Kings Canyon
One and half million people visit Sequoia National Park every year. A little more than half of them make it across the mountain to Kings Canyon. What a shame so many people miss out on the beauty of the canyon.
Today I was in awe. I’ve seen plenty of rivers in the Sierras along our backpacking trips. Yet, nothing came close the Kings South fork river today. This has to be the most picturesque river I’ve ever seen.
Everywhere you looked there were whitecaps as the river fought against the rocks. Looking up there was the beautiful canyon made up with rocks of many different colors and shapes. The Roaring Waterfall didn’t steal its name. And the Zumwalt meadow was idyllic as one can imagine.
The only challenge was getting there. From Three Rivers, CA, we first took a small road (Dry Creek Road) which barely fit 1.5 cars. On the way back, we took highway 245 all the way down to Woodlake, CA. At least this road was a two-way lane. I don’t think there is a straight stretch. It felt like the road back was a long series of left and right turns down the mountain, as if we were alpine skiing our way back. The most scary part was that we didn’t see another car for probably 40 miles.
Even though the trip was long, it is worth every minute. Next time, I would look for a camping spot in Kings Canyon and make it a two day trip.
June 3, 2021
And then there was one
With this week’s trip to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, I have visited seven out of the eight national parks in California.
I’ve visited plenty CA state parks, from North to South, and the smaller National recreation areas, historic sites, preserve, and monuments. Yet, the “National Parks” are the major league parks. In order of exploration:
- Yosemite
- Redwood
- Lassen Volcanic
- Pinnacles
- Death Valley
- Joshua Tree
- Sequoia & Kings Canyon
The one missing on my dance card is Channel Islands National Park. I do have a few trips to Los Angeles on the horizon.
June 2, 2021
I have not been waiting for a Friends reunion
I am a big Friends fan. I was a saddened fan when Friends was removed from Netflix. Friends was our to go to series when we wanted something short, easy and fun at the end of the day. As Malcolm Gladwell captured in his recent book Talking to Strangers, Friends was satisfying because everybody was “matched”: their emotions, their thinking and their facial expressions matched.
I still use Friends’ analogies in my day to day. When I need to tell a story at work about an imaginary employee, I use Phoebe, or Ross, or Gunther, or another cast member’s name, not currently at our company. I sometimes name my team meetings cheekily with “the one about …”. For example, “The One about our development process”. We play Friends trivia on Christmas eve.
As you can tell, Friends left a lasting impression on me.
However I have never been a big fan of a Friends reboot or reunion. The magic happened in the late 90s. Actors move on: Rachel is no longer the klutz in Apple TV’s Morning Show. Actors get botox and plastic surgery. Hello Monica. And the most interesting anecdotes are well known among aficionados and owners of the special Friends trivia set. I do not believe anyone has been holding out on a bombshell revelation for a future potential reunion show.
But that was never the goal of HBO. The Friends reunion was HBO’s Hamilton. We signed up for Disney+ to watch Hamilton and are still a subscriber, a year later.
Since I have been very curious about The Mare of Easttown show, and still need to start Game of Thrones (yes, kill me now), I may take the bait and sign up.
The only problem is I don’t know which other streaming service to drop. Netflix is a staple. Apple TV+ came with our new iPhone. Amazon Prime is the kitchen sink plan. Disney+ has some great shows, including for the kids. At least I can avoid Hulu and Peacock for now.
June 2, 2021
It is a big tree state
I have seen plenty redwood trees. From the State Parks in the Bay Area’s backyard (Castle Rock State Park, Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Preserve, Portola Redwoods State Park, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Hendy Woods State Park) to the trees in the Boy Scout of America Boulder Creek preserve. Camping out among these giants is amazing. I even ventured up the coast to the Redwoods National Park. Most these trees have been coastal sequoias or redwood trees.
This week we visited the other type of sequoia: the giant sequoia trees at Sequoia National Park and Kings National Park with General Sherman and General Grant up front.
Even though I have seen plenty redwood groves, seeing these giants is amazing. Especially when you consider that these trees are more than 2,300 years old.
June 1, 2021
Cartoon and a haircut
Friday night, I came across this great Netflix documentary, LA Originals, about the lives of Estevan Oriol and Mark Machado (Mister Cartoon). Quite frankly, I never had heard about either of them. And yet, I’ve been living in California for over twenty years.
Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 cent, LeBron James, sure all knew who Steve O and Cartoon were. And so did Mark who cut my hair yesterday.
After more than a year of growing out my pandemic luscious gray coupe, it was time to get a trim. Two weeks had passed since my second vaccination.
And with that, two seemingly separate events came together: tattoos, low-riders, Chicano culture in Japan, Los Angeles and a haircut.
May 23, 2021
Here’s to the problem solvers!
Here’s to the crazy ones,
The misfits,
The doers,
The gluers,
The fillers of both square and round holes…
The ones who hear the failing bearing and look immediately for the jar of grease.
The ones who carry duct tape and a pocket knife in their backpack.
They have no respect for complainers and they loath negativity.
You may not be able to quote them, and they may not say a lot of words,
but the one thing you can’t do
is ignore them. because they change things,
They fix things, They push us to ship software,
They push us to do the right thing.
And while they may not grab the microphone or spotlight,
they are the true enablers that allow us to change the world.
May 20, 2021
The podcast book
I’ve been a fan of Malcolm Gladwell. I enjoy his books, his masterclass and especially his Pushkin Industries’ podcasts. So when he recently released The Bomber Mafia, about the US Air Force during World War 2, I got the audiobook version.
The audiobook was billed as a crossover between an elaborate podcast and an audiobook, with interviews and other audio fragments spliced throughout. It did not disappoint.
I am currently “reading” Nomadland as an audiobook while I do chores around the house. What a difference the experience is.
The book is read in a monotone voice, devoid of any enthusiasm. No wonder they cast Frances McDormant in the movie version. No, this is not a critique about Frances. Her style of acting matches the emotions I get listening to the audiobook.
Gladwell is onto something here: abprairie home companion meets Revisionist History meets a good old book. Audiobooks will never be the same after The Bomber Mafia.
May 16, 2021
Meditation rides
As a runner, my mind would wander and I would come home with tons of ideas. However the effort was typically rather intense, and required substantial focus on the exercise.
I would combine exercising with a more purposeful meditation practice later.
After a week of focussed cycling, it is clear how you can combine both. Unless you are climbing a mountain, the exercise is more repetitive, allowing your mind to wander easily. This is especially the case on separate cycling trails without the dangers of a public road.
Cycling is where exercising, sightseeing and Calm, the app, meet. Now I need to perfect recording thoughts while riding. Day One perhaps will do the job.
May 16, 2021
