Sunday, August 21, 2022

In the midst of soaring August gas prices and heat, we decided to take a road trip up the coast and down 395 from Mammoth Lakes, Ca.

We began our journey at the historic Santa Maria Inn in Santa Maria, Ca. This was the vacation spot for many old Hollywood movie stars like Rudolph Valentino and Marilyn Monroe. Rooms 210 and 221 are reputed to be haunted. I walked past these rooms and didn’t perceive any energy changes or paranormal phenomenon, though some have reported to do so, just standing outside the doors. Do the ghosts who haunt the Inn perceive me to be “too eager” and proceed to seek more reluctant hosts? Hmmm…………

At any rate, we attended Mass the following morning at Our Lady of Assumption Church in Santa Maria. This seemed fitting since August 15 is the feast day of Our Lady of Assumption. Carl Jung was quoted as stating that the confirmation by the Catholic Church that Our Lady was assumed into heaven, similar to Jesus, was the most significant spiritual event of the 20th Century: It confirmed the feminine divinity of the Blessed Mother. (masculine/feminine balance). I considered the statue of Mary at the entrance of the church to qualify as a Black Madonna to symbolize our trip.

Onward up the coast, we stopped at Cambria for the afternoon for a slice of pie at Linn’s of Cambria Bake Shop, known for its fruit pies. On the way out of town, we noticed amidst the New Age shops, the Padre Pio Book Shelf, closed for Sunday. I loved the eclectic energy of the mystical Catholic saint, known for bilocation, clairvoyance during Confessions, and healings, particularly of the eyes, positioned among the current psychic shops. A reminder that with mystic ability, comes responsibility.

We made it to the Gateway to Big Sur, Ragged Point, before heading east for Sequoia National Park. I wore my “signature” beach/hiking hat as we visited a succession of beaches along the way.

Ragged Point was awe-inspiring and we attempted to hike down to the bottom point from the surrounding cliff. I didn’t make it the whole way: the steps only led half-way down to a steep terrain. On the way back up, I bore too much weight when stepping on a huge step and felt a pang. The next morning, I couldn’t bear weight on my hip without wincing in pain. A reminder that I don’t bounce back anymore like I did in former years. Thankfully, with two extra strength Tylenol the following night, I woke up feeling better and was able to resume our hiking regimen. I paused to reflect that it probably was time to retire, an issue I’d been debating with resolve to set a definite retirement date when we returned. I have been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the mental health field for over 40 years, the last 21 with the County of Los Angeles, Department of Mental Health. The culture of the county has changed over the past 5 years, becoming more “woke”. With this trend, the caseloads have exploded, the Older Adult Administration was dissolved for other projects, and the emphasis is now more on what pronoun to use instead of the needs of the client. Time to move on!

We stayed at the Sequoia Motel, a family run business outside Sequoia National Park and barbequed all three nights while we explored Sequoia and Kings National Parks during the days. Lots of burnt trees but no active fires and the Sequoias still stand, resilient to fire. Wildlife abounded. On the way back to the motel, a baby bear and a deer crossed the road in front of our car, minutes apart. But no bear visitations during our nightly barbeques (wine tastes best outdoors with steak, fish, and chicken and Norah Jones on Pandora while we contemplated the universe.)

Leaving Sequoia for Yosemite National Park, it took longer than we expected to reach the entrance outside the entry town of Oakhurst, where we were booked to stay. We were turned away by a young male ranger with a pony tail and an earring in his ear: “No one can enter the park between 7am-4pm unless you have reservations in the park.” Our Oakhurst reservations did not count. I angrily protested and scolded him: “You should be ashamed to turn away older adults who have been driving all day to get here. The hotel didn’t inform us of this when we made reservations!” He was unrelenting: “It’s all over the Internet.”

We drove back to Oakhurst and was informed at the Visitor Center that we could enter the park by car, before 7 am when the rangers arrive or make a reservation on the tram that was usually full. He suggested another entry point to the park where we could drive through to Mammouth Lakes, if we decided to skip Yosemite. We traveled 2 more hours to get to that point only to be informed by another ranger that we could not enter until after 4, even though we had decided to travel on to Mammoth Lakes. We waited in line with other cars to enter at the appointed time with resolve to skip Yosemite and stay at Mammoth Lakes for the final four days of our trip. (Low point of our trip).

So we decided to chill at Mammouth Lakes. Driving to Devil’s Postpile the next day, we were once again turned away by the ranger: Entrance was between 7am-4pm by tram only. Dutifully, we returned to the Mammoth Ski Lodge area and stood in line for tickets to the tram. As we paid our $15 each, I mourned the fact that entrance to our national parks have become so restricted. The days of being able to pile into the family station wagon and freely explore our natural areas are disappearing. Will we soon have to “register” with the government before going on vacation and be assigned a national park that we can visit? Why are some areas of our lives becoming so restricted while others run rampant. ? Case in fact: Older Asian women are being preyed upon by inmates released from prison or not prosecuted for their crimes while crime explodes on our inner city streets. It seems like we are way out of balance with our priorities.

The tram delivered us to Devil’s Postpile at mid-day. I pondered what the ranger at the visitor center told us about this weird geological formation. Early American settlers were superstitious about this area, due to its frequent windstorms dubbed “Devil’s Windstorms”, eerie beauty, and seemingly mysterious volcanic origins. Mark Twain and Mary Austin visited the monument and spent time here in contemplation. It does have a certain “presence”. Certain natural places, like Devil’s Postpile, have a different energy: A stillness, as if the earth is vibrating on a level just beyond ordinary awareness. If this was a pilgrimage, I would say that this was our main destination. We ate our lunch at a nearby stream and “girded our loins” for the Rainbow Falls hike.

Rainbow Falls was Gorgeous BUT………hiking back to the shuttle was uphill and sunny and I vetoed mid-day high elevation hikes for the remainder of our stay.

That night, we relaxed at a Mexican restaurant with a Native American shamanic theme. It was great to sit and be served after the strenuous day’s hike.

We celebrated our endurance: Sixty-something but still going strong!

For our last day, we wanted to find an easy, flat, shaded hike. Not forthcoming in a mountainous region. We stopped at the Mammoth Lakes Visitor Center for a recommendation. As the female ranger directed us to Convict Lake, I noticed her companion ranger. It was the same pony-tailed male ranger I had chastised several days ago at Yosemite! Karma had caught me! He didn’t comment but I was intensely embarrassed as I remembered my outburst. I knew that I had to do something to counteract my tendency to attack when frustrated.

On to Convict Lake: a great choice. It was mostly tree-lined, and shady around the lake. At the halfway point, we made our way down to a sandy landing.

We took off our hiking shoes and sat on two large rocks at the edge of the water, our feet bathed in the cool water while we experienced a chakra balancing! It was sorely needed. I appreciated that my favorite nature places are always near water: oceans, rivers, streams, and creeks. I felt cleansed.

NAMASTE

EPILOGUE: We returned the following day to LA to the news that Liz Cheney had been defeated in Wyoming. I heaved a sigh of relief. Politics can not be separate from spirituality and cultivating a sense of balance in our daily lives.

Consider the current playing field no matter what your political persuasion: “Cancel Culture” that suppresses freedom of speech, rewriting history to “cancel” the founding fathers, explicit sexual gender education for pre-school and primary school students, sex trafficing of children due to engorgement at the Mexican border, race-based lay-offs of teachers, proliferent increases in violent crime on inner city streets (and Beverly Hills, too!) WAKE UP AMERICA!

Let’s veto the Trump hating fixation that Liz Cheney represented and unite toward fixing our crumbling country instead. Without intervention, 1984 can become 2084. Get involved!

Fini!