May 5 & 6 - Working at Kirby's

Tuesday, May 5 - The chill returned to the air that night. It wasn't COLD, but after days of heat, just a touch of winter remained here in the high country. We slept through the worst of it though, and woke well after sunrise. It was nearly 11 when we came down to the house and started working. We knew some of the stuff Kirby wanted us to do, so we got right to work.

He came out from his room around noon, and gave us directions for a few other things he wanted done. Tyne did a ton of laundry while I organized and sorted his back porch and camping stuff. Around three, he came out and asked if I could ride with him into town. He had a couple of errands to run and needed me to help carry some furniture. Tyne stayed at the house and did laundry while we were gone.

We left for town, heading down through Three rivers and into Vitalia. We stopped at a gas station for gas and he told me to pick out a drink and ice cream. I felt like a little kid, but had no complaints to free ice cream. We stopped at the bank and money order store, then picked up some furniture from the storage place and loaded it into the truck. It was a little hard to get it in, and I took us awhile of rearranging stuff before it all fit in. Our last stop was the grocery store, which was a very interesting place. It was like a Sam's club and a grocery store put together; lots of deals and big bags of stuff and a huge bulk food section. Finally, we left and headed back to Kirby's house just as it was getting dark.

Tyne had been a little worried, but happy to see us. She had the laundry done, kitchen and dishes clean, and most all of the work finished. We did a few more things for Kirby while he cooked us dinner. At 11, we sat down for a feast that blew our minds! The menu was barbequed baby back ribs, garden salad with strawberries, potato salad, an artichoke apiece, and a beer to wash it down. Then for desert chocolate malts, which was almost too much. It was after midnight when we finished eating.

He asked us if we wanted to do a second day of work, and we agreed to stay for another half day, then get into the park Wednesday evening. We headed up to our camp for a second night and slept great.

Wednesday, May 6 – I woke to a beautiful sunrise. The air was fresh, I was happy and life felt great.  I filled the bath tub with cold water, and took a slow bath while watching the sun coming up over the mountains. I emptied the bath and refilled it for Tyne. I got her toothbrush, clothes and a towel ready, then woke her up and let her have a bath.

We came down to Kirby's house again around 11. We started working, finishing cleaning the house and getting stuff back together. Kirby heated up leftover ribs from the night before along with a whole roasted chicken. He stuffed ourselves again and then sat outside to let the food settle. Kirby wrote us two checks for $120 each, and gave them to us along with a few other things. He thanked us for coming when we did. He said that he was really stressed out from work and this was the first time he had not felt uptight and overworked. We met his friend Greg who randomly showed up. He was a pretty cool guy. We got some pictures taken and turned uphill into Sequoia National Park.

The ride up into Sequoia was fantastic. We started at around 2000 feet in elevation, driving along the river valley. The entrance to the park was almost 3000, and we continued up to 4, 5, 6, and finally 7,000 feet! The temperature was 15 degrees cooler up here by default, and a strange and mystically tree grows up here; the Sequoia.

Sequoias are Redwood trees, but not the coastal variety. The coastal redwoods are taller and a little wider at the base, but Sequoias are special in that they have NEARLY the height and diameter of a Coastal, but the diameter stays fat almost all the way up. Most trees taper quickly, but these massive trees are the largest living organisms on the planet!

There are only a few dozen groves of these beasts in the mountains of California, and we were entering one of the largest. Giant Grove blew our minds as we passed trees 30 feet in diameter. It was getting late, so we headed to Lodgepole campground on a recommendation. The campsite turned out to be mostly closed because the snow was still present and melting. The few spots that were open were completely taken. We talked to an old couple that were spending the night in their RV on the edge of a large campsite and asked if they minded if we set up our tent 50 feet away from their vehicle. "Why not," he said.

We had camp set up before long and took Dazey on a little walk over the bridge of rushing water to the closed section of the campground. We were still full from lunch at Kirby's, so dinner was just a few Ritz crackers. We fell asleep in the tent listening to the rushing stream of snow melt.

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