use real butter

We are now two for two on lodging that has boasted high-speed wireless internet to find that it is neither high-speed nor (in some cases) wireless. It makes for some painfully slow uploading of photos from the trip, so forgive me if my posts are getting brief on text after waiting far too long to get the pics up. We just don’t have the time.

I promise to answer comments when time permits - probably after we return home. But to answer some of the inquiries about my photos… yes, I do sell them. If you are interested in purchasing, contact me via email (see the About page for addy) and I’ll give you pricing info, etc. I haven’t had the time or energy to get a proper commercial site set up just yet, but it is in the works.

Now… where are we? We are currently in Lee Vining on the eastern side of Yosemite National Park. The Eastern Sierra is where it’s at for us. I first fell in love with backcountry wilderness in the Sierra Nevada. It’s a large mountain range with hundreds of miles of trails, days from the nearest road. Jeremy and I have spent several years exploring these mountains and we are still discovering new trails, new destinations, new wonders here. This morning we hiked out over Piute Pass after an overnight to Desolation Lake where I spent the wee hours of the morning shooting the Perseids meteor shower. I can’t process those images on my laptop, so you’ll have to wait for the results just like me when I get home. It’s hot here. We knew that. But it is worth it to get back into familiar terrain and smell the forests, the willows, the sage brush, the streams.

Monday morning, we left Pasadena at 4 am and drove to the ranger station in Lone Pine to secure a permit. Because flying with backpacking stoves has become a complete hassle (nearly impossible, really), we tend to make our short summer backpacks cold - as in stoveless or non-cook. We popped by a favorite bakery along the 395 corridor and scored some lovely ham and cheese croissants, then headed for the trail where we packed our gear and set off at noon - far later than we ever like to start.

wildflowers still in bloom

jeremy at piute pass

a dinner of croissants, apples, fresh lychees, and cucumbers

setting up camp at the lake

I managed a few hours of sleep before I had to get out of the tent and set up to shoot the meteor shower after the moon set at 1:48 am. I went back into the tent at 3:00 am after seeing about 40 shooting stars and perhaps capturing 10 that I was aware of (the camera can get more than your eye can see - so who knows what I will end up with). Sunrise was lackluster and not worth getting up at 5:30 for, but by then we were itching to clear out to beat the heat.

We didn’t beat the heat, but we hiked out in good time and secured our permit for tomorrow’s backpack trip. On the excellent advice of some of my field engineer friends as well as Todd and Diane, we stopped by the Whoa Nellie Deli in Lee Vining for lunch. It’s a Mobil gas station that serves up surprisingly amazing food. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it gourmet as many claim - but if you consider the setting, it’s as good as it gets for such a small town with so much thru traffic. And besides, food tastes infinitely better when you’ve been backpacking.

such modesty

jeremy’s lobster tacquitos

my fish tacos

After a lot of logistical tasks were taken care of, we returned for dinner (the Tioga Lodge Restaurant menu wasn’t tempting enough) and gorged on some baby back ribs and a burger. The ribs were good, but… my ribs are better ;)

Time to hit the hay, kids. I have a date with more meteors in a few hours and then we return to the backcountry. See you on the other side!

Up by 4 am and out the door by 5 am.

Did you unplug x, y, and z?

Oh, did you finish the milk?

and you took the trash out?

…

I miss Kaweah already.

Miss Weah is having her own little vacay at the doggie hotel where she gets to run around and play with 20 other well-behaved pups. There are puppy cams online so that we can check on her from time to time. We noticed that she likes to follow the human staff around (probably to beg for treats) on occasion. Looks like she is having fun.

We landed at LAX yesterday morning after flying across the sprawling expanse that is the Los Angeles basin. There are a lot of people here.

a familiar sight right outside of lax

First Stop: So Cal
It’s a love-hate relationship we have with Southern California because of the traffic, the smog, the throngs of people, the heat in August. But we also have dear friends here as well as favorite old haunts (eats and hikes). Our beloved Pasadena now boasts a Tiffany and Co.!?! Last year our big surprise was the Maserati dealership. But this also meant an easy stop off at the Apple Store for an iphone car charger (which thankfully works for both my old iphone and Jeremy’s new 3G). I have a beef with the employees at the Apple Store. What a bunch of posers - and most of them nitwits. I like Apple products very much, but for crying out loud, hire some people with actual knowledge and skill.

As lunchtime rolled around, we drove to South Pasadena for sushi at Ai where a trusted old friend, Fumito, was serving up his magic and particularly interesting brand of charm.

one of my favorite orders from my favorite sushi chef

With a few hours free, we stopped by the Huntington Gardens. Whew, was it HOT. It was the roasting kind of heat that makes you feel like your eyes will pop out and your brain has melted. I remember why we decided not to settle in So Cal now… But the Huntington never disappoints for a couple of plant geeks like us. Jeremy even suggested walking into the Conservatory to view the enclosed tropical rain forests, the bogs, the cloud forests. Do you know where this is going? I just got more and more irate with each part of the building because it was not only HOT, it was HUMID. The plants were fascinating, but there came a point after 30 minutes when my curiosity was overridden by the desire to rip my skin off. Can you believe that when we stepped back outside under the searing hot sun, it felt cooler? But I really enjoyed it. No really, I did!

in the desert garden

getting some nectar

lots of hummingbirds hanging around

cooling off in the shade

Dinner was spent visiting with one of my dear friends, Squid (my nickname for her). Squiddles turned 50 last week and they had a magnum of some fine champagne to celebrate! If I could look that good when I’m 50, I will be celebrating too.

looking fab at 50 with magnum of champagne and her daughter

This morning, we did a quick hike up to Echo Mountain. The trailhead is right behind the house we used to rent (a gorgeous little place). We used to take Kaweah up this trail at least once a week. It’s so different from our Colorado hikes - drier, scrubbier, busier. But I loved smelling the ceanothus, sage, eucalyptus, and other familiar plants. Feels like coming home even though home is now 1000 miles to the east and 7000 feet higher. I also couldn’t help but delight in the diversity of people on the trail. That is one thing I really do cherish about this part of the country - the kaleidoscope of cultures, skin colors, languages.

a different trail from my colorado romps

and a different view: the los angeles basin

And we couldn’t help but swing by the Pasadena Farmer’s Market where we tortured ourselves over the gorgeous food we couldn’t purchase. We did manage some Oxnard strawberries for Jeremy and a few choice peaches for myself.

bounties of produce at the pasadena farmer’s market

It’s time now to skidaddle along to our next visit…

Typically, fast food is shunned in our household. Typically. Unless we are driving down I-70 after a big day of free-heeling pow (translates into: telemarking deep, fluffy snow) and are desperate to stoke up on grease, sodium, sugar, and more grease. When it comes to fast food, my personal favorite is the Chick-fil-A sandwich - a chicken sandwich I grew up eating in southern Virginia. It lived in every mall in the South.

Last year, I toured Sydney for four days while Jeremy dorked out with an international team of astronomers - a group that makes even geologists look fashionable - in Alice Springs. I can’t say I have ever experienced a more incredible eating tour of any city, thanks to my dear Kell. We ate some seriously fancy shmancy food. I also had my token spud meatpie at Harry’s Cafe de Wheels in Woolloomooloo. I love saying Woolloomooloo as much as I love typing it. Woolloomooloo, Woolloomooloo, Woolloomooloo. As part of my inaugural effort to eat all of Sydney, Kell and Jerad took me to Oporto to experience what they claim is Australia’s best fast food sandwich: a chicken filet sandwich with a chili ginger sauce (piri piri). Instant love, I tell you.

Imagine my surprise and elation when a package arrived for me a few weeks ago postmarked from Australia. I love my Kell, because she randomly purchases everyday delights from her lovely (and hot - did I tell you how bloody hot it is in Oz?) island continent nation, pops them into a bubble-padded envelope, and ships them to my post office box in the hills. That and she has a wicked hilarious sense of humor. Anyway, this package contained the precious of precious sauces:

oporto’s piri piri sauce

There were instructions scribbled on a note for me. Kell said to take some chicken breast and “burger” it to enjoy with the sauce. I like her verbage. Burger it. So I did!

dredge the chicken

I butterflied a couple of chicken breasts so they were of even thickness and cut pieces that were burger-sized. First I dipped the chicken in frothy egg white and then dredged each piece in a mixture of flour, garlic powder, ground pepper, salt, and bread crumbs. Next I fried them up in oil - a process that makes every southern girl salivate, even in polite company.

i have dreams about frying chicken

Once the burgered chicken filets are ready, slap them on some soft bread (toasted or no - we go for both teams in this house) with shredded lettuce, a swipe of mayo, and most of all the Oporto sauce. What is in the sauce? I haven’t tried replicating it myself, but the ingredients listed on the packet are as follows: chilli purée, vegetable oil, water, ginger, lemon, garlic, salt, thickener, vegetable gum, preservative. I don’t have vegetable gum or preservative in my kitchen, but I dare say I might give it a go.

oh my, yes please

Damn good sandwich, I tell you. Gives my Chick-fil-A a run for her money. Love the spicy. This comes close to fast food lust.