Category Archives: 2021 Travels

Chilling in Moab

Ed and I spent New Year’s in Moab Utah, exploring the majestic rock formations in the national parks and surrounding area. While we were there the temperatures were quite low and snow fell.

Arches National Park

Arches National Park hosts the densest collection of natural stone arches in the world. Rangers have counted over 2,000 arches in the park; we only had time to see a few of the major ones. But the ones we saw were spectacular.

We “assumed the position” at Turret Arch.

Double Arch beckoned us from both sides.

And Sand Dune Arch was tucked behind a narrow stone pathway.

We didn’t have time to hike to Delicate Arch, but viewed it from a distance. (It looks bigger on the Utah license plates!)

Moab Winter Weather

Winter weather accompanied us – one day was so snowy that we had to turn around and spend the day reading in our hotel! But, the other days were sunny and we enjoyed the magnificent sights.

What a difference a day makes:

Balancing Rock in two weather conditions — December 31, 2021

The temperature hovered around 15 degrees, dipping even lower at night.

Red Cliffs Surround Moab

We celebrated New Year’s Eve at the Cowboy Grill at the Red Cliffs Lodge. It was festive and delicious.

The lodge is spectacularly located on the Colorado River, surrounded by 2,000-foot red cliffs.

In their Western film museum, we learned that over 50 movies have been made in this setting – including the final cliff scene in Thelma and Louise. Jan said hi to John Wayne – but she protected herself with her face mask rather than a revolver!

Since we visited for dinner and it was dark, we returned the next day to enjoy the setting.

We traveled off the beaten path on a route through the La Sal mountains.

Canyonlands National Park

Unfortunately due to the icy road conditions, this park was closed during our visit. The Rangers just did not want to deal with lots of tourists spinning out on the steep and winding roads. We saw several spinouts, but fortunately, everyone was ok. Ed used all of his East Coast driving experience and drove slowly so we had no problems.

We tried to visit Canyonlands three times, and we enjoyed the sites on the drive up to the park. The dramatic sky was constantly changing.

Here’s a professional photographer’s shot of the Mesa Arch in Canyonlands. It’s on our Bucket List for next time!

Mesa Arch in Moab — (c) Mark Alexander — July 2021

If You Go

For sure-footed hiking, we relied on our new Yaktrax Pro Traction Cleats. These handy wire cleats fit over the soles of our hiking boots and prevented us from slipping on the snowy trails. (As an amusing note, each of us purchased two pairs of these cleats as Christmas gifts – one for ourself and one for our spouse! We unwrapped all four pairs on Christmas morning.)

And, to keep our extremities warm in the frigid weather, we used Grabber Hand Warmers and Grabber Foot Warmers.

We stayed at the Hyatt Place Moab – a dog-friendly hotel. This patron especially liked the carts.

Since dogs are not allowed on the trails of the National Parks, Sydney spent two days at the creatively named Moab National Bark doggie daycare. She slept there on New Year’s Eve – thankfully far away from any fireworks. They updated us regularly with photos.

We relied on a post from a fellow travel blogger who outlined how to best spend our time in Moab.

Moab in Winter was a chilly delight. The snow made a dramatic contrast against the red rocky cliffs. Although we couldn’t hike as much as we planned, it was a peaceful and wonderful way to ring in 2022. Happy New Year to all.

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Family History on Mt Tamalpais

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On Thanksgiving, Ed, Leslie and I traveled to Lafayette to have dinner with my 98½-year-old mom, Virginia Gardner Swanberg. It was a small festive gathering with delicious food.

Virginia Gardner at Thanksgiving — *Thanksgiving in Lafayette*

During the party, mom reflected on growing up in the Bay Area, with stories of many outings to Marin County to visit relatives. Virginia traveled with her sister and Granny, as well as other family members on many adventures around California.

Virginia Gardner and Granny
in 1937 — *Virginia, Granny, and Helen (Virginia’s sister)*

Dedication of Gardner Fire Lookout

One story revolved around an outing in 1937 when Virginia traveled to the top of Mt Tamalpais to witness the dedication of the Gardner Fire Lookout on the East Peak. The Gardner Fire Lookout is named in honor of Edwin Gardner, her father’s cousin. Edwin was the first Chief Warden of the Mill Valley Fire District. Virginia recalled:

“For the dedication in 1937, it was a very foggy day, and as my dad drove along the winding road to the top of the peak, my Granny was screaming — ‘Why did you bring me? I’m scared!’ However, we made it to the top safely and were honored to be there at the dedication of the lookout named for my uncle.”

Granny calmed down when she was back at sea level.

Map of Mt Tamalpais and Gardner Fire Lookout — *The Winding Road To The Top* of Mt. Tam

Hiking To the Gardner Lookout

With this same spirit of adventure on the day after Thanksgiving, Ed, Sydney, and I traveled to Marin to pay our respects to the Gardner Fire Lookout and to enjoy the views from the top of Mt. Tam. Friday was a glorious day, with bright sunshine, although there was a bit of haze. We drove up the Panoramic Highway to the top. We hiked around the mountain on the “Vera Dunshee” trail, an easy paved trail. Hiker describes the trail in excellent detail. (Previously the site had misspelled “Gardner”, but when I noticed this I requested a change, and the moderator fixed it promptly.)

The 360-degree vistas were stunning.

View from Gardner Fire Lookout on Mt Tamalpais

We hiked an additional half mile to the top where the Gardner Fire Lookout is perched on top of the world. Built in the mid-1930s by the California Conservation Corps, volunteers still watch for fires from this lookout during fire season.

The Gardner Fire Lookout plaque is in the lower left hand corner. During our visit, we pointed it out to other hikers during or visit.

Plaque dedicating top of Mt Tamalpias to Edwin Gardner

Building the Lookout was quite an accomplishment in its day, according to this excerpt from an article posted by the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

After our hike, we had a picnic with Thanksgiving leftovers and made a “still life” of our modest feast, complete with cranberry sauce.

Picnic near Gardner Fire Lookout on Mt Tamalpais

It was delicious, and the setting was spectacular.

Jan and Ed have a picnic beneath the Gardner Fire Lookout

History Abounds At The Top

Mt Tam holds even more history, as described by the Friends of Mt Tam. From 1896 to 1929, it was the site of the “crookedest railroad in the world” boasting 281 turns. Even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle came to Marin to take a ride. He wrote, “in all our wanderings we have never had a more glorious experience”.

And, in 1902 another attraction was born. On the Gravity Railway, 30 souls would load into a car and gravity propelled them to the bottom. This was not for the faint at heart! Volunteers have rebuilt the car barn and it now houses a museum that is open on weekends.

Alas, both the train and the Gravity Railway are now defunct, but the twisty road to the top is still there. The 360-degree views from 2,571 feet are spectacular. We enjoyed observing the entire Bay Area from the Gardner Fire Lookout and were happy to share the memories with relatives from our past.

The Gravel Less Traveled

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In 1986 when a single friend participated in the Microsoft IPO, his first purchase was a fancy second bike. At the time, we thought this was ridiculous. He already had a good bike. Why did he need two? Well, fast forward a few years: Ed and I now own four bikes each! (City bike from 1982, road bike, mountain bike, and now — gravel bike!) A gravel bike has the same shape as a road bike but is heavier and designed for riding on gravel, fire roads and trails. With Covid-19, bike riding of all types has exploded, and new bikes are in very short supply. And, gravel biking has become an emerging adventure sports category.

Start of Rebecca's Private Idaho gravel bike ride

Once we purchased the bikes in June, we decided to sign up for a local event, “Rebecca’s Private Idaho” — a gravel bike extravaganza in Sun Valley on Labor Day weekend. Rebecca Rusch, the Ketchum-based female world champion in ultra-long distance bike racing, hosts the event.

Let the Gravel Bike Training Begin

To begin with, we signed up for an online training program where an Olympic bike coach helped us get ready for the ride. This program (RPI Basecamp) worked with the Garmin Computers on our gravel bikes and tracked our progress. But, we soon discovered that the training program was designed for 30-year-old jocks, not middle-aged, casual riders. Each week a training schedule was downloaded automatically to our bike computers and an app on our Macs:

Basecamp training program for Rebecca's Private Idaho

As a result, the computers on our bikes tracked our progress.

basecamp training for gravel bike endurance

As you can see, we quickly fell off the daily training regimen. But, we enjoyed training at our own pace on the local fire roads. The training took us to remote areas where we rarely saw any other riders.

We saw lovely vistas and infinite dirt roads.

Sometimes we shared the trail with wildlife or a flock of sheep. The scenery was quite rural, which was similar to our other rides in Idaho and Missouri but different from riding in California.

One of the aspects of gravel biking is that it is a “rain or shine” sport. On one of our training rides, we got caught in a downpour, and the backs of our jerseys displayed the dirt streak–a badge of honor.

Race Day!

The Labor Day event was a scene. Rebecca’s Private Idaho hosted 1500 riders from around the country. Riders could select from 3 distances — the Baked Potato (100 miles), the French Fry (50 miles) or the Tater Tot (20 miles). Although we had initially signed up for the French Fry, we switched to the Tater Tot; it seemed a better fit.

On “Race Day,” the riders set out in waves, depending on the distance.

We gathered with our fellow Tater Tot riders in 46-degree weather. Everyone “masked up” at the start as we were standing close together.

The ride was beautiful. The morning transitioned from chilly to sunny as the sun poked through the trees. The riders started together. Everyone rode at their own pace, and the bunch quickly separated. Our 20-mile ride climbed 1400 feet. The champion woman came in at 1:06 hours (average speed 17.4 mph). Jan clocked in at #52 out of 70 women on the Tater Tot … 1:48 hours (average speed 10.5 mph). Ed’s score was similar.

At the end of the race, there was a bike fair. There were lots of esoteric bike items for sale:

A favorite (and necessary) item for long-distance bikers is Chamois Butt’r. (You can use your imagination as to its application.) These gals were giving out free samples, which the crowd welcomed.

In addition, author Sharisse Steber was selling her book, which encourages women of all ages to try adventure sports. The book features Rebecca Rusch and other athletes.

And, as finishers, we received coupons for a free wood-fired pizza baked by Scott Mason, a local chef celebrity. Delicious!

At the end of the ride, we celebrated our participation with a pic at the podium. We might not have placed in the top ten, but we had fun and were happy to enjoy the surrounding areas with so many enthusiastic riders.

Finish line photo at Rebecca's Private Idaho gravel bike ride

Jan and Ed relaxing at the end of gravel bike ride

Final Notes on Gravel Biking

Before the ride, Rebecca warned all riders that there would be no “SAG” (Support and Gear) Wagon. SAG is “a vehicle that follows behind bicyclists (as in a race) to pick up those who drop out or to carry gear.” She expected everyone to finish because she describes herself as the “queen of pain.” However, if she needed a SAG Wagon, perhaps she could have selected this quaint Sun Valley wagon usually pulled by horses or a tractor!

In conclusion, for the 102-mile Baked Potato, the champion bike rider was 29-year-old Griffin Easter, a professional cyclist who finished the ride in 4 hours and 50 minutes, averaging 21 miles per hour over 6,271 feet of elevation. His Wikipedia page states that he finished 9th in the Tour d’Azerbaïdjan in 2016. I wonder how that scenery compared to this ride? (Note to self: we’ll probably never know!)

Touring the Monterey Peninsula

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Recently we took a quick mini-break to the Monterey Peninsula. We rented an Airbnb in Pebble Beach for two nights and enjoyed the sights and tastes of Pacific Grove where the skies were cloudless and the shoreline was bursting with color.

The Windswept 17-Mile Drive

It sounded like a good idea. Bike the famous 17-mile drive in Pebble Beach and enjoy scenic vistas from two-wheeled freedom. However, we hadn’t counted on Thursday’s two quirks of Mother Nature: 29-mile per hour wind and a high temperature of 57 degrees Fahrenheit. Brrr!

We hadn’t packed thermal pants, fleece, ear muffs or full-finger bike gloves, so instead of riding, we opted to cruise the 17-Mile Drive from the comfort of our new Hybrid/Plug-in SUV. (Not a bad choice!) The positive of the strong wind was that the waves were very active. Surfers delighted, while bikers and golfers stayed inside. We had never seen the golf courses so empty.

We waved at one jogger who was decked out for the day’s conditions.

The Lone Cypress still attracts tourists, with a few other visitors willing to share picture taking opportunities.

The beach was almost empty in Carmel.

Off to Big Sur

Driving this route left us more free time, so we opted to cruise down Highway 1 to Big Sur. Again, the windswept vistas were magnificent.

At Nepenthe, we browsed the well-curated gift shop and purchased several items. Speaking to a store employee, Ed mentioned, “I love the murals on the men’s room walls.” And, Jan commented, “I really like that painting above the cash register.” We learned that all of this art was painted by Erin Lee Gafill, a local landscape artist who grew up in Big Sur. Her family built and continues to own and manage the restaurant and the gift shop. Also, we learned that a new exhibit of her work was open at the Monterey Museum of Art in Monterey.

Curated Visit to the Museum

Friday morning’s visit to the museum proved to be a lagniappe. (This was one of Jan’s fathers’ favorite words, which describes an “unexpected treat!”) The exhibit chronicles the yearly painting sessions of Erin and her uncle, Kaffe Fassett, a renowned textile artist who is the son of Nepenthe’s founders. Kaffe and Erin painted together side-by-side in Big Sur for over a decade — each painting the same subject, each exhibiting their own masterful style.

Due to the pandemic, the exhibit was almost empty, except for one small group of women led through the exhibit by an energetic docent. We were eavesdropping on the tour, and discovered that the docent was Erin herself! Erin invited us to join the group, and we spent the next hour captivated by her personal account of painting in Big Sur with her uncle.

Erin was also the exhibit curator. She worked with the staff to design an exhibit that not only shared the art, but communicated the deep lifelong relationship represented by the art. She painted this background mural.

When we asked about the differences between painting murals on plaster and painting pictures on canvas, Erin shared that she thinks quite differently about the two media. She finds painting temporary works on plaster to be liberating as she knows that they will not become part of her permanent oeuvre; thus, she can paint more freely and less self-consciously.

In the middle of the exhibit, Erin mocked up a demonstration of how she paints side by side with her uncle. Unfortunately, Kaffe currently lives in London and cannot visit the exhibit in person but will be participating in ZOOM meetings with museum members.

Kaffe pioneered new approaches in textile design, including designing all of the fabrics for this exquisite quilt.

Erin also creates quilts. We were particularly taken in by the quilt below with its subtle integration of vertical and horizontal patterns using squares of different sizes. Ed wanted to take this home, but alas, it is not for sale.

A Relaxing Staycation

As in other areas, tourism is just starting to return to the Monterey Peninsula, so we didn’t have to wait at restaurants, and parking wasn’t an issue. Ours was the only car on the main drag in Pacific Grove at 8:30 on Wednesday night.

Even though the weather encouraged us to modify our plans for this trip, we enjoyed the sights and culinary delights and felt fortunate to be able to escape our city routine for a few relaxing days around Monterey.

Rollin’ on the River

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Ed and I just completed a four-day bike trip meandering around eastern Sonoma County. We carried a few overnight items on our road bikes and stayed at local inns.

Setting off from Healdsburg, we rode along the east side of the Russian River Valley, past vineyards and old apple orchards, and returned on the west side of the River. (Warning for fellow bicyclists: The 10% grades on Harrison Grade Road between Healdsburg and Occidental make the Old La Honda climb seem gradual.)

Beautiful Scenery Abounds

We couldn’t ask for a more beautiful route. The variety in vegetation was extraordinary. Prolific poppies graced the sides of the road.

Lush vineyards created vistas of trellised pinot noir, cabernet, and chardonnay grapes (among other varietals.) Artisanal wineries dotted the landscapes.

Lush Redwood Groves engulfed the road with “Nature’s Cathedral.” During these stretches, it became quite dark, and we were glad to have our blinking headlights and red rear lights so that cars could see us. Luckily, the traffic was light, and drivers were courteous.

The weather cooperated as well — the temperature was in the high 70’s — perfect for biking!

Cute Small Towns

The route through Sonoma County took us to some charming tiny towns, including Graton, where we enjoyed lunch at the Willow Wood Market Cafe.

We spent our nights at charming inns (which were much better than the double-wide we stayed in on our last overnight bike trip in rural Idaho. )

Tourism is Starting to Pick Up in Occidental and Guerneville

Small businesses are finding ways to creatively serve customers while staying safe and conscious of pandemic protocols. At Hazel, a delicious restaurant in Occidental, they’ve closed inside seating and have expanded into the parking lot.

Instead of china and silverware, they use take out containers and serve picnic style. And, they serve wine in cans — red, white or pink!

At the B&B, instead of a family-style breakfast, all items are served in pre-portioned paper containers, so that people can pick up what they want and then dine outside or in the socially distanced dining room. This worked really well. Even the bacon (served in a bag) was delicious!

Occidental is known for family-style Italian dining. Jan went there with her family and Grandma in the ‘50’s and ‘60s. Now the two main restaurants are only open on the weekend during the pandemic and serve picnic-style as well.

Relics of the Past

The Russian River has been a vacation playground for many years. Many artifacts remain along the route, harking back to some of its glory days.

Who knew that Paul Bunyan would be able to wave to us as we rode by?

Unfortunately, the Pink Elephant was closed, so we couldn’t stop in for a morning Bloody Mary.

This Rexall Drug looks just as it did in the past.

Some of the relics we saw are–or were–mobile including this 1960 Studebaker Lark.

Many older farm buildings dot the landscape.

Some of the older bridges are still carrying traffic, in this case pedestrians and bikes.

The Russian River is unfortunately quite low. California’s drought is evident, even in early Spring.

A Touch of Guerneville History

Guerneville celebrated its 150th birthday in 2020. Founded in 1870, tourists (including Jan’s grandparents) used to ride the train from San Francisco to Guerneville and Monte Rio for sun and fun along the Russian River. Jan found this photo of her mother at the Russian River in 1927. Virginia (Grandma Ginny) is in the middle, with her sister Helen and her father, Leslie Gardner. He is our daughter Leslie’s namesake! (You can see more early pictures of Virginia in Northern California here.)

Virginia on the Russian River in Sonoma County in 1927

The Russian River Historical Society offers photos of the very early days when the train came through Monte Rio. Good thing our bikes didn’t have this type of traffic!

Today, the welcoming overhead sign in Monte Rio greets guests as they arrive and depart.

We pedaled back to Healdsburg and were happy to celebrate the area’s history, along with its beauty and endless culinary delights. Sonoma County is truly “foodie heaven.” We calculated that we ate at 10 restaurants on our journey, and each one was delicious! Here’s just one of the many delicious salads we enjoyed — this one was complete with fresh flowers and homemade cheese.

Beautiful salad in Healdsburg, Sonoma County

Can’t wait to return to this vacation paradise. We might want to do some hill repeats next time to get ready to climb the Harrison Grade!

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