SoCal

 

It was nice to get out of the crushing heat of Phoenix and head to the beaches of Southern California. There was a string of years when Mike and I would make an annual pilgrimage to play inebriated ultimate on the white sand beaches of Santa Monica, CA. This time we traded in our sandy tights for sandy diapers and our friends for family. The only similarity was the lack of sleep. 

Santa Monica Beach!  Building sand castles, running along the shore with Hud, and getting in a few frisbee tosses for old time sake. We even saw two dolphins swimming just off the coast in front of us. 

I was able to sneak off early one morning for a trail run in the nearby mountains at Will Rogers State Park. I'm about to start training for a 30k trail race in September so am using that to justify hitting the trail whenever possible. 

Mike's cousins Devera and Bernie were so welcoming and opened their home for us to stay with them. It was also wonderful catching up with Mike's second cousin David and his family: Debbie, Noah, and Adam as well as cousin Steve, his new wife Jenny, and sons Joey and Danny.  David was awesome with the girls and a clutch pinch reader throughout our time there.  

Noah and Adam introduced Mike to how much fun backyard cricket could be.  

Hiking through the Santa Monica Mountains with Debbie and David. The whole weekend had pretty good cloud coverage and cool temps in the 60s.  A welcome respite from the relentless sun of Arizona. 

One day at the beach is long enough for me to crave mountains and trees, so we decided to take a bit of a detour to camp in Sequoia National Park for two nights. We found a campsite at the secluded Cold Springs campground, up the steep and windy Mineral King Road. The seclusion and amazing scenery was well worth the car sickness (me up and Sybil down) and time spent. 

First redwoods spotted off the side of our curvy mountain road up to the secluded Cold Springs campsite.

The views from up in the Mineral King area of the park.

S & P helping each other out nearing the end of their 3 mile hiking adventure with me and Hud.

Cars parked at the trailheads had to be wrapped in tarps because marmots have been nibbling on cables and hoses while hikers are out exploring.  Easier to tarp up your car then wait for AAA to drive that long windy road to repair your car.

I was still sore from running the fitness famous Santa Monica stairs 4 days earlier, so Mike snuck away for a trail run while I hiked with the girls and Hud (dogs not allowed on trails). A trail running ranger suggested a run that involved 3 miles and 1,500+ ft of elevation to a beautiful basin.

They said to put anything that smelled into the bear bin, so we took them literally. Then they just stayed in there for an afternoon playing coyote family.

One of the powerful aspects of camping is that our kids can experience a tiny taste of a free range childhood. Our site was just next to this stream that was perfect for some naked river stomping and splashing while they howled at the sun. 

S being sworn in as a Junior Ranger and protector of the parks after completing the requirements and gauntlet of questions from the ranger. Excuse me...there's something in my eye.

We had a long drive to Oakland, but couldn't resist stopping at a few sites along the way north through the rest of Sequoia and Kings Canyon NPs. We stopped at the General Sherman tree, the largest tree in the world (!!) and had a picnic lunch at a beautiful road side stop.