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Balloon Ride in Napa Valley
On Wednesday, we awoke at 4:30am to board an early morning balloon ride through Napa Valley. Well, kind of Napa Valley. We were actually chased out of Napa Valley by thick fog so instead took our flight in nearby Central Valley, where lots of the country’s food is grown. First the “inflation.” We were all careful not to call it a “blow up.” My guy, Ryan. “Gregory the Great” Our balloon, “Victory.” I was obsessed with these cannons and the fire. 315,000 cubic feet of air. The balloon (empty) weighs 700lbs, the basket and tanks add 1300lbs, and the 20 passengers about 3,000lbs to total 2.5 tons. After takeoff, the…
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Fireworks in the Fog
On the Fourth of July, we joined our friends in San Francisco to celebrate. Stephanie and Josh made dinner for us followed by lovely patriotic dessert. Then, in grand San Francisco style, fireworks in the fog. And my new friend on a bike Happy 4th!
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Yosemite National Park – Mariposa Grove Giant Sequoia Trees
For our third day of hiking, we took a quick 5 mile stroll around Mariposa Grove–home of Giant Sequioa Trees! A sign to show the scale of and endurance of the Grizzly Giant. Naturally occurring (or carefully prescribed) forest fires are good for the Sequioas. The fires burn off weaker species, create rich soil, and cause pine cones to burst and release Sequoia seeds. I was pretty tired of walking, so Ryan was tempting me along with cocoa-roasted almonds. Shaking the container like I was an animal. Oh and at this time we saw a coyote! so we started yelling and waving our arms so he would run away. The…
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Yosemite National Park – Panorama Trail
Day 2 in Yosemite took us on a long one-way bus ride to Glacier Point and an even longer hike down the Panorama Trail. From Glacier Point to the trail head is 8.4 miles (plus at least 2 miles back to our car) and -4,000 ft of elevation change. Ryan tricked me into this hike, but I loved it. Thankfully we were prepared for the 6 hour tour. Isn’t this moon supposed to be over Half Dome? View from Glacier Point. Starting our hike to the Valley Floor. Seriously, I was so glad to be traveling DOWN these granite “stairs.” This time we are going down the “Mist Trail” again. …
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Yosemite National Park – Vernal Fall
Greetings from California! I’m so lucky to have two amazing trips within two months. Before we even knew we would be going to Hawaii for Laura and Donnie’s wedding, Ryan and I planned to travel this week. Ryan and I are taking our vacation this year during “plant shutdown” while he is unable to go to work. Since his work is basically closed, we’re spending our time visiting Yosemite National Park, San Francisco, and Sonoma and Napa Valley. We’ll be back soon to photograph Sarah and Sam’s wedding in Pittsburgh on July 10th, but please enjoy this week of posts. First up was our nearly four hour drive from the…
