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| Steve - Zumwalt Meadow |
Woke up at 5:20 and opened the drapes so we could see the river roaring by. Opened the window for a while so we could listen to it but it’s quite chilly early in the morning. At 7:20, the sun was sparkling off the river. Beautiful.
Our room is a model of efficiency. I don’t think there’s an extra square inch of floor space but everything is tidy and efficient. I love the outdoor ramp to get to the second floor rooms. There are no elevators here and the ramp is more fun than an elevator.
There are only 20 rooms in the lodge so there aren’t many people here at Cedar Grove. Lots of campgrounds around but only a few campers come over to the lodge so it’s very quiet. I’m a little bit worried about being out on the trails with so few people around because this is active bear territory and the more people the better, I say.
Breakfast: short stack of pancakes and a Snickers (I'm on vacation). Steve had oatmeal and fruit and coffee.
The neurologist e-mailed me with the results of the EEG I had on June 1. It shows "brain wave abnormalities." It means I need to continue taking the medication. This is not good. It means taking medication for the rest of my life that makes me feel half-drugged all of the time. While we were having breakfast, Steve wondered aloud what percentage of the population eats their pancakes starting in the center and working their way out, as I apparently was doing. I told him that it was because "I have abnormal brain waves." Now Steve wants to be tested so that he can use the "I have abnormal brain waves" excuse for a lot of the odd things he does. But, anyway, the New Me--the one with "brain wave abnormalities"--doesn't care if anyone thinks it's odd that I eat pancakes from the center out.
After breakfast we drove to Roaring River Falls and walked up the little path to the falls. The falls are flowing very, very hard and fast. As I said, they've had 340" of snow this year and all that snow on the mountains is melting now and coming down in waterfalls. Quite beautiful and very loud.
Next we drove to Zumwalt Meadow. Yesterday we had stopped when we got to the stream flowing across the trail but today Steve rock-hopped and I just walked through the water. A ranger saw me do that and looked amused. My balance isn't the best and it's not worth the risk of a fall. The air is hot and dry so my boots dried out in minutes. The meadow trail is beautiful. It goes through a Ponderosa Pine forest. It's a one-mile loop trail and half the trail is granite rocks, which I was not expecting, and was more strenuous than I would knowingly get myself into but I did fine. No wildflowers--Shooting Stars, Leopard Lilies, Cow Parsnips--in the meadow as it's so early in the year.
We drove back to the lodge for lunch. The restaurant isn't open for lunch so we went to the market and bought food bars and yogurt and sat on the third floor balcony and had our lunch there. It was a delightful setting--we were surrounded by Ponderosa Pines and Cedar trees so felt like we were dining in the treetops and watched the river roaring by just below us.
After lunch we drove back to Zumwalt Meadow (it's just a few miles but it's a 25 mph road and there were construction delays) to take pictures of birds so did not hike around the meadow--just stayed at the entrance. I saw one Red-winged Blackbird and that was all.
Returned to the Lodge for dinner. I had grilled chicken and Steve had trout--both delicious. For dessert we walked over to the market (same building as the restaurant--there's only one building in the whole "village") and bought Reese's Peanut Butter Cups--I had white chocolate and Steve had milk chocolate.
It’s mesmerizing to watch the river. So much turbulence and power bundled with so much beauty. Sat out by the river side after dinner for a while and enjoyed the roar of the river and the Steller's Jays that perched about 10 feet away from us. They were waiting for handouts.
Expect to leave early tomorrow morning for Grant Grove--it's a one hour drive--and hope to see some birds there.
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| Cathy - Roaring River Falls |
Next we drove to Zumwalt Meadow. Yesterday we had stopped when we got to the stream flowing across the trail but today Steve rock-hopped and I just walked through the water. A ranger saw me do that and looked amused. My balance isn't the best and it's not worth the risk of a fall. The air is hot and dry so my boots dried out in minutes. The meadow trail is beautiful. It goes through a Ponderosa Pine forest. It's a one-mile loop trail and half the trail is granite rocks, which I was not expecting, and was more strenuous than I would knowingly get myself into but I did fine. No wildflowers--Shooting Stars, Leopard Lilies, Cow Parsnips--in the meadow as it's so early in the year.
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| Kings River |
After lunch we drove back to Zumwalt Meadow (it's just a few miles but it's a 25 mph road and there were construction delays) to take pictures of birds so did not hike around the meadow--just stayed at the entrance. I saw one Red-winged Blackbird and that was all.
It’s mesmerizing to watch the river. So much turbulence and power bundled with so much beauty. Sat out by the river side after dinner for a while and enjoyed the roar of the river and the Steller's Jays that perched about 10 feet away from us. They were waiting for handouts.
Expect to leave early tomorrow morning for Grant Grove--it's a one hour drive--and hope to see some birds there.
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