One of the results… me hiking out of a cave. Arrrgghh.

More results of this fun trip here.

But think about it, when we, women, are out on a trail and we really have to go, we need to find at the very least a bush or hike out in uncertain terrain to find a hiding spot. Then we look all around, to make sure no one can see us. Then, we unzip and pull our pants down until our little booty is completely out in the open, then squat and pee. While we pee, we need to be careful where the wind comes from, not to accidentally “rain” on our shoes. Oh and what’s that tickling me on my right butt cheek? Could that be poison oak?

Anyways, you get the point. I’ve been in various situations where I so would have paid to just have a penis. Whether it’s in the snow, or in the Grand Canyon where there is no where to hide on these highly trafficked switchbacks, or in Point Reyes where everything green may be poison oak. You do NOT want to have poison oak there.

Finally the other day, during a random run at REI, I got the Freshette. I thought to myself, this could really come in handy in more situations than I think I can imagine. It is brilliant!

Naturally I got home and wanted to try it right away. Reading about other women who got it, most of them gave the gadget its first try in the shower. Actually that’s a good idea! But I went straight to the toilet. Lifted the seat, as one should do, and aimed. It took me probably a whole minute before my brain could accept the fact that it was okay to let go. Once I started, I could not stop laughing and saying “woa” and “oh” and “oh my god that’s awesome”. I shook the tube, rinsed the device and done I was.

I took it to Mount Diablo when we went camping and tried it in the pit toilet. Worked totally great. I’m planning on taking it every time we go outdoors… and perfect my art.

We spent two days on the lower Kern river, rafting its white waters. It was our first time going down a river on a raft, getting meals prepared for us on a camping trip and sleeping with no tent! I repeat… we slept with no tent! I had some pretty bad bug phobia at first, but really, I haven’t been crawled on at all… or that I know of.

Being on the river with our amazing guide, Abby, was such a peaceful yet definitely bumpy and splashy experience. We went through some class III and IVs. I have to say, I completely got hooked on the class IVs and was begging for more.

What I’ve learned about white water rafting is that when you get into situations like this…

… you get out of them stronger.

It was a memorable experience we had at Harley Farms last weekend. We got to tour the farm, spend time with the goat, watch the mamas get milked, see how the cheese was made and savoured a delicious dinner with a group of like-minded people.

Photo by Kathy who took the tour and dinner with us

Note the glass of wine, while petting the goats… can’t get better than that!

Simply fantastic.

Thinking back to our adventure, aside from the dip in the hot springs, the best memory I have was to be in the sun and wear shorts (which is unusual for me), feeling the air caress my legs. It felt so good! I had to express it. Justin captured it.

Firefox users: if you want to make me stop walking, just press the ‘Esc’ key.

Oh and that first picture is just me wearing lots of colorful, un-matching layers and finding it pretty funny. I have fun with little things :)

Here are few shots of our walk near Crissy Field today. It felt so rejuvenating.

We made sure we would go back and made campsite reservations as early as March to secure a spot for Labor Day. So, last weekend we packed our bags and left on Friday night with our friends Joy and Kyle. We stayed in a Motel 6 in Red Bluff which left only about an hour and a half drive to get to the park the next morning.

We started with the Bumpass Hell Trail which was THE hydrothermal activity highlight of the park. It was absolutely stunning both for the sight and the smell. Vivid color contrasts, bubbly pools and steamy mud hole made it really live up to its name.

We then continued down the trail to reach Cold Boiling Lake, which turned out to be more of a Cold Boiling Pond… a little deceiving and added an extra few miles of hiking that we would otherwise have skipped. But what can you do… it’s an adventure!

Luckily we finished hiking fairly early and were able to set up camp in the day light. Our camping neighbors were absolutely adorable and kept giving us wood all weekend long! We were incredibly thankful because it turned out to be a lot colder than we thought and we fired up the bad boy as much as possible.

The next day, we were headed to Cinder Cone to see its crater and the Fantastic Lava Beds, on the north eastern side of the park. I’ve never been on or around a volcano and I was thrilled! Cinder cone is pretty small in nature’s scale, but you end up walking on cinder (essentially ash) which feels like walking on the beach. It makes every step you take doubly hard, especially when going up that steep hill.

When you get to the top and discover this big hole in the mountain, you realize how much sweating getting up that hill is worth it. The crater looked and felt so much bigger than I expected. I can’t even begin to imagine what craters like Mt. Lassen’s would be like. Giant.

From atop the volcano we had spectacular views of the fantastic lava beds created by several eruptions of Cinder Cone. They turned out to look like a very thick dump of volcanic rocks. They didn’t look smooth or anything. It almost looked like a junk yard. Weird. Fascinating.

After walking all the way around the crater and letting Justin hike down to its center, we ran back down the hill that gave us so much grief coming up. Take that, hill!

What a weekend! I love adventure and discovery. Our next big excursion? Grand Canyon! In the meantime here’s the full set of pics of this amazing place:

I really love two things during the summer. #1 is heat and #2 is tomatoes. Well, actually I love other things too, but these are top on my list. Guess what? We went to the farm where we get our veggies from and picked tomatoes… in the heat. Imagine how happy that made me!

Yes. Very happy.

Here are a few more photos that should inspire you to go to a farm and pick tomatoes too!
Oh and you’ll see some figs too… unexpected delicious bonus!!!