use real butter

I was pretty tired last night when we got into our hotel and then I spent quite some time fighting with the wireless connection. I had to email my photos to Jeremy in Colorado so he could load them to my server for me. Good thing that he 1) stays up late working and 2) is awesome in general. Reports are that we are due for snow in the mountains and Miss Kaweah is a little forlorn without me there.

Typically when I visit Grandma, it is with Jeremy. I spend a lot of time translating from Chinese to English and it gets tiring for my brain to work in two languages like that – especially when Jeremy drives and Grandma gives directions and I am the middle step. It’s even crazier because Grandma takes public transportation – she doesn’t drive anymore (hasn’t for many years, and it’s probably good for everyone’s safety!) – so we’ll be at a stoplight in the rightmost of 6 lanes when she suddenly pipes up in Chinese, “Oh, turn left here.” And I’m like, “Ummmm… Jeremy, I have news for you…” He’s used to it by now and he never complains.

There have only been a handful of times that I have visited Grandma without Jeremy. I’ve coordinated visits with my sister, mom, aunt. Several years ago after Grandma had her pacemaker put in, my mom and her sisters took turns to come out and stay with her. When Mom’s turn came, my sister and I flew out too – but it was a surprise for Grandma and there was much laughter and joking. Kris always made me laugh. She made everyone laugh. The last time I saw her before she died was over Chinese New Year – we were visiting Grandma together. Good memories.

Now it comes down to it… we are on the final segment of our trip. But wait, I haven’t told you about the rest of the middle section of our adventures! Again, this will be quick because I am running on fumes here. You might have guessed by now that vacation is the equivalent of being sleep-deprived for me (big surprise!), but I prefer it that way :)

Wednesday activities: Shot sunrise on Mono Lake. Drove to Mammoth Lakes and caught shuttle to Agnew Meadows. Backpacked in to Thousand Island Lake. Explored Thousand Island Lake.

We are now two for two on lodging that has boasted high-speed wireless internet to find that it is neither high-speed nor (in some cases) wireless. It makes for some painfully slow uploading of photos from the trip, so forgive me if my posts are getting brief on text after waiting far too long to get the pics up. We just don’t have the time.

I promise to answer comments when time permits – probably after we return home. But to answer some of the inquiries about my photos… yes, I do sell them. If you are interested in purchasing, contact me via email (see the About page for addy) and I’ll give you pricing info, etc. I haven’t had the time or energy to get a proper commercial site set up just yet, but it is in the works.

Now… where are we? We are currently in Lee Vining on the eastern side of Yosemite National Park. The Eastern Sierra is where it’s at for us. I first fell in love with backcountry wilderness in the Sierra Nevada. It’s a large mountain range with hundreds of miles of trails, days from the nearest road. Jeremy and I have spent several years exploring these mountains and we are still discovering new trails, new destinations, new wonders here. This morning we hiked out over Piute Pass after an overnight to Desolation Lake where I spent the wee hours of the morning shooting the Perseids meteor shower. I can’t process those images on my laptop, so you’ll have to wait for the results just like me when I get home. It’s hot here. We knew that. But it is worth it to get back into familiar terrain and smell the forests, the willows, the sage brush, the streams.

Monday morning, we left Pasadena at 4 am and drove to the ranger station in Lone Pine to secure a permit. Because flying with backpacking stoves has become a complete hassle (nearly impossible, really), we tend to make our short summer backpacks cold – as in stoveless or non-cook. We popped by a favorite bakery along the 395 corridor and scored some lovely ham and cheese croissants, then headed for the trail where we packed our gear and set off at noon – far later than we ever like to start.

**Jump for more butter**