Who says March blows in like a lion? January blew by like a freight train. (Don't you just love how I mix my metaphors?) There's a direct correlation to the busy-ness of my life and the frequency of posting. The busier I am, the less I post. Even more tragic, the shorter my posts.
In order to prevent a massive downward spiral of depression, I'll try to make the next few posts verbose, full of pictures and exciting. Well, two out of three's not too shabby.
The weekend of Chad's birthday nearly always, well, actually, always falls around the MLK, Jr. three-day weekend. Since we both work for government entities, we get to take those three days off. Traditionally, we've planned some sort of trip. While previous years (before kids) saw us hitting Vegas, in recent years, we've had more tame adventures.
This year, we decided to make a trip to the snow.
Pause while I duck the keyboards being tossed at me by snowbound friends and family.
I think I've mentioned before that Chad loves snow the way a straight-haired girl loves curls. He's never had to live in it before so it holds a special fascination with him. For weeks before our trip, he jumped from hotel to lodge to inn trying to find a location with enough snow. He finally settled on the Wukchasi Lodge above King's Canyon in the heart of the Sequoia's.
We took the trip there in two legs, the first being an overnight visit with the Loucks. We ate a delicious dinner, caught up on the latest happening and then left the next morning after breakfast. Knowing my propensity for talking, Chad made sure I knew in advance that he wanted to be on the road by 9:30. We left at 9:35.
In order to prevent a massive downward spiral of depression, I'll try to make the next few posts verbose, full of pictures and exciting. Well, two out of three's not too shabby.
The weekend of Chad's birthday nearly always, well, actually, always falls around the MLK, Jr. three-day weekend. Since we both work for government entities, we get to take those three days off. Traditionally, we've planned some sort of trip. While previous years (before kids) saw us hitting Vegas, in recent years, we've had more tame adventures.
This year, we decided to make a trip to the snow.
Pause while I duck the keyboards being tossed at me by snowbound friends and family.
I think I've mentioned before that Chad loves snow the way a straight-haired girl loves curls. He's never had to live in it before so it holds a special fascination with him. For weeks before our trip, he jumped from hotel to lodge to inn trying to find a location with enough snow. He finally settled on the Wukchasi Lodge above King's Canyon in the heart of the Sequoia's.
We took the trip there in two legs, the first being an overnight visit with the Loucks. We ate a delicious dinner, caught up on the latest happening and then left the next morning after breakfast. Knowing my propensity for talking, Chad made sure I knew in advance that he wanted to be on the road by 9:30. We left at 9:35.
Before we headed out on the second leg of our adventure, Chad checked the forecast. California was expecting a storm of Biblical proportions and he wanted to be sure there would be snow.Side note: Please realize that for Californians, "Biblical Proportions" means "Normal Autumn Storm" for the rest of the country.
He was disappointed to discover that our forecast was rain rather than snow. I told him not to worry. At 7200 feet, we should hit some snow.
He still worried.
The drive up was gorgeous. Beautiful vistas, easy roads, quiet forests. And snow. Lots and lots of snow.
We pulled over a couple times. The first when Joseph complained of an upset tummy, the second when Elizabeth complained of an empty one. At the second location, we bundled Joseph up and let him get out to make snow angels, ride the sled and throw snowballs. I fed Elizabeth and then put her in her own Christmas Story -like snowsuit.
A half hour later, we got in the truck with cold noses and rosy cheeks only to discover...we were stuck. Thankfully, some helpful Canadians stopped to unstuck us. (Canadians are apparently born with snow know-how.)
We continued up the mountain to the Lodge where we had an amazing lunch. Since it was too early to check in, we continued up the mountain to a magical place called the Forrest of the Giants. We hiked over snow and ice and across a meadow surrounded by towering trees to see General Sherman. Like a mythical creature, he stands looking over his domain. The sheer girth is so hard to comprehend. For hours afterwards Joseph talked about his friend Sherman and how he's a very friendly
tree.
I just pray that the humans who crawl across his gnarled trunk realize what a treasure he and his brethren are.
When we got back to the hotel, driving, to Chad's delight, in a light snowfall, we were told that a winter storm was expected to blow in in the next 24-hours. We were advised that the roads were already closing and that if we wanted to avoid staying for five days, we would have to leave first thing in the morning.
Chad was almost too excited to contain himself.
We carried our bags inside as snow started falling faster and thicker. Chad and I struggled to put chains on the truck while Joseph bounced around the cab. We compared notes with an Australian couple who were even more inept than we were before finally calling the front desk for help.
Where were the Canadians when we needed them?
We walked under gently falling flakes to dinner that night, our crunching footsteps the only sound in the world. I love the quiet snowfall lends to a landscape. Everything is muted as if you're listening to the world under a down comforter.
The next morning, we awoke to eight inches, with more still falling. After a quick breakfast, we loaded up in the truck and began the long drive down the Twistiest Road in California.
As we slowly made our way down the mountain, snow gave way to rain and wind and reality.
We pulled over a couple times. The first when Joseph complained of an upset tummy, the second when Elizabeth complained of an empty one. At the second location, we bundled Joseph up and let him get out to make snow angels, ride the sled and throw snowballs. I fed Elizabeth and then put her in her own Christmas Story -like snowsuit.A half hour later, we got in the truck with cold noses and rosy cheeks only to discover...we were stuck. Thankfully, some helpful Canadians stopped to unstuck us. (Canadians are apparently born with snow know-how.)
We continued up the mountain to the Lodge where we had an amazing lunch. Since it was too early to check in, we continued up the mountain to a magical place called the Forrest of the Giants. We hiked over snow and ice and across a meadow surrounded by towering trees to see General Sherman. Like a mythical creature, he stands looking over his domain. The sheer girth is so hard to comprehend. For hours afterwards Joseph talked about his friend Sherman and how he's a very friendly
tree.I just pray that the humans who crawl across his gnarled trunk realize what a treasure he and his brethren are.
When we got back to the hotel, driving, to Chad's delight, in a light snowfall, we were told that a winter storm was expected to blow in in the next 24-hours. We were advised that the roads were already closing and that if we wanted to avoid staying for five days, we would have to leave first thing in the morning.
Chad was almost too excited to contain himself.
We carried our bags inside as snow started falling faster and thicker. Chad and I struggled to put chains on the truck while Joseph bounced around the cab. We compared notes with an Australian couple who were even more inept than we were before finally calling the front desk for help.
Where were the Canadians when we needed them?
We walked under gently falling flakes to dinner that night, our crunching footsteps the only sound in the world. I love the quiet snowfall lends to a landscape. Everything is muted as if you're listening to the world under a down comforter.
The next morning, we awoke to eight inches, with more still falling. After a quick breakfast, we loaded up in the truck and began the long drive down the Twistiest Road in California.
As we slowly made our way down the mountain, snow gave way to rain and wind and reality.
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