Alcatraz

This is as close as we got to Alcatraz. Thanks Congress.

Alcatraz Model

This is what we would have seen if we had gotten to Alcatraz. Thanks Congress.

Raindrops on the window

I liked this picture that Jessica took.  We went up to a rifle range in the mountains and it was cold and rainy so the kids sat in the car for most of the time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgDRXPzsXQQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBq9I8oYrmE

Thanks Congress

I sure am glad they shut down National Parks so that China wouldn't
have to forclose on the White House.

Looms at Sutter's Fort

Sutter was a business man. One of the ways he made money was selling
textiles that were made by people staying in his fort.

Inside Sutter's Fort

The main building in the middle of Sutter's Fort in Sacramento.

CA Governor's Office

The entrance to the Governor's office is guarded by this bear.

Beaumont

Looking down at the city of Beaumont from the San Bernardino Trail.

Hiking Cross Country

The snow obscured the trail completely so we turned off the trail and made our way slowly up this steep slope. Very slow going.

First Signs of Snow

It has been a really dry year in southern California but there was snow on the trail above 8,000 feet. Mostly on northern slopes where the sun does not reach. It wasn't slippery but it did have a crust from melting and freezing that would sometimes give way and leave you standing hip deep in snow. Then you crawl out, take another step and hope you don't fall through again.

Jumping Salmon

The salmon who didn't find the fish ladder tried to get up the old fashioned way.

Golden Gate Bridge

Taken from the north side of the bridge with the sun over my right
shoulder just before sunset, the orange of the bridge really shows
through. San Francisco in the background.

Misty Mountains

Before the trail turns up again we are treated to this view.

CA Assembly Chambers

This is where all the hard "work" happens at our State Capitol.

View West from SB Trail

On the way up the San Bernardino Trail this mountain across the valley dominates the view. These are geologically young mountains and are constantly shedding rock.

Near the top of the mountain on the right you can see highway 18 cut into the mountain on the way to Big Bear Lake.

Jessica Finishes Elementary School

The posting is a bit overdue, but this was Jessica in July when she finished fifth grade.  This year she started middle school.  Congratulations Jessica!

City Lights

Just before it went completely dark, the mist cleared and we got a spectacular view of the city below us.

Steam Locomotive

Old Locomotive at the Railroad Museum in Sacramento. The museum is at
the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River where
the city of Sacramento began.

Kids at Sutter's Mill

Sutter's Mill was a lumber mill on the south fork of the American
river where gold was discovered launching the California gold rush.

CA Treasurer's Office

Complete with a safe to keep the money in. The safe is open these
days because we don't have any money.

Misty Sunset at Limber Pine Bench

We made it into camp just before sunset.

Jess in the Window

The buildings at Sutter's Fort are made of adobe. Adobe buildings
have thick walls and the window openings are bigger in the interior
than on the exterior to allow more light in.

Mission Dolores

Mission Dolores in San Francisco is different from other missions I
have been to. The others are more like wilderness outposts with
fortified wall and communal living. Perhaps San Francisco was already
settled enough not to need physical barriers, because this mission is
more reminiscient of a European cathedral than a California Mission.

The Jelly Bean President

Ronald Reagan was famously fond of Jelly Beans. He used them to quit
smoking and had them at all his cabinet meetings. We took a tour of
the Jelly Belly factory outside of San Francisco.

Mt. San Bernardino

We are still low enough that the snow was not a serious factor, but it was about to make life interesting. We are to spend the night about halfway up this peak.

Limber Pine Bench Camp

I guess the pines have to be limber so the wind doesn't snap them off. It was cold and windy as we pitched tents and cooked dinner. As soon as the sun set we were in our tents and asleep.

photo bomb

Here I am photo bombing Mark's record of entering the winderness area.

Sutter's Fort

Sutter's Fort was an early outpost in California. It was a safe place
that settler's travelling to California could stop at after their
journey over the Sierra's, get their bearings and move on. It is
located in Sacramento at the northern end of the Central Valley of
California. The Central Valley is the agricultural heartland of
California and in a dry state like California it has been the center
of water rights controversies since the early 1900's. The Sierra
mountains form the eastern boundary of the valley and snowmelt from
the eastern and western slopes is channeled into aquaducts that must
supply both the farmland of the Central Valley and the population of
southern California. As we drove through the western side of the
valley on the way home there were dust storms the entire way as there
is not enough water for dust suppression.

Cloudy in LA

The morning brought beautiful weather for us, but back down off the mountain, Los Angeles was covered in clouds.  This was during our hike to San Gorgonio in April

Wallihan's at the CA State Capitol

We took a road trip to Oroville, Sacramento and San Francisco, combining a family vacation with a civics lesson.