Sequoia National Park in late October....BRRRRR...

In late October, we enjoyed our last wilderness before winter at Lodgepole campground in Sequioa National Park. A friendly coyote came by regularly and would stop and sit if you talked nicely to him (clearly he has been fed by campers - not a good thing for the coyote). Early one morning this coyote approached Gary as he was walking Rexie, and started up a lengthy conversation - mostly one-sided. He yipped and yiped and yipped and yiped, standing a mere 15 feet away from Rexie. This went on for quite some time, awaking all the campers in the area. After all this yiping and cayaying from the coyote...what was Rexie's response?  "WOOF!"  Yes, just one woof. That was all he had to say.

We really enjoyed the Sequoia's area, General Sherman, and the fabulous fall colors of the dogwoods. Gary and I enjoyed the hike up to Tonokah Falls one early morning, but by far our favorite hike was Moro Rock which we did twice - will post lots of pictures from that hike in the next post.

Kings Canyon National Park - late October

We stayed at Azalea Campground in Kings Canyon, had the place mostly to ourselves this late in the season. We were very close to the General Grant tree, could see it from our campsite. The fall colors were beautiful everywhere, and it is a spectacular drive through Kings Canyon - not to be missed if you're in the area (not recommended for big RVs though!).

The first winter rains for Yosemite

In mid-October, we moved into YNP and stayed in one of the campgrounds in the park. It rained for 2 days straight; Gary and I had a good time hiking despite the rain. We hiked out to the rockfall area at the base of Half Dome and came home soaked. The next day was sunny and beautiful, and thanks to the rain, all the falls were flowing and gorgeous!

Here are some shots at Yosemite Falls before and after the rain - wow, what a contrast!

Yosemite in early October 2009

Here's a few pictures from our stay at Yosemite Ridge Resort west of Yosemite. Suanne joined us and had a good time touring Yosemite. It was dry from a long summer, with very little water in the falls (many were bone dry). That was soon to change when the rains hit while we camped in the park.

This tomcat adopted us and became a resident of our back deck at Yosemite Ridge. We named him "MuirCat" in honor of the nearby Yosemite National Park. Wanted so badly to adopt him, but it would have been a very difficult transition for him (and high possibility that he would get loose in some other park as we travelled, because he was a footloose stray and wanderer) - he was better off staying at the resort where there are full time residents and visitors always feeding him.  Plus, poor old Rexie was a bit afraid of Muir and his sharp claws. It was Rexie's last days and I didn't want him to stress over a new cat in the house.

I think about MuirCat often and hope he is okay. He was extremely loveable and would purr loudly as I rubbed his tummy and his feet!  What a sweetheart.

October 1st in San Fancisco Golden Gate area

The first of October, we were in San Francisco and spent a beautiful sunny day touring the Golden Gate, Muir Woods, and coastal area north of the bridge. Then it was on to Yosemite.

Sept 2009 in Humboldt - Big Trees and Close calls with the sewage

We stayed at a nice place in the redwoods but Gary had a close call with the dump station. Apparently, the dump was backed up or had a blockage, and when Gary released the drain, everything backed up and "stuff" came flying out of the backup pipe, flying through the air, narrowly missing Gary. It was like Robin Williams in "RV".  Whew! 

We took the drive on the "Lost Coast" which is the longest uninhabited stretch of beach in California. The cows had this view all to themselves.