Big Island Highlights Pt. I

It’s definitely colder during the winter here in Three Rivers than it was in Carlsbad, or maybe it’s just the drafty 70 year old house we’re living in. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. While there’s about four feet of snow up in the Giant Forest now, there’s none in our yard and isn’t likely to be any all winter long. But, it has rained almost four inches since October and it’s definitely more humid, because the clothes out on the line don’t dry near as quickly. As everyone says about damp cold – it chills you straight to the bone. Unlike the southwest, which gets monsoon rains, it’s dry with hardly a cloud in the sky here in the central valley and foothills of California all summer long. Sometime in October a switch flips and all the sudden we start getting cloudy days with rain. That rain falls as lots of snow up on the mountains, but unlike the powdery quality of the Rocky Mountains, Sierra snow is more commonly referred to as “cement” due to the high moisture content. I marvel at the influence the ocean currents have on our weather here, that it can create such dramatic differences between summer and winter.

But enough about all this cold weather, rain, and snow. What better time to revisit fond memories of balmy Hawai’i? Our friends Julie and Brian accepted jobs at Haleakala National Park back in February. After we moved to California, a trip to Hawai’i quickly moved up our priority list. Flying to Hawai’i is no small feat. It’s the most remote island chain on the plant, so flight time from LA is about five hours with a two to three hour time change, depending on the time of year (Hawai’i doesn’t observe daylight savings time). I greatly admire those Midwesterners and East Coast residents who make the trip, because the jet lag can be significant. Given that it takes so long to get there and the fact that I’ve got a lot of time off right now, we decided to go for two weeks and add on a trip to the Big Island.

My first trip to Hawai’i was over eight years ago, when I went with my friends Jen and Brian to Oahu and Mau’i. Jen and Brian have since returned MANY times to the islands and had lots of wonderful suggestions for places to go and things to do on the Big Island, which is confusingly named Hawai’i, the same name obviously given to the entire grouping of islands, hence the need to refer to the island of Hawai’i as the Big Island. We took a 45 minute flight from Mau’i to the town of Kona in a very tiny nine-seat commuter plane and then drove the southern route over to Volcano (~100 miles), making lots of stops along the way. We went to Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park in the Kailua-Kona area, which is a small park preserving the traditional fish farming techniques of the native Hawai’ians. There’s a short walking trail between the park and the boat marina to the south, which leads to a beautiful little beach edged with palm trees where you can see the walls of the fish ponds sticking up above the turquoise blue ocean water. You take a swim and watch green sea turtles hunting for small fish right off shore. We also had a fabulous meal at Thai Orchid Cuisine in the industrial/shopping district south of the park (Jen also recommended Killer Taco, which we searched for, but of course we only found it after we had settled on the Thai restaurant. Thankfully, the disappointment factor was low.)


Further south, you come to Pu’uhonua o Honaunau , Place of Refuge, another national historic park. This was a religious compound for the highest members of Hawai’ian royalty, and also a place where individuals in trouble could seek protection and forgiveness for laws they had broken. The park is in sight of a crowded snorkeling beach just to the north and to the south is the wild, undeveloped coastline, but in this place under the graceful palm trees, you are overcome with a tangible sense of peace and stability. We so enjoyed the afternoon we spent in the park and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for an opportunity to learn more about the ancient Hawai’ian people.

As you continue south on the main highway, keep an eye out for the South Kona Fruit Stand . Jen recommended this place for its fresh passion fruit lemonade and she was so right! They sell a wide variety of tropical fruits grown on their property up the hill from the stand and also provide a tempting array of homemade tropical drinks, smoothies and desserts. You should definitely check it out!

As you continue down around the south side of the island, you see fewer and fewer towns. This is truly a wild and undeveloped place by Hawai’i standards. If you’re looking for Hawai’ian coffee, take a chance and stop at one of the small farm stands along the way. We decided to stop at Ailani Orchard to sample their organic coffee and macadamia nuts. If you go, be sure to watch out for the free roaming turkeys on the property, as they seem to feel very strongly that they have the right-of-way. This is not the verdant, mountainous coastline of your Hawai’ian dreams. One lava flow after another has coated this area in thick black pahoe’hoe and ‘a’a, which are the two main types of volcanic rock on the island. New life quickly takes hold in those lava flows and you will see trees and other vegetation slowly beginning to take back the land.

Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park is the number one tourist destination in the state for very good reason. Here you have an opportunity to look through a window into the underworld and see powerful geologic forces in action, any time of day or night. Kilauea Crater is currently the most active volcano on the island. In 2008 a new vent opened up in Halema’uma’u Crater, which leads directly to a large pool of magma below. Throughout the day you can see the plume of steam and noxious gases being emitted from the vent, but the real show is at night. Light from the orange molten lava reflects off the plume, giving the entire vent an eerie glow, easily visible from the Jaggar Museum overlook. The plume acts as a mirror, reflecting a world rarely visible on the earth’s surface. Although the surface lava flows have been greatly reduced in recent months, you can still also see lava pouring directly into the ocean on county land outside the park. We opted out of this adventure, due to lack of time and necessary equipment. You should take at least two flashlights with you if you go to observe the lava flow at dusk and a pair of protective gloves would be a good idea as well, because ‘a’a is sharp as glass, should you trip while walking over uneven ground in the dark to get back to your car. We weren’t completely disappointed, because you can see the steam plume from the far southern part of the park. To know that I was in sight of new land being created at that very moment was thrill enough for me…for now.

The sleepy artist colony of Volcano is just a five minute drive from the park. If you decide to stay, plan your meals ahead of time and stock up on provisions in Kona or Hilo before you arrive. The town does cater to tourists, but it doesn’t bend over backward for them. Few restaurants are open for dinner and many have limited daytime hours. We found some good salads and soups at Café O’hia, but chose to make most of our dinners at our hostel using produce we purchased from the Hilo farmer’s market. We stayed at the Holo Holo Inn , which provides dormitory and private accommodations for a very reasonable price. Our private room with a shared bathroom was just $56/night. Because it was the off-season, I actually never had to share the bathroom and we had total access to their hostel kitchen, which was stocked with everything you could need, including beautiful dishware made from a local pottery artist.

In my next installment, I’ll give details on our time spent in the Hilo area and talk about the sights to see on the northern route back to Kona. As for now, I need to wrap up so I can finish packing before my trip to Chicago tomorrow. I’ll be home for ten days to visit family and friends, and then return to Three Rivers for a bit before heading to Minneapolis for Christmas. I hope you all are enjoying the joyous holiday season!

I'm Back!

Whew, that was close! I ALMOST abandoned another blogging effort. It’s the same thing every time. I start off with lots of motivation and energy, posting on a regular basis and enjoying the feedback and interaction I get with all of you. And then, I start to slack off. I tell myself I have every intention of posting soon and then I keep telling myself that until, ack! How did two months go by? At that point, I start questioning my motivation and stop looking for my energy. It becomes a chore and I just don’t feel like doing it (kind of like the dirty dishes that are staring at me in the sink right now :)).

But, something happened today! I realized that this time, I’ve picked a theme for my blogging that really speaks to my heart. I love being out in nature and living near such beautiful, protected places. I love being able to share this experience with you, my friends and family who are often so far away. Blogging about these experiences seems to multiply the joy. And so today, I’ve rediscovered my motivation and I have the energy to keep plugging away – for another few months any way :).

Our most recent trip was to the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada in the Owens Valley over Labor Day weekend (see, I told you it’s been a long time). We wanted to go somewhere to escape the throngs of vacationing Californians during the holiday weekend, and this turned out to be a good choice. Even though we were only about 50 miles away from our home in Three Rivers, it took us almost five hours to get to the other side of the mountain range! There isn’t a road to get across, so you have to drive down south through Bakersfield or up north through Yosemite to reach the Owens Valley. The small line of towns situated in the valley cater to the tourist who come for a wide variety of outdoor pursuits, from fishing the streams that come down off the mountain, to hiking Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the lower 48 states.

The eastern side of the valley is bordered by the White Mountains. Standing in the middle of the valley your eye is naturally drawn to the more dramatic craggy peaks and tree covered slopes of the Sierra. The White Mountains look lifeless by comparison. Even still, you can’t ignore the fact that it’s a massive mountain range. It turns out that the highest peak in the White Mountains is just 250 feet shy of Mt. Whitney. At the bottom of Owens Valley you are surrounded on both sides by more than 10,000 vertical feet of rock. It’s a humbling experience and one that makes you feel very, very tiny.

Another treasure to be found in the White Mountains is the oldest living tree on Earth. Great Basin Bristlecone pines are found throughout the high mountains of California and Nevada. They can grow to be very large, impressive trees if they receive adequate moisture, but ironically, it’s the trees with the worst soil and least amount of water that live to be almost 5,000 years old. Poor growing conditions make the wood very hard, which in turn makes the trees more resistant to disease and fire. The ancient Bristlecone pines in the White Mountains were saplings when the pyramids were built and full grown trees by the fall of the Roman Empire. They are so gnarled and twisted that some appear to be dead, until you notice a branch with green pine needles sticking out at the top of the tree, as if shaking its fist to the sky in defiance of death.

Every little town in Owens Valley has a forest service road that takes you into the Sierra high country. From there you can camp, fish, hike or just enjoy the scenery and the cool mountain air. A small campground in Onion Valley can be reached by driving east from Independence. The road ends in a glacier carved valley at an elevation of 9,500 feet and is one of the prettiest campsites I’ve ever stayed in. It’s a real luxury to enjoy all the comforts of car camping in a place as beautiful as most backcountry campsites. The campground is managed by the US Forest Service and reservations are strongly recommended.

Peter’s uncle Dan suggested that we visit the Arizona Hills while we were in the area, so we camped there on our last night to take advantage of the morning light in this geologically unique area. There are dozens of granite arches scattered throughout the hills and boulders at the base of the Sierras, one of which perfectly frames Mt. Whitney. The setting is very striking for the difference in color and form between the reddish-brown rounded hills and the triangular gray mountains. Because of its beauty and otherworldly setting, the Arizona Hills have been featured in many movies over the past eighty years, including Gunga Din, How the West Was Won, Star Trek V and VII, as well as Gladiator and Iron Man. The town of Lone Pine celebrates its movie history with a film museum, annual film festival and lots of vintage western charm.

If you want to view more photos from our trip, please check them out here. We wish we had more time to see the sights in the northern part of Owens Valley near Bishop and Mammoth Lakes. There are even more alpine lakes and trails to explore in that area, as well as Mono Lake and the mining ghost town of Bodie. There’s just never enough time to explore all the beautiful parts of this huge state!

On a personal note, I’ve determined that there isn’t much demand in Three Rivers for tutoring or substitute teaching, so I continue to explore my options at the park. In the meantime, I’m using this period as an opportunity to pursue my favorite hobbies and to travel. Peter and I are going to Hawaii for two weeks in early November to visit our friends Julie and Brian. We’ll spend Thanksgiving with my aunt in the Bay area, and then I will be going back to Illinois and Indiana for ten days in mid-December. We’ll finish up the holiday season in Minneapolis with Peter’s family and then in January I’ll survey the scene and decide what to do next. My creative venture is starting to take shape, but I’m still not ready to divulge details. I’ll be sure to do that in my next post, which will be completed shortly after returning from Hawaii. I promise :).

The Answer to Your Question

For the weeks and months leading up to our move from Carlsbad, I found myself getting asked the same question from people over and over, "What are you going to be doing in Three Rivers?". I found myself at a bit of a loss for words, as I knew that this move was primarily for Peter's job. My prospects were much hazier, since the town is very small and we would be over 30 minutes from the closest large city. I never doubted that this move was the right decision for us, so I just trusted that everything would work out in time.

Eventually, I was put in touch with the park Fire Ecologist regarding an emergency hire biological technician position he was looking to fill. Tony seemed totally on board with hiring me from the very beginning, even with my severe lack of a biology background and little field work experience. I started working for the fire effects crew in mid-July and finally feel like I have enough perspective on the job duties and the experience to share some of the interesting and exceptional opportunities I've had over the past few weeks.

Most of the western United States experiences little rain and frequent dry thunderstorms throughout the summer. Lightning started wildland fires have been occurring for thousands of years here, so it does make sense that the plants and trees would have to find a way to benefit from this radical impact on the landscape. The fire effects crew gathers data from grassland, shrub and forest ecosystems in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks to further the research being done on this interrelationship.

It turns out that Sequoia trees, and in fact most all western evergreen species, are dependent upon fire to survive and thrive. Sequoia seedlings need bare soil to germinate and copious amounts of sunshine to grow, making a post-burn forest the ideal breeding ground for new trees. Mature Sequoias have bark up to two feet thick and are extremely fire resistant. Tree rings also show that in the year following a fire, the trees experience a dramatic increase in growth due to the influx of new minerals and fertilizers from burned plant material.

The crew visits established field research plots throughout the park to gather data on anything that is or ever was alive in the area of interest - and I do mean everything. Trees, shrubs, seedlings, vegetation, downed wood, litter (fallen leaves, etc.) and duff (decomposing fallen plant material) are all measured and recorded in a systematic fashion and then eventually entered into a database to provide researchers and park fire management officials with important information on the effects of fire in the ecosystem. The job of a field biology technician is physically challenging and detail oriented, but the people I work with absolutely love their job and I have a tremendous amount of respect for them and all my other field biology friends out there.


I was very fortunate last week to be working and camping in an area with an active lightning-started fire in progress. The Sheep Creek fire has been burning for almost two months and was only around 800 acres on Tuesday morning when we arrived in Kings Canyon, but by the time we left on Thursday afternoon, it had grown to over 1,800 acres! The fire burned all the way from the mountain top down to the road, making it easy to get a close up view of the fire as it consumed the dead and downed fules in the forest. Up to this point, the idea of fire ecology for me had been only theoretical and hypothetical. To see a 40 foot tall dead tree engulfed in flames less than 50 feet in front of me at night made it all very real, very quickly!

Seeing the flames inch across a patch of litter and duff, or watching the progress of an old fallen log being consumed was like watching Mother Nature take a broom to the forest floor, clearing out the clutter and making way for new growth. She works in mysterious, sometimes very intense ways that we can only begin to understand. That we try and help her along sometimes or play the same game without knowing all the rules is equally admirable and foolhardy of us, but I suppose it's better than attributing the forces of nature to the gods and attempting to stop a fire by sacrificing a goat, or something :).

I must confess that while I've had a wonderful time with all these new experiences and have learned a tremendous amount about a very fascinating subject, this is not the job for me! My strengths are people and understanding the 'big picture', while my coworkers' idea of a good time is dissecting a plant down to its tiniest attributes in order to accurately identify the species. They could (and have) spent hours with an unknown grass species, reading through the vegetative key (ligule, glabrous, spikelet, puberulent, lanceolate...the amount of new vocabulary is astounding!), never actually figuring out what the exact species and still say they had a great time. I'm both mystified and humbled by people who love a job I could never imagine myself doing for more than a few weeks. Kindergarten teachers are one example of this, although most teachers of small children are glad that there are people like me in the world who actually like teaching middle and high school students. To each his or her own, right?

Next week is my last camping trip with the field crew and we'll be up in Grant Grove establishing some new research plots. When I return home, I'll switch to part time data entry and other office work to support the fire effects program, while beginning to explore my options in substitute teaching and tutoring. I'm also hatching a plan for a more creative money making venture, which I'll discuss more in my next post. Until then, I hope you all are doing well and enjoying the dog days of summer!

Many Changes

So much to update on, it’s hard to know where to start! Peter and I left for Wisconsin two weeks ago Saturday to spend some time at his family lake cottage up on Lake Superior. All the cousins got together for the first time in years for a reunion and to celebrate the wedding of Peter’s Aunt Carole. We had a great time swimming, sailing and kayaking throughout the week, as well as picking berries and sightseeing in the area. We shared some wonderful meals with the happy challenge of trying to fit 15 people around the dining room table. We also got to spend lots of time with the newest and most adorable member of the family. Peter’s cousin, who celebrated his first birthday while at the cottage, is full of energy and smiles. During the week, he learned a few new words (doggie!) and walked a little further each day without help.

Carole and Nyle were married on a beautiful Saturday afternoon on the shores of Lake Superior with dozens of friends and family in attendance. It was wonderful to witness the joy and light that radiated from the couple as they took their vows and exchanged rings. An outdoor reception followed the ceremony, where people relaxed and enjoyed good food and company throughout the afternoon. That night, the cousins got together for a bonfire on the beach, where we caught up on all the happenings of the past few years and watched the incredible flashes of lightening from distant storms light up the night sky. A few drops of rain fell late in the night as the fire died down and the last people headed home. It was a very good day.

Just before leaving for vacation, Peter and I received an offer on our house! We countered and got a call as we got to the airport telling us that our terms were accepted. We’re much relieved to have our house under contract and hope that all will go well leading up to the closing at the end of next month. While on vacation, Peter also found out that our stuff would finally to arrive two days after we returned home from our trip! One month to the day after we watched the moving truck drive away from our Carlsbad house, we saw it arrive here in Three Rivers. We’re thrilled to finally get settled into the house, although it’s safe to add that we’re a little dismayed by the actual amount of stuff we have. Our house is much smaller and we’re now keenly aware of just how much we expanded to fit the ample space of our Carlsbad home. With the help of the storage shed out back and some diligent pruning, everything is slowly finding its place.

In other news, I’ve started volunteering for the park fire effects division and completed my first field work just before we left for Wisconsin. I leave tomorrow morning for a second work trip up into the higher elevations of the park, which will make for the perfect escape from the upper 90’s and low 100’s we’ve had here in Three Rivers for the past week. Peter and I hiked up in the park this past Sunday and discovered a short hike that ends with one of the best panoramas in the Sierra Nevada. More on my field work and details about this incredible hike will follow in my next post. Right now, I’m off to pack my gear!

Into the woods

We've been in Three Rivers now for over a week, but our furniture and boxes are stuck in a warehouse in Roswell, the victim of a bottleneck that has occurred during the busy summer moving season. Frustrated as we are with the situation, we’re holding up fairly well with the camping gear, clothing and technology devices we brought with us. Since our moving contract expired on Friday, we’ll now be receiving over $100 for every day that we don’t have our stuff, so that ought to motivate United Van Lines to figure out how to get it here soon. We’ve also had issues with getting our internet set up. We barely get cell reception in the canyon, and wanted to use Skype for making calls from home, but without the internet working we have no way of directly troubleshooting the problem, so we’re going to have to get a land line. Even in this day and age, this process will take a week. Settled is not a word that enters our vocabulary very often right now.


Thankfully, happy is much more frequently used. Our first weekend here, we had little to do except get out and enjoy our new park, so we took two hikes in the foothills along different streams that are currently filled with significant snow melt from a long winter. The summer has been cooler than usual, which allowed us to hike comfortably in the foothills, when we would otherwise be roasting. We visited a small waterfall up Paradise Creek on Saturday and hiked up to the much larger Marble Falls on Sunday. Both days, we were struck by the awesome power of the white water. The cool spray counterbalanced the deafening roar from the falls making for a pleasant, if noisy, lunch spot.

Peter began his first whirlwind week of work by absorbing all that he could from his new supervisor, who happened to be finishing up his last week of work. Peter will now be tackling the challenges of this newly created position with minimal guidance from the person who spearheaded the effort to bring him here, which will present many challenges, but there are also opportunities for professional growth. In between numerous trips to the DMV, I met with the fire ecologist for the park and discussed an offer to bring me on as an emergency hire in mid-July working for the fire effects crew. I’ll spend the rest of the summer collecting and compiling field data from various study plots throughout the park, which will add to the ongoing research about how fire interacts with the ecosystem here in Sequoia and Kings Canyon.

This past weekend, it was hot down in the valley, so Peter and I retreated to higher ground in the Giant Forest, the most famous grove of Sequoias in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It contains the world’s largest living organism, the General Sherman tree, along with four of the five largest Sequoia trees in the mountain range. This old growth forest was protected back in the late 1800’s before it was significantly logged, so along with the Sequoias, there are Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir and a variety of other evergreen trees that are of significant size for their particular species.

The forest is unlike any other I’ve ever been in. The giant trees provide ample shade, but the area doesn’t get abundant moisture all year like the Redwood forests, so the ground isn’t covered with plants and shrubs - mostly rotting logs and detritus from the evergreens. There are occasional patches of exposed rock, flowers and ferns on the ridges, but for the most part the forest floor is a carpet of brown. This makes the wetland meadows that much more striking. Streams coming down off the mountain pool in the flat depressions between surrounding ridges, forming patches of vivid green.

I know it sounds like I’m making this up, but the forest smells like baking sugar cookies and the birdsongs and rushing streams remind you of the background sounds you hear on those CDs where they combine classical music with the sounds of nature. It’s just the most tranquil place I’ve ever been. We sat on a downed Sequoia tree in the middle of a small meadow for an hour just watching the birds and enjoying the day.

On our return hike, we watched from fifteen feet away as a Pileated woodpecker hacked at a decaying log in search of grubs. We also saw four mule deer bucks with their antlers in velvet, a mother marmot and her baby, one juvenile black bear, a mother with three cubs, and another adult bear foraging for food at the base of a Sequoia tree! We’re chalking it up to beginner’s luck, because even the locals were amazed that we saw six bears on one hike. We ended the day at a going away party for Peter’s supervisor, Pat.

We’re very glad we decided to take this opportunity and move to Three Rivers. Each day gives us one more reassurance that it was the right decision for us. We look forward to continuing our exploration of the park and the town, but we’ll be putting that on hold at the end of this week as we go to Ashland, Wisconsin for a vacation/family reunion/wedding. I start working for the park the day after we return, so my next update will probably a few weeks from now.

The Move

Well, it’s been quite a week. Two movers came on Monday morning to start packing up all our stuff. They worked efficiently and had the whole house packed and labeled in boxes about seven hours. They came back the next morning to inventory and load all the boxes and furniture into the truck. Being freed from the burden of packing, Peter and I were able to follow behind to clean, sweep and vacuum each room thoroughly. By the time we left, the place was empty and spotless. It was so strange after three years, to leave this house we loved in a town that we merely tolerated. I was too conflicted to cry, a little nervous because we haven’t sold the place yet, and excited about all the prospects ahead. These kinds of major life decisions bring about so many different emotions, it’s hard to know where to even start.

Peter and I got on the road Tuesday afternoon and made it to Gallup, New Mexico the first night. This was the first of many towns along I40, which parallels the famed “Route 66”. We passed through Winslow, Arizona (don’t forget Winona) and stayed in Kingman on our second night of the trip. Needless to say, I had the song stuck in my head at various times during the entire drive on the interstate, not only due to the town names, but to the myriad of signs and billboards advertising tourist attractions related to this nostalgic piece of Americana.

We had a bit of an easier day on Wednesday, stopping for a few hours at Petrified Forest National Park, which is in the Painted Desert east of the Grand Canyon. Special geologic circumstances allowed for the preservation of these 250 million year old trees and also replaced the organic wood with a rainbow of minerals and crystals. The trees are scattered across the surface of the ground like newly fallen and cut logs. It’s not a traditionally pretty landscape, but the pastel shades of red, white, gray, purple, yellow and orange set against the bright blue sky give it a peaceful, if surreal feeling. Being a geology nerd will certainly help make your visit even more enjoyable :).

Once west of Kingman, we entered the Mojave Desert, which extends into the center of southern California and then goes up the middle of the state until the town of Mojave. It just goes on forever! There were intermittent Joshua Trees to break up the monotony, and I know most deserts are deceptively rich in plant and animal life, but they’re just not that exciting when you’re zipping along at 70 mph. Finally, north of Mojave we began to climb up into the Tehachapi Mountains, which were covered in dried grasses the color of amber on the south facing slopes, and carpeted with some unknown lavender flower on all the north slopes. The mountains must have been awash with color during the peak of the spring bloom after such a wet winter.

Coming out of the mountains, we saw the fruit and vegetable fields of Bakersfield for the first time. The central valley of California is flat, smoggy and frankly about as far from the typical image of California as you can get, but there’s no denying its agricultural importance. We saw field after field of grapes, peaches and almonds. We also passed a half dozen trucks pulling double hoppers of garlic on the highway and two trucks stacked with cardboard boxes of watermelons. All that produce you buy in the store has to begin its life somewhere and most of it probably came from the central valley.

We arrived in Three Rivers on Thursday afternoon around 4pm. Having just visited in April, the drive up into the mountains felt comfortingly familiar. With the air quality being pretty good, we were able to see the snow capped peaks of the Sierras as we began our drive up from Visalia. The green fields of the spring have dried to gold, but were no less beautiful. Lake Kaweah is much higher now than it was in April, due to the significant spring runoff this year. As soon as we got out of the car at our rental house, we could hear the roar of the Kaweah River.

As promised, the house had already been unlocked by the property manager so we could just walk right in and look around. It’s a small place, with two bedrooms and one bathroom, which is going to be a big change for us, but it’s a mansion compared to the 350 sqft cabin we shared in the Tetons for over a year. Our stuff has yet to arrive on the moving van, so we’re left to imagining where in the world we’re going to fit everything. But it has a big kitchen with lots of cabinets, a cozy living room and a great view of the river and surrounding hills in the backyard. For having rented the place based on a few digital photos sent by email, it could have turned out much differently!

This is going to be our last weekend to relax for a little while. No boxes to unpack yet, no stress or pressures from starting a new job, no big trip planned. Just a visit to the local organic farm stand, a classical music concert, some hiking and a little browsing around town on our agenda. I think that’s about all we care to take on at the moment :). We’ll deal with everything else starting Monday.

Moving On

This is our last week of work in Carlsbad. We're looking forward to closing this chapter in our lives and moving on to the next. While there's a lot of uncertainty that lies ahead, there are definitely a lot of exciting things to look forward to, including trips to the California coast, hiking in the Sierras, being closer to family and friends, and getting to know the community of Three Rivers.

As we've moved around to a few parks and visited many others, we've come up with a short list of ideals for where we'd like to live - small town, not too far from a decent sized airport; relatively mild winters, not too far from decent snow; gateway community with a strong connection to the park, but not overrun with tourists; mountain park west of the Mississippi. Pretty specific and pretty darn picky, so imagine our surprise we we visited Three Rivers.

We flew into Fresno and arrived in the town, which is situated along the Kaweah River, a little over an hour later (check). During the month of April when we visited, it was as green as the Shire, while an hour's drive up into the Sequoia groves we were walking on four feet of snow (check, check). Sequoia & Kings has two entrances. The first is a pretty straight shot out of Fresno through Squaw Valley, while the other is along the narrow, twisty road out of Three Rivers. Because tour buses and large RVs can't negotiate the narrow roads, the majority of the traffic goes through Squaw Valley. This has allowed the village of Three Rivers to develop into an artist colony that caters to, but doesn't totally rely on park visitors to exist. The town has a good number of shops, hotels and restaurants (and more than it's fair share of art galleries), but is pleasantly devoid of tourist traps and hordes of people. And it just happens to be at the doorstep of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The perfect place for us? Perhaps, but perfection and reality don't usually line up so easily.

Sequoia & Kings is well known for having some of the worst air quality in the park service. Wind currents carry car pollution from the Bay area through the San Joaquin Valley, where it mixes with particulates from the agricultural industry and a thick blanket of smog descends on Fresno, Visalia and Bakersfield for the entire summer. A small eddy breaks off of this current (pay attention to those little swirls next time you paddle a canoe and you'll get the idea) and heads straight up the canyon toward the park. As long as the air temperature stays below 75 F, the smog stays down in the valley, but summertime in Three Rivers means temperatures in the 90's and occasionally over 100 degrees. We'll know pretty quickly when we arrive whether the smog may impact our physical or emotional health. We've consoled ourselves with the fact that if it does start to get us down, we can always go up to the high elevations of the park on the weekends. That might save us for a while, but how long we can rely on this escape route is the big question.

We're both excited about the move and all the adventures that lie ahead. Looking forward to updating you during the coming weeks and months as we get settled, experience the park and explore further afield!