CALIFORNIA LONG SUMMARY

Day 1 - We drove via Wyoming to Salt Lake City (Utah) where we stayed with Rebecca (a friend from a 10-day meditation retreat earlier this year) and her family... including their fascinating hairless cat. She made us a wonderful dinner complete with homemade ice-cream!

Day 2 - In the morning, we took a tour of the beautiful capitol building. On our way out of the state, we visited the Golden Spike National Historic Site at Promontory Summit, where the first Transcontinental Railroad was joined in 1869. A dirt road then led us to the shore of the Great Salt Lake where we gazed upon the Spiral Jetty. Unfortunately the water had receded drastically in the last several years. At the ATK Thiokol Rocket Garden, we got up close and personal with a variety of old missiles. Eventually we arrived in Boise (Idaho) where we sampled some yummy delicacies (including a beet flavored beer) from Woodland Empire Ale Craft brewery. Erin and Frank (friends of Scott's) kindly give us a place to sleep for the night.

Day 3 - We continued west, entering Oregon, and stopped briefly in the charming town of Vale, located on the old Oregon Trail with buildings dating back to the 1870's. In Bend, we had a delicious flight of beers at Crux Fermentation Project brewery. We arrived at Crater Lake at sunset. Unfortunately we had a very long wait in construction but eventually got through to the campsite to set up our tent. It was rather chilly out!

Day 4 - Much to our dismay, our inflatable mattress went completely flat and by morning we found ourselves lying on the hard, cold ground. We packed up and took a tour around the crater (at least around the parts that weren't under construction). We also visited some bizarre lava formations called the Pinnacles. We then headed south into California. In Weed, we tried a few unimpressive beers from the Mt. Shasta Brewing Co, then arrived at our destination of Mount Shasta itself. We drove to several spots to enjoy different views of the amazing volcano... including part way up the 14,179 foot peak. We topped the evening off with a visit to the headwaters of the Sacramento River. It's amazing how a giant river can start as just a tiny spring trickling from some rocks. We got a nice, warm motel for the night.

Day 5 - At breakfast, we were warned by the waitress that a storm was headed to Lassen Volcanic National Park (our next destination) and that we would need chains to get up there. We decided to risk it. After a charming hike to Hedge Creek Falls where we walked behind a waterfall, we made a few several lovely stops along the McCloud River including the Lower Falls (filled with fishermen), Middle Falls (quite tall) and Upper Falls (a gentle cascade). We then set out for Lassen. Fortunately no snow of any kind befell us and we had lovely (yet crisp) weather for our various excursions to Bumpass Hell (filled with bubbling mud pots and steam vents), Sulphur Works (more steam) and Kings Creek (with a cold boiling lake). We camped at Manzanita Lake.

Day 6 - We had purchased some duct tape to repair the mattress but had no luck at finding an actual leak... so yet again we ended up on the cold ground. And it was COLD! We warmed up with some breakfast at Lumberjacks, a lovely kitchy restaurant in Susanville. They even showed log cutting competitions on a tv. We stopped at Great Basin Brewing Co. in Reno for some scrumptious tasters... including a Kaffir Lime Leaf & Basil Saison. We followed that up with a visit to Brasserie Saint James, another lovely brewery nearby. The temperature continued to drop and by the time we reached South Lake Tahoe, snow flakes began to fall. Fortunately we were in another motel.

Day 7 - There was some snow on the ground in the morning and the local mountains had a nice coating. We headed south toward Yosemite. Many of the passes were closed, but according to a ranger, the one we needed (Tioga Pass) was still open... but just barely. He told of slippery roads, super slow speeds and the potential need for 4-wheel drive. We debated finding something else to do instead, but in the end we decided to give it a try. While it looked really gloomy, was bitter cold and there were some light flurries, the road was actually fine. By the time we reached the far side of the park, the weather was mostly dry with some light bouts of rain. We made the long drive up to Glacier Point but we didn't get much of a view. We set up the tent at Hodgdon Meadows and Scott made a fire to keep us warm.

Day 8 - In spite of the cold, we had a warm night... primarily because we'd bought a new air mattress which didn't leak! The weather was beautiful so we explored the valley by means of a few short hikes. Unfortunately the area was under construction and as a result, the shuttles were a bit confusing, not to mention quite full. After visiting the large visitor center complex, we did a SUPER steep hike up the Mist Trail for a view of Vernal Fall. Unfortunately it was barely 'falling' since the park apparently dries up by September. Our next stop, Mirror Lake, was the same story. It becomes 'Mirror Meadow' for winter... but it was still an amazing spot. We did one last evening hike to Lower Yosemite Falls. Again, dry as a bone. We felt like having a warm meal so we left the park and had dinner at Buck Meadows, a tiny town not too far away. By the time we arrived back at the tent, we were ready to hop straight into our warm sleeping bags.

Day 9 - In the morning, we hiked a long, steep trail down to Tuolumne Grove, home to some giant sequoia. We got to walk through a tree as well as crawl inside along the length of one! We then headed back across Yosemite the same way we had come in two days before... although this time we could make many stops to admire the view in bright weather. Since we were passing right by Mono Lake, we took a short walk to the tufas (salt pillars) that lined the shores. We drove several hours down to Death Valley National Park where we spent the night in a 'tent cabin' in Panamint Springs.

Day 10 - On our list of stops in the park were the Furnace Creek visitor center, Badwater Basin (lowest elevation the US), Devil's Golf Course (salt formations), Zabriskie Point (colorful badlands), the Harmony Borax Works (a borax processing plant from the 1880's), and the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. We left in the afternoon before it got too hot. Ironically, it was hotter (by one degree) when we arrived at our destination in Orange County.

Days 11 to 13 - Not 'all work and no play'... I managed to get away to sample a few of the incredible beers at Valiant Brewing Company... including an orange sour, a cherry sour stout, a Belgian ale with elderberries aged in oak barrels and an 18% bourbon barrel aged Russian stout! Wow! And let's not forget a dinner at Bruxie in Orange with an incredible waffle sandwich! Aaaand lunch at The Old Spaghetti Factory located in Fullerton's old train depot. Yum!

Day 14 - Before heading back, we took a day to be tourists. That began with a visit to the San Juan Capistrano mission and cathedral. We then had lunch at El Adobe de Capistrano, a favorite restaurant of Richard Nixon when he was president. We ended the day with a slew of absolutely incredible beers... first at the Bruery (with a cranberry & orange sour, a barley wine with chocolate & coffee, and a 19.7% imperial stout with chocolate & vanilla), then Bottle Logic Brewing (with a bourbon barrel aged spiced pumpkin ale and guava & dragonfruit sour), and finally the Bruery's Terreux tasting room (with a watermelon sour and a red ale with cherries). Incredible!

Day 15 - It was time to begin the drive back home. We entertained ourselves with stops at the world's largest thermometer and the Alien Fresh Jerky store (complete with moving robots in a car) in Baker and at a Mormon temple in St. George (Utah). We spent the night in a motel in Richfield.

Day 16 - We enjoyed beautiful Utah scenery and conveniently had lunch at Kannah Creek, a brewery in Fruita (Colorado). Along with our tasters, the waitress mixed us up a special drink comprised of 1/2 blond beer, 1/2 amber beer and a splash of amaretto. Sensational! We made our way over the scenic Rocky Mountains and stopped for one final celebration at Broken Compass Brewing Company in Breckenridge (including a chocolate coffee stout, a peanut butter stout and a raspberry habanero pale ale). Final mileage of the trip: 4,360