Greetings from Tahachapi

Hi All-

Greetings from Tahachapi, CA. We have stopped overnight to enjoy a
jacuzzi, do some laundry, and fill up on good food. Also in town, we
were tricked into stopping at a scrap booking store where the
over-zealous and crafty shop owner Kathi gave us a 15 minute
demonstration on some of the great craft tricks. I think we
disappointed her with our cards and am pretty sure she would kill
Ginny with a umbrella shaped hole puncher if she found out that Ginny
used an unclean red stamp on the baby blue ink...enough craft
rambling, the past couple weeks have been a crazy ride. Don't have
enough time to explain all right now but will jot a few highlights and
will definitely elaborate in person when I get back and will post
pictures as soon as I can.

Not gonna lie, day one was rough. Felt pretty good hiking up the
first hill in the morning. It was definitely hard but each new corner
revealed an unbelievable view and awesome new plants. Also, a slew of
gecko friends which constantly scampered across the trail in front of
me kept me company. Things took a turn for the worse half way up the
second hill. We were suppose to summit the hill by noon and take a
break to avoid the 100+ degree heat. However, with an uncomfortably
heavy and ill-fitting pack and embarrassingly low endurance left me
only half way up by 1pm. Not able to summit fast enough and broken
down by the pain of the pack, Ginny carried both my pack and hers up
the hill (Thanks Ginny!) and we regrouped at my first water cache that
was decorated with flamingos and blow up monkeys. Also, we found nice
chairs and cold sodas waiting for us and spent the afternoon cooling
in the shade with some other hikers. Good news is that since then,
endurance has been building and I got a new Emily-pack which works
like a charm. Also, eliminated a few non-essentials as I spent most
of that second hill thinking of everything I could remove from the
bag- goodbye soap, Yahtzee, extra meals, "town-clothes," eye-liner,
large glass bottle of franks hot sauce, etc.

Stopped at the Casa de Luna hostel (or hippie daycare) where we were
greeted with applause from the hikers hanging out on the couches in the
front yard. Before we could chat, we were instructed that we must
immediately join a tour and that there would be no socializing until
the tour ended. A neighbor of the house gave us a very detailed
tour of the property- pointing out the magical manzanita forest were
we were promised the best sleep of our life and Narnia which could
bring strength but also came with a promise of hawk attacks for all
who wore beards...we casually passed by a man smoking through a scuba
suit on the back lawn (did not partake) but decided to tent there -
still not quite sure if I am ready for magical manzanita or Narnia.
As the tour ended, we were handed cold beers, Hawaiian shirts, and
escorted to an unlimited taco bar. Thank you Casa de Luna! Also, in
the morning, you get as many tacos as beers you drank the previous
night. We left early but I am sure many hikers dove into plates of
pancakes.

Next few days rocked as Mr. Kevin Lee slacked packed us (met us with his car, snacks, and beverages every few miles and kept our packs in his car) during a reroute due to fire. We also hiked with the incredible Fireweed- one of the first female hot shots and fire ranger for Alaska. We hope to meet up with her again in OR. Pictures to come of Vasquez Rocks- the setting for many a western film.

After a few more days of hiking, we descended upon hiker town where BR, MC, Gin and I rented an RV for $15 bucks to sleep in and Bob lent us his truck to make an ice cream and beer run. Hiker Town looked liked the town to be associated with the Vasquez Rocks - expected the Sherrif to bust through swinging doors. Four baby kittens made me think of Abby, the roosters cockadoodled early and we headed to the Aqueduct.

Hiked along LA's water supply and through the Mojave desert. Cowboyed (slept under the stars w/o a tent) for the first time!!!! Stars in the desert are absolutely incredible!

A few miles along a wind farm brought us here. Peeps are waiting- time to go! More later!