Birthday Adventures

Celebrating the fact that I am now seventy-two years old, my younger daughter came to visit, and we decided to spend a few days enjoying the Sierra. After all, it was my birthday, and I got to do what I wanted. (It didn't hurt that she requested something similar for her visit.) M was happy to come along.

So we ran up to spend the night at our cabin and then began an epic car adventure over two High Sierra passes. I had been persistent enough to manage a campsite reservation at Crane Flat for a few days, so that would be our base camp. But it would be too simple to just drive straight there.

Instead, we drove up Highay 108 over Sonora Pass, then up Highway 395 to Lee Vining (stopping for lunch at the legendary Mobil station) and then up Highway 120 over Tioga Pass to get into Yosemite.

It was a gloriously clear day, and we could see forever. We drove through Tuolumne Meadows, stopping to hike up Pothole Dome, and then cross country to the river, where we frolicked in one way or the other. (The ladies waded and swam, I caught tiny fish.) And then finally rolled in to camp at Crane Flat about 6 p.m.

That was a long day. But it was great fun, and Estelle got to see Mono Lake from another viewpoint (she had seen if from the airplane when she flew into SFO.) Since she and I both love salads, we had a strange combo mixed salad for dinner, combined with the remnants of a birthday cake cooked by M's stepmother for lunch the previous day. Truly gourmet fare.

Add in a clear night with a quarter moon and lots of stars, and it was a lovely way to turn the calendar.