Day Six: Transit through Yellowstone

Again the journey to Cody was a long day and by the time we were through with dinner, we didn't get to bed until probably 11:00.  I wanted to get up early again the next day and get going since it was our Yellowstone wildlife day and the best time to see the wildlife is early in the morning.  However, given the accumulation of long days I was sure I would suffer a mutiny if I had insisted on departing as early as possible.  So we slept in a little later and didn't get out of the hotel until about 8:00 am after a short breakfast.  

The people at Cody Cowboy Village were very helpful in guiding us a good way into Yellowstone.  We went over the incredible Beartooth Highway and into the northeast entrance of Yellowstone.  Our goal was the Lamar Valley and the wildlife that supposedly abounds there..."the Serengeti of America".  

Bison in Yellowstone are ubiquitous

On our trip through Yellowstone, we saw lots of wild life, but really only one of each.  Although bison abound, we were anxious to see them in their wild habitat.  So we stopped at the first sighting, not knowing just how ubiquitous they are through out the park.  And we stopped around the next bend, and the next and finally figured we did not have to stop each and every time we saw a bison.  We showed we had a learning curve, although probably not a steep one.   


We also came across a number of other animals we were excited to see in the wild, including a black bear cub, an elk, a handful of mule dear, and some prong horn antelope.  The odd thing is that we only saw generally one of each of these other animals (with the exception of the mule deer and the prong horns).  

Bear cub playing in the street

Yellowstone Elk

Granted, we were traveling on the beaten path through the park, but we saw the bear cub essentially in a road construction zone just bouncing along in between the rows of waiting cars in the traffic.  The elk were munching grass right along the road to Grant Village.   

Anyway, we worked our way down the east side of the park stopping to take in some of the geological sights as well in the Mud Volcano area of the park and the sights along the Yellowstone River.  

I personally thought the Yellowstone River and the overviews both north and south of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone were impressive and they gave both Twiggy and I a sense of vertigo at the various overlooks -- not to mention a heighten sense of awareness in keeping track of Campbell the ever adventurous and physically over-self-confident one.  

Twiggy and the kids at the bottom of Uncle Tom's trail

I was having problems breathing at the altitude and sent Twiggy and the kids down Uncle Tom's trail without me.  



And we worked our way down through Grand Teton National Park and onto Jackson, WY where we stayed the night.  

First impressions: Jackson -- little more upscale, surprisingly so given its location.  People dressed up more, so much so that I felt pretty underdressed at dinner as the other patrons poured in in their pastel Polo sweaters.   Prices were marked up accordingly -- like attaching either the word "wedding" or the word "marine" in front of any ordinary object (e.g. "cake" or "binoculars") -- I guess having the location of Jackson in the mountains means a commensurate premium.  

Grant and Campbell at a Yellowstone River Overlook

Day Seven: A Float Down the Snake River and onto the Dude Ranch

One of the specific memories I have from my childhood trip to the Grand Teton and Yellowstone area was a rafting trip down the Snake River through the Grand Teton National Park.  I remember a few things: the natural beauty of the Teton mountain range towering over the valley and the river below, seeing a large bull moose grazing very close to the river as we floated by, and a large curling rapid near the end of the float -- something that seemed very large, powerful and dangerous at the time, but was probably not anywhere near as ominous as I remember it from age 11.

I figured I would book a family float trip down the same stretch of river with Barker-Ewing Outfitters, one of a few outfitters sanctioned to provide commercial trips on the river through the national park.  I had booked this trip months in advance, and when we arrived and checked into the Pony Express Motel in Jackson the night before, they informed me that the outfitters was only a few doors down.  I was happy since that would maximize our rest time -- we again ate late that night and our floating trip was booked for 8:00 am.  

So I was surprised after loading the car and driving the 300 yards down the road to the outfitters that they didn't have us on the list.  After a few minutes they asked "Are you on a float trip or a whitewater trip"?  I told them a float trip and they informed us we were in the wrong place.  We were 20 minutes away from our meeting point which was in Moose Junction, not Jackson where we were standing.  Not to worry, they said, it was lucky we were early and if we left now, we would be right on time for the float trip.  Anyway, herded the kids back into the van and off we went to the right rendezvous point.  

Floating the Snake River through Grand Teton National Park

At this point I began to marvel at the NASA engineering that put a man on the moon.  A minor mistake like this is really nothing on earth, but on a mission of more consequence would have men careening off into the depths of space never to be seen again.  I had taken what I believed to be all reasonable precautions to ensure that we were at the right place at the right time and yet it had gone awry.  The consequences weren't terrible, even if we missed the trip, but what's that saying about "the best laid plans"....?

We ended up meeting up with our group at the right place and essentially the right time.  We met in the parking lot of "old" Visitors's Center (which did not look very old or run down or even ill suited for its purpose), which is across from the "new" Visitors' Center which looks like a $25MM plus building.  

A Bull Moose on the river

We had a peaceful float down the river and saw a few bald eagles and a young bull moose grazing in the river.   We learned a lot about geology from our knowledgeable and experienced guide and how the course of the river though the valley was formed and ever-changing. 

The two older kids seemed to like the trip.  Campbell however, was bored, and as is typical Campbell could not keep from expressing her boredom.  She took a nap in the sun when it warmed up and then started on "When is this going to be over?".  So I guess if I had to recommend ages, I would say 8 years and up seem to be a good age to hold their attention.  

After the trip, Twiggy remarked about the people who  chose to do this for a living.  There is some comparison to "ski bums" who love skiing or snowboarding and spend winters working at resorts so they can ski.  But I think there is something more to this guy.

He was older than most ski bums, he was clearly educated and professional.  He was not young -- probably in the second half of his 40's.  He originally hailed from Bronxville, close to where we live.  He had a brother who was a banker and lived almost an opposite life, toiling professionally in the greater urban New York area.  Our guide clearly loved the outdoors, particularly the river and life on the river.  He expressed disappointment that his brother's family, who traveled extensively all over the world, never chose to spend more time visiting and enjoying the natural beauty of Wyoming that he clearly enjoyed and hoped others would enjoy as well.  

First impressions: Our lodging was on the far end of town away from the town square.  I wish we had more time to explore the town of Jackson (even though it carries that "Jackson price premium" on everything) as it seems like a cool place to poke around, particularly around the town square which has entrances that are covered by large arches of shed elk antlers.  We did see these types of arches in a few other places in Wyoming; however, the largest we saw were around the Jackson town square.  Also, I wish we had been able to spend more time exploring rather than simply transiting Grand Teton National Park and its awe inspiring beauty.  

Grand Teton National Park was established in 1929.  In the 1930's John D. Rockefeller, Jr. started buying up ranch land in the Jackson Hole which he wanted to add to the existing national park.  Some ranchers sold, others decided not to sell and some decided to donate or sell only upon their death.   The guide told stories of the unexpected heartiness of those ranchers that deeded their properties upon their death and the concentration of nonagenarians and centurions around the town of Moose.  Apparently an older, hardy widow was remanded by the government for hunting as she had always done and she had to remind them of whose land it was.  

Dornan's is one ranching family that decided not to sell.  They have a prime location near Moose Junction and have built a nice little business of concessions including a general store, an outdoor gear shop, and a small restaurant where you can eat outdoors, under an awning, or even in a teepee.  So we stopped there and had a reasonably priced breakfast in the shadows of the Tetons before continuing our trip onto the Lazy L&B Dude Ranch.

The Dude Ranch and the Swedish Cowboy

For the dude ranch Twiggy needed a couple of items, including a hat and a shirt or two.  So we debated whether to go back to Jackson which was 20 minutes minimum in the wrong direction or to take our chances in Dubois, the town nearest the dude ranch.  With prodding from Reagan who wanted to get to the ranch ASAP, Twiggy relented and we decided to see if we could get what she needed in Dubois.  

Grant and Campbell at the Dude Ranch

Twiggy was reluctant to dress the part for another reason as well.  She distinctly remembers a comment made by an old friend who adventure traveled extensively.  His comment about the people/posers that arrived to Africa to climb Kilimanjaro, dressed in expensive "safari attire" as they de-planed from their flight.  With that comment firmly rolling around her mind, she was reluctant to be labeled a poser and get completely gussied up in a new wardrobe of cowboy attire just for a few days riding horses in the middle of Wyoming.  After four days of wearing the same 2 shirts, however, and having ridden through numerous changes in weather, I think she regrets not having more flexibility in her clothing choices.  Everyone, including myself, now appreciates more the functionality of the local attire, most especially the hats, particularly since the weather seems to change literally every 15 minutes.

The Lazy L&B is roughly an hour and a half east of Jackson, WY and located about 20 miles outside the burgeoning town of Dubois, WY, 8 miles or so on a paved road and the rest on a dirt road.  We drove back east over the Continental Divide again through the mountains and dropped down into the high dry desert.  

The location of the ranch

According to its website, "Dubois is an authentic western town located along the Wind River, rimmed by the Absaroka and Wind River Mountains. It's an area of striking contrasts from the badlands to the high peaks. It is among American Cowboy Magazine's Best Rural Towns of 2012."  I would second some of this.  For anyone who has seen the A&E series Longmire, it seems familiar as Absoroka is the fictional county in which Walt Longmire is the sheriff.  The dude ranch is located in a fertile, almost oasis-like dell where the one branch of the Wind River meanders through a valley.  The bottom of the valley, which can't be more than a half mile across, is a verdant, green oasis and a pleasant contrast to the dry, red and white high desert.  Within a short distance are high, forested mountains and productive trout streams.

According to Wikipedia, the town, settled in late 1800's, was originally to be named "Never Sweat" because of the dry winds, but the postal service found the name unacceptable and it was named after an Idaho senator instead.  But the citizens, protesting, rejected the French pronunciation of Dubois and, instead, pronounced it as "Du-Boys".  

Butch Cassidy owned and managed a ranch on the outskirts of Dubois, beginning in 1890.  It is said that he was a frequent customer at Welty's General Store in Dubois, which is still in operation.  We stopped and tried to get our remaining outfitting at Welty's before going on to the Lazy L&B.  They didn't have in stock what we needed however, and we pushed onto the ranch without seeing Butch Cassidy's revolver which supposedly still resides in Welty's.  

We did not really know what to expect at the dude ranch.  I had researched numerous places  and was originally looking for something that was closer to Yellowstone so we could stay the whole week and mix in some sightseeing in the park while staying at the ranch.  Many so-called dude ranches are essentially high end camp/resorts with horseback riding as 1 of many activities offered.  The Lazy L&B was a "live the experience" and was primarily a riding ranch, offering a 3 hour morning as well as a 3 hour afternoon ride each day with the exception of 2 days offering full day rides lasting 8 to 9 hours.  

The ranch sits in a valley in which the East Fork of the Wind River flows.  It creates an oasis in an otherwise dry and seemingly inhospitable environment.  

The ranch is in the river valley surrounded by arid high desert

We were accommodated in a small, comfortable log cabin, named "Red Cliff", with a main bedroom and two small bunk bedrooms on each side.  It was really the first time we could unpack and spread out.  

The ranch had a maximum capacity of 35 people per week, depending on the configuration of the families.  It is the first year of operation under new ownership, having been bought by a  young Canadian family.  The father, a former lumber trader, having sold his company spent over 2 years deciding what to do.  His wife also had an interest in the area as well as some family residing in Jackson.  Their decision to buy the ranch and raise their 3 daughters, aged 13, 11, and 9 was especially interesting to Twiggy.  They moved their family from Montreal, a thriving cosmopolitan city,  to a life on the ranch.  Their daughters would also now be attending school in Dubois, where the number of students does not exceed 12 students per grade.  One of our wranglers, Hunter, decided to quit school in 9th grade and receive his GED because he so disliked his 11 classmates whom he had been attending school with for years. 

We pull into the ranch, quickly get unpacked, and within an hour we are told our assigned horses are saddled up and ready for our first ride with our entire family -- literally over the hills and through the woods.  We get a 3-minute tutorial on how to handle the horses, and off we go.  Our horses are assigned to us for the entire week -- I get Hockey, Reagan has Abigail, Grant has Chalupa, Campbell has Sammy, and Twiggy has Bryan.  These are not East Coast arena horses, one step from the glue factory where you simply lumber along nose to the ass of the horse in front of you.  These are athletic horses that are encouraged to trot and gallop when on flat ground and we are led up and down steep, rocky hills.  At first these large animals are intimidating, but by the end of our stay, everyone is a bit more comfortable around them

Meals are served in a common room.  The food is good, not epicurean, but certainly not campfire cowboy franks and beans or cookout.  And it varies -- one night we had a Mediterranean style meal with hummus and couscous.  Fresh salads and fruit are served and muffins and other goods are baked daily.  There is an honor bar where one can avail themselves of a cocktail or a glass of wine before or after dinner.  That night at dinner we began to get to know some of our fellow guests which included another family of four (mom and three kids moving to Philly from Seattle), Mathias the Swiss guy, returning for his 14th year and in his second week of his annual three- week stay, a French family from New York, three adults from Southern California who owned a Montessori school, and a family from Minnesota.   

Staffing of the ranch was interesting.  Given its location, the ranch has a very short season -- from the first Sunday in June to early September.  They had to hire about a dozen wranglers (horse people), a chef and sous chef, dining staff, housekeeping people, etc.  So these people are seasonal, but many are returning employees from years past. The dining staff consisted of a chef and sous chef/pastry chef, as well as a boyfriend/girlfriend serving staff who would be starting their freshman year of college in September.  She was destined for Colby and he was destined for, I believe, Dennison -- neither of which are slouch colleges.  The housekeeping attendant, Mary Ann, had a husband working nearby at the "Trial Lawyers College".  She was an avid outdoors woman and we were told she would disappear for 3 to 4 days at a time and hike out on her own with just a tent and a few supplies.  She would be the perfect candidate for the Discovery Channel show "Naked and Afraid" where they choose 1 man and 1 woman and see if they can survive 21 days in the jungle.  This chosen lifestyle was so beguiling to Twiggy, who is the antithesis of a Mary Ann.  During our trip through Yellowstone, Twiggy refused to even use the bathroom huts and would wait until we came upon a full service plumbed restroom. 

Then there was Max, the Swedish cowboy.  He spent the summer months at the ranch and the winters in Sweden.  The word is that he spends the winter in Sweden driving a cab -- dressed in his full wrangler attire.  

Max and his girlfriend, Eva

Looking back, I think this was just the right spot for our family.  After six days in a car, the kids could now go about doing what they wanted and quickly found friends among the other kids and 3 daughters of the owners, aged 9, 11, and 13.  It was not too big, it was very family friendly, the owners made us feel as part of their family and it was small enough that we got to know everybody there on a semi-personal basis even though our stay was abbreviated.     

From the second day on, we had a ride in the morning, a break for lunch, and a ride in the afternoon.  As the week progressed, there were a few all day rides, only one of which we participated in.  The kids were separated from the adults and rode with peers -- which ratcheted the stress level down significantly.  Reagan essentially was gone from early morning until well after dusk while the other kids were with their peers for the majority of the day.   It was great having the kids separate as we knew they were having fun and were safe. It was reminiscent of my childhood, where I would disappear during the day on a hike and not reappear again until dusk.   Good for the kids and good for the parents.

On day 2 of our morning ride, as Twiggy and I were riding along the steep, rocky ridges and crossing back and forth across streams, it began to dawn on us that we were in a special place.  The scenery was the most awesome scenery imaginable and varying.  There was high chaparral, sage desert, red mountains striated with white dirt.  There were dry creek beds and washes with branching canyons with juniper, spruce, and cottonwoods.  Sparse at first, more forested in some areas.  There were forested mountains, some areas widely devastated by the pine beetle, with probably 50% or more of the trees clearly dead or dying.  We rode all day and did not see another person, car, or even a road even on a distant ridge line.  We rode through the Wind River Indian Reservation, on Bureau of Land Management land, and on private land.  We saw reasonably fresh kills of deer on our all day ride.  We rode through some of the best fly fishing areas of Wyoming across rivers where our heels and legs would become immersed in cool, clear water as we crossed the stream and where the horses might occasionally drift downstream as they struggled against the current.  

It became apparent that the first few days were not an anomaly.  On the East Coast, it is not uncommon for afternoon or evening thundershowers to crop up in short order.  In Wyoming, the weather changes a lot and quickly.  The skies would go from as blue as a sapphire to stormy in 15 minutes, then back to endless blue sky and then back to thunderstorms again.  So everyone kept a rain jacket as well as a fleece on their horses.  

Needless to say, ibuprofen played a crucial role in Twiggy and my comfort.  After the first day, we would "preload" for the inevitable coming soreness.  That and the end-of-day cocktails kept me going.  At the end of the day we were inevitably tired and bedtime could not come soon enough.

Campbell at the square dance

On the 4th evening, the guests, owners,  as well as many of the wranglers went into town to attend the weekly Square Dance at the one and only bar in Dubois.  The cover charge was $3...drinks were 50 cents.  There were guests from other, nearby ranches, including a surprising number of Europeans and even an Ethiopian oil man and his family.  

First impressions: Stereotypical cowboys are taciturn people -- men of few words, but those words they do utter carry some weight.  There is often basis for these stereotypes.  Each ride we took had two wranglers, one in front and one at the back.  Given there were only roughly six riders in each group, we had plenty of time to "converse".  Now for those of you who know me, know that I am not the most gregarious of humans on the planet.  These guys made me look like a politician.  I did not mind that, and I got some amusement watching the interplay between the men wranglers and the one woman wrangler who accompanied us on a ride.  She was originally from Long Island and an accomplished horseman and business person.  However, she clearly liked to converse more than her male counterparts.  In fact, she was probably in the top 15% of the most talkative people I have met.    It was a case-study in human interaction -- my horse had a proclivity to lag on the first half of each trip (probably because he was carrying the heaviest load).  That allowed me the ability to sit back and observe the interaction of the group -- usually the female wrangler would get engaged in conversation with the women riders and the men would somehow manage to engage in some silent, unspoken form of camaraderie.   Everyone was happy.  

Back Through Yellowstone and onto West Yellowstone, MT

Back Through Yellowstone

If you view a map of Yellowstone, you can essentially divide the park into two parts splitting it in half vertically with the east side of the park containing the parts most known for wildlife, the Lamar and Hayden valleys, and the west side of the park encompassing the more active and well-known geologic features, including the geyser basins and Old Faithful and Mammoth Hot Springs, etc.  It is not as if the east side does not have geological sites or the west side does not have any wildlife, but in general this is how it works out.


We planned the trip coming down the east side of the park before the dude ranch and going back up through the west side of the park after we left there.  That would essentially be one pass through to see the wildlife and another pass through to see the geothermal sites.

We stopped at the Visitors' Center / Ranger Station but didn't stay too long because most of the exhibits were dedicated to fires which happened in 1998.  So we pushed on to see Old Faithful and the other geysers in the Upper Geyser Basin.

One of the geysers in the Upper Geyser Basin

We arrived just in time to see Old Faithful do its thing and then spent about 90 minutes walking around a good portion of the rest of the basin taking in some of the other geysers, some of which were active as we passed by.

The kids really did not like the sulphuric smell of the pools and mud.  According to Campbell, it smelled like rotten eggs.

One of the stops later in the day was at the Midway Geyser Basin, where the impressive Grand Prismatic Spring lies along with a number of other hot springs.  When you look online at pictures of this hot spring, it looks very colorful; however, those pictures are always taken at a height and angle that you can't see from the ground.  From our vantage point on the boardwalk surrounding the spring, it was hard to see into the Grand Prismatic Spring because of both the viewing angle and the weather which created a cool ambiance and interesting lighting.

The kids at Grand Prismatic Spring

After touring the west side of the park in a relatively hurried fashion, we finished up at West Yellowstone, MT.  This town is a busy little crossroads into Yellowstone from the west, but is essentially a small town full of over-priced hotels rooms and mediocre, over-priced restaurants.

First impressions: 1. Lots and lots of Chinese people in Yellowstone.  Saw more Chinese people in Yellowstone than we have in all other places combined -- and that includes Hawaii since I am crafting this almost two weeks after the fact.  2. Geologic sites are like churches in Europe -- after a few mud volcanos or geysers they all begin to blend together in your mind and unless they are significantly different from one another, it is hard to remember their actual names.  3. Very little of interest in West Yellowstone.  Bad food, expensive hotels, and not much else.  Whereas it might be interesting to spend some time in Cody, West Yellowstone is a way-station, not a destination.

Elko, NV or Bust

After leaving West Yellowstone, MT, the next two days were essentially transit days.  I knew we could probably have pushed all the way to Reno in one day, but that would have been an extremely long day and probably exasperating for the kids (as well as Twiggy).  So I looked at the map, pulled out the Road Trips book, and scanned the Roadside America website for an interesting detour along the way.

To be frank, in my humble opinion, there is really not much to see or do in southeastern Idaho.  I did more than a little research on potential stops but could not find anything that seemed even potentially mildly entertaining to the kids.  In the midst of this, I had seriously entertained a side trip to see Craters of the Moon National Monument and so went on the park's website to see what there is to do there and what the park service recommends doing.

In the course of my due diligence I ran across the following passage, written by a former park ranger:

"Its like black vomit from the bowels of the earth" was the reaction of an 1860s emigrant when crossing the lava fields in the present day Craters of the Moon National Monument.  This colorful description was probably the most critical ever expressed about this volcanic landscape, but the negative comment most commonly heard at the visitor center desk is "This place is nothing but black rock."

After working at the monument for over 25 years, this phrase came to aggravate me every time I heard it. I wasn't aggravated by the visitor, but by the fact that I Knew that none of these visitors had really given themselves a chance to experience the place at its best.

Visitor surveys done at the park showed that statistically nearly all visitors to Craters of the Moon arrived between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. sometime during the months of July, August, or September.The problem with visiting the lava beds during this time is that all you experience is an overpowering, parching sun, a drying and too persistent wind, and a stark, seemingly lifeless, landscape of black rock.No wonder so may visitors never return and so many Idahoans fail to identify the place as being as beautiful as Yellowstone or theGrand Canyon. Given a chance, however, I am convinced that anyone who followed these simple rules would come to see Craters of the Moon as every bit their equal....

Reading this passage sealed the deal -- I will never go to Craters of the Moon National Monument, especially with three kids in the middle of the summer.  So I gave up on trying to find something interesting to see in this part of Idaho.  In hindsight, after the transit, it was probably the right decision.  The terrain is essentially high desert or farmland that is crossed by the meandering Snake River in many places.  The speed limit along the bulk of the route was 75 MPH.  And so onward we plowed to Elko, NV.

I was expecting Elko to be not much more than a strategically placed transit stop -- a remnant of both the California emigrant trail and the building of the continental railroad.  I expected a town that is really a collection of inns and eateries for the people driving from the Bay Area east or vice versa.  For those who view the 4 hour drive from San Francisco to Reno as too short for a reasonable day's journey and San Francisco to Salt Lake as a bit of a stretch, Elko is a good place to stop.

However, we were pleasantly surprised.  Instead of being a town full of slightly run down motels and gas stations, Elko was a nice little tidy community.  It does have its share of motels and gas stations, but the town is well-kept and had a nice little sparkle to it.  It had a number of good restaurants, including some highly recommended Basque places -- which were crowded.

As it turns out my preconceptions were misplaced.  What is driving the Elko economy is not simple hospitality, but rather gold.  It turns out that the state of Nevada produces more gold than just four other countries and most of that production is in Elko.  Elko is considered the capital of Nevada's gold belt and it shows.  

Reno and Bishop and onto LA

From Elko, NV we had a leisurely drive to Reno where we stayed at the Peppermill Resort and Casino. Casinos have a lot of overweight, unhealthy looking people as their clientele.  Lots of "wife-beater" tees in the casino's coffee shop even though it is probably one of the best hotels in Reno with nice rooms and a very good pool.

Twiggy had family business in Reno so I took the kids and went up to see my Uncle Dave and Aunt Judy at their place near Truckee at Tahoe-Donner.  After our visit, the kids and I continued our journey and we drove around Lake Tahoe, down to Carson City where we satisfied our craving for In-and-Out Burgers.  

In-And-Out has locations only in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Texas.  They are somewhat of a cult institution with a short published menu and a long non-published menu that you can order.  But don't worry, unlike New York, if you make a mistake, you won't be bullied and chastised for being uninitiated -- e.g. the Soup Man of Seinfeld fame or the gyro/falafel cart on 86th and Third.

Hot Creek Fish Hatchery

We then continued down to Bishop, CA a small town of 3900 people located in the high desert on the eastern side of the Sierras to see my brother and his family.  

The next day the kids and I picked up some sandwiches and ventured up to the Hot Creek trout hatchery near Mammoth where we eyed the fishes and had lunch.  

After lunch, we traveled back down the hill to Bishop and went to one of my favorite places to go when it is above 100 degrees -- Keough's Hot Springs.  Keough's is an interesting place to cool down.  It is a large free flowing pool that is fed by both geothermal hot water and cool water so anyone can find a spot in the pool where the temperature suits them.  Although the facilities are slightly run down, they are clean and the pool is very sanitary and without chlorine.  

The following day the kids and I and Uncle Jeff took a trip up to June Lake where our intent was to swim on the beach there and let the kids go fishing for trout.  The swimming was excellent and the water clear and not too cold.  However, the lightning-induced fires west of the area sent smoke across the Sierras and into the Mammoth and Bishop areas.  Sitting on the beach at June Lake made my eyes water and sting.  It was very much like being directly downwind from a campfire.  The skies weren't deep blue like they usually are -- they were white and hazy.  Between the stinging eyes and the increasing winds, we decided to bag the fishing.  

Twiggy met us that night in Bishop and we left the next day for LA.  We only had one night in LA before our morning flight to Hawaii.  Twiggy used to live in Manhattan Beach, a trendy beach community about 10 miles south of Venice and Santa Monica and just north of Hermosa and Redondo Beach.  There is a thriving downtown area with an abundance of casual and high end restaurants, nail salons, coffee shops, surf shops, etc .  We met one of our dear friends, Emily Beason, for dinner in downtown there at a gourmet pizza restaurant.  You would be hard pressed to find a pepperoni pizza on their menu, but instead pizza with fresh corn, arugula, goat cheese, and other fresh ingredients.  Even the vanilla brownie sundae we ordered for dessert was organic.  If only we could find similar restaurants in Rye that offer fresh, healthy food for a minimal price.  

Campbell and Grant on Manhattan Beach, CA

The next morning the kids spent a few hours walking on the beach where there was a national lifeguard tournament ongoing with teams from as far away as Hawaii and the Hamptons.   

We then went to the airport and onto the second third of our adventure -- Hawaii.