Mountains, Sea, and Forest

Let me begin by saying that it feels a bit weird being back but I guess that should be expected considering how long I was gone. I'm not going to ramble on about how wonderful the trip was because I know most folks don't have the luxury, time off, or the money to indulge in such real life fantasies so I'll just let the pictures speak for the trip. I feel priveldged and graced to have such opportunties on a regular basis to travel to the extent that I do and I wish everyone could indulge themselves via travelling and I encourage everyone to get out and explore as much as possible. It's a wonderful learning experience and I think it is critical to the development of our overall perspective. Before I load up the pictures here is a brief sketch of where we went and some brief highlights of the trip. We, that is, my two sons Wesley and Paul, my girlfriend Lynn, and I left on July 2 and our first stop was Redwood National Park where we stayed for one week. Redwood National Park is a family favorite with my sons and I and we have many fond memories of the place, except for the year 1998 when I broke my back while mountain bike riding in the park. It was as gorgeous as ever and once again our experience at this wonderful park didn't disappoint.....We next headed over to the Oregon Coast where we spent the rest of the trip. We spent four days on the central Oregon Coast and the rest of the trip near Astoria which is the port where the Columbia river dumps into the Pacific. It's five miles wide at the mouth and is an incredible sight to behold. The weather was cooperative the entire two weeks with sunshine almost every day which is rare. Iv'e travelled up and down the west coast numerous times over the years and IMO the Oregon Coast is the most beautiful coastline on the westcoast if not all of North America. The Oregon Coast may not get the press the California Coast gets but if want you want to see is raw beauty I'll take the Oregon Coast. On a clear day it's one spectular vista after another as forest reaches down to meet the deep blue waters of the Pacific.After the Oregon Coast I actually came home but only for a day and a half and than I headed for Mammoth Mountain in the Sierra Nevada's. I hadn't planned on going to Mammoth but after I saw it was going to be over 100 for the next week I wasn't about to sit around and sweat like a pig. Mammoth is actually my first love when it comes to vacation spots. I have been going there for over thirty years and with the second largest snowfall in the Mammoth Mountain's history I thought I would check things out. Mammoth had over 50 feet of snow this year and the mountains were still covered in some places with huge amounts of snow. The highlight this time around was the wild flowers. They have never been better. The mosquitos were out in full force but they were a minor irration as I covered myself in Jungle Juice each morning. Jungle Juice is 100% deet and the best on the market. Hiked around for four days with my good friend Richard and than headed back to Bakersfield to take care ofa legal matter. Once again the weather was unbearable and decided to leave again in the midst of another week long 105-108 heat wave. This time I took off to the Bay area to see my mom and than came back via Big Sur where I spent a couple of days hiking around and riding my bike. Monterey Bay has an incredible bike path along the coast and I spent two days riding back and forth along the coast. Arrived back in Bakersfield last night and although it is still hot the heat wave is supposed to break this week-end. Them's the facts. Not too exciting to read I suspect. Later when I get time I'll try to share some more reflective thoughts and more details of the trip but for now this will have to suffice.