Our experience going to the San Juaquin County Fair in Downton Stockton

June 18th we started out our day by going to the Sacramento California Temple. It was a beautiful day out! We went to the temple and was able to have a nicer walk around since last time we went it was raining. We also made a lunch and had a picnic in the park looking at the temple. We had a wonderful time and Chris still has yet to believe me that I saw a purple colored bird.

After attending the temple we then headed back to Stockton to change into some shorts before heading to the San Juaquin County Fair. We had decided to go because I love going to fairs... I guess that is because I have lived at different fairs for days with my cows and love just hanging there. This however was quite a different fair. For one it was FREE! I thought that was pretty sweet and made going to the fair even better, plus Chris had also got a free parking pass from work, so all we had to pay for was the gas to go on a 15 minute drive... if even that to the fair.

This was a very interesting experience... for one we had to venture into downtown Stockton, that in itself is scary to me. Let me explain why... when finding out that we were being sent to Stockton for Chris's internship we got online to look up where we were going to be living for the next three months. One of the first things when looking up Stockton is the amount of crime present. My thought when moving here was that we were going to get shot... so far we have made it without being shot, however we tend to isolate ourselves. And besides we still have two weeks left (just kidding). Another reason is that everyone is always telling us don't go into this area, don't go into that area, and the list goes on and on. Chris has also been in the downtown area before with work and has told me about it so I tend to not want to go into this area at all and just avoid it all together.

So the point is... Stockton is not a good area, especially the downtown area. So we go into downtown with locked doors and senses pealed, and of course hit traffic with the fair. We start walking to the fair and are thinking okay this isn't too bad, just as long as we stay in crowded areas we should be good, plus their were a lot of police officers keeping an eye on things, so that made me feel a little better. When we reach the gate we notice that we have to go through security. I thought that was really strange and then after thinking about it it made me feel better that they had security. I have gone to fairs where you had to get your purses checked, but this was they had to run a metal detector over you before entering and check your purse. While we were entering their was also a group of kids that were like "oh man they have security." I am grateful they had security, but I would have to say that is a first for the fair.

When getting in the fair it was a little disappointing because pretty much all the animals were gone because they were sold that morning. That is really my only reason for going to the fair, but at least the dairy animals were still there and the chickens, rabbits, and guinea pigs, so at least I had them to look at. We were both just happy that everything was free because I would have been mad if I paid money for that. We still had a good time walking around and seeing different art, agriculture stuff, what animals their were, and then plants. I think the most stressful part was leaving the fair. We left pretty early because we didn't want to be there when it was dark and wanted to make sure we were on the right roads when exiting, because getting lost in downtown Stockton would be a nightmare.

So that was our experience going to the very small San Juaquin County Fair and going into downtown Stockton. Basically I don't wish to repeat going downtown, I am much better without. Also funny Stockton side note, well it is not funny at all, but it is just a commonly known Stockton sort of thing. That same day someone from church had their car broken into while at the mall in a very populated area. She of course called the police and they refused to show up unless somebody had been shot. This just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside and not want to go anywhere anymore in the Stockton area. I guess they are saying that break-ins are just going to increase because of the economy. I guess I shouldn't worry too much because their is nothing in Kia really to steal, but still I am happy that we are leaving in two weeks as soon as Chris gets off work it is so long Stockton!

Livermore Rodeo

Tough Enough to Wear Pink

June 11th, attended the 93rd Annual 2011 Livermore Rodeo, aka World's Fastest. It was also breast cancer awareness day in which the survivors had their own seating area and a lot of people in the rodeo were wearing pink. We had a ton of fun and for future reference, if you want to walk the town of Livermore I wouldn't go the second weekend of June. We started off our day by going to the Bass Pro Shop in Menteca. I had gone earlier that week to walk around and Chris wanted to see it as well. It was pretty cool, I had never been in a Bass Pro Shop before this one and I would have to say that it is like a Cabela's but more of a fishing emphasis.

We then headed over to Livermore. The plan was to walk around town, get something to eat, and then head over to the rodeo. However once arriving in town those plans quickly changed, it was so busy and traffic was really bad. We walked around a little bit and decided to get out of that whole situation and just hope we run into a food place on the way to the rodeo, which we did. We got lunch to go at Mr. Pickles, which is a sandwich shop that is big in California and really good! Once getting our lunch we headed over to the rodeo and ate our lunch before heading in. At least we got a really good parking spot.

The rodeo had the usual events such as: Bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, roping tie-down, team roping, steer wrestling, barrel racing, and of course bull riding! However their was one event that we had never seen before and it was pretty cool! That was the Wild Cow Milking. The day we went their was the first girl ever to compete in the wild cow milking at the Livermore Rodeo and she kicked every ones butt! Here is a link to the video of the wild cow milking that I found on youtube. This one wasn't the day that we went, but the same contest a few days before in Livermore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3p2XDeZxZw&NR=1

Also for the intermission they had Tomas Garcilazo. Tomas is a Charro that has excellent horsemanship and roping abilities. It was really cool to watch the tricks that he did with the rope, and his horse was absolutely beautiful! Tomas has toured the world doing La Charreria performances. Here is a link of a video that someone put together on youtube of the same day that we went. It is short with less than four minutes long and includes a bit of everything. It was a great rodeo and we had a lot of fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F2mNBr61kQ

Big Trees California

On May 30th Memorial Day we took a drive up to Big Trees, California. We wanted to see the BIG ones the Giant Sequoias! The drive was nice, we love going into the Gold Country. When we were driving there we looked back on being in that same area to go to Columbia a month ago. This time all the grass was brown, we were surprised because a month ago everything was green. We were then grateful that we got to see everything when it was green and very beautiful before it all died. It was still a wonderful drive and we went a little further north than what we had been so we were able to see a new area.

Arriving in Calaveras Big Trees State Park! It was really nice that day, a little chilly, but you were up in the forest so that was to be expected, however their were still people in shorts. I don't think they were expecting it to be colder.

Once arriving in Big Trees we started our 1.5 mile loop through the North Grove. This is The Big Stump. In 1853 a hunter named Augustus T. Dowd was chasing a wounded grizzly bear when he stumbled across the giant sequoia grove that became a state park. In 1853 the year after the discovery the tree was stripped of its bark and taken down. However because of the enormous size the tree was not able to be taken down with a saw, instead five men over a 22 day period drilled holes in the tree. It still took several days after that to fall to the ground. The bark was put on a traveling exhibit that later caught fire a year after harvesting. Other uses of Giant Sequoia bark included house insulation, pincushions, candle holders and carved animals. This tree was the largest in the North Grove at over 25 feet in diameter at the base and over 280 feet tall. When the rings were counted it was 1,244 years old, which is relatively young for the large size. If this tree was allowed to live it could have been a rival with the largest of the giant sequoias.

It was pretty neat to go and walk on the stump to see its enormity. People also have been married on the stump.

Here is a video comparing the Giant Sequoias to normal trees. The Coastal Redwoods on the coast of California are taller however have no comparison to the Giant Sequoias in diameter. Pictures really don't do these trees justice, it is way cooler in person to see these giants trees.

This is the only leaning back bench that we found. We thought that these should be all over the park because it is hard on your neck looking up all the time. This was a very comfortable way to look at the trees and admire the majesty of these trees.

Was kind of bummed that we weren't able to watch through this giant sequoia, the path was full of water. The park had it set up so we would be able to walk through the middle of the fallen tree. It was still cool to see though. There were a lot of fallen trees in the park, they don't do good in wind. Giant Sequoias have a very shallow root system, that is why we weren't allowed to get real close to them because otherwise the roots would get damaged. Only certain trees we were able to walk up close. Even though the roots are shallow they can cover an acre.

This is the Pioneer Cabin Tree. In the 1850's the park was easily accessible and many tourists came to see the big trees. When the roads to Yosemite improved people were going there instead and in the 1880's the Wawona Tunnel Tree was carved, so the park responded by doing the same. This tree was chosen because of its wide base and a large fire scar that is on the back. Because of the huge cut the tree can no longer support the growth of the top, which is now on the ground, however the tree is barely managing to survive. I was surprised that the tree is still alive.

Here we could walk up on the platform that was built so we were able to touch the giant sequoias. They are just a little too big to hug though...

Here was also another tree that we could get up close to because it got it's water from the stream right next to it, so we didn't have to worry about damaging the roots and making it unable to get water. The tree is HUMONGOUS!

After seeing the big trees we had a little picnic and even got our own little baby sequoias tree to grow. It was only a few inches high and during the duration that we visited big trees and when I have not written the blog, the tree is now dead. Chris and I just don't have a green thumb, we have gone through 3 plants in less than a year. First our Aloe Vera, then Jade plant, and now baby sequoias. We were planning on making it into a bonsai, but since it is dead, that obviously is not going to happen. We could get a free baby tree because they have a life guarantee, however I am just giving up on the whole plant thing. The only plant that is still surviving is bamboo, so I guess that will probably be the only plant we will ever be able to keep. That or I should just stick with the animals.

We then went for a drive of the rest of the park which was beautiful seeing different view points. Here is the Stanislaus River, some rafters were going down at the time, that sure would have been cool. It was a wonderful day in the park though, and I got to see my BIG TREES!

Monterey Bay California

May 28th Chris and I took a trip to Monterey Bay. A lot of people said that the Monterey Bay Aquarium was a must see, and it most definitely was! We got up early to start our trip down to Monterey Bay which was a two and a half hour drive, but it was worth it. The drive was wonderful being able to see different areas of California, and going to the bay was wonderful as well. The first picture here is a vista point that we stopped at on our way to Monterey in the Central Valley. Such beautiful country with the vineyards and orchards. However more cows would make it even better!

Once arriving in Monterey we parked Kia in a parking garage and went to the aquarium. The first critters that we saw when entering was the sea otters. They are so darn cute and were rolling around playing.
After seeing the sea otters we went over to the two story kelp forest which was amazing to see. All the sea life in this exhibit was what was out in the bay right outside. The divers were busy cleaning the glass and feeding the sea urchins when we arrived. They would also point to fish that were hard to see so that we were able to see them. This was a really cool tank that had areas where it was like a magnifying glass to be able to see a more detailed view of whatever fish was there at the moment. The otter lining of the tank had displays of fish that had information and a closer view of them which made it nice to see the fish because the kelp forest was HUGE!


Here we are standing on the second floor looking at the kelp forest. We were waiting for the diver to come down to feed the fish in the tank. It was beautiful having the light come down and shine in the tank.


The aquarium had many different kind of animals including penguins, turtles, birds, touch pools and many many more. I even gained up the courage to touch the sea life in the touch pools. I am not really a fan of touching sea life because they are weird and slimy, at least that is what I always thought. I even held a decorator crab!

The aquarium also had a new exhibit open that the day that we went was the first day it opened, so that was pretty cool. Walking into the exhibit they had a circle tank above you with sardines swimming in like a racetrack motion. Their was also tuna as well, however the volunteers there said that they were already swimming in the wrong direction than what was intended, we thought that was pretty funny! The fish were suppose to swim in the direction that people were walking, but I guess they wanted to swim the other way. They also had some really cool jellyfish exhibits.
The aquarium also had a sea horse exhibit and the dragon horse was the most popular.

After spending most of the day at the aquarium we went and walked around town. It was nice because their were Trolleys that were free since everyone has to park in parking garages so that you are still able to get around town. We went down to a couple different beaches, this one was the one next to the Fisherman's Wharf. I couldn't believe how clear the water was and I wanted to go into the water so bad. The sand was also different than in Washington. After going to the beach we went and walked the Fisherman's Wharf and got some frozen chocolate coated bananas. It was pretty good, we had never had one before and wanted to give it a try. We also went to the restaurant on the end of the dock... I can't remember the name, their was a lot. It was nice to sit down and relax and watch the seals jump onto their sun bathing spots and enjoy some yummy clam chowder.

During dinner I had decided that I wanted to go walk in the water before heading back to Stockton, however when we got done with dinner it was sprinkling outside so we decided to call it a day and head back. We had seen the things that we wanted to see so it was no big deal... other than I didn't get to walk in the water. Hopefully we will go to a beach before we leave so I can at least walk in the water on a California beach where hopefully the water is a little warmer and more doable than in Washington. On the drive home when passing a reservoir we saw a rainbow. It was nice to have the rain on the way home. The one thing that we like is that when it rains it is usually warm out still and Kia can also get her bath, so it is a free car wash!

Yosemite National Park

May 21st we spent the day in Yosemite National Park. We were still house sitting in Oakdale so it was a little closer than if we were to drive from Stockton. We got up early that day so that we would be able to spend as much time in the park as possible before having to go back to Oakdale to feed the animals. It was a wonderful day to spend looking at the magnificent creations of this earth that are so awe inspiring.

Here is the view as we came out of a tunnel and started heading to the valley. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL! Pictures also don't seem to do justice as if you were actually there in the park.

The rocks were also awe inspiring just seeing the marks, colors, and height, it honestly didn't seem like they were real.

El Capitan is very popular for rock climbing. Yosemite supposedly has the best rock climbing school around. A lot of people would just sit on the ground and watch the rock climbers. El Capitan is famous for is massive bulk of largely unbroken rock and its sheer, vertical face soaring 3,000 feet into the air. This monolith is composed of a particularly durable granite, allowing it to withstand the pressures of glaciers and erosion.

Bridalveil Falls. It was a nice little hike to walk up to the falls. The sound of the water fall was awesome! When we were walking up to the falls people probably thought we were crazy because we were just wearing t-shirts. Everyone else was in coats... but people in California are also pretty wimpy as well. However the water was very cold, you could just feel the coldness from the water, but it wasn't bad. We also couldn't believe how fast the water was moving, you definitely wouldn't want to fall in.

When we were at Bridalveil Falls we couldn't believe the sound and how loud it was. We wanted to capture that magnificent sound without getting the camera too wet. We just did a short video because the mist clouds at the falls was quite large and wet.






Once we got done seeing Bridalveil Falls we drove a little further to go more into the valley. It was BEAUTIFUL and to me the surroundings didn't seem real at all, kind of like Jurassic Park. The surroundings were so marvelous it didn't look like it was real, it looked like it was pictures that was placed around you.

Once we got into the main part of the valley we parked and were able to walk around and take buses because parking was limited in certain areas. We were sure happy that we got here early when we did because by the afternoon the park was crazy. It was so busy and traffic was stopped in the main part of the valley. When leaving the park we even got honked at by the person behind us because we weren't following the people in front us close enough. Traffic was stopped and you couldn't go any where, but here in California you are suppose to drive as close as possible to the car in front of you and don't let anybody pass you or cut in. Everywhere we have gone we have experienced that. California drivers are crazy. But here we are at Lower Yosemite Falls. We had hiked up to the falls and of course you couldn't hear anyone talking and got pretty wet depending on where you were standing. If you watch the video you can see a bridge and that is where you got the wettest. It was really cool to see these waterfalls up close.

Here is the full picture of Yosemite Falls. We had just hiked up to the lower falls and their is also a hike to the upper falls that is pretty difficult and long. When we were walking back we didn't even know their was a full view of the falls here until we kept seeing people stopping and taking pictures. We turned around and here was the view. We are so grateful we saw everyone else looking behind us because we probably wouldn't have seen the full view of the falls. Yosemite Falls are the tallest falls in North America reaching 2,425 feet which is the size of the Sears Tower and Eiffel Tower put together. This is the worlds 5th tallest waterfall.

When leaving the park we actually got a little lost because we missed a turn and went to a different entrance that was further South. While we were driving along we thought we were on a different road because the scenery was different. Luckily the turn off that we needed wasn't too far back into the park and we were able to see different things. While on the El Portal instead of Big Oak Flat we were able to see these huge rock hangings. It was pretty cool. We had actually exited the park and found out where we were to head back in the right direction we had saw the Arch Rock Entrance, we didn't get a picture but is was cool to go through a rock. I was so amazed by it I didn't get a picture, but just imagine a rock coming up on the left in the picture.

We had also passed some different waterfalls while on our little detour as well.

On the way back to Oakdale we had some very long switchback roads. The road on the right we had took on the way to Yosemite that was very steep but shorter. The road on the left we took on the way back that was longer and not as steep.

Oakdale & Knights Ferry, California

May 14th we packed up the car to spend a week in Oakdale, California. Some of Chris's coworkers were being transferred to Minnesota so we house sit their place while they went to find a house to move into next month. We really enjoyed house sitting, 1. because it was in the country, 2. they had two horses and a dog to take care of and have as company. We enjoyed having the animals around and just to look out the window and watch their quirkiness. This day we spent our time exploring Oakdale. This was a wonderful little town and kind of reminded us of Rexburg with its smallness. Our first stop in Oakdale was the Cowboy Museum. This was a neat little museum that just had some of the history of the rodeos and cowboys in the Oakdale area. Oakdale is known as the Cowboy Capital of the World... or at least I think it was and they still go by that name for publicity, because I have been to other places that have a more western feel to it. Oakdale was a very nice town and we have decided that if by chance we have to move back to this area we are NOT living in Stockton, but would love to live in Oakdale instead. Oakdale also had quite a few antique stores like Snohomish. It was interesting to walk through them and it was a nice little walk. Here are some pictures of Oakdale... we didn't get very many in Oakdale because it is like a normal little town, but here are some from the Cowboy Museum, which was just a very small one.

After visiting Oakdale for a little bit we decided to drive out to Knights Ferry to see the covered bridge. Chris had never seen a covered bridge and I had only seen them while visiting in Indiana for the National FFA Convention. It was a wonderful little drive and at first we had travelled in the wrong direction. One thing that we have learned while being in California is that the roads are not marked very good. It seems very typical that we never really know what the speed limit is or what road we are on. So the beginning of the trip was in the wrong direction, however we did pick up some very yummy apricots! Once headed in the right direction it was a very beautiful drive. We had gotten directions to take the back roads to see more of the country side instead of using the main road. While driving along we came across a ranch that had put cowboy boots on all the fence posts, it was really cool!

Once arriving in Knights Ferry we drove to where the covered bridge was. Their was a nice visitors center there that we walked around and then walked around the park along with having a picnic. Construction on this bridge began in March 1862 and opened for traffic on March 30, 1863. This is the longest covered bridge west of the Mississippi which played an important role during the gold rush in which tolls on the bridge took place.