Big Sur- August 10-12 2007

Yo homies…Another great trip this weekend…Big Sur. The best scenic trip so far. I have affirmed my love for the ocean this weekend!Big Sur is beautifully closeted between the Santa Lucia mountains on oneside and the rocky pacific coast on the other. We camped right off of Hwy 1...on a cliff, seemed like-a small trail led us down the ocean.

Here is how it went down...We (Dilip, Sandhya, Arvind and Kaya (yes!) decided on Big Sur on Friday...did not reserve any camp site...nothing.Last minute idea- conjured up by me and Sandhya. We (Arvind and me) startedout from Modesto at 7 pm or so...By the time we got to Hwy 1, the last 60miles...it was pitch dark! Couldn't see or hear the ocean. Anyhoo, we were lucky to find a campsite at Pfeiffer Big Sur Park....by the Big Sur river..We pitched our tents, and waited for Sandhya-Dilip to get here...Kaya was so excited...kept checking out the campsite and stuff...Icould tell she was happy! The campsite had huge trees (dont know what) that covered up the sky for us! Couldnt even see the stars...alas...

The following morning..I went for a run with kaya, very dense foliage thruout and green....could smell the crisp morning air. We checked out the Big Sur river (pic above)...not much water and was dirty as well in places...


We vacated the site, out to find a campground bythe ocean. Limekiln campground is very scenic and right by the ocean, butwas full. We drove out south, and found Kirk Creek camp. We were indeed lucky!Clear open skies, sandwiched btn the mountains and the pacific! See the campsite pic below...




Once we set up camp, we went down the trail leading to the ocean. It wasvurryyyyy rocky. There was this huge rock, about 500-700 ft high...that we decided to climb! I was skeptical about Kaya....but my baby has a good grip like a mountain goat! She braved the rock, looking into the ocean, followedby the others. We spent few minutes up there....taking in the vastness of the ocean. Apparently, Arvind has a fear of 'climbing' down therock...which he did successfully~Good job!
We then went to Sand Dollar beach..further down south...P.R.E.T.T.Y The shore line wassandy...wet sand. Plenty of seaweed in the waters. Arvind and me ventured out deep into the beach...shallow!We were amused that it did not go deep! We could still see the sand about quarter mile into the water! Kaya didnt come with us....she stuck to the sandy shores..Lots of dogs ont he beach...Dilip, apparently found a'friend'- another doggie-'Seven' is his name! They played frisbee for quite sometime. It was funny to watch them... We all started to play frisbee..been a while since I played...was fun and calorie burning! We worked up an appetite...and ate JUNK.

hey, when on vacation, calories dont add up, now, do they? We spent about 1.5 hrs on the beach...headed back to the camp.

Sandhya hadbrought along some veggies to grill...but no campfires allowed in summer! We skewered the veggies and paneer (ummmmm delicioso) over the open stove flame...Everyone was involved and it was great fun cooking and eating. See pic below!






The sunset over the ocean is simply unforgettable! As Sandhya likes to out it...the sun went down 'plop'. The whole sunset lasted about 3 min when gthe sun went down the
horizon. Simply fantastic!





After dinner, we star gazed and chatted the time away...Alas,we got hungryagain! We made burgers and hash brown at 9.30 pm or so...once again back to star gazing...We were supposed to spot the meteorite showers in the north-eastern sky...but didn't... It was chilly....the salty ocean air...

The ocean kept the night temp. down in 50s...I had trouble falling asleep..was too cold..But Kaya slept tight...all snuggled up inside her blanket…been sleeping since 8 pm or so...
In all, greatttt weekend getaway with greattt company!

Death Valley National Park- July 6-8

Death Valley is the largest national park outside of Alaska...3.4 millionacres! It simply is an arid desert…though was teaming with life…from lizards to green plants!We, my cousin (Dilip) and his wife (Sandhya) (GREAT COMPANY!!) headed out the 7 hr drive. We drove through Bakersfield, hoping to reach the valleymidnight…But, a million things happened and we ended up sleeping in the car from 2-6 am, in a post-office parking lot, close to Bakersfield! We reachedthe Valley at 8 or so, had breakfast at the Panamint Springs.The temperature throughout the weekend was btn 110-120F. Dry heat, but strangely, it was refreshing! We did not hike much, were advised against doing so. Nobody comes to the Valley during summer, but we did...now what does that say about us huh?

Now, we hit the Salt Creek Trail, a 0.5 mile round trip hike. There is this boardwalk with a steady running along (which was completely dry and gleaming with salt deposits). Pup fish, Cyprinodon salinus one of therarest fish, on the brink of extinction reside here in this windswept desert! We didn’t spot any though, there was simply no water! We did see several zebra-tailed lizards.
We then drove down to the Sand Dunes, my favorite spot. There wasn’t anytrail, but just heaps of piled up SiO2! I was literally rolling in the sand, loved it that much. Reminded me of the pyramids…


Then came the Badwater Basin…lowest point in the western hemisphere-282ft below sealevel! The landscape is simply flat and shiny…miles and miles of gleamingsalt deposits. What a sense of opennes to be walking in these flatlands!We drove to the Artist’s Drive…a scenic loop with volcanic hills changingcolors. The Artist’s palette was simply spectacular…a hilly scape withcolors from the rainbow!We stopped at a Furnace Creek resorts to shower…paid $4! We decided not to camp here since the night temp was abt 108F! We decided to camp at Wildrose Peak, 4000 ft in elevation. We pitched our tents, had dinner and rambled ontill 10pm. The sky was star studded and the moon was beautiful.




I missed Kaya.I didn’t bring her along. I couldn’t risk her being bitten by a rattlesnake or a scorpion!!
Way back home, we drove thru Yosemite! Man, was that wonderful…Yosemite is GREEN, lakes are BLUE this time of year. A must go…We lunched at CurryVillage…good ole’ pizza…I drove back home, from San Jose…10.30pm was when I saw Kaya… She missed me, and I missed her ten fold more. She was stuck to me all night and the next day too. Death Valley is the place to be this summer!

Carmel-by the-Sea, July 22 2007

Saturday was depressing. no surprises here?? Yanyhoo…decided to goto Carmel today…been yearning the beach for about 6 months now! And I was pretty sure Kaya would love it! She deserves a break!

Started at about 12… the drive was tooooooo boring…stupid mapquest took me thru the city roads for about 1.5 hrs…Once I entered Monterrey/ Carmel, theshoreline was visible…..peaceful, soothing pacific ocean!As usual, no parking close to the beach..I parked on San Antonio Street,two streets away from the beach. Kaya puked her breakfast! Poor baby, motion sickness I bet.

Anyhoo…boy, you should have seen us walk upto the beach..EXCITEDDDDDD is the word! I was about to run and jump into the water, Kaya was a bit skeptical about the waves but loved the sand…this beach- 1 Ocean Ave.doesn’t require leash on dogs…Kaya was free…and didn’t know where to turn,what to smell…plain crazy!I went deep into the beach and Kaya preferred to stay at the shores…I didtry to coax her into the water, she did come in, but ran as the waves touched her paws.It was sooooo adorable to watch her do so…I also ran bare-footed in the beach for about a mile…Kaya ran right beside.

There were plenty of Labradors ‘retrieving’ toys from the beach…Kaya got tempted as she saw others go in and tried to go in as well...poor baby got her face wet and scurried back out to me!! I had wandered so faaaaaaaaraway from my purse…panicked and scanned the whole damn beach….found it after 30min! damn that beach now.After about 2 hrs in the waters, we took a walk into the city...most stores are dog friendly…

Carmel is so quaint! Cobbled streets, plenty of Hauptpiazzen!

Apparently, it is full moon and the tides are high and forceful…The drive back was pretty, and eerie as well! The night sky was very serene to stare at. Kaya was wiped out… slept the whole 2.5 hrs drive back home. I am sooooo proud of Kaya, she was constantly praised for good behavior and goodlooks! She gets it from her mom-ME! ha ha. I got lost as I neared Modesto. Well, reached home alive…at 11 pm!What a trip! Check out the photos……