Vicente Guerrero, Baja California

On Sunday the original plan was to drive two and half hours to Ensenada after Fred got off work, spend the night in a hotel, and then drive the remainder of the trip (two and a half hours) to Vicente Guerrero the following morning.  My dad's friend Ron called me that day and said if we were up for a late night drive that we should skip Ensenada and drive all the way down that night.  

We met them at his girlfriend Cecilia's restaurant, Baja Fiesta, around 1 am.  They took us to her second casa in Costa Brava, about 15 minutes away, and we drank wine and got caught up.  

The next morning they were back at the house to show us around.

Vicente Guerrero is a tiny colonia of San Quintin, which is 22km to the sur.  

The first stop was the veterinarian before heading to breakfast and then to Cecilia's restaurant/ ranch/ wine making operation.  

Cecilia's blackberries are the biggest, juiciest berries in the valley.  The San Quintin valley used to be well known for fishing and seafood and although this still exists, it is now known for its agriculture.  

Cecilia's granddaughter Iris was more than happy to point out where I could find more berries; I was kidding with her that I had eaten them all.  

Cecilia's berry wine is delicious.  My favorite is the mixed berry but she is in the middle of a batch of raspberry/ strawberry wine that smells divine.  

Ron and Cecilia took us to La Lobera, about thirty minutes south of San Quintin.  The rock formations due to coastal erosion are incredible.  

The only building visible on the entire coastline is the abalone farm.

We could not enter the building but saw the process of how the ablone are raised.

The life cycle of abalone begins with larvae.  An abalone one inch long (like the one in this picture) is about two and a half years old.  

It takes a few more years until they reach maturity, and they can live for up to fifty.  

Eating abalone used to be common in Southern California.  Between 1950 and 1970 commercial divers had taken 4.4 pounds of abalone out of Southern California, and devastated their population.  

Fish and Wildlife closed taking abalone out of waters of Southern California in 1997.  

Farms such as these allow people access to what is supposed to be a delicious treat.

Sea lions have made this private beach next to the abalone farm their home.

This hardy plant grows everywhere around San Quintin.  It is gorgeous.

After La Lobera we stopped off the side of the highway for some lunch.  

I am so glad we were with locals, I would have never stopped here.  

And that would have been catastrophic.

My dad was having a great time.  

This was my dad's 66th birthday present, a trip to Mexico to see his friend.  

Live oysters. 

Steamed clams.

After a late lunch we headed back to Costa Brava for a walk on the beach.

The area where Cecilia's house is located is the only place where there are beach houses close to San Quintin.  There are about 35 houses but we had the beach to completely to ourselves.  

What an incredible first day in Mexico, and a reminder of why I love this country so much.

General Sherman, Crystal Cave, and Moro Rock

Fred and I had to wake up early in order to get a decent time to see Crystal Cave.  Crystal Cave tickets are purchased at Lodgepole Visitors Center.  Getting there by 8 paid off, we got the first tour available (10:30).  It takes 40 minutes to get to the cave and you are required to be at the parking lot 30 minutes earlier than your tour for the half mile walk to the cave entrance.  We had just enough time to visit with General Sherman.

General Sherman tree is the largest organism in the world.  It is over 2,000 years old, 180 feet tall, and 37 feet wide at the base.  

2,000 years may seem really old but there are trees in the Giant Forest (named by John Muir) that are 1,000 years older.  

Crystal Cave is over a million years old.  It takes thousands of years for formations such as these to form as carbonic acid (water and carbon dioxide) dissolves the marble rock that makes up the mountain.  Calcite is one of the ingredients in the rock and as water moves through it picks up the calcite and deposits it below the marble.  

Columns are formed as stalactites (ceiling formations) unite with a stalagmites (floor formations).  

This formation is over 21,000 years old and according to our guide Chris, looks like Jabba the Hutt.

This waterfall is right outside the cave entrance.  It was the CCC who "discovered" it in 1918.  (I have to put the word 'discovered' in quotes because there are Native Americans artifacts inside.)  

Two CCC workers wanted to fish and so they followed the stream downhill in hopes of finding a fishing pond.  When they got past the waterfall they felt a cold breeze and upon investigation found Crystal Cave.  (The cave is consistently 48 degrees Fahrenheit.)

After the 45 minute tour we climbed up Moro Rock.  The trail is 1/3 mile long and at the top there is a 360 degree view of the Central Valley to the west, and the Great Western Divide to the east.

This is half of the view (I didn't want people in the picture).

The first log our Subaru has driven through.  The 275 foot Tunnel Log fell in 1937.  

Giant Sequoias are incredible.  Pictures cannot capture their enormity or their beauty.  

They are humbling and mysterious.  

"In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks."- John Muir.

This trip to the Sequoias was unforgettable.  

Heather Lake via the Watchtower

Fred and I drove into Sequoia National park today (Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Giant Sequoia are all connected although the management changes).  Based on the California Hiking book, Heather Lake via the Watchtower trail seemed to be calling our name.  It is a 9 mile hike with about a 2,000 foot elevation change and, once again, stunning views.  

The wildflowers during this time of year are abundant and gorgeous.  

But the highlight for me was the bears.  I kept telling Fred I wanted to see a black bear but not be attacked by one, and my wish came true.  Our first bear sighting was a mom and her two cubs.  

I think this is a beaver.  

This is The Watchtower, a 1,600 foot tall chunk of granite.  Taking pictures here and looking down made me as woozy as taking pictures while flying over the Nazca Lines.  Even looking at this picture now makes me a little sick to my stomach.  From this point most of the trail was on the side of a cliff that hovers over Tokopah Valley.  

We could not pass up a swim in Heather lake.  It was refreshing and beautiful, and we had it to ourselves.  

We came down the hill via Hump trail which is much steeper.  Although it did not have 'the butterflies in your stomach' views there were butterflies, which I am perfectly happy with.    

When we were almost back to our car we came across another black bear.  (I know it is brown but black bears come in all colors.)  This was one of my favorite hikes ever.  

Panoramic Point and Park Ridge Lookout

Fred and I are usually on the eastern side of the Sierras but we decided to mix things up a bit and head to the west side, the only place on the planet where giant sequoias grow, within Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park.  After setting up camp in Stony Creek campground we head out for our first hike of the day.   

On our way out of the campground we found a mule deer who seemed to be completely apathetic about our existence (most likely because hunting is off limits within the park).  

Moon's guidebook California Hiking has not steered us wrong yet. We decided on Panoramic Point and Park Ridge Lookout, a 4.7 mile hike which offered views of giant mountains and deep valleys within Kings Canyon Park.  

These dandelions were the size of softballs.  

The trail ends at a fire lookout which provides even more stunning views.  

Living and dead Manzanita.  

After the hike it was dinner time (we had a late start to the day).

I love camp food; veggie hot dogs, corn, and baked beans followed by a game of cribbage.  The only thing that would make this better would be if our mugs were filled with wine, and they were.