an ice rink at about 40 degree slope. With a lot of serious edging, we managed to skid around the rock corner and take a moment to get our breath out of the wind and on some actual snow. Heavenly white, powdery, foot deep snow. the rest of the run was short, but both of us linked great turns all the way down and reallly enjoyed it. It’s good to (still) be alive.
Friday - Some more snow arrived - the snow gods know when we are leaving town. Or maybe they are just catering to the masses arriving for President’s Weekend. Carolyn’s knee was finally giving in, so she spent the morning in front of the fireplace, Fred took in a few hours of skiing.
We hit the road, then, on our way across the Sierras to visit Margaret and Troy, Carolyn’s sister and brother-in-law in Placerville. The snow had begun in earnest, and it was a slow and sloppy drive. Overnight in Placerville, then on the road again for a short visit with Carolyn’s dad in Cupertino.
Pictures to come as soon as Carolyn takes the time to work them over.
Around Mammoth, you’ll see many signs and bumper stickers admonishing us to “help our bears” or “save our bears”. They’re usually meant as reminders to keep your food trash away from the bears, so that they don’t become dependent on human food, start sleeping on park benches in the middle of town and panhandling among the tourists.
In our condo complex, all the trash bins have the following sign:
Please
Help the bears
- Place trash in bins
- Close and latch bins
This totally cracks me up – I have this image of a tourist instructing a nodding bear on the best way to open the bin and dispose of his tuna and beer cans. But maybe that’s just me (Carolyn).
But it’s real – when Fred was walking Bentley on Saturday night, he met with some folks on the road who had seen a bear ambling along the road. He leashed up Bentley at that point.
Even more interesting are the coyotes here. In Southern California, we’re used to having small, rangy reclusive coyotes. They are usually solo, once the cubs get to a certain age. Their diet is mostly vegetable, with small animals as an occasional dessert. Coyotes are big avocado eaters.
But here in the mountains, coyotes take on the behavior and appearance of wolves. They’re bigger, beefier, and travel in packs. Mountain coyotes hunt in packs; they’ll call out to a dog with their yippy barks or send a female in heat to lure an unsuspecting animal into an ambush. We’ve heard them calling to Bentley as soon as they hear his collar jingle. He almost fell for it one time, but he’s smart enough to have turned back before getting too far from Fred. Townies confirm that people just don’t let their animals out after dark.
Monday
On the slopes by 9:15 - a new record for this trip. Conditions “hard fast”. (Those are the runs, not us)
We did several runs from the top, where we find the snow to be the best. Dave’s Run, though chopped up, is still fun. We got some practice with solid frozen “crud”. It’s not very fun skiing, but it’s a good skill to have to be able to ski anywhere, anytime. Sunshine and blue skies make for a comfortable and fun day.
A leisurely lunch, and knocked off around 3:00.
Tuesday
More of the same – this is like spring skiing. The snow is hard most of the day. The groomed slopes are OK, but boring. Going into the trees or off the beaten track can be terrific, but it can also be terrible jouncing crud. We’re pretty comfortable just charging through and our new skis are just what we wanted: a good all mountain ski. We bought them on our earlier trip this month after demos of two or three skis. Fred liked the K2 Apache Recon and Carolyn chose the Völkl Attiva (their ladies’ brand) AC2. They’re very responsive skis. Last week, Carolyn learned that the Völkls really like high speed crud – um – not Carolyn’s fav.
The Rest of the Week
Eat breakfast, ski, lunch, ski, jacuzzi, shower, dinner, sleep, repeat as needed. Cookie cutter days: every morning warm and sunny. Had some great runs from the top, and the always reliable Chair 5 and Chair 3. We’re watching the weather reports in vain hopes of storms bringing new snow. Possibly next Weds.
Visited the Mammoth Clinic on Friday, as Carolyn’s cold refused to get better in the alpine dry air. Of all the medical services we’ve met with in recent times, this was one of the nicest. Friendly people, up to date tech and really fast in and out. Arriving at about 11:00, got an appt for 1:45. We’d virtually just set our butts down when we were called. In and out in less than 45 minutes with a full exam and Rx’s.