Frabjous long weekend in the High Sierras – camping at Calaveras (near Arnold with friends of the family, then with parents near Pioneer. The only escape from heat was to play in the Stanislaus river, where I promptly stubbed a toe HARD on a submerged boulder. Nearly broke it, and bloodied two pairs of socks, but managed to limp through the rest of the weekend.
Grilled hot dogs and s’mores, sat around the campfire talking life blues ’till late. Next day to Mercer Caverns, where we ventured into fascinating calcite formations 16 stories underground and welcomed the natural air conditioning.
In the morning, strolled amongst giant Sequoia Sempivirens, breathtaking as always. Explored old-world downtown Murphy’s and its antique shops. Next day hiked up to Hidden Lake in the Sierras with Pops – just five miles round trip, which was about all I could do on that toe. Toward the end, hot sky turned gray and thunder exploded, strange summer rain beating down, perfect timing. Majestic.
Dinners of ribs and seafood pasta, passing out with exhaustion as Phelps did his final big thing, wondering why Olympic Trampoline doesn’t get the attention the swimmers do.
This morning off to Pipi Creek for another great swim, Miles and I doing creek pushups, then dangling feet in the cool water while jamming some ukule improvisations into the canyon. Glorious weekend.
