Tuesday Travels

I went to Yosemite National Park for the first time this past weekend. We left Wednesday night and camped just outside the park. I set my phone alarm to wake up at 4:45am and headed into the park. About 2 hours later we reached the valley.



We stood in line at Camp 4 (the only open walk-in campground this time of year) and were lucky enough to get a camping spot there. We didn't even set up the tent before heading out on our first hike.

top of Yosemite Falls

Then Friday we went on another hike to the top of Nevada Falls and around to Vernal Falls.

Nevada Fall

This cute tree looked like it had garland strung on it.

The staircase next to Vernal Fall

The Mist Trail was a little more than misty.

Saturday morning we had a bear come through our camp. While others were yelling and chasing it out of the camp, me and a few others were running after them trying to get a good picture. Unfortunately, this is what I ended up with.

My nephew (aka Tow Mater) lost these two teeth (they were naturally fused together).


On the way out of the park, we saw these interesting 3 wheelers.

Media Monday - Jack Johnson

Yosemite was great! I'll share more pictures soon...hopefully tomorrow.

For today's Media Monday, I chose a musician that reminds me of camping back in Kansas with my friends. He has so many good songs so I might revisit him in the future, but today... just one really fitting tune.




Yep, we ate Banana Pancakes while camping in Yosemite! and they were goooood :)

the Sunday Special - Cheerios Marshmallow bars

Although I'm at Yosemite National Park right now, I prepared this camping inspired Sunday Special. We bought a bag of these HUGE campfire marshmallows that are about the size of 4 large marshmallows put together. They got a little stuck together because we left the majority of them in the car on Memorial Weekend while we were backpacking. So with some of those leftover marshmallows, I made Cereal Bars to take camping this weekend.

Instead of Rice Krispies, I used Cheerios this time.
I searched for Cheerios Marshmallow bars and found a few variations.
This is the recipe I used.


In addition, I also sprinkled a little Ovaltine in the mix as well (although not enough to taste it).
Chocolate chips or M&Ms would be a tasty addition, too.



and of course I had to eat, I mean test one to make sure they were good :)

Tuesday Travels' TIPs & TRICKs

I have received a few questions about hiking and a request to post about camping. So here goes...Part 1.

Do I go hiking often? Of course this depends on your definition of 'often'. I have been going hiking maybe once a week since the weather has gotten nice. Hiking up steep snowy mountains to beat cabin fever, get some exercise, and just plain be outside enjoying the view and fresh air.

A little tired after a 1500 ft vertical hike in the snow. We summited just before sunset. Even though we didn't bring our snowboards or even sleds, that didn't stop us from sledding down on our backsides. Sooo fun!

Hiking up the hill near our house to sit in the hot tub. Hiking to the beach to fly the kite. Hiking to a new remote spot on the lake to avoid hurting people while my bf is still learning to kite board (and to hang out with friends).

from this past Sunday

Hiking to a good camping spot. And then this weekend, I am going to Yosemite National Park for the first time. We were planning to hike up half-dome (a 14-16 mile round trip), but it is not open yet due to the late spring snow. We will, however, be hiking to waterfalls and such so I will share the pictures with you next week.

here are some of my other hiking trips from the past year. in Arkansas. in the Outer Banks. at Linville Gorge in North Carolina. Pisgah National Forest (my first backpacking trip). Mills Creek backpacking trip (among other things) in North Carolina. Morro Bay in California. along the Yuba River in California.

What do I pack? Well, if we are only going to be gone a few hours or less, I typically only bring water.
A camel bag is nice if you don't need to carry much else. A nalgene is good if you need to bring a bag (aka 'book' bag or day pack, basically a small pack) for carrying other things. Here in Tahoe I usually bring a stocking cap, a wind breaker, kleenex, a snack, and my camera. Depending on the time of year, the geographical location, and the time of day, other items may include: sunscreen (whoops, we forgot it this weekend), bug spray, sunglasses and/or a cap with a bill to keep the sun off your face, an mp3 player, a head lamp is essential if you're out after dark, and other items depending on the activities during the hike (such as a kite or beach towel). Different hikes call for different measures.

What do I not touch? Basically anything that might harm me. I didn't do much hiking growing up and I lived in the city so I never had exposure to poisonous plants... therefore I still wouldn't be able to identify poison ivy (which is found in Kansas where I grew up) if I saw it. I am lucky and tend to hike with my eagle-scout-of-a-boyfriend who has taught me to spot poison oak (which is found in California, etc.). I also avoid snakes of all kinds, spiders, and biting insects. Although no one 'touches' ticks or mosquitoes, they are something to be mindful of. It is smart to look yourself over or have a loved one look you over for ticks within 24hrs of your hike (or every 24 hrs while you are camping). If you have no experience with ticks and tick removal, I recommend checking out this site. If you are new to hiking or new to the area you are hiking in, I recommend to google the location for poisonous plants, animals, and other harmful elements (such as avalanches, etc).

I hope this gets you started hiking instead of scaring you away from it. Hiking is great exercise and it can take you to places that you could never see otherwise.

Media Monday - Zero 7

I tend to groove to a lot of different music depending on my mood and the activity at hand. In the car or hangin' outdoors, we tend to listen to Nick's mp3 player. I usually enjoy it, but lately I've started asking him, "who are we listening to?" and plan to share them with you here on Mondays.

Lately, we have been listening to Zero 7's album Yeah Ghost and I'm really enjoying it.




They are set to release a 2disc album called Record on June 28th that will be a compilation of their work from the last decade and some bonus remixes.

Who are you listening to these days? I am always in search of good music.

New Painting

Last week I was in a serious painting mood and worked on 3 different paintings. This is the second one I worked on. It turned out differently than I had intended (isn't that how it always turns out?). I was actually planning to do a little more to it, but when I got to this stage I looked at it and liked it enough to stop. What do you think? I figure I can make another one and complete it the way I was intending to with this one.

As most of you know, it was still snowing last week which is probably where the inspiration for this crept in. I'm titling this one "Brrr".

can you see the snow? it was snowing while i was taking these

btw, the blue tape is masking off the frame. i figure i'll remove it when i'm for sure 'done' with it. i plan to paint the frame white. it also has a dark piece of trim between the painting and the frame that was black and i did a dark blue wash over it.

it should look like this once the frame is painted.

I'll share the third painting soon. I am also working on another project that I'm excited about. I promise to share it with you once it's complete.

In other news, I have been contemplating what I am going to do next month. Nick is planning to head back to Kansas and I'm wanting to stay out west. I am going to meet up with some Indie Biz Girls in San Fransisco the last weekend in July to attend the Renegade Fair. (Attn: Indie Biz Girls. If you wanna meet up, let me know.) I have been trying to figure out what I am going to do the rest of the month. So far I have researched camping, WWOOF, and volunteering at summer camp. hmmm.... life's next adventure.

Tuesday Travels

I just returned home last night from a long weekend camping at Feather Falls. We hiked in on Friday night.

We got really lucky with the weather. Blue skies. Perfect temperatures.

the gang (minus me =) somebody has to take the pics, right?)

Feather Falls

Saturday morning. The stream flowing beside our campsite (looking right)

(looking left)

My tent. Getting the fire going to start making breakfast.

We ate so good on this trip. We made biscuits (in the dutch oven) and gravy with hash browns the first morning, pancakes and bacon the second morning, one of the meals we had lasagna with garlic bread, and brownies, and every night we toasted these HUGE marshmallows (I didn't take a pic though.)

A sunny spot that would have been fun to swim in IF the water was warm.

little hike to ...

a really great spot to sun bath on the rocks and dip our toes in water

lots of newts to be found

one of our friends brought this koolaid cup along and I just thought is was so cute

hanging out at the top of the water fall

a nice little walk on the trail. Nick and I stayed an extra night while the rest of the gang went home Sunday.

These little lizards were hanging out around our camp. They look like they are doing push-ups.

We learned to play mancala and made our own 'board' on a flat rock table (we also created) and used rocks we gathered. The lines were drawn with charcoal.

goodbye campsite. you were awesome!

On the hike out we stopped along the way to smell the flowers and enjoy the surroundings. These dark purple flowers had the strongest scent...mmmm it was nice.

Yep, and that's me after 4 days of living in the wilderness.

Happy Trails everyone!

ps. there are a few other photos on my flickr