Mission Peak

Date: 03/03/07
Park: Mission Peak, Fremont, CA
Condition: Sunny and warm day and a little bit of fog
Start time: around 1:00 PM
Length: About 5 Hours
Hiker: JC, Monica, Maria, Jackie
Trail: http://www.bahiker.com/eastbayhikes/missionpeak.html
Map: Map
Pictures: http://jc-studios.smugmug.com/gallery/2539980
Views: It took us a while to get started, deciding bring windbreaker or not. We are glad that we did. It was very windy on the top. We had expected the trail to be muddy but no mud whatsoever. Nice. We got a panoramic views of the bay area. San Francisco downtown is blurry but visible. The Dumbarton and San Mateo Bridge. A few birds, a few falcons. A couple squirrels and plenty of cows. The hill is so green, I guess the cows are having the best grass of the year at this moment.... Hahaha.... There were even a couple of parachutes and a kite. There were a few reservoirs on the east side. Lake Elizabeth in Fremont. The trail was tough, I have not exercise for a while. We rested a lot. Maria and the gang were singing all the way up there. And singing down too.... We stayed quite a while at the top and visited the peak. We were slipping all the way down. Also the winds almost blew off some one's cap.... Hahaha.... It was a fun hike... Too bad I got a ticket when we returned.

Yosemite

Date: 02/19/07
Park: Yosemite National Park, CA
Condition: Sun and clouds
Start time: around 3:30PM
Length: About 3 Hours
Hiker: JC, Monica, Sarah, Maria, Yvonne
Trail: Ad Hoc
Map: Maps
Pictures: To be posted
Views: We got there and spent some time looking for food. Only the deli is opened. I got a kid's lunch and the peanut butter sandwich is horrible. I knew before I bought it and I got it because it got a gel dessert and an apple.... There was a line at the microwave so it took us a long time to finish lunch. We then decide to go to Vernal/Nevada Falls trail. Then on the shuttle bus, we decided to just go to the Merced river beach and meadows. We just took 2 stops and walk along the river. We took plenty of pictures of the upper falls and half dome. Half dome is hiding behind clouds most of the time. And upper falls have a very high contrast with the Merced River. We also walked to the Lower Falls trail. We even climb the rocks to the base of the Lower Fall... Then we tried to walk back to the parking lot... We saw some deer having their supper. We almost got lost but somehow got it right.... We spend 15 minutes trying to eat a Pamelo after we got to our car.... Some supper I supposed.... I also finished the half peanut butter sandwich... After a couple hours of body temperature. The sandwich tasted a lot better...

Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge

Date: 02/10/07
Park: Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge, Alviso, CA
Condition: Sunny and warm day but windy with clouds there
Start time: around 4:30 PM
Length: About 2 Hours
Hiker: JC, Monica
Trail: Ad Hoc
Map: None
Pictures: http://jc-studios.smugmug.com/gallery/2487451
Views: We got off at the Alviso Marina. We did not hike long, we just hike a short while and were distracted by sea gulls.... Lots and lots of sea gulls. The were flying towards us, non-stop. We got there just in time for the setting sun also... So both me and Monica took pictures of the birds, the setting sun, the clouds, the bay waters and each other taking pictures. There were trains going by also. Our hands are freezing after dark.

Memorial County Park

Date: 02/03/07
Park: Memorial County Park, Pescadero, CA
Condition: Sunny, warm, hazy
Start time: around 1:30 PM
Length: Less than 3 Hours
Hiker: JC, Maria, Monica
Trail: http://www.bahiker.com/southbayhikes/memorial.html
Map: Here
Pictures: http://jc-studios.smugmug.com/gallery/2429844
Views: There are a lot of redwood trees and fir. The trail is quite shady. The trail is a little bit soft but not very muddy. Lots of obsticles on the path, trigs, branches, trees, and places with very narrow trail. We saw a few banana slugs. Monica almost slip and fell off the cliff. JC has to rest a few times going up the trails but is not too bad for this out of shape gal..... Another funny story, JC put the yellow ticket on the dash board after we paid at the self registration kiosk. After we parked, the ticket slipped in the defrost air duct of my car. I tried to get it out and it slipped in further. Finally, we just write a slip that we paid the registration fee. JC is so stupid.

Quarry Lakes

Date: 01/20/07
Park: Quarry Lakes, Fremont, CA
Condition: Sunny, warm
Start time: before 2:30 PM
Length: Less than 3 Hours
Hiker: JC
Trail: From my house to the Park and back
Map: None
Pictures: http://jc-studios.smugmug.com/gallery/2375839
Views: There were views of East Bay Hills and different kinds of ducks. There were a couple of people flying kites and one were using wind power for his cart. I was riding in circles trying to get to a later time so that I could catch the sunset but eventually I didn't. The blueskies and reflections are pretty enough after that grey weather.

Alameda Creek

Park: Alameda Creek, Fremont/Newark/Union City, CA
Pictures: http://jc-studios.smugmug.com/gallery/2323959

Avalanche sweeps cars off U.S. 40 in Colorado - USATODAY.com

Avalanche sweeps cars off U.S. 40 in Colorado - USATODAY.com

Wow, I never thought an highway as busy and popular as Interstate 40 will have this kind of an accident. Cars are swept from the highway by an avalanche. We were so lucky when we drove on Hwy 40 and it was snowing at Arizona. Thank You the big guy above for keep us safe the whole trip. Be careful if you are driving Hwy 80/50 to Tahoe. Happy driving!!!

God Bless, JC

Arizona Christmas Trip

Date: Christmas 12/21-26 2006
Park: Sunset Crater, Petrified Forest, Red Rock State Park, Montezuma Castle and Wells, AZ and Mojave Preserve, CA
Condition: Sun and Clouds, Rain and Snow.
Trail: No specific record
Hikers: Me, Mug, Sarah, Pak
Pictures: Coming Soon
12/21 - Drive to Mojave
12/22 - Flagstaff - Sunset Crater National Monument, Drive to Sedona
12/23 - Sedona - Oak Creek Canyon, Holbrook - Petrified Forest National Park, Sunday Vigil Mass
12/24 - Sedona - Boynton Pass, Red Rock State Park, Christmas Vigil Mass
12/25 - Sedona - Chapel of the Holy Cross, Oak Creek Village, Montezuma Castle National Monument, Montezuma Wells National Monument, Drive to Needles
12/26 - Mojave National Preserve, Drive home
Highlights: Snow and rain on the first 2 driving days. They were so pretty, we saw them in Williams, Flagstaff and Sedona. We saw a coyote walking across the highway, an UFO one night when we were driving. The snow was so pretty at Sunset Crater, we got there just before closing. The drive out of Sedona to Flagstaff is so pretty, snow everywhere. We saw a snowman beside the highway. The lady at our inn told me they don't get snow too often. The highway is Oak Creek Canyon Road. We went to route 66 when we almost get petrified, find all the petrified trees and forest. Sedona is pretty at the Red Rock State Park, the Cathedral Rock is pretty, we got there around sunset. Oh man, our God is so awesome. We attended a good Christmas Vigil mass at Sedona. The Chapel of the Holy Cross is spectacular, although the chapel itself was closed on Christmas day. We have drive big circles on Christmas day, first to take pictures of the sunset, without finding a decent location. Second to look for an early dinner at Flagstaff without finding one, every where is closed and dark. Third at Williams for a bathroom and dinner and getting very desperate. Thank God we finally get relief and get some hamburgers before the only Jack in the Box that opens ran out of items in the menu and closed early for the holidays. Needles is very confusing because it sounded like "here" in Cantonese. We stayed there the final night. We tried to visit the cavern in Mojave Preserve but it was not open until 1:00 PM. We went to the sand dunes instead, but the lighting is not very good to give it a good contrast for pictures. JC is getting knee problems and the last 2 days are handicapped or "legicapped". The pig and horse and cat and dog can not communicate with each other well, hopefully we will do better next time.

Edgewood Park

Date: 12/16/06
Park: Edgewood Park, Redwood City, CA
Condition: Sunny, cool
Start time: before 1:00 PM
Length: About 2 Hours (around 5 miles)
Hiker: JC, Maria, Sarah, Noelle
Trail: http://www.bahiker.com/southbayhikes/edgewood.html
Map: Map
Pictures: http://jc-studios.smugmug.com/gallery/2247686
Views: We have the honor to hike with Noelle just when she return to the bay area. The weather is cooperating. It was raining the days before Saturday. The trail is quite flat and not very difficult. We saw a pretty bird standing above the information kiosk, green vegetation, and some fall colors. There is a vista of the south bay also.