MeanMrMustard's Musings: Vacation: Day 8 (August 10)

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Vacation: Day 8 (August 10)

After a breakfast of Uncle Harry's bagels, we're off to Sequoia National Park. The plan is to meet Kristi's parents up there and camp out; the camping plan gets killed for lack of available sites. Sigh.

We arrive at the Lodgepole Visitor's Center; Kristi's folks aren't there yet, so we go inside. We've got leftover chinese food (the lunch my mom didn't eat yesterday) and no cooler, so Kristi brings it into the visitor's center (it's in a takeout container). Waiting around, we watch a movie about bears. A point made quite clearly in the movie is that you don't leave food around where bears can get at it, since this acclimates them to eating human food and creates problems that can lead to the destruction of the bears. Okay, I get that.

We walk out of the small theatre. A ranger notices Kristi carrying the chinese food.

"You can't have that in here."

"It's wrapped up."

"Doesn't matter."

"We can't put it in the car; it'll spoil."

"Just leave it on the bench outside, then."

O. Kay.

I eat the chinese food. Yum. The bears have no idea what they're missing out on.

Kristi's parents arrive. The plan is to hike up the canyon to Tokopah Falls, less than 2 miles away, but Emma barely makes it out of the parking lot before collapsing in a protoplasmic heap. On the up side: with her grandparents there, we're free to do it ourselves. On the down side: the grandparents don't get to do the hike, and Emma has no clue what she's missing. Oh well.

On the way up to the falls, I tweak the ankle I'd sprained the previous month. But do I collapse in a protoplasmic heap? Oh, no. I gamely trudge on.

This is a lovely hike, if you're ever in Sequoia. Kristi and I have done it before, but not for many, many years. It's good to be back.