Mmmmm... trout. That's what we fish for here in the Sierra Nevada, and we like it: the fishing, the camping, the cooking, the eating. Though we reserved all of our catch for our freezer back home on this trip, we spent a weekend exploring creeks and the Owens River for future fishing forays. We've never been to the east side so early in the season and the campgrounds were very quiet. Our original camping goal was Big Springs, one of a series of free campgrounds maintained by the Forest Service between June Lake and Mammoth Lakes just off Hwy 395. Big Springs had not opened for the season, so we ended up camping at Glass Creek (also free), where Fleabag had plenty of room to roam and bump into things without ending up in someone else's campsite. The spring days at 7000 feet were spectacularly sunny and warm, but the nights were still a bit chilly. I woke to find Fleabag's water bowl had frozen overnight. After a morning campfire and a hearty camp breakfast we fished in the creek some 50 yards from our campsite that had been stocked with trout just three days before.

Glass Creek Campground

Glass Creek

Not much sport in the fishing of stocked trout, Ted says, so we took off in the afternoon to look for other possibilities. We stopped by Deadman Creek at the Big Springs campground and drove along the Owens River Road on our way to Hot Creek. You can surmise that Hot Creek is, well, hot, and near the source of geologic thermal activity. The road passes over the creek a few times and when we stopped on a bridge to snap photos of the undulating water plants in the flowing creek, a flock of swallows emerged from under the bridge in a huff as a formation of pelicans flew overhead. Hot Creek Geologic Site is maintained by the Forest Service with two hot springs pools that feed the creek. Just like the hot springs in Yellowstone, the pools are a fantastic milky blue. The creek abounds with plant life, and swimming is no longer allowed at the site due to temperature fluctuations in the hot springs. After a picnic lunch at the truck we strolled down the walkway to view the pools where Ted really yearned for a swim. On the walk down I noticed an unfamiliar shrub covered with showy pink flowers and buzzing bees. This turned out to be Desert Peach, which only blooms in early spring. Since I never make it over Tioga Pass before summer, there was indeed something new under the sun for me that day.

Deadman Creek

Hot CreekHot Creek Geologic Site

Down the road from the geologic site you can visit the Hot Creek Fish Hatchery, one of three hatcheries in the Eastern Sierra responsible for raising and stocking trout in the region. There are twenty-one fish hatcheries in California, and only half raise trout. The other hatcheries raise salmon and steelhead. This hatchery has outside ponds where you can take a gander at the monster trout and the seagulls all waiting around for a bite.

After the tour, we made a stop at the June Lake Junction store and gas station for ice, just about five miles down Hwy 395 from the Glass Creek campground. The campground itself is just off the highway, and though we could hear traffic from the road, 395 is not a terribly busy road and we found convenient access to ice important at this dry campground. We then convalesced at camp before some late afternoon fishing in Glass Creek to augment our stockpile. Our camp cooking style this trip utilized our new dutch oven, where we cooked up some marinated tri-tip over the fire. In the late evening we had two owls hooting around the campground and coyotes howling off in the distance.

Our dutch oven - the Pronghorn

Packing our gear the next morning, we planned to stop at a secret fishing hole that our friend Harry shared with us on our drive back over Tioga Pass and through Yosemite. A few other people had the same secret, but we were far outnumbered by the fish - thanks Harry! We stopped a few more places with no more success, but were plenty happy with the seven trout we brought home. Of course no trip to the East Side is complete without a meal at the Whoa Nellie Deli inside the Mobil Gas Mart at Lee Vining. Ted's Lobster Taquitos and my Steak Caesar Salad was outstanding as usual. So good that I had to buy the shirt.

Mine Creek at the Saddlebag Lake turnoffThe Tuolumne River in Yosemite

from nanamoose.typepad.com

Junket Rating:

Whoa Nellie Deli: Junk in the Trunk!

Didn't actually see much of Solvang and its endless versions of Danish pancake houses, but we did spend a short weekend there in April celebrating my sister-in-law's birthday. Tori and four girlfriends hosted a communal birthday party at a family-owned business, the Maverick Saloon, and invited everyone. It was a great party at a great bar, so if you've consumed all the pancakes you can and need some evening entertainment the next time you're in the Santa Ynez Valley, you should check it out. Purely by chance, we made reservations at the Days Inn Buellton, the motel with the windmill that was featured in the movie "Sideways". We didn't have time to tour wine country, but we passed winery after winery on our drive in from the Central Valley.

Ted and Wenche at the Maverick SaloonTori enjoying her birthday at the MaverickKevin and Ted enjoying tacos at the Maverick

Also on our drive to the Central Coast, we passed the James Dean Memorial at the junction of highways 41 and 46 where he was killed in a car accident in 1955. Dean, along with his mechanic Rolf Wutherich, was driving his Porsche Spyder on Hwy 46 when a guy named Donald Turnipseed crossed the junction heading for Hwy 41, slamming into Dean's car. Dean was killed onsite, but Rolf and Donald survived. Filming on the movie "Giant" had just wrapped and Dean was traveling to a car race in Salinas. He was only 24 years old.

Just before we passed the memorial on Hwy 41, we were lucky enough to catch sight of four Pronghorn (not antelope!) just inside the fence next to the road. Too fast for me to catch a photo, but they look like this:

Our weekend road trip took us out of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and across the Central Valley through Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach and Santa Maria before reaching Buellton and Solvang. I can never hear the name of Pismo Beach without thinking of Bugs Bunny ("I knew I should've taken a left turn at Albuquerque!"). And now I can never hear the name of Santa Maria without thinking about BBQ. Particular to this region, Santa Maria BBQ consists of beef tri-tip grilled over a fire of native California Red Oak. Lucky again, we found a great restaurant serving BBQ just off the 101 at Nipomo. Called Rancho Nipomo BBQ & Deli, the restaurant's location is nothing to write home (blog?) about, but the BBQ was fantastic. We sat on the patio for a lovely lunch in the spring sunshine. I had the BBQ Tri-Tip Sandwich and Ted tried the Baja Street Style Hot Dog (not so much) and the BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich. The sandwiches are served on Teleta bread ("bigger than your head") baked locally and the meats were exceptionally prepared in both cases. Inside you'll find a salsa bar with other fixings and beers to quench your thirst. All in all, a very worthwhile stop if you're traveling the 101 in this area.

Junket Ratings:

Maverick Saloon: Junkety-Junk-Junk

Days Inn Buellton: Junk-O-Rama

Rancho Nipomo BBQ & Deli: Junkety-Junk-Junk

Not to be confused with my last post, "Spring in Yosemite", this post showcases spring on the trail where we leave behind cocktails and brunch (but not beer!) and get out into the wildflower-riddled landscape. Though technically spring did not arrive early in Yosemite, it had glamoured winter into thinking it was spring, so we went with it. Actually, spring has started to feel like summer on some recent days, so wacky weather is the order of 2012. Perhaps we've been transported to Westeros or perhaps it signifies the end of the world...

Either way, here's what the Mist Trail looked like in April:

Even without significant mist, we still got a rainbow at Vernal Fall. By now, the waterfall has swelled considerably, the hordes have descended on the trail and the rainbow is delighting hikers as they ascend the Stairs of Death to the top of Vernal and beyond.

Though we briefly experienced the Hite Cove Spring Wildflower Extravaganza as every good Yosemite local should, we also took a spring excursion down the Merced River Trail starting at Briceburg past Railroad Flat. Ted and I always seem to hike this one in the fall, so I was delighted by the wildflower show. We even brought along old Fleabag, who made an impressive showing by hiking almost 5 miles round trip to the North Fork and back. Friends Joe and Christy (and their much younger dog, Cody) patiently accompanied us as we shepherded the oldster along the trail. Fleabag is 15 years old and though he ran out of steam toward the end, had to be carried over rocky sections of the trail and even lost the trail a couple of times, he still navigated under his own power from beginning to end. What a champ!

Today I had to do a little work at Glacier Point, so I checked out the haps at the Sentinel Dome trail on the way home. Last year in June my mom and I could not hike to Taft Point from the same trailhead because there was too much snow. Not so in Westeros, the path to Sentinel Dome was sunny and clear with views of Yosemite Valley and Half Dome. Once at the top of the dome, you'll see one of the most photographed trees in the world, now just the remains of one of the most picturesquely-situated Jeffrey Pines in Yosemite National Park.

The Jeffrey Pine back in the day by Ansel AdamsFortunately for me, this spring has been conducive to hiking all over the park as I am in training for a trek to the top of Half Dome in June. I can catch any number of trails right out my front door and yesterday while out hiking somewhere between Church Bowl and Lower Yosemite Falls, I shared the trail for a while with a bobcat. And that's spring hiking in Yosemite.

Easter Brunch was a festive and al fresco affair. We dined in our completely and privately fenced yard on prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, deviled eggs, sliced fruit, Creamy Lemon Soup with Lamb Mint Meatballs, BLT Salad, and Crispy Potato Galette with Smoked Fish and Dill Creme (though I skipped the galette and used puff pastry cups instead). Since this is a crew that enjoys their cocktails, we naturally served Bloody Marys and Mimosas, but we also mixed it up with Shooters with Bloody Mary Granita (the original recipe calls for oysters, but we used shrimp) - a frozen Bloody Mary concoction with a seafood garnish. The day was sunny, the wine was flowing and the company was excellent.

To commemorate Earl and Marion's anniversary, we gifted them with a book created on Blurb, "50 Years of Camping in Yosemite (and Marriage Too!)" which included personal photos of previous visits to Yosemite. Personal photo books are easily created online at sites like Blurb, which provided exceptional and speedy service. We were all very pleased with the way the book turned out: seven inch sqaure hardcover with full color photos and text. See the link above to preview the book.

The visit from the LA crew wrapped with a trip to Wawona and dinner at the Wawona Hotel, where our friends Joe and Christy joined us. The Wawona Dining Room has a new chef, Dwayne McFann, and we were treated to some new and creative menu items after sipping pre-dinner cocktails on the veranda. We feasted on Crab Cakes with Red Pepper Fennel Slaw and Lemon Caper Remoulade, a California Cheese Sampler, Wawona's House Made Meatloaf, Grilled Big Bison Burger and a pork special, along with some lovely California wines. The crab cakes were a big hit with our table. As ever, the ambiance of this National Historic Landmark hotel at Wawona is relaxed and friendly, and I really dig the historic Sequoia tree lampshades.

After a disappointing winter, spring has been good to us here in Yosemite and we don't even need to leave the house to catch the wildflower show this year. First we were graced with purple Western Dog Violets which have now given way to entire bed of white-with-purple-center MacCloskey's Violets. Whitey approves.

Junket Rating:

Wawona Dining Room: Junk-O-Rama

The last leg of my dream desert road trip didn't start out like a dream: a few hours after Beth handed me off to my husband in Barstow we passed through Ridgecrest on the 178 and then past Panamint Springs on the 190 to the Saline Valley Road turnoff, traveling 10 miles or so into the backcountry of Death Valley where the alternator in our 1991 Landcruiser promptly died. In the cold and windy spring desert, we spent the night in the truck while we puzzled what do about our predicament. If Ted had to hike and hitch back to Panamint Springs, how would we get the truck out of the backcountry? If you know cars, you know the alternator can't be fixed - it must be replaced. We had plenty of food and water since we had planned 5 days in the backcountry, but our old dog prevented us from hiking out together and we doubted the towing options from the Saline Valley Road. We could get the truck started and it would run for a few miles before it died again, but the charging time between runs was getting longer. The morning was bright, chilly and still windy as we made it back to the flats of Saline Valley, and soon enough 2 hippy guys came along in their truck on their way to the Saline Valley Warm Springs who were kind enough to give us a jump that got us a few miles more along the road. And then we waited.

We decided to wait since spring is a (relatively) busy time in the Death Valley backcountry and we believed we could get the car back to the highway with just a few more jumps. And so our guardian angel appeared in the form of Alan from Los Angeles. Alan is a backcountry connossieur with a kitted-out truck that included an extra car battery, which he offered to loan us. After determining the battery solution was not the solution and with a generosity of spirit practically unequaled in modern times, Alan followed us back to Panamint Springs, stopping to jump the truck every time it died (approximately 10 times).  What a trooper! We offered to fill his gas tank/wash his car/buy him lunch/put his firstborn through college, but he felt a mere $25 in gas was sufficient payment. Who says there are no good deeds performed in the world today?!

We bid Alan a fond farewell and set up camp at Panamint Springs, which passes for high civilization in Death Valley, while we contemplated our next move. Panamint Springs Resort is a private inholding in the park that consists of a gas station, store, restaurant, motel and campground owned by a family whose members operate every aspect of the place. We had stayed in the motel at Panamint Springs on a previous visit to Death Valley where we were less than impressed, but this time we camped and we loved it.

For $7.50 a night you can camp amongst some of the only trees in the Death Valley desert with free hot showers, flush toilets and wi-fi access. The motel is a work in progress according to the very friendly staff, but the campground may be the best in Death Valley. The watered cactus garden between the road and the campground attracts wildlife - we woke to the sound of frogs (!) in the morning and watched bats dart around in the evening.  The wi-fi access was our saving grace as we couldn't get cell phone service so we used Skype on the iPad to call for help with the truck. And help arrived in the second example of unequaled generosity of spirit as our friend Austin - a resident of Big Pine, CA - drove some number of hours from Bishop, CA where he purchased an alternator and then delivered it to us at the campground. Austin hung around for awhile while Ted tinkered with the truck and introduced us to his friend Chris. We spent 2 nights at Panamint Springs and then headed back into backcountry, confidence renewed.

Before we vacated Panamint Springs, we took a little test run in the truck up an unnamed dirt road east of the junction of 178 and 190 just down the way. The road dead-ends at Panamint Butte and offers a view of the Panamint Dunes which were golden in the sunlight on this spring afternoon. Rusted out cars, cactus and a sweeping view of the Panamint Valley are just three reasons to explore this track.

During our stay at Panamint Springs, I found I had something in common with my new friend Chris: we both blog about food and California. Chris is the author of The Inyo Belly Project, a blog about food in Inyo County and the motorcycle trips he takes to find it. I'm rather jealous. Chris reviews restaurants, explores the sources of agriculture in the Eastern Sierra and documents the ride to get there. Check out photos from his blog below and be sure to give his excellent blog a read:

Chris' photo of the spot where we broke down in Death ValleyRehabilitated truck packed again with camping goods, we headed back up the road (in the photo above) into the backcountry taking the Saline Valley Road to Hunter Mountain Road cresting the mountain at 7000 feet. At the top we found snow, and looked down on the dunes we had seen the day before. The road was spectacular and proved no trouble for our Landcruiser (once the alternator was replaced, of course). Large forests of Joshua Trees and desert panoramas had us pointing around every bend. The descent on the other side made us long for mountain bikes and a wide open campsite. This is the Death Valley that people hope to see when they dream about the desert and the West, so if you're equipped with right vehicle and the Death Valley Backcountry Roads Map, start planning your trip now.

Though it's over 50 miles from Panamint Springs to designated park roads, before we knew it we were at Teakettle Junction and on our way to the Racetrack. Knock the Racetrack off my bucket list as I have been looking forward to seeing this desert phemomena with my own eyes for years. The Racetrack is an ancient dry lake bed, known as a playa, where rocks come to rest that are eroding from the hillside at the playa's edge. The phenomenon occuring here is that these rocks have trails leading to their current location, indicating that somehow these rocks have traveled across the lakebed over time. The prevailing theory is that when the rare bout of rain comes to Death Valley, the playa becomes slick and muddy, allowing the high desert winds to nudge these rocks across the surface a tiny bit at a time. Sound fantastic? You betcha. The other not-quite-so-mysterious phenomenon in this area of the park is the number of teakettles collected at the Teakettle Junction signpost. I'm frankly astounded that NPS condones the graffitti covered collection - it really doesn't seem like their no-whimsy-allowed-style. We neglected to add to the collection, but then how could we top that ceramic snowman job on the back?

"I think I saw that one move!"

Our original travel plan had us meeting friends Kristal and Chris at the Homestake Dry Camp just south of the Racetrack to overnight before we explored the Eureka Sand Dunes at the north end of the park. But due to technical difficulties, we had to abandon that plan and chose the campground at Mesquite Springs instead (missing our friends completely). Never having been impressed with the parking-lot-type campgrounds at Death Valley, we were pleasantly surprised by Mesquite Springs, easily the most scenic developed campground in the park. Once there, we were uncertain as to whether we had enough gas to make it out to the Eureka Dunes and back before driving south to gas up in Furnace Creek the next day. So we'll marvel at the 700 foot dunes on our next trip to DV. With gas limitations our recreation choices were limited, so we took a gander at Ubehebe Crater, the architectural wonder that is Scotty's Castle and enjoyed our scenic campsite after dusty desert exploration.

Though architecture of the mid-century modern kind is my cup of tea, I like architecture in general, probably because I like history and nothing houses history better than a building. So Scotty's Castle, a sort of Spanish Colonial Revival monstrosity that is the main building of the historic Death Valley Ranch, is the particular architectural draw in this park (seriously, who needs a crenellated tower in America?). Located near natural springs in Grapevine Canyon, the ranch had water and electricity when it was built in the 1920s by a Chicago millionaire. Rich peoples' delusions of grandeur aside, the house has some really wonderful architectural details and still occupies the dead center of nowhere in the desert. We passed on the house tour conducted by NPS, but strolled the grounds peering in windows and siting the largest cottonwood tree in North America.  Our only real wildflower sighting this spring visit was under the protecting eaves of one of the outbuildings.

In keeping with the architectural theme, I was looking forward to visiting the newly refurbished Furnace Creek Visitor Center. The National Parks' version of mid-century modern architecture is referred to as Mission 66 - based on the NPS program from 1956 to 1966 that upgraded the national park experience for car-owning Americans after World War II. The concept of the visitor center was created by Mission 66 and all the facilities built during this era reflect the modern design ethic of the time. Unfortunately, most people don't find the modern design pleasing in a national park setting and many of these historic structures have been razed to make way for new structures that emulate "Parkitecture" (officially designated National Park Service Rustic), the pitched-roof log and stone buildings everyone associates with the national parks. However, modern architecture is much better suited to the desert than NPS rustic and I'm personally pleased that someone with veto power in Death Valley recognized the value of their modern buildings. Even better, the building was renovated sustainably with solar power to improve energy efficiency and was built to LEED certification standards. They also did a bang-up job with the look of the place too. On our way out we were accosted by an overly-friendly Desert Wood Rat that had no trouble scooting up the rough-hewn stone walls of the building - our only real wildlife encounter in the park.

The Death Valley History Association operates the visitor center bookstores in the park and they got a spiffy new store with the building renovation. If, like me, you'd like to know more about the California desert, I recommend a book purchased during my visit, "The California Deserts: An Ecological Rediscovery" by Bruce Pavlik that is filled with natural and cultural history, color photos and diagrams galore. If you use the link above for the DVHA, your purchase will directly support Death Valley National Park. After filling up on $6.00 per gallon gas, it was time to leave Death Valley for Yosemite Valley. Despite the breakdown we had yet another marvelous visit to Death Valley and we'll be back as soon as we can.

If you love Vegas like I love Vegas, then it's probably all been said and done before.  But for me, there's always something fresh and this visit I managed to knock a few must-trys off the list. Beth and I stayed at the LVH - former Hilton, former host to Elvis, former location of the Star Trek Experience. The LVH is just slightly off the Strip, but still in the game though a vestige of its former 70s glam. I was puzzled by the lobby decor until I realized that there are leftovers from the Star Trek universe. I tried 2 restaurants at the hotel and the Paradise Cafe is completely forgettable, but the Cuban sandwich at the Superbook Deli located in the race and sports book was a great deal and perfect hangover food.

Happy Hour #1: Red Square at Mandalay Bay

Vegas is known for excellent happy hours that provide a way to sample all that expensive cuisine without blowing your gambling bucks.  Red Square's decor is vintage Soviet Union circa 1980, including a huge headless statue of Lenin out front and a vodka vault.  Five for $5 is the happy hour special which includes $5 vodka cocktails and appetizers like Siberian Nachos and the delectable Salmon Blini that we tried.  The cocktails went down easy as we watched guests being escorted to the vodka vault - buy a pricey bottle of vodka and they will dress you in fur coats and take you to the vault with temps near freezing to choose your bottle (and view Lenin's head frozen in a block of ice).  Shelly and Todd were my happy hour companions and we all gave Red Square a thumbs up.

From worldsstrangest.com

From mandalaybay.com

From yelp.com

Happy Hour #2: The Mob Bar downtown on Third Street

Experiencing a revitalization of sorts, the downtown area (better known as Fremont Street) is peppered with new restaurants and bars and even a new museum. Though museum culture is not what pops into mind when picturing a visit to Las Vegas, the city is now home to two of the coolest museums you may ever see.  My first love is the National Atomic Testing Museum, which may actually be my very favorite museum, located just off the strip and detailing the days when nuclear power ruled and mushroom clouds were considered a Vegas attraction. Cool museum #2 is The Mob Museum (National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement), located at the end of Third Street on Stewart Avenue, two blocks from Fremont Street. You can shoot a gun, learn some mafia lingo, participate in a lineup and sit in the electric chair as well as learn about the bad old days in Vegas. After a visit to the museum with Beth and Shelly, we naturally migrated to the Mob Bar just down the block. 

The MuseumShelly straps Beth into the electric chairThe Bar. Yes, the photo is appropriately blurry.They seemed to be out of several beverages and since we sat outside on the patio, we didn't actually experience the bar, but the tab for seven people during happy hour was 52 bucks so I highly recommend the Mob Bar. The server was very friendly and sitting outside was a plus. Not a lot of outdoor seating in Las Vegas, but a spring evening in the desert is hard to beat. We finished up our martinis and headed out to dinner at the Hash House A Go Go in The Plaza at the end of Fremont Street. Dazzled by the Fremont Street Experience, we meandered under the neon and the zip lines and even caught a peek of filming for Pawn Stars.

From unicaworld.com

Hash House A Go Go originated in San Diego, but now has four locations in LV. Their tagline, "Twisted Farm Food" covers the ungodly portions of neatly presented and mightily tasty comfort food they're peddling.  Known for a monstrosity called Andy's Sage Fried Chicken & Bacon Waffle Tower, all the portions at Hash House are ridiculously huge, but you will try to finish. I went for Black Skillet Chicken and I know there was pork tenderloin and duck at the table too. Being tanked and easily charmed, we found the Bud-in-a-Bag beer selection irresistable (well, "we" being me and Todd) though we asked for better beers and assembled our own beer-in-a-bag libation.

Famous chicken waffles from thisisgonnabegood.blogspot.comBlack Skillet Chicken (beer-in-bag background)Newcastle-in-a-bagNot only was the food great, but the service was outstanding. This friendly man appeared at our table, announced that he was the bartender but would be our server for the evening and called himself Romel (not only have I probably spelled it wrong, but it's likely the name is wrong too as I was all the way in the bag - pun intended). He was a saint to serve this large and rowdy group and he did it with panache.  I understand we tipped him generously and he deserved every penny. And then we exited back to Fremont Street.

"Did you just take my picture?" Yes, I did!Todd and Pete rolling on Fremont StreetHappy Hour #3: C Bar at the Stratosphere

By far the deadliest happy hour on the Strip, C Bar offers Bottomless Happy Hour from 5:00 to 9:00 PM.  All you can drink (well martinis, margaritas or draft beer) for $19.99. Yep. Shelly, Todd and I parked ourselves at C Bar after Todd was dealt the disappointing news that his scheduled SkyJump from the Stratosphere Tower had been canceled due to high winds. So we tippled instead.

After many martinis, margaritas and beers, Shelly decided she wanted to have a nice dinner somewhere else. I shared my fondness for Mon Ami Gabi, the french restaurant at the Paris, consensus was reached and off we went for steak and seafood. Mon Ami Gabi has been the site of a splendid wedding reception and hours at the bar with champagne and oysters in my experience, but I hadn't been back in years. The food is still fantastic. We started off with cocktails, something with St. Germain because that is the equivalent of cocktail catnip for me, and moved to some lovely red wine for the meal. Unfortunately, details escape me.  However, the food consisted of sharing the Duck Confit hors d'oeuvre, the Seafood Platter and the Filet Mignon. And it was sublime.

From disneymike.com

Beth shepherded me safely out of Las Vegas that night and the next day to amble on down the road to Barstow, where I met up with Ted to begin the third leg of my dream desert trip: Death Valley.  With me nursing a monster hangover, we break down in the backcountry, twenty miles from nowhere.  But again, another post for another day.

Junket Ratings:

Red Square: Junk in the Trunk!

Mob Bar: Junk-O-Rama

Hash House A Go Go: Junk in the Trunk!

Mon Ami Gabi: Junk in the Trunk!

I like to tag along with my friend Beth as she travels all over California for her work, but this trip had extra special allure for me as a road trip through the desert.  Beth had to work in Las Vegas for a few days and at this time of year we must drive around the Sierra Nevada to get there.  You cruise the 15 through the Mojave desert on the way to Sin City, so this seemed like a perfect opportunity to seek out the California State Reptile, the Desert Tortoise, as they emerge in the spring from their underground burrows.  Listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, the tortoise is losing its habitat to desert development.  Some public lands protect tortoise habitat, so we planned an overnight in the Mojave National Preserve before tackling three nights in Las Vegas.  Sort of an aesthetic retreat before the excess.  First stop was the Desert Tortoise Natural Area just north of California City, maintained by the Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee, where we hoped to catch a glimpse of this:

From mojavephonebooth.com

Though the Natural Area has an interpreted trail and lots of burrows, we failed to spot a tortoise, so we plan to return on a day where we can patiently wait for the tortoises to appear - perhaps with a lawn chair and picnic lunch.  We cruised back toward Barstow, where the 15 and the 40 highways comprise the norhtern and southern borders of the Mojave National Preserve.  We opted for the 40 as we planned to stop at the Kelso Depot, where the historic train building has been converted into the preserve's visitor center.  You can enter the preserve on the Kelbaker road from either highway, but you'll pass the Kelso Sand Dunes on your way to the depot from the south.  At the exit for Kelbaker, we realized we were only 70 miles from Joshua Tree National Park and the preserve's terrain is much the same.  However, the Mojave National Preserve is home to the largest Joshua Tree forest in southern California and Beth confirmed that the trees here are actually biologically different from the trees at JTNP.  We made it to the depot just before they closed and the NPS staff was more than happy to stay open so we could take a quick look around.

From terrylbeck.com

From NPSFrom blog.kurtlawson.com

From panaramio.comWe left the depot with evening coming on and headed for our reservation at the Hotel Nipton.  Nipton, CA (population: 38) resides on the very border of the preserve and consists of the hotel/eco-lodge/campground, general store, restaurant and a handful of residences.  The hotel building was built in 1910 and offers five rooms, while the proprietors recently installed yurts for the environmentally conscious and is now promoting itself as environemnetally friendly.  The rooms are basic but the people are friendly.  We arrived at 6 PM just as the store was closing to find that the restaurant was closed too, so we ate Lunchables out of the store along with dates and nuts from our road trip stash.  Thankfully, we were also able to purchase beers.  The other party in the hotel had planned ahead and were contentedly dining on barbecue in the hotel's common room.  The most important aspect of overnighting in Nipton is knowing that the train still runs right through the Mojave, just like back in the day, and that Nipton is located right on the Union Pacific line.  The hotel thoughtfully provides earplugs for when the train rolls though in the middle of the night, but they don't help.

Whilst researching for the trip to the Mojave, I came across this interesting tidbit: the Mojave Phone Booth.  Back in the 60s, a phone booth was installed by the phone company in the middle of the Mojave to serve the isolated mining communities whose original number was 714-733-9969.  No charge to dial out, but still set up as a phone booth proper.  In 1997, someone noticed the symbol for a public phone in the middle of the Mojave and set out to determine the source.  Later Godfrey Daniels began posting about the booth on the internet and a cult was born.  People from all over the world began calling the booth just to see if someone would answer and sometimes they did.  Pilgrimages were conducted and the National Park Service became uneasy about the weirdos attracted to the booth (like me) and had it removed in 2000.  But the legend lives on, even inspiring a Hollywood film in 2006, Mojave Phone Booth.  I've got the GPS coordinates, though I didn't force Beth to take her hybrid car onto the backroads of the Mojave just to satisfy my curiosity.  That's a Mojave adventure for another time.  Since I love all desert oddities with a passion, I created a board for the MPB on Pinterest.

From laundelles.wordpress.com

After the fortifying "continental breakfast" provided by the hotel - which consisted of choosing some items from the store - we headed back out into the desert on our way to Las Vegas.  We stopped in Primm, NV at the Starbucks in the Largest Chevron Station on Earth to rectify the breakfast scene and then rolled into town to get Beth to a meeting at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.  While Beth mentored youngsters in the environmental fields, I enjoyed the scenic loop at my leisure.  Having lived in Las Vegas for a brief time 17 years ago, the scenic loop is memory lane as I spent a great deal of time hiking Red Rock Canyon in 1995.  I enjoyed my lunch at the Willow Springs picnic area and then took a little hike on the Oak Creek Canyon trail in the salubrious desert sun.  But first we saw this:

That's right, Mission: Desert Tortoise was accomplished!  That beautiful creature is Lucy who resides at the Red Rock Canyon visitor center tortoise habitat.  Lucy belongs to the harem of Mojave Max, the resident male tortoise, a mascot for Mojave Desert preservation.  We timed our visit just right as Lucy emerged from her burrow to slowly scout out some vittles.  And when I say slowly, I mean like geologic era slow.  Feeling satisfied with our accomplished goal, Beth and I left Red Rock Canyon to check into the LVH (the Las Vegas Hotel, used to be the Hilton, but don't tell that to LV cabbies).  And then the magic of Lost Wages commenced.

Junket Ratings:

Hotel Nipton: Junk-O-Rama

Three days before spring, winter decided to make an appearance in Yosemite after months of repeated no-shows.  And in true Sierra storm fashion, the snow fell with a vengeance.  Though the snow fell somewhat lazily in Yosemite Valley, areas outside the Valley experienced crazy winds and even thunder snow in one case.  But make no mistake, the snow kept falling and falling and soon blanketed the Valley in white which is one of its best looks.  We took a long snowshoe loop on Sunday just as the sun came out (Game of Thrones weather, anyone?) and admired the views.  And I'm certain it was the best day of the year at Badger Pass.  For those of you in snowy climates who don't own snowshoes, you don't know what you're missing:

View of a snowy Glacier Point

The convergence of the Merced River and Tenaya Creek

View of a snowy (and cloudy) Yosemite FallsMy favorite view of Yosemite Falls occurs at the convergence of the Merced River and Tenaya Creek in the North Pines Campground.  Despite the sun, the view of the falls was obscured by clouds but the rest of the view will do.  We toured through the campground over the footbridge to Backpacker's Camp and up toward Mirror Lake, returning back along the creek.  Snowshoeing is a great way to experience winter, especially if you are not a skier. Twice we came across mule deer bedded down in snow banks, chewing contentedly.

Tenaya Creek

View of a snowy Half Dome

And to think just the week before Ted and I were basking in the sun of the Mojave Desert in Death Valley.  We also broke down in the backcountry, but that's a post for another day.  Right now we'll enjoy the Sierra Nevada winter, such as it is, and look forward to spring.

I love social media in its many forms and Pinterest is my latest account.  I created a California Parks board with photos of California's most inspiring public lands (hence the generic "parks" because "California's Public Lands" sounded a little dry).  I'm pleased to use photos from local photographers in Yosemite and other spectacular shots I find on the web.  If you know of a place on the web harboring photos of California that others should not miss, send the link my way so I can share on Pinterest.  That's what social media is all about. Check out my Pinterest page here.

Green Papaya Salad with Grilled Shrimp

Besides skiing at Badger Pass, ice skating at the Curry Village Ice Rink and shopping at the Curry Village Craft Bazaar, one of the highlights of winter in Yosemite is the Chefs' Holidays food extravaganza at the Ahwahnee Hotel.  Thanks to our friends Joe and Christy, we had the singular delight of attending the gala dinner prepared by sustainable seafood chef Rick Moonen.  There's nothing like sharing excellent food and wine with friends at a cozily lit table in the Ahwahnee's venerable old dining room on a cold winter's night.  We started off the evening with the superlative Green Papaya Salad above, accompanied by champagne (note the little 'c') and incredibly, the food got better and better as the evening progressed!

Christy and JoeI'm fairly certain that all Chefs' Holiday dinners are excellent.  After all, chefs from around the country descend on the Ahwahnee every winter to demonstrate their knowledge and skills to an appreciative audience about the joys of food and cooking.  Though the dinner is not inexpensive, it's worth every penny and you can augment your experience by attending free cooking demonstrations  (read: free food samples!) by the chefs designated for each holiday session.  And did I mention that each dinner course is accompanied by carefully selected wines?  Chef Rick did us a favor by choosing a crop of lovely California wines to savor with our seafood.  After Papaya Salad, everyone at the table lost their minds over the Arctic Char.  The cucumber/horseradish flavors sent the perfectly cooked fish over the moon as far as we were concerned.  By the time the Alaskan Black Cod arrived and was promptly consumed, Ted exclaimed that this was the best meal he had ever eaten.  When Ted says "best meal ever", he is of course referring to a subset of meals cooked outside of our home.  But still, high praise indeed.  No photo of the cod as I was halfway through when I realized I missed the photo op.  Too busy eating.  This also may have been my best meal ever as in addition to preferring seafood over just about anything, I like me some venison.  And it should always be prepared like this with onions, mushroms and brussels sprouts - perfect!

Applewood Smoked Arctic Char

Venison with Pear ButterChef Rick's current venture is RM Seafood in Las Vegas and his efforts to endorse sustainable seafood purveyors for restaurants resulted in "Chef of the Year" status for 2010 by the Monterey Bay Aquarium's influential Seafood Watch program.  Accolades aside, the man has a way with preparing seafood that is a boon for the rest of us.  We talked with Chef Rick after dinner and he shared how much he enjoyed hiking around Yosemite during his visit.  I shared how fortunate I am in visiting Las Vegas next month where I would be enjoying this dinner all over again.

We ended dinner with Sticky Toffee Pudding (right!) and the evening with a table visit from Ahwahnee General Manager Brett Archer and Ahwahnee Executive Chef Percy Whatley.  Both exuded enthusiasm for the dinner and the Chefs' Holidays event in general, as they should.  Both have had a hand in creating an exceptional dining experience enhanced by it's national park setting.  The Ahwahnee team and it's guest chefs are making winters bright in Yosemite National Park.

Michelle and Chef Rick Moonen

Brett and Ted

Did I mention there was a lot of wine?Junket Ratings:

Chefs' Holidays at the Ahwahnee: Junk in the Trunk!