SCICON Revisited

Most people who grew up in Tulare County visited SCICON when they were in the sixth grade as I did. I remember it being a fun time, but don't remember many details. The Queen went this year for her second time as a teacher and I decided to take a day off work and visit her up there.

I looked at a map and finally remembered the cabin I stayed in when I visited the first time, Winterhaven. I have a horrible memory, especially when it comes to my childhood, but I finally remembered the name of my cabin.

When I decided to visit The Queen I really started thinking about what I was expecting to see at SCICON. I remember thinking it was a cool place when I was in sixth grade, but would it still be cool or would it be run down. After all, it is run by the office of education which is a government office. We all know that our schools can become run down, so I thought SCICON might be the same way.

When we arrived I met the principal of SCICON, Rick, and found him to be a really nice guy. I later found out that he has been the principal for twenty-three years. He works long days since the SCICON day starts around seven in the morning and goes until about nine at night. He has a house on site, so he can go home throughout the day. His wife is the nurse there which means they get to spend some time together every day.

We made our way to the cabin where the teachers stay and I surprised The Queen. She had no idea that I was coming up to visit her. It was great to see her after a few days apart.

I was really surprised that SCICON was in great shape and was still very cool. As I walked around the main area and hiked some of the trails I started to remember little bits and pieces about my trip there in 1983. I remembered the bell and the dining hall.

The Queen and I decided to take the Sky Trail hike. That is the longest hike offered at SCICON. I took the hike when I was in sixth grade, but The Queen never had. It was a great hike and half way up I remembered the spot were we stopped and had a sack lunch when I made the hike as a sixth grader. We continued all the way up to Hermit's Cabin. I found the rebuilt cabin there. When I made the trip the first time, it was just a pile of wood with some pots around it.

In the end the hike took us a little more than three hours. It was a long time, but I really enjoyed it and took a lot of pictures. I would really like to take the trip up there for the day every year that The Queen is there. I even told her that it would be great if she got her administrative credential and became the principal of SCICON when Rick retires.

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Dinkey Creek

The Queen and her family went to the mountains on Friday. I got a call from her around one o'clock that afternoon telling me that she reserved a campsite at Dinkey Creek for the night. I rushed to finish as much as I could at work and then went to the grocery store to get some supplies. I got home and packed everything I could think of and then hit the road.

It took me longer than I thought to get to the camp ground. Once I got there I just felt relaxed. It felt great to be in the mountains. As soon as I got there I stated setting up the tent with The Queen's help. Her dad took all of the kids on a walk so we had some time without interruption. We got the tent up pretty fast and just in time. The kids got back almost as soon as we finished.

Little Jaime went crazy by putting several different types of chips on the BBQ. They were all really good after being heated up. I imagine that is the closest you can get to taking them straight off the line where they are made. The next morning we even put a banana and chocolate donut on the grill and made s'mores with the banana, donut and a marshmallow. The Queen and Lisa thought they tasted pretty good. We really had a lot of fun.

The next morning The Queen and I went on our standard hike of the creek. We do the same hike every time we go and it never gets old. We went back to the campsite and took all the kids on the longer version of the hike. They had a lot of fun. We got back just in time to pack up and then we headed out to the Dinkey Creek bridge. We stayed there for a while.

The kids had a lot of fun rock hopping. Meg just kept leading them farther and farther up the creek. Little Jaime and Eric followed her wherever she went. We stayed there for at least an hour and then we headed for home. Overall this was a great trip. The Queen handled the camping very well and even said that she could have stayed longer. She is looking forward to doing it again next year. I can't wait!

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Summer Camping

I have tried several times to book a tent cabin in Yosemite for a summer camping trip. In past years, I was just never able to book it. I tried a few times this year to book one for this summer and did not have much luck. I looked on the website today and it show availability, but I was unable to book it. I called them and finally had some success. I am very excited for this trip and cannot wait until June.

Yosemite is a beautiful place to visit. I have made several trips since graduating from college. Interestingly enough, I never visited the park while growing up less than three hours south of Yosemite. I did not make my first visit until I moved to Fresno a few years after graduating from college. And even then, I did not see much of the park and only remember a long hike on a very wide trail through the trees.

I did not really get to see the park until The Queen and I started dating. She loves to hike in the park, so we have made many trips over the years. I even proposed to her on a trip to the park for her birthday.

Yosemite is amazing to visit when the waterfalls are flowing during the spring. This year, they should be flowing very strong with all of the rain and snow we have been getting in the valley. My only concern is that most of the runoff may be gone by the time we get there at the end of June.

Last year we took Cheeseball camping for the first time. It was not in Yosemite, but rather in Sequoia National Park. She loved it. She has asked me many times since then when we will go camping again. My father-in-law has talked about taking most of his grand kids camping this summer and I told him I would go with him, I just don't know what dates that will be.

I love taking photos of the park. I am really drawn to the Bridalveil Creek area. It has a wonderful shaded woodsy feel to it and there is a great bridge to photograph. I have not taken very many good photos over the years, but I keep trying. My skills and equipment have improved over the years, so hopefully I can get some good photos this year. I just can't wait.

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