Wednesday, Day #13

I started the day early because there was FREE LAUNDRY in the hotel! (It is so sad that I get so excited about things like that.) Once we got the kids going and the laundry done (for FREE!...did I already say that?) we were finally out of there and saying goodbye to L.A. (an hour late by Steve’s standard, but the rest of us thought we did a fine job). We stopped at a gas station for ice as we were leaving, but the guy didn’t have any. He recommended to Steve that we go to McDonalds and just get a couple of cups of ice. Thanks for the tip.

Once on the freeway, it was busy getting out of there, but not so bad that it slowed us down. We headed up and over the San Gabriel Mountains and into the valley where California Oranges and nuts come from (well, we saw plenty of nuts in LA, but they grow them here). We passed a sign that said “Cartop Carriers and RV Alert: Gusty Wind Area.” Just about that time our cartop carrier started making an AWFUL noise. So, we stopped and had a potty break while Steve made sure all items were safely secured in the overhead bin. The straps continued to groan for about an hour in the wind, but we just kept peeking out of the sunroof and looking up via the rearview mirrors to make sure everything was fine. It actually got really spooky when the sound stopped!! But not to worry, our items were still up top and not all over the freeway.

Around 12:30 we stopped in Bakersfield for lunch. We decided that it would be our last chance for another In-N-Out burger, so we chose to eat there. It was as good as the day before. I could get used to this! We then drove around in circles for a few moments as we tried to find a grocery store. Emily then recommended we use the navigation system (duh!) and sure enough, it took us straight to an Albertsons about a mile away. We replenished our lunch supplies and got some amazing steaks for dinner as well as a few side dishes and, finally, ice. After 30 minutes of shopping (WAY too long by Steve’s standards), we were finally done.

Headed back to the car Steve noticed that our tire was low again. (At the inspection station coming into California the inspector had mentioned that our tire was low and Steve put air in it then). We went ahead and stopped for more air and Steve realized we had a slow leak. After a brief discussion we decided that it would be smart to get the tire taken care of before we headed up into the mountains where we wouldn’t have much recourse if it just went flat. So, we found a Honda Dealer (amazing how easily it is to find them on our navigation system) and he sent us over to Big Brand Tire Company. Turns out we had nails in both of our rear tires and the treads were wearing off in a weird way. So, woo hoo, we got two new tires! The nice thing was that the kids and I never had to leave the car. We just sat there while getting jacked up and being rotated (sounds much more fun that it was). Pete thought it was a riot.

Well, this did not bode well for our timing. While they were pretty quick as getting new tires go, we had now been in Bakersfield for about two hours! We hustled out of town and tried not to panic about how late it was getting.

It was a beautiful approach to the Sierra Nevadas. It is truly amazing how far up you go to see the Sequoias. After a long, slow, ascent which took about an hour (they were working on the road for two miles which also slowed us down), we finally made it up to the Giant Forest. They aren’t kidding! Even thought we really needed to get to our campsite, we just had to take a detour towards something called “tunnel log.” Turns out we could drive right through a downed tree.

Apparently these trees have a very shallow root system and so can fall without warning. There was one tree that fell in the 50’s without warning that was about 2,300 years old!! They say that when a gust of wind hits it just right, if there has been enough erosion or root damage for one reason or another, it can just fall down. We saw a photo of some guys in 1992 who parked their car, went for a hike, heard a crash, and when they got back to their car it was FLAT under one of these trees! We looked very carefully for our next place to park.

One of the most wild things about this place are the bears. When we first hit the Visitor’s Center there were warnings that we should cover up any food we had in the car so that it wouldn’t be visible through the window. Apparently the “Bear Gangs” have gotten pretty smart and pretty rough. But it gets worse. Once we got to our campsite we had a list of things we had to do before we could sleep that night. We had a special ‘bear proof’ box we had to put any and all food in, including detergents, toiletries, makeup and anything else that might smell ‘nice.’ We had to remove the carseat from the car and leave it outside because it also smelled good (well, good to a bear.) There were photos in the bathroom of cars that had been literally peeled away by bears trying to get at the food.

It really did something to us. We got quite jumpy and concerned about what we were doing. Steve made Emily go through all of her things and remove anything ‘smelly.’ There were quite a few number of things including pens that smelled like fruit and tasty lip gloss. It is amazing how many things you can have that smell nice. Everything went into the ‘bear bin.’ As we prepared dinner we kept looking around surveying the landscape. As Steve was cooking the steak he said “Great…could we have gotten a more ‘bear tempting’ meal?” We ate as quickly as we could, cleaned up the table as fast as possible and tried to get into the tent before it got too dark. We were unsuccessful. As we finished cleaning up in the dark, I kept scanning the hills with my flashlight. No bears.

The last thing we did before turning in for the night was to make everyone take off their clothes which smelled like ‘meat smoke’! We were NOT taking any chances. Even the ‘meat clothes’ went into the bear box. During the night Emily ended up having nightmares that the bears were going to come and shred Peter’s car seat. (by the way, we heard no bears…just the sound of Peter snoring!)

Even though it had been hot getting to the campsite all day (100+), once we got into the mountains it was quite pleasant. As day turned to night, it got downright chilly (we are having decent luck with camping temperature.) Peter ended up being chilly and I had to cover him twice before he ended up in bed with us in the wee hours of the morning. My biggest problem was that I got the joy of sleeping next to Andy. He ended up trying to turn my stomach into a pillow. When he attempted to ‘fluff’ me, I immediately thrust him against the tent and told him to “MOVE OVER!” This is starting to be a theme with him. Next camping stop we’re going to make him sleep in the car!

So now it is morning and we must be moving on. Vegas here we come. COME ON SNAKE EYES…DADDY NEEDS A NEW SET OF TIRES!!