Fuelin' the Old Fashioned Way

I was looking through my vacation photos to see if there

 was anything else I wanted to share and I found this...

It's a gas station along the highway that heads into Kings Canyon.
Check out those old pumps.  You can see the gas inside the glass
cylinders on top.  And, they actually work!  They sell it by the litre
and it comes out to be around the same price that we pay per gallon
outside of the park.  I love finding stuff like this!
I hope it stays around for a long time!

Fuzzy....Wuzzy...What?!

On our recent visit to Kings Canyon National Park, we saw lots of these...

Fuzzy, wuzzy, little caterpillars.  Wow!...They sure have long hair!
There were so many on some of the trails that we had to be careful not to step on them.

How about a mustache?  Hee hee

We also saw a lot of these webby things.  The first few days that we were there, they all seemed to be thick spider webs with dead bugs trapped in them.  But, as the week progressed, we started seeing more and more caterpillars on them.  Hmmmm?  What could they be?  Who made them?  We've never seen anything like it.  We assumed they were spider webs but, with so many caterpillars on them, it makes more sense that they were created by the caterpillars.  We kept meaning to ask a ranger.  But, they seem to be quite scarce in this park.  And, whenever we went to a visitor center, we forgot to ask.  Has anyone seen these before?  Do you know anything about them?  I'd love to get the scoop, if you wouldn't mind sharing.  Thanks! 

Thank You!

Thank you so much to each and every person who took the time to leave such sweet and thankful comments for me before and after my surgery. They all meant so much and were uplifting. One morning, I logged in and found six comments. Wow! That was super cool! Thank you! I tried to respond to each and every comment (as I always do) but some of them had "no reply" on them and wouldn't go through. So, if you didn't get a personal email from me, you know why. But, please know that I'm grateful to you for taking the time to leave a comment and for thinking of me. The comments made my heart smile! :-)

I've been feeling pretty good since the surgery. In fact, I felt so good the next day that I even took the dog to the vet. I know...I'm supposed to rest. My daughter helped me out...she handled the dog and drove. The only discomfort I've really had was where the breathing tube left a little ouch on the back of my throat. It's feeling better now. Otherwise, I've almost felt like I didn't even have surgery. I never even took ibuprofen. I've just felt a little 'blah' here and there. But, I've wondered if that was just from sitting around and not moving much. I think it's been long enough now that I can start walking tomorrow. I'm going to try it out and see how it goes.

We might head up the mountain today to enjoy the cooler temps. A little relaxing, some food, some knitting and crochet, reading, great company. Ahhhh!

Have a wonderful day! :-)

Done!

My hysteroscopy surgery is done! Over! Finished! Whew!

Despite my nervousness about the procedure...and, especially, the anesthesia...I was able to keep my nerves down enough to sleep last night. I shed a few tears of fear at the hospital but I think I did pretty well. It helped that everyone at the Fallbrook Hospital was super nice and great at what they do.  I felt well cared for and never rushed. I've felt quite the opposite with procedures at other hospitals.

My day started with the alarm clock at 4:00 am and a shower with antibacterial soap...as the hospital requested. I'll be happy not shower with that soap again. Ick! We were on the road by 5:00 am. I'm not usually on the road that early and was surprised to see so many cars at that time. It was amazing! We made it to the hospital at 5:45, right on time. We walked in and were immediately greeted and quickly whisked away. My husband and daughter were shown where things were and told how the morning would work. They even gave them a morning newspaper. Then, they began preparations for me. They did paper work here and there while I changed, had an EKG, met with the doctor, and had other preps. That was nice. It was less stressful than sitting in an office and signing a huge pile of papers and waiting to get started. Each and every person that worked with me was friendly and had a way of putting me at ease. 

Sometime around 7:15 or 7:30, they rolled me into a room near the operating room where I met with my OR nurse and the anesthesiologist.  They were great too! They prepped me a bit more, explained more things, and answered all of my questions. As they rolled me into the OR, there was music playing...and not the elevator kind...it was more contemporary. It was nice. There were other people working in there to get ready for the surgery. I remember scooting from one bed to another, commenting on the pretty blue/green color of the overhead lights, chit chatting and...then...nothing...until I woke up in the original room I'd started the morning in.

It turns out that, what was supposed to take 20-30 minutes, took over an hour. I was told that could happen, depending on what they found. I was also told, many times, about how good my doctor is and that people come from far and wide to see her. And, that it's not uncommon for her to take extra time because she's very good and very careful at what she does. It was wonderful to hear and very reassuring every time I heard it. I chose her because of the amazing reviews I'd read and how people come to her from Hawaii, Alaska, Arizona and more. So far, I've been quite pleased too.  It turned out that I had a large polyp and two smaller ones. She removed them, had a look around, and did a D and C. I imagine I'll have results for that at my follow up visit in a couple weeks, or via email....the doc is great at communicating. 

I woke up from the procedure pretty well.  I only felt a little icky when I got up to use the bathroom. The anesthesiologist gave me anti nausea meds before the surgery and they gave me a bit more when I had that moment of ickiness. It seemed to work! Hubby was driving me home before noon. I'm feeling pretty good. I've been laying around and napping off the meds. My throat is a bit sore from the breathing tube and I'm a bit sore 'down under'. But, so far, no cramping and very little bleeding. Whew! 

Hopefully, I'll feel even better tomorrow. Hubby and my daughter are taking great care of me. In fact, she's hard at work in the kitchen, whipping up a gourmet meal. Yumm! I can't wait!

Would you like a glass with your whine?!

Actually...a glass of wine would be better.  But, hey...a girl is entitled to a little whine once in a while...right?  So...here it goes...


Tomorrow is my dreaded surgery that I blogged about months ago.  I know, it's minor, but it's nerve wracking nonetheless.  I can't wait til it's over, everything is ok from the tests, and I'm back to normal.  And...that everything else gets better than this past week.


We went to the beach on Saturday to escape the heat and came back to our car to find a ticket on our windshield.  What?!  Whatever could that be for?!  We were parked completely legal and our registration is current.  Maybe they put it on the wrong car.  No such luck!  It had our license plate number on it.  But, it is a mistake!  It said we were illegally parked in a red zone.  What?!  There was no red on the curb and we we were in a parking lot that people park in all the time!  The only sign was that you can't park in that lot at night from 10pm to 6am....we parked during the day from 9:30 am to 3pm.  We chatted with some locals and a couple of lifeguards and they said the cops do that sometimes, even though it's perfectly legal to park there, and to take lots of pictures to fight it...which we had already done...but we took a few more for good measure.  I could sure do without adding a ticket to fight to my to-do list!


As we drove away, our car started making a "bong bong bong" sound and a light came on that said the rear doors were open, even though they were closed tight.  We opened and closed them....bong bong bong.  Tried it again...bong bong bong.  It eventually stopped....for a while.  That would have been annoying to hear every couple of minutes on our hour drive home!  The next day, it did it every time I stepped on the brakes.  Luckily, hubby figured it out and fixed it.  Whew!  


Then...the check engine light came on in our Toyota.  Hubby hooked up the computer and everything was fine.  He did a little research and found that the Matrix tends to glitch sometimes and that resetting it should work.  He reset it, the light went off and it's still running great. It needs a smog test to renew the registration.  It failed!....because the check engine light had come on recently...not that anything is wrong...but the light HAD been on.  EVERYTHING else PASSED!  They told me at the shop that there are other readers/sensors that will have to clear and that it would be done by driving it 50-100 miles.  So, I went driving today...over 100 miles (a nice trip to the beach).  Afterwards, I stopped at the shop, they hooked it up before doing another test, and three sensors are still not clear.  Grrrr!  I have surgery tomorrow and I really wanted to get this done!  Darn car!  And, I have to mention that I think it's pretty ironic that I have to drive the car hundreds of miles to clear a sensor for something that was never wrong to get it to pass a smog test.  Doesn't that go against the whole smog thing?!  I mean...that's gallons of gas being used and emissions going into the air just to pass a test to keep the air clean.  Duh!


Ok...enough whining!


My drive to the beach to put miles on my car (so weird!) was also an attempt to relax, breathe deeply, and let this and other stuff go so I can go into surgery tomorrow unstressed (well...as much as I possibly can).  The ocean looked especially pretty today.  the water was clear and the blue, turquoise, and dark blue colors seemed extra brilliant.  I even saw sprays of water and mist being blow up from the surface by whales.  It was pretty exciting!  They were a bit far off shore but I saw the spray many times and I think I even saw one pop up and splash down.  Wow!  That was pretty cool!  The temp was wonderful too...74 and mostly sunny.  Ahhhh!  It would have been nice to have stayed down there and just ditched the smog test AND the surgery!  Hee hee


I'm sure I'll still be working on this whole relaxing and trying not to stress thing for the rest of today, tonight, and all the way to the hospital in the morning.  It's an outpatient surgery and not supposed to be a big deal but I always get nervous.  The whole anesthesia thing is  what gets me the most.  I shudder with how creepy/scary it is!  I can't wait for this time tomorrow.  I hope I'll be feeling good...or, at least, not too bad!  And, soon, instead of whine, I'll have some wine to celebrate!   ...Ahhh...the thought of a warm summer evening at our favorite local winery, a delicious bottle of wine, some live blues music....that sounds realllly great right now!


Prayers and positive thoughts would be greatly appreciated for tomorrow morning.  Thanks!  :-)  I'll post an update as soon as I'm feeling up to it...hopefully, tomorrow!

Meadows, Rivers and Falls....Nature Therapy!

On our recent trip to Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Parks, we chose one place or direction to go each day to explore. One of those days was dedicated to driving into the part of Kings Canyon where the Kings River flows. It was the most spectacular and beautiful day of our whole week.

A portion of Kings Canyon National Park is in the section of mountains with Sequoia National Park.  That is where Grant Grove, the Princess Campground that we stayed at, and cooler temperatures can be found during the summer...due to the higher elevation.  There's beautiful forests, giant trees, and meadows.  It's beautiful. 

But, to me, the most amazing and best parts of Kings Canyon are down in the actual canyon where the Kings River flows.  The road winds around, hugging the side of cliffs, thousands of feet above the river.  The further you go, the closer you get to the river and the higher the canyon walls rise above the road.  This canyon is actually one of the deepest canyons in the United States with a maximum depth of 8,200 feet.  That's deeper than the Grand Canyon which is 6,000 feet deep.

The rock walls are incredible!  The trees are beautiful!  And, the river...it is beautiful beyond description.  All we could say as we drove past sections of it was....Wow!  Wow!  Wow!  It was the prettiest river I've ever seen.  Unfortunately, the most beautiful sections were along the road with no turnouts or places to stop and take pictures. The rocks were perfectly situated to create an endless number of small waterfalls as the water flowed and tumbled down the canyon.  It was gorgeous!  The canyon is very narrow for long sections of the drive.  That adds to the magic...a gorgeous river, a winding road, enormous rock walls that echo the sound of the water...and...it was overcast the morning that we drove up which cooled the heat of the sun.  Oh...and to top it off...I brought along an amazingly delicious cup of coffee I'd made back at camp...sort of a vanilla latte with a dash of cinnamon....Yum!

The water flow isn't anywhere near what it would be if we'd had normal amounts of snow and rain.  But it was still strong and treacherous enough to make it very dangerous to enter.  

We saw a lot of warning signs.  

There's something about flowing water that makes me feel sooo good. 

And, just look at all the beautiful colors...

There were waterfalls tucked in little side canyons along the way.  And, there were turnouts and parking lots for bigger ones.  The first waterfall stop we made was at Grizzly Falls.  It was popular and I had to point my camera above the people to get shots of just the waterfall.  Pretty!...

To get an idea of the size of this waterfall...notice my daughter near the right side,

bottom of the photo (you can click on it to enlarge the photo)...

There she is again...in the bottom right corner....

The next waterfall we stopped at was Roaring River Falls.  From the parking lot, there is a paved path through the trees and past sections of a river with tall rock walls on either side.

The path ends at a lookout to the waterfall.  It may seem small but it looked and sounded very powerful in person.  So much so that the pool below it and the river just beyond looked quite dangerous and more signs were posted warning visitors not to enter the water.

The green color of the pool below is pretty.

We sat and soaked in the beauty, the peacefulness and the magic of the falling water.  Ahhhh!

Near where the canyon road ends, there's a parking area, picnic tables, and a 1.5 mile trail around Zumwalt meadow.  It starts out along a river and leads to a bridge...

Over the river and into the woods we went...

The views from the bridge were so pretty!  I love the colors of the water and rocks...

The trail started out rather flat but the south side of it climbed up and over rocks...

It was good exercise and lots of fun!

Once we crossed over the big boulders and rocky sections, the trail entered into a forest on the eastern end of the meadow.  The path became shady and gentle. 

We rarely saw anyone on the trail.  So Pretty and peaceful.

Delicate fern carpeted much of the forest floor...

We saw fungi growing on some of the trees...

And, a happy, healthy squirrel munching on something in a tree overhead...

My eyes just couldn't get enough of this...

Beauty all around!  Here's a glimpse of Zumwalt meadow...

The narrow canyon with high rock walls are oriented in a similar direction to Zion Canyon in Utah...one of my favorite places.  And, they both have a river flowing through.  The colors and scenery are very different but both are incredibly beautiful!

More pretty colors in the water...we even saw some wild trout

swimming around in the shady sections...

Zumwalt Meadow...

Ahhhhh....what an amazing day!  Peaceful and filled with

some of the most gorgeous nature I've ever seen!

It even calmed the hyper me so much that I bought a book at one of the visitor centers, went back to camp and actually read!  I usually can't settle down enough for that.  It's amazing what a little nature time can do!  I even finished the book before the trip was over!  The book was, "Women of the Sierra" by Ann Seagraves.  A fascinating look at the lives of 13 women from the mid 1800's to the turn of the century that had a big impact in the Sierra Nevada Mountain area.  I highly recommend it.  The author has several other books within the same subject that I plan to buy and read...maybe during a future visit to the Sierra. 

Hume Lake

Just up the road from the Princess Campground that we stayed at in Kings Canyon was a turnoff to a winding, narrow road that took us past stunning views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains...

...and to a pretty little mountain lake with beautiful scenery all around.  It was Hume Lake and it turns out to be a well known place because of the Christian camps at one end of the lake with boats, kayaks and lots of other fun stuff to do.  What a great place for camp!  It almost makes me want to be a kid again just so I can go to that camp!

Hubby stepped into the lake and took in the scenery and peacefulness of the area...

As we drove around the lake, we crossed a bridge to a stream that feeds the lake...

Unfortunately, the pictures don't come close to showing how pretty it really is...

These big holes in the rocks were interesting.  I wonder what created them?...

That was a relaxing day.  We did a little exploration, saw some beautiful sights, and then went back to camp to kick back and read, crochet, eat, and enjoy another unique beer that we brought along.  The weather was in the 70's and just perfect for kicking back and relaxing.  Ahhhhh! 

There's still more to share from our week in Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.  I hope you'll come back for another visit...and...don't forget to leave a comment while you're here.  I'd love to hear from you!  :-)

Big Trees

I love trees!  So, going to Kings Canyon and Sequoia to see the Giant Sequoia trees was pretty exciting!  They're some of the oldest living trees on earth.  They can live to around 3000 years.  Yes, you read that right.  Pretty amazing, huh?!  And, they grow up to 310 feet high and 35' wide.  That's BIG! 

On our first day out to explore, we stopped at Grant Grove in Kings Canyon.  Check out the size of the trees in the center of the next picture.  The trees just to the left are really big.  That can give you an idea of how EXTRA BIG the Giant Sequoias are.  They're amazing.

Here's my daughter taking a picture of a massive redwood...

Look how tiny she and some of the other visitors look next to these giant trees...

Magnificent!

Their thick bark makes them resistant to fire.  However, if the fire is too hot and intense, the inside of the tree may burn.  It's not uncommon to find a tree that is hollow on the inside but still very much alive.  The water and nutrients it needs are carried up the tree through the outside layers.  Fire can actually be good for them.  The heat releases seeds and the ash mineralizes the soil and provides important nutrients for them.

The azaleas growing underneath them in Grant Grove were so pretty!...

There is a fallen tree in Grant Grove that has been hollowed out by fire. 
 Look at the size of the bottom section...

The park has made this tree accessible and welcomes visitors to explore the inside. 

It's like a tunnel!

The center section is open to the outside.  I imagined hiding out inside the tree
during a storm and being able to watch through it's big window...

There's a hole in the center of the ceiling that acts like a skylight...

or a frame for a picture of a nearby redwood...

The other end was enclosed all the way around.  Look how tall the "ceiling" is...

That's me walking through...

This is the other end...

Another thing to see in Grant Grove is the Centenial Stump sign. 

It's an interesting story.  You can click the photo to enlarge and read it...

In Sequoia National Park, we ran across this...

Here it is looking toward the top of the tree. 

It's like a road.  That's our Yukon parked next to it...

This is the root end with my daughter and husband sitting down and checking it out...

There's also "Tunnel Log" in Sequoia. 

There was a fairly constant stream of people driving up, stopping to look, and taking pictures of their cars (and motorcycles) as they'd drive through the tunnel.  We probably could have fit our Yukon through but didn't want to chance it.  So, here's a picture of another car...

At the Sherman Grove in Sequoia there's a patio/overlook with a brick section in the size and shape of the General Sherman tree.  It's interesting to walk across it and get a better idea of how thick some of these redwoods are...

There are several slices of Giant Sequoias scattered throughout the park.  Here, my daughter and I are leaning against one and trying to stretch our arms across...

Yes...we're tree huggers!

Giant Sequoias aren't the only amazing trees in the park.  
Another is the Sugar Pine that grows enormous pinecones
like the one my hubby is holding...

Some parts of the forest have a lush green carpet of fern, flowers and moss.

So pretty!

The ferny trails were so different than what I'm used to and fun to walk along.

We learned on this trip that the big redwood trees in Kings Canyon, Sequoia, and even Yosemite are different from the giant redwood trees we've seen along the California coast.  They're called "Coastal Redwoods".  They grow about 60 feet taller but aren't quite as big around as Sequoia trees.  They live up to 2200 years...a 1000 years less than Sequoias. The Coastal Redwood trees only grow in a narrow band along the coast, from Central California to parts of Oregon. I think the only place Sequoia trees can be found is on the western side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.  Pretty interesting. They're both incredible and amazing wonders to see. 

I still have more to post from our trip.  I hope you'll come back for another visit.  :-)