You have got to see Yosemite.

[freein05]

We visited Yosemite last week and I have never seen the falls flowing so strong and beautiful. There are falls I had not seen before. The Merced river sounded like a jet engine out side and inside our room at El Portal. The river has flooded parts of the valley.

The wild flowers are in full bloom. With all of the snow we had this past winter the falls should be running strong into July and maybe August.

Be prepared for crowds if you go but it is worth it.

[loosechickens]

And, remember, just as in Yellowstone, 99% of the visitors drive on the roads, stop at landmarks, but seldom get out of their cars and walk. Just by walking on a trail a very short distance, or going on a lesser used road, in short order, the crowds are gone and the majesty is there in front of you alone.

We've been in Yosemite and in Yellowstone at the height of the season, and spent many hours without even seeing other people. Once we drove on a gravel road in Yellowstone just a mile or so, launched our kayaks on a lake and spent the entire afternoon paddling about, saw moose, eagles, etc., but not one single human being. Right in the middle of the summer.

So get out of the car, get off the beaten track a bit and even the most crowded National Park becomes wilderness again.

[Sonora Shepherd]

Had to revive this because when I was a child, we lived in El Portal and were there during a flood. The boulders in the Merced River were rolling into each other and we heard that noise for days. Also remember the firefalls in Yosemite. My dad was in the park service and there was no housing for us, so after the flood he bought a Spartan Royal Mansion and we lived on the river until we moved. Great memories.

[San Onofre Guy]

Last Sunday dropped older son off at camp for the summer, he is a counselor at Camp Whitsett north of Kernville. We also took Monday and Tuesday off so when we left camp at Johnsondale we drove down the west slope through Camp Nelson to Porterville. At one bend in the road there was a spectacular waterfall in a place that is ussually a trickle. We drove across the state on two lane roads through Coalinga over the hill to the 101 to Salinas then spent two days driving home through Big Sur and Santa Barbara. With all the rain we had last winter and the cool cloudy spring with late rains the hills were still green and wildflowers still in bloom.

Whenever I drive across great swaths of the Central Valley I am always amazed at how much food is grown in this state. When people think of agricultural states they think of Iowa and Nebraska. Think again! California is where incredible amounts of food are grown.