Do you want to go camping this weekend? I didn’t have to think on that too long. Camping sounded great. We packed our gear after washing off the massive amounts of dirt on the car. All ready to go, we headed northeast. Through the orange orchard and into the mouth of the mountain. We winded alongside the Kern River for at least 20 minutes before we were back on cliff-free and safe roads again. If only I could have stared at the mountains more. But had I done so, we would have drove right off into the river and then the sign reading “250 died since 1968. Stay out of River” would have to be changed. We drove though to Kernville where we stopped at the local brewery where I tried a Jalapeño Hamburger and a glass of their freshly brewed beer. Yum yum. From here, Holly drove us up into the mountain to the redwoods. We parked our car, paid the $5 fee to leave it there, and headed across the street to the trail leading into the forrest. And then I saw it. My first redwood tree. You hear about redwood trees and how big they are. And you even see pictures of them. But until I stood next to one, I never realized. They are awe-inspiring. Just amazing things. I tried to take a picture of it, and by the time I got the whole tree in my sights, it didn’t look as big because I was too far away. We walked for 2 miles through the forrest. Along the way we spotted several redwood trees. One of which is the very large headstone of Holly’s grandmother whos ashes were spread along the bass of the tree. As we walked up to the tree with the large clearing around it, you could feel the trees presence. It was amazing. Gavin had his sticks and was unafraid. He walked into the trunks of the trees. He asked questions about why they were burned. He was very respectful to the trees, the forrest, to Holly and her grandmother. As we walked away from the tree, Gavin in m arms, I heard him whisper, “Bye”.
After our journey through the redwoods, we drove back to Lake Isabella where we found a campsite and pitched tent. We got the perfect spot on top of a hill overlooking part of the lake and the fireworks. It was a beautiful day. One that was followed another. I woke up alone in the tent. I stepped out into the breeze and looked around. I saw Holly down by the lake front waving. As I met them down by the lake, Holly holds out her hand and asked me if I knew what the little speck resting in it was. I bent for a closer look and just then the wind blew it away. An anticlimactic revelation that there were gold flakes in the lake, which gave it an extra glittery look. California truely is the golden state.
After packing up, we drove into town for breakfast and bears. We found a cozy little place to enjoy eggs and buscuits and gravy. Mmmm Mm. As for the bears, we couldn’t find any real ones, so we went to the bear store and checked out the wooden ones. Very cool. From here, we welcomed a drive home. Back through the mountain along the Kern River of death. This time on the cliff side of the road. I tried my darndest not to drive off. Needless to say, I succeeded. Yay. We made it home. It was a short trip, but what a great one. Truely awesome.
