Hite Cove

Two weekends ago, Patrick and I decided it was high time we get out on a hike! We had been told by the locals that the foothills look painted in the springtime with wildflowers, and having not experienced that last year, we thought that would be a good direction to take. As we drove the route, we began to doubt the people who had tipped us off, but it turns out we just weren't thinking of the right spot. Once we got closer to the Yosemite National Park gate, the sun hit the poppies and created neon orange streaks across the slopes. It was quite the living watercolor.

We didn't pull over to get a picture since we were focused on arriving at the Hite Cove Trailhead and figured we could get a snapshot on the return trip. Unfortunately, we got rained out after a couple miles in and left early, so the poppies were closed on our driveby. Determined to complete the hike and celebrate Easter in a unique way, we went back the following weekend (this past Sunday) and made sure to find a nice shoulder for a photo opportunity!

A little zoomed in.

This picture isn't at the trailhead, but it provides an idea of the general nature of the Hite's Cove hike. It followed the river (bottom left corner) along the side of a hillside, with periodic ups & downs along the path.

The hike starts with a shaded steep incline, so you tend to lean forward and look down, oblivious to what is ahead. At the top of the ascent, you round a corner and suddenly find yourself utterly surrounded by poppies. It is extremely dazzling and reminiscent of a fairytale.

My point is made!

The poppies definitely take the lead in the show, but plenty of supporting flora accent the landscape in a most flattering way with beauty of their own.

Closeup of a poppy.

Lupine

The poppies made friends with different flowers in different spots. This particular hillside was mostly filled in with small yellow blooms. I told Patrick I wouldn't mind if Heaven's "streets of gold" were paved like this.

And likewise, this section had equal parts white and orange flowers, with purple thrown in here and there, for a different dynamic.

Most of the flower-laden hillsides were in the first 1 to 1.5 miles of the hike, but we continued to see smaller patches of different species throughout our entire expedition.

Just beyond the thickest patches of wildflowers was a great spot near the river to eat our picnic lunch and read the Easter story on Patrick's phone. Thank you, Jesus, for offering eternal life, and in the meantime, a pretty Earth to bide my time. :)

On our return to the trailhead the first weekend, the rain brought this guy out of hiding. All of the gecko/salamander things I've encountered out here so far have been extremely quick, skiddish, and small. But this guy slowly walked across the path- I'm glad I didn't step on him! - and didn't try too hard to escape my grasp. It's not as apparent here but he was somewhere between a bright red and a rusty red.

On our return trip the second weekend, Patrick was conversely leading the way and abruptly halted on the trail. When I peaked around him, I saw a decent sized snake body draped across the path a couple yards in front of us (at least 3 feet long and about the thickness of a toilet paper cardboard spool). Patrick tossed a rock at it and it didn't move (although I thought I might have seen a muscle twitch) so he thought it might be dead. "Are you sure?" I said, not wanting him to approach just yet. A second later we see a head turn around out of a bush and double back on the body. Before I could snap a picture, it dove off  the edge of the hillside! After a 12-15 foot plunge, it landed on a large flat rock surface. I think it may have manipulated its landing, but Patrick thinks it may have successfully executed suicide (probably just his wishful thinking since he's less keen on snakes than me).

As we approached the 4 mile mark, we began to see various parts of machinery and metal scraps, signaling the remnants of the mining settlement at the end of the trail were near. Unfortunately it took us a while to find our intended destination since the various different detours previous hikers took made it difficult to determine the correct way to go. After bushwhacking through poison oak and brambles for a little bit, we decided to turn around since we weren't even sure we were on the right track. Good thing too, because on the way back we found it.

The shack was in pretty good shape for being an abandoned lodging pushing 100 years in age or so. A few shelves on the wall made for simple bunk beds.

"Union Iron Works Builders S.F. Cal."- presumably San Francisco, California.

I'm totally not jealous of the work the miners had to do to get their equipment and materials out this far. We assume they assembled a lot of the machinery on site, but that doesn't change the fact it would have been heavy toil to lug regardless. I picked up a relatively small metal scrap about a square foot in size that was fairly weighty, and yet it paled in comparison to the sections we saw seamed together to form the littered equipment.

The 4 mile hike back to the car was not nearly as pleasant as the first half of the walk. Usually I pack plenty of water and it ends up being extra weight and not drank. So I scaled back this time.....a bit too much. (Especially for a very sunny day.) Very dry-mouthed and lethargic, we uncomfortably trudged back the entire way on a few mouthfuls. Patrick joked that we paid an homage to Jesus Christs' suffering! lol :) Luckily I had a little H2O waiting in the car, but by that point we weren't feeling too awesome. We took some respite by the river to recover before the drive, nibbling on Angel Food Cake and sipping on some white wine we had intended for the picnic. Our collapsible plastic champagne flutes from Mark & Daisy FINALLY made their debut. Originally we had been waiting to use them until we could make a trek worth an indulgent reward. Turns out we really did work for it after all!

One last glance at Cheetoh-stained landscape as we departed for home! Vibrant enough to burn itself into our memories until we can return next Spring!

Channeling Europe on our 2nd Anniversary

Well, it wasn't as exciting as last year's trip to London, Kylerhea and Paris, but we reminisced with a few European touches and thanked the Lord and each other for another great year together!

Instead of the flower market....

A lady at work was selling daffodils for an American Cancer Society fundraiser. They were scheduled to be delivered March 20 so I thought it was fate saying I should bring a bouquet home to my partner. :) What's funny is she handed me a bunch of stems (they hadn't bloomed yet) so it kinda backfired on me, but I teased that it was a more "masculine" version of a bouquet anyway. My coworker told me the next day that his daughter asked him why he was putting asparagus in a vase, but after 12-24 hours, everyone's did open and looked lovely!


Starting the meal with a glass of red certainly wouldn't be looked down upon in the city of love & lights....

Shout out to Kat Barnard! We saved a bottle of much better wine than we're used to from our trip to the winery she works at in Portland, OR to make the night a little more special and celebratory.

It was our first time having a candlelit dinner as you'd picture in the movies with candlesticks and crystal holders.


It wasn't from a boulangerie, but we picked up a fresh French loaf......

-complemented with a couple fancier cheeses, tomato/garlic bruschetta, fruit and veggies for a Grecian-god worthy platter.


Macaroons from a local patisserie....

...although you don't see them here because we were so excited to eat them that we forgot to get a picture of the rather lovely treats. A cute bakery specializing in cupcakes just opened up a block from my work building downtown, so I made plans to check the place out by picking up a few indulgences for anniversary dessert. Black forest and coconut cupcakes are pictured, and in addition to the coconut macaroons we shared a chocolate peanut butter cupcake. I may have to make up the need for another special occasion soon so I can go back and select a few cookies to try next. :)

We finished out the evening by watching the new Three Musketeers movie. When we visited Versailles, we witnessed a film being shot on the premise and when we saw a preview for the Three Musketeers, it made us wonder if that could be the one. Turns out no, but there were plenty of scenes in London and at Versaille that made it fun to point out and say "hey isn't that-?!" and "we were there!"

We're hoping to perhaps spend a future anniversary overseas again one day, but in the meantime the simple ones at home can be fun too!