camping at sequoia

There are lots of pictures on this post. Last weekend, we went camping at the Sequoia National Park. It was a spontaneous decision. We had wanted to go during the labor day weekend, unfortunately, John wasn't feeling so well. So we postponed it. We packed up on Thurs night, ran some last minute errands and off we went on Fri. It took about 3 hours to get to the entrance of the National park and another 1 hour to our campground, depending which campground you choose. Sequioa is gorgeous. It wasn't my first time camping there. I went there several years ago, but i have a very bad memory. I do not remember most parts of the trip. :-) I am glad I went there again with John this time.

we toasted marshmallows for s'mores. What is camping without it right? :)

0ur campsite. We camped at Stone Creek, a first come first served basis campground. We paid $20 getting into Sequioa National Park, which is good for 7 days. Then $20/ night for camping which we think is kind of high. Camping is definitely not cheap nowadays. The campground is pretty decent with flush toilets nearby. We are less than 1/4 mile away from the store and showers. Showers cost a whopping $4 for 10 min! I am picky with the campground I go. It has to have showers! I can't imagine not taking a shower for more than a day! So it all worked out pretty good.

Buck Rock Fire Look Out Point.

There is a reason why I am wearing this gigantic sweater. Less than 1/4 mile into the hike, I decided it was too cold and sent John back to the car to grab some sweaters. He came back with 2 of his sweaters. I ended up with his massive gigantic Northface sweater, which I got it for him on his birthday :) look at these steep stairs ... we had to climb all the way up to reach the look out point. 172 stairs to be exact. Something about the stairs and the heights, i was scared to death. I almost didn't make it. I wanted to turn around and leave, but John convinced me that it's worth it. I am glad I finished it. The view was amazing...! i was still a little shaky even after we reached the top. It was windy that day. I was holding on tight to anything i could grab hold of.

and then i stayed indoor most of the time. lol
General Grant Tree- The Nation's Christmas Tree in Kings Canyon National Park. The tree stands over 267 feet tall, known as the second tallest living thing on earth.

you can often see deer cruising around in this national park

chipmunks muching away

more climbing. Ahh.. I looked so happy to be doing some work out

i have many pictures of me climbing up ... i am not sure what's so interesting about it. You gotta ask John... he seems to be in his own little world there. For all i know is, the camera was clicking away non-stop as I climbed up. When I asked him why is he taking picture of me climbing up from the back, he said it's for my blog. So I guess for some reason he thinks that this would be an interesting picture for my blog. I did pick out the most interesting one of all my backside photos. :P

view, view, view!

more amazing view from the top

we better be taking a lot of pictures from the top after climbing over 300 stairs in over 6,000 elevation. The air was so thin, I thought i had asthma.

the tunnel log. John taking a drive through it

ha! John looked tiny next to it
i had to post a picture of our campfire. John is pretty proud of it. Men.

Quite frankly, I wasn't quite sure the idea of going camping in the woods with just my husband (sorry babe). A last minute decision like that, it is impossible to find friends to go with us. Most friends have kids, or prior commitments. I was worried about the bear attacking us in the middle of the night, afraid that we will starve to death...etc. We went camping with Janet & Jimmy before, and there is always somebody taking care of our meals. So yea, I was kind of worried. :*) But, it was the most amazing experience ever! And did i mention we had the most comfortable bed set up ever? We laid a sleeping bag flat on top of a queen size air mattress. Another sleeping bag laid flat zipped up to the bottom sleeping bag. So we slipped inside, on top of that, we brought a comforter. So in the middle of the night, at less than 30 degree, we are wrapped up warm inside our tent. :)

There is definitely lots to do and see in Sequioa National Park if you decide to go camping there. We couldn't stop taking pictures. Every picture was postcard perfect. I wish I wasn't too lazy uploading 'em all... but I think I should call it quits or I'll never be able to go to bed. The end.

Life is Too Short

You will be dearly missed. Although, our acquaintance was only a mere 2 days you will always have a special place in our heart. You arrived on Friday with your nice fancy packaging. On Saturday you had done us proud at the company's picnic and today... today you were gone. Sorry we didn't get a chance to say our formal goodbyes. The way you died is too tragic. We are still trying to suppress the memory.

Friends and families: We lost her during our kayak trip today. We broke our other canon during our Hawaii trip. We finally got her a replacement, but unfortunately our time together was very short. Very short indeed.

rock and roll.

Months ago, I heard that Apple is going to reveal their new Ipod model in Sept. Ok. Now we don't exactly know what yet. They were just rumors. Many had said that there will be a new Ipod nano with built-in camera. Now that is so cool! I have wanted to get a nano for a while. In fact John got me one for christmas and I returned it. I decided to wait for the latest and bestest! hehe.. I know. No such word. Anyway. And then to confirm the rumors weeks before, they announced that they will have a special event on 9.09.09.

I anticipated that this was going to be huge. Or so I want to believe it will be huge. Many were excited about the upcoming event wanting to know the big secret apple is keeping from everyone. There were more and more rumors about new nano with video camera. There are nano skins for sale with little peek through hole for the camera. Now why would there be a hole if there's no camera right? ** hint hint** Finally on that wonderful Wednesday morning, I found out that they slashed their ipod prices down. In addition to that... yes, there is more. They finally announced that the new nano will indeed have a built-in video camera. Wait, there is more. They come with built-in FM tuner as well! One other feature I love about it is the fitness feature. Ahhh..... I am so in love with this new nano! Now, I am not sure how well all the new great additions work, but I am definitely going to get one! I have very legit reasons to own one. :P I have waited patiently for about 9 months to own one. I could have own it when John got it for me but I chose to wait. Second, they have reduced the price! The 16 GB is now $179, $20 bucks less than the previous version.

Apple, Rock and roll, you're right. I am so getting one!

Our House Downpayment

image borrowed from here.

Tonight, I suddenly got this idea to count the loose change we have in our coin jar. So I cranked up some romantic soothing chinese music from my itunes, patiently counted the coins and put them in their respective coin wrappers.

My wonderful husband came out of shower and saw me counting pennies away. "Collecting down payment for our house?" he said.

Gotta love his sarcasm! =|

It's wonderful to have such a supportive husband! ;)

p/s: we found out that a 1943 penny is worth anywhere from $10K to $75K. So hey... you never know. I may just be able to came up with the down payment for our house. ;-)