Homeward Bound

Having packed Old Blue to the brim and said a fervent prayer for the life of our creaking car, we set out on the long, roundabout drive home.

Before heading out across the continent, we decided to drive up through California to see the national parks of the Sierra Nevada and visit friends who live in the Bay area. On our first day of travel the car was behaving just fine, and we got into Sequoia National Park without incident. The South entrance to Sequoia involves a lovely road full of construction and switchbacks, and by

the time we got to the top, where the eponymous trees are located, our transmission had decided it did not like shifting from 1st to 2nd on mountain roads with too much cargo, and would rather jerk and balk like a rented mule. Regardless, we pressed on, saw the largest trees on the planet, and camped in Kings Canyon NP (The conjoined twin of Sequoia.) We both wished we could have spent more time in Sequoia, but we wanted to get to Yosemite the next day.

On the way to Yosemite, we had a flat tire. Now, a flat tire is usually a minor hiccup to be endured when travelling, but for us, a flat tire was a bit more of a headache. First, the trunk was packed tightly with our cargo, and our bikes were on a bike rack strapped to the trunk. So changing the tire involved taking the bikes off the car, completely unpacking the trunk, changing the tire, repacking the trunk, strapping the bikes back in place, then repeating the entire process again when we got to a tire shop. Second, I discovered that there is a great deal of sharp metal inside of a worn-out tire. I discovered this by gripping the tire firmly and pulling it off, then screaming and using language I won't repeat here. Fortunately, I had a nurse at hand. Several bandages later, we got on the road and found a tire shop just outside of Yosemite where we replaced the flat tire and it's equally worn out partner with what looked like lightly used tires. More on that later.

Yosemite was gorgeous. I was there twenty years ago on a family vacation, and my memory didn't do the park justice. Pictures can't do the park justice. Ansel Adams produced some great shots of Half Dome and the other features of the park, but nothing compares to standing at the base of of a 4000 foot sheer rock face and just looking up. Seriously, if you like the outdoors and haven't yet gone to Yosemite, find an excuse to do so. (I would suggest that you go earlier or later than we did, though; the tourists are thick from June to August.)

While in Yosemite, we biked the 15 miles of bike trails, saw the museum, took a short hike, floated down the river, and relaxed at camp.

After two nights in Yosemite, we drove to Berkeley, where we stayed with Stephanie and Erin and saw Tim and Becky. I think I could move to Berkeley just for the vegan soul food restaurant we went to.

The next morning, the long drive back to GR began. From Berkeley, we had about 2200 miles to cover, most of it following I 80. We crossed the Sierra Nevada into Nevada, where one of our tires decided it was time to disintegrate. One of our new-to-us tires was a retread, and the new tread ripped off at 70 mph and wrapped itself around the axle, causing the engine temperature to spike dramatically. After repeating the elaborate tire-changing process, we realized it was after 6pm on a Sunday, and the odds of finding a replacement tire were slim to none. Having barely dented our 2200 miles, we limped to the next town and got a hotel for the night.

We were waiting when the tire shop opened the next day, and decided that we could still make it home by Tuesday night as we had originally planned. So with 1800 miles and 40 hours to go to meet our deadline, we got started. We had thought northern Nevada was the most barren and inhospitable bit of terrain the US had to offer until we crossed into Utah and discovered the Great Salt Desert. 100 miles of straight, uninhabited highway with no lifeforms in sight. Eastern Utah is lovely, though. By the end of day 2 we were in Nebraska and were almost back on pace with about 925 miles to go to GR. Day 3 involved a lot of cornfields as we drove through Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois. We passed Chicago a little after dark, and finally reached Grandville around 12:45.

Parental visit and backpacking

Late as always, but here we go with a string of posts to bring us up to date.

At the end of June, Laura's parents came out to Riverside to visit. We went to Venice beach again, and showed Mom & Dad Streelman the wonderful absurdity therein. Mom got her picture taken with one of the medical marijuana salesman, who insisted on having his face covered for undisclosed legal reasons. We found the largest hat store in the LA area, and I finally found the hat I've been looking for for the past year. Mom also bought a lovely sun hat for gardening.

After a day of recovery and packing, we headed towards Palm Springs, where we took a cable tram a mile up a cliff to a trailhead. From there, we hiked seven miles up the face of Mt. San Jacinto, the second tallest mountain in southern California. Just over the ridge, we made camp amongst a massive pile of boulders at an elevation of over 9000 feet.

Our second day out was the 4th of July. From atop our boulder pile, we could see out over the valley below, and watched the fireworks displays of a half-dozen cities at the same time. It was definitely the most unique fireworks-watching experience any of us ever had.

On the 5th, we hiked back up a brutal series of switchbacks and took the trail to the peak. The end was another scramble over massed boulders, but we reached the top at last and took in the view over lunch. The hike back down the other side was much easier than up, and we relaxed on the tram ride back down.

Laura had to work the next few days, so Paul & Jane borrowed the car for day trips to Big Bear lake and downtown Riverside while I packed up for the immanent trip home. Thanks to Amtrak's very generous baggage policies, we were able to send most of our clothing home via train with Mom & Dad, rather than shoehorning it into our titular blue taurus. Had Old Blue been burdened any more than she was on the drive back to GR, we might still be in Nevada somewhere. Paul & Jane saw the mandatory tourist sights in Hollywood before catching the train out of LA, as Laura and I made final preparations to leave LA.

To Be Continued...

June in CA

So it turns out that Hollywood is a dirty, dirty, place. That's not a commentary on movies, just on Hollywood Boulevard, which is apparently the world's largest consumer of X-rated mannequins. We went to see the tourist sights of Hollywood, and hoped to see someone (anyone) famous. We saw the Hollywood sign, the walk of fame, and Mann's Chinese Theater. It's touristy. No celebrities; I'm sure they stay away from the tourist hot spots. We found a few of our favorite stars on the walk of fame.

A few weeks ago we drove up into the mountains to Big Bear Lake. It was nice to get out of the smog and into fresh air. We hiked up from the lake to a mountain ridge, where our trail connected with the Pacific Crest Trail. Along the way, we were assaulted by a vicious swarm of ladybugs. We saw lizards, a woodpecker, and some very interesting trees. Then I was mauled by a bear.

We've been to the beach a couple of times now. Venice Beach is very interesting; in addition to the usual sand, surf, and sun, Venice has a boardwalk with an eclectic mix of shops, restaurants, political advocacy groups, schizophrenics, pot dealers, and a weightlifting area where Arnold Schwarzenegger was discovered. We found a great organic vegan restaurant just off the beach. The last time we went, we stopped off at the REI in Santa Monica to pick up Laura's new bicycle, then hit the coastal bike trail.

We'll be leaving Colton on July 15, and driving home to GR for a visit and some intense job hunting. (On that note, if anybody knows of a good job opening in the GR area, please let me know at mhall22@alumni.calvin.edu.) Where we go after that depends on whether or not the job search yields anything.

Further adventures

Laura arranged her schedule to get as many days off in a row as possible. This does mean that she also works 6 12-hour shifts in a row, but she has a full week off in between. We're now wrapping up one of those weeks off.

Monday we went to the Renaissance Pleasure Fair, a massive ren fair that's been running in the area for almost 50 years. We went with Stephanie, another nurse working through Laura's company. There were a half-dozen different stages with performers, countless artists and shops, and a spectacular arrangement of costumed players. We've been to ren fairs before, but nothing on this scale. With a city the size of LA, there are many more people interested in dressing up like knights and nobles, and I think the presence of the film industry contributed to the high quality of costuming I saw. Laura found a booth selling hand-dyed wool, and she is looking forward to spinning it.

Yesterday we went south for a day trip to Palomar mountain. First, we went hiking in Palomar Mountain State Park. The drive up was beautiful; we miss nature. The park was a Civilian Conservation Corps site in the '30s. The CCC built a forest fire watch tower and a summer camp, and roads to allow logging in the Cleveland National Forest nearby.

After a hike and picnic lunch, we drove further up the mountain to the Palomar Observatory, home of a 200-inch telescope. (That's 200 inches across the lens. Very big.)

We finally replaced the bike that was stolen in Vegas, and we're both exercising more. We've found our favorite course that allows us to work out together. I bike from our apartment to the base of Mt. Rubidoux, about 8 miles away, while Laura drives there. She runs and I bike up the mountain, and once we get back down, I ride home. This gives both of us a good workout, but lets us spend time together.

The trail to Mt. Rubidoux runs along the Santa Ana river. Although you can see a number of factories, gravel pits, and the county dump, the trail is good and the riverbed is full of wildlife. Thus far, I've seen coyotes, a snake, countless lizards, a roadrunner, hawks, and what I'm pretty sure was a bobcat.

Laura has decided to familiarize herself with the birds we see around here. None of the familiar cardinals, robins, etc. Thus far, we've identified the Black Phoebe, the Western Scrub Jay, the Acorn Woodpecker, the Red-Tailed Hawk, and Some Sort of Swallow That Moves Too Fast to Be Identified Conclusively.

So Cal, finally

<=The big building in the middle is the hospital I'm working at

Below: Mission Inn patio, Flowering cacti on Mount Rubidoux, Peace Bridge on Mount Rubidoux, the cloudy beach

Sorry it's taken so long to post. I don't know where time has gone, and honestly I have a hard time thinking of things in my life anyone would be interested in. But, my mom keeps pestering me so here goes.

When we first got here we stayed at the Mission Inn because we didn't have our furniture for our apartment and I had reimbursable money to spend for travel. The inn is a historical landmark and almost every president has stayed there since Teddy Roosevelt. The architecture was beautiful; it was a fun night of enjoying and exploring what will be our home for 3 months. We even got room service for breakfast and were the only ones in the swimming pool.

Matt and I are enjoying Riverside; it is brighter and greener than Vegas, which is what I was hoping for. I love all of the flowering trees and vines everywhere - even around highways. The cacti are flowering here too. We went on a hike up Mount Rubidoux (a small hill near our apartment) and had a great view of Riverside, including my hospital, and many flowering cacti and trees. They also have many good coffee shops here, the dark, older, local kind with baristas that know what they're doing.

Our favorite coffee shop is Coffee Depot, it's in the original train station building in Riverside with a lot of the original architecture and lots of fun events every week including the stitch and bitch knitting club of Riverside (not as cool of a name as Sin City Hookers but equally as fun). One element of the area we could do without is the heat. I know it's only spring and there is more to come (the locals keep reminding me) but 80 degrees in May is just not right.

There was a short trip to the seaside which turned out to be cold and cloudy even though it was 80 degrees and sunny in Riverside, so we watched the waves and birds and sat as long as we could without freezing since we were dressed for warmer weather. It was a fun drive and we saw a movie-making in progress. We don't know what movie but it was fun to see anyway.

That's about all the excitement as of yet, but I've had a rough schedule and not a lot of long strings of time off. I got an official contract at the hospital I'm working at for a month, and guaranteed schedule and time off (I don't have to be available for 5 days and they can call me 2 hours before work to tell me whether I am needed or not). So I should have a nice long weekend coming up and we will have some more exciting adventures to post soon.

New Address

Here's the new address:

1401 Santo Antonio Dr.
Apt. 389
Colton, CA 92324

It's sunny and the birds are singing here in southern California. More details to come when we have a better internet connection.

-Matt

Goldstrike Canyon and beyond!

First, a little bit of business-

Laura has signed a contract for the next three months to work in Riverside, CA. Unfortunately, this isn't up north where we wanted; it's in the orbit of Los Angeles. But it's work, and as long as the fires and mudslides don't get us, it should be fun. Maybe we'll see some celebrities. Anyway, we'll be leaving here in a week and a half, so if you need to mail us anything, wait until we move in in California. We don't have an address yet, but my task tomorrow is finding an apartment for us, so hopefully we'll be able to post that address soon. Keep watching this space.

Yesterday, Laura and I hiked the Goldstrike trail, a canyon that runs down to the Colorado river. The canyon starts out broad and flat, but narrows down to a rugged landscape of steep cliffs and jumbled rocks. About three miles down the canyon there's a hot spring that previous hikers have shaped into a series of pools suitable for bathing. The trail used to be fairly straightforward, but an earthquake a few years ago knocked a lot of boulders down, creating blockages that require intense scrambling and climbing to get past. Some of the blockages are intense enough to require ropes. Conveniently, ropes have been permanently installed by previous hikers.

We saw more wildlife than we have in the last three months combined, by which I mean we saw some wildlife. Seriously, the Vegas area is pretty barren. A few pockets of vegetation, but other than pigeons, no fauna to speak of. In the canyon we saw dozens of little blue-and-brown lizards, birds, butterflies, and other insects.

After hiking down to the springs, we decided not to traverse the last, most difficult rocks. The weather here has been heating up, and by lunchtime, we were dripping and beat, so we passed on taking a dip in the hot springs, too. By the time we made it back to the car, we were beat, and every muscle in our bodies seemed to have been used. Climbing over all the rocks was certainly a full-body workout!