We had a high of 81 yesterday at1:30. I was out in my garden picking salad for thanksgiving. We have had a steady 30 mile an hour wind from the south for several days blowing the tall bluegrass in the front field to the south. The wind came to an end in the morning and it was still and ominous. I heard it coming up the gorge to my north, moaning loud. The wind hit and the temperature dropped 20 degrees in 15 minutes. We ended up with a low of 33. Almost 50 degree drop in a day. It is now down to 27. They say low 20's or upper teens in the morning but then back up to 60 and 70 the next day. I have been moving plants all day and all yesterday. The Vegetables are covered up. But I think I will let my Brugs die. They didn't bloom for me this year. I am a passive aggressive gardener with to many plants to move.

figsin7b: I used to go to Sequoia when I lived in the San Fernando Valley--closest one, as I recall, to the Valley. General Sherman tree is there--the largest living thing on Earth. Some trees are taller, but no other has the volume of mass as General Sherman. Don't know if you'll find yourself in the San Francisco area, but if you do, check out the gargantuan fig trees at Alcatraz. Boat leaves from Pier 40 or 41, as I recall, every half hour, to Alcatraz. Pier 39 has been taken over by Sea Lions, and they hoist themselves up on the pier and lie about bellowing, shoving their weight around,and smelling up the place--to the tourists' delight, who can't seem to take enough pictures. If you're interested in Figs--and history--I wouldn't dream of going to Ca and not checking out the SPANISH MISSIONS, 21 of them dotted throughout the state, mostly along El Camino Real (some more, inland) from San Francisco, southward. You know the story of the old Spanish Missions,no doubt--many of the California Figs (and other fruit trees) originated at these missions. I lived a few blocks from San Fernando Mission, at Sepulveda Boulevard and San Fernando Mission (or San Fernando Mission Boulevard off the San Diego Freeway), in the northern San Fernando Valley. Used to also go to Mission San Gabriel, in the L.A. area, and both these missions had profuse Fig trees, 30 years ago. The central San Fernando Valley runs northward up the San Diego Freeway, from the junction of the Ventura Freeway and the San Diego Freeway. The off ramps proceeding north on the San Diego Freeway from that junction are Burbank Boulevard, Victory Boulevard, Van Owen, Sherman Way, Roscoe Boulevard (home of Budweiser Brewery, west), Nordhoff, Devonshire, San Fernando Mission Boulevard (get of there and go a mile East), and Rinaldi Boulevard at the northern end of the Valley. You can get off at any one of these offramps, and drive the suburban neighborhoods (particularly from Devonshire, north) and find Fig trees in every 4th yard, or so--if things remain as they did 20 years ago. On your way back south on the San Diego Freeway, take the Ventura Freeway west about 10 miles toward Ventura (east goes to L.A.), and take the Las Virgenes Canyon exit, south toward Malibu. That's actually Malibu Canyon to the locals, and you'll end up in Malibu, overlooking the Pacific Ocean (and Pepperdine University). After checking out Malibu, go south on El Camino Real and look about Santa Monica, and check out the Santa Monica pier--then a little further south to Venice--the Venice boardwalk and Muscle Beach, where Arnold used to work out before he ended up in the Governor's mansion. Retrace your path back north on Malibu (Las Virgenes) Canyon Road, east on the Ventura Freeway back to the San Diego Freeway, and head south. You'll pass LAX Los Angeles International Airport) in Inglewood, Long Beach (where the Queen Mary is now located) and the Port of Los Angeles, then keep booking south. Of course you know where you'll end up proceeding South on the San Diego Freeway. Don't forget to mark the Missions on your map as you travel south--Figs should abound. There: that ought to keep you busy for awhile, and you should see Fig trees all along your journey.

summers are pretty crazy in yosemite. you're going to need to book early to get a camping spot. camp 4 is on first come first serve, but it gets filled quickly by all the rock climbers. since you're planning on camping near the end of july , the first day to make reservations is march 15 (tomorrow). be sure to make the reservations as early as possible, because some years it fills up within a few hours. since you're car camping, maybe tent cabins in curry village are another option. not as nice as your own camping spot but at least you're in the valley. if you're in the tent cabins, don't bring too much food since you're required to empty your car of all food. i've seen families have to lug around huge coolers back & forth from their car to the bear lockers every night. there are restaurants & a grocery store in curry village so food is never a problem. bears are a problem for cars. they play some pretty funny video in the yosemite lodge lounge of bears tearing off car doors & busting windows because people leave fast food bags in their cars. one shows a bear ripping off a car door because the teenagers dropped a french frie between the seats of their rental car. but don't worry about the bears. they usually try to get into the trash dumpsters and generally stay away from campsites. if you can't get a campsite, there's a number of lodges in the park. make sure they are in the valley floor such as the yosemite lodge & the ahwahnee. others like the wawona are nice, but you are near the park's entrance & about 50 miles away from the valley. that's a winding & uphill road usually packed with slow moving campers so don't think you can just take a quick drive over. you really shouldn't miss yosemite. it is a gorgeous place to visit. you'll quickly see why it is usually listed among the top 10 most beautiful national parks in the country. Here is a link that might be useful: yosemite website

A number of years ago we did the out-and-back Narrows hike in late May or early June (around Memorial Day). Water was moving but current not too strong. It was beautiful but seemed there were a lot of folks out that day and I would like to do the hike again without seeing quite so many people. Same trip it snowed at Bryce Canyon. We stayed at Flanigan's outside of Zion and I would stay there again. There very well might be nicer places but budget was a big factor in our choice of lodging on that trip.