Practice Blogging - Part 3 of our Trip to California and Return to Portland

I am practicing creating a blog so that I can be efficient and effective in creating blog posts when Betsy and I arrive in New Zealand on mid-January.  This blog will cover the end of our trip to Castro Valley to spend Christmas with Stephanie, Brent and Logan, along with visits by Cathy (Betsy's sister), and then our return trip to Portland.

On the morning when leaving Castro Valley, we drove over to Redwood City (other side of the bay from Castro Valley) to visit with Nina and Zane, with new baby Rai, and the rest of the Suresh's (Mary, Subra, and Mira).  We took two cars with Stephanie, Brent, Logan and Cathy returning to Castro Valley.  It was a very gracious visit and Nina held baby Rai the whole time, who uttered not a peep. 

Something of a recap -- Betsy and I built a block set with a rolling box for Logan.  He was enamored with the pull cord on the box.

But has since been getting more into the blocks, per this photo sent from Stephanie, after all the house guest had left.

 Back to the story -- We drove from Redwood City directly to Highland Ranch Resort just south of Lassen Volcanic National Park.  We stayed for 2 nights and enjoyed the snow.  Below is the view from our cabin at Highland Ranch.  The drive was long but the Ranch was welcoming.  We were most relieved to find that the restaurant was open and serving both breakfast and dinner.  There were no other options for miles in either direction.

This is the cabin we stayed in - obviously note the snow.  Below are shots of the meadow and two people snowshoeing in the distance, for prospective.

Not Lassen Peak, but one of the nearby other.

After trying to do some local walking near the ranch, successfully punching deep into the snow, (need snow shoes), we drove into Lassen.  The access road was plowed up to the south side Visitors Center, was open.  The road beyond the Visitors Center was being used by sledders, skiers, and snowshoers to play in the soft snow or to access the back country.  We hiked up this road for a mile to Sulphur Flats, which has bubbling mud pots and stinky steam vents.  We chatted with a troop of young men who were heading further up the road to camp overnight, pulling plastic sleds full of gear.  The scenery was beautiful in bright sunshine and not too cold.

The next day we left the ranch, driving east with an eventual destination of Bend, OR and then Sisters, OR.  The first hour and half, the driving was on snow covered roads and about 30 mph.  But after 8 hours, we arrived in Bend to pick up Sophie, our cat, who was being cared for by Lisa Evans.  She seemed to have had a good time in a warm, friendly house, even with Lisa's dog, Gracie.  We spent the night at our Sisters' house driving home to Portland the next day.

New Year's Eve was quiet (except for a few fireworks), but on New Years Day, we hosted a chili feast with a part of our walking gang.  We are all heading out for international travel in January, most to New Zealand, as we are, and Carolyn to Egypt.

We are completing last minute chores, packing, etc., and depart on January 14th for a month in NZ.  Most of our group are already there.

If this blog seems to work okay, it will be what I use to record our travels.  I would love to hear your feedback.  It was effective for me.

Cheers, and Happy New Year!