Way to go Twins!

Not usually a big fan of TV sports, but couldn't ignore the Twins fever here tonight. The Twins kind of have a history of being the underdog, and tonight toughed it out to beat Detroit for the Division Championship. Bring on the Yankees!

Wanted to share this taste of winter with you, this was last Sunday morning in Squaw Valley, a coating of snow over the area and on the mountains. It wasn't very deep, but I did see some pictures from Mammoth Mountain that day with a good 6" or more of fresh snow, making the skiers go nuts, I'm sure!

It's official!

Finally we are home again, worn out and happy. I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it was to see my daughter as a beautiful bride on Saturday. What a joy to see her and Ben both glowing with happiness, surrounded by so many friends and family members. I know it was very emotional for all of us and we are still coming down from the thrill. They are truly much loved and celebrated. All of their planning paid off and with the assistance of Audrey and Liz at Plumpjack Squaw Valley, it was an unforgettable experience. In the photo above, you can see a corner of the quilt that my mother made them, draped over the wooden fence in a meadow, it was a perfect backdrop for those outdoor photos. It turned very windy that day, so some of the photos were hampered by that, but I can't wait to see the professional pictures because those 2 photographers worked very hard that day!

Just a quick glimpse of the wonderful flowers, outstanding tablerunners and amazing son!

Now back to reality and what to make for supper! Missing my kids after these wonderful days together.

Changing seasons

Lots of fun things going on out here in these days before Brita and Ben's wedding. Lots of friends and family arriving, it is so wonderful to see everyone here. We had a beautiful sunny day today so took the chance to go for a hike. It was steeper than we had expected, and our flat-lander lungs took a little extra work, but we had a good trip uphill for about an hour. We had hoped to make it to the top of the ridge in the background and look over the top to the 5 lakes on the other side, but we were a little limited on time (had to get Dan back to meet up with the guys to go play disc golf). The descent back to the car went much quicker!

The view across this meadow towards Squaw Valley is like a picture postcard. There is a golf course running across part of this valley with the ski resort down towards the end.

One interesting aspect of being here right now is that this is very much the "off-season" for the area--after the summer vacationers and before the snow flies and skiers arrive. It's kind of fun to pause and imagine what it all looks like under a thick blanket of snow. There are very few people around, many shops and restaurants are closed or operating on shortened hours. And lots of maintenance and improvements visible wherever we go. Feels like all the locals are either hurrying to get the necessary things done before the rush arrives, or taking advantage of the lull to get a little R&R for themselves. I hope they are ready for a good winter!

Told you it was cold!

Opened up the door and found this on the patio!

Sweater weather

Bob and I have enjoyed 3 full days with my parents as we explored new places together. Yesterday we drove up to Truckee (about 20 miles I think) and visited the Donner Memorial Park and museum. Do you remember your history? The Donner Party? Not a social event nor a political party! So after that refresher on the westward expansion era, we went to Squeeze In for lunch, and enjoyed their down-home atmosphere and food. Groceries were purchased before heading back to our cozy spot in Squaw Valley at the Olympic Village Inn. Made use of the pool and hot tub, swimming under the moon and stars in the cool air, then warming up around the fire pit. They have a great recreation area here with several big gas grills, seating areas inside and out, fountains and waterfalls, we even played pinball and PacMan! Haven't done that in a long time! Today brings more fun and more people as the wedding starts to arrive! Pretty chilly this morning, not sure of the exact temp but the TV says it is about 30 for a low! Good sweater weather!

Whoa Nellie!

Even though we spent yesterday viewing some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, I don't think it's one bit odd that I should start out by sharing our carrot cake with you! Because it was super delicious! It even surpassed the gooey chocolate cake we checked out, all at the Whoa Nellie Deli. I had read about this surprising little place and vowed that we would try to stop there on our trip to Yosemite. It is in a Mobil gas station at the intersection of 395 and the Tioga Pass road into the east side of Yosemite at Lee Vining, CA. There's no sign outside so you really have to know what to look for in order to find it. It is an unexpected gourmet delight, we had coffee and cake which was pretty pricey but OK for the 4 of us to share. Plus the pieces were huge. We sat outside in the picnic table area, had a view of Mono Lake which is a very large lake with some strange characteristics. The water in the lake is 4 times saltier than ocean water, it has no outlet so all the inflow becomes very alkaline and full of minerals creating these strange tufa towers. It was nearly drained to supply the city of LA with water, but in 1995 that was stopped to allow the lake to regenerate, so now the level is slowly rising.

We didn't have a lot of time to spend inside Yosemite, but did enjoy stopping at a couple places to get out and walk a little and take the typical tourist photos. This one shows me with my parents, Bob and Sally, kind of windblown with the backside of Half Dome in the distance.

This is Tenaya Lake:

It was a beautiful sunny day, warm in the valleys but cool at the higher elevations. When I was a kid my parents took us on a camping vacation every August and it was usually to someplace in the Rocky Mountains. I have many many memories of our drives through the great national parks and feel very fortunate that my mom and dad made those trips happen for us, even though it meant squeezing the time off into the farming schedule and often missing the first few days of school. They set me up to value the natural beauty around us and family time. Yesterday I got to pay it back a little bit by taking them on a tour of an area that they really had not visited very much before. For a change, they got to ride along and enjoy the scenery, not worry about roads and maps and lunch stops and kids fighting in the back seat!