I'm so out of shape, camping delayed

So I decided to play in the outdoor "indoor" soccer. I haven't exercised since last season so tonight was pretty rough. I spent most of the game out of breath on the bench and my legs and back are now killing me, but it's better than nothing. We play twice a week so this will be a rough few months.

Two weekends ago on Saturday after I got back from work, Michelle and I decided to fly to Kernville to go camping at about 5pm,. This was supposed to be a test run taking Katie camping some place close. Eventually we came to our senses and decided we wouldn't make it in time and we'd forget something in the rush. We postponed the trip to this past weekend. Crappy weather prevented the trip this weekend, the mountains were blanketed with clouds so we wouldn't have been able to make it. The plan is now to go next weekend.

With the extra time this last weekend, we went out to the airport to do a test fit to see if we could fit everything we needed. We were able to fit the 3 of us, the two dogs, all of our camping gear, plus the jogging stroller! Even though the jogging stroller is bigger than the regular one, it is essential when you are not on pavement so we would need it for the dirt trail down to the sandy beach. Kernville has a nice camping area just west of the runway with a trail down to the river. There usually aren't too many other people so I think it'll be a great place to let the dogs run wild in the river/lake. We'll bring the binoculars and bird books to see if we can get any new birds as well.

Here is a picture of the camping area at Kernville. It is amazing how low the water is now (draining for bridge repair) compared to the picture. Usually the south end of the runway is a peninsula, but now there is dry land all around. It is a short walk from the camping to the airport restaurant which has excellent breakfast and burgers, is dog friendly, and has a great outdoor deck overlooking the runway.

Camping at Lake Isabella Labor Day weekend 2008

We usually head out camping/backpacking with our friends the Fords a few times a year. This year we have been both so busy that we haven't gotten out camping much. We got to June Lake earlier this year and now we got out to Lake Isabella. I had hoped to go on a 3 day 2 night backpacking trip from the Cottonwood Lakes to the Kern River, but decided to switch since Michelle is now pregnant. Maybe Kevin and I will be able to make the backpacking trip later this year before it gets too cold.

This was a really nice relaxing trip to the lake. We got their Friday afternoon in time to get a site, set up the tents and make dinner. Kevin had an 'Ice Cream Ball' that makes ice cream by adding ingredients and ice and shaking it for 45 minutes. This turned out pretty good considering we didn't have anything long enough to scrape the bottom of the container to mix it. It was good enough that we got more ice and did it again Saturday night.

We pretty much hung out by the lake all day Saturday reading and swimming. The water is very stirred up so the visibility is about 2 inches, but it doesn't seem very gross. There is no algae and it doesn't really smell at all. Emmett and the Ford's dog Gracie were having a blast swimming all day. Maverick didn't want to go in the water. After a few hours, I eventually decided to bring Maverick in since I know he can swim and likes fetching balls. He remembered that he likes swimming and started having fun.

Emmett kept swimming up to me while I was on the raft so I decided to pull him up to see how he liked it. I put him on his back so he wouldn't pop the raft with his nails. He seemed to like it and laid down to relax. Michelle was upset that she didn't have the camera so we had to pose for the picture once she got back with the camera.

Even though Kernville is one of my favorite flights, it just wasn't worth it to fly there for camping for the weekend. Someone would still have to drive the Jeep there with supplies and we'd have to carpool around to accommodate the airplane. Next weekend we're flying to San Jose for our friends Kevin and Shelvey's wedding so I'll get my flying in then.

Oh, and here is a picture that Michelle took of a bug that was hanging around our picnic table that looks like a leaf.

Camping in June Lake, July 10-13 2008

Michelle and I usually like to get out and do a bunch of camping and back packing each summer. Unfortunately, we've been way too busy this summer. With 2 trips to the Midwest, our trip to Oceano and Santa Paula, a wedding and much more, we just had a hard time to find any free time. We finally managed to get out and go camping in June Lake with Kevin and Sarah Ford the second weekend in July.



We mostly wanted to escape the heat of summer and relax. We've also been having a lot of smoke in our valley and wanted to get up to some clear air. It was cooler up there, but as our luck would have it, the smoke from some other fires was filling that valley and they were just as smokey as we were. We camped on Silver Lake near June Lake just north of Mammoth. We left Thursday night to ensure we'd get a campsite since it is first come first serve. It was a good thing we left early since there were only 2 sites left when we got there.







I almost forgot to write about the trip up. As usual we carpooled in the jeep to ride together and save gas. We've done this a few times before, but this time we also had Gracie, or better known as Gracilicous, who then became The Lish which quickly became Da Lish which is Kevin and Sarah's new golden retriever. We packed the car top carrier, loaded the gear, and had dogs on laps on the way up since we were WAY over packed. I don't think we'll be able to carpool anymore :(



Friday morning we got up and went to check out the lake. It was very nice, but there were people fishing everywhere. We didn't want to bother them with our dogs so we kept looking for a free spot. We were told by the camp manager before we came here that they were dog friendly and you could swim in the lake. They didn't tell us that there were people fishing every 5 feet so you'd have to be a big jerk and go swimming right were everybody is fishing if you wanted to swim. Eventually we went to where the stream enters the lake, we found a nice quiet spot just up the stream. We put the long leashes on the dog close enough so they could play in the water and we set up day camp.



We pretty much hung out and did nothing all day. Once and a while we'd let the dogs off leash to go play fetch with the tennis balls in the water. Emmett can't get enough of the water and Maverick seems to enjoy swimming, but is afraid of it. Once he's swimming he's fine and will keep going, but he hates that first step. Gracie did great for her first time in the water.



I wonder if Emmett likes the water?





We had to let them off the leash for a bit so they could play.



We pretty much did the same on Saturday - nothing.



Sunday we got an early start to come home so we could do something with the day. As it turned out, leaving at 9am, wasn't early enough. On the way home, there was a detour around Independence because of a mudslide. By the time we got there, traffic was backed up for miles. The backup didn't start too much earlier and we would probably have made it through if we had left at 8, but now we were stuck with everybody else. The wait was about 3 hours before they were able to clear the road and divert the flood waters away from the highway.