Today we had a gentle start - Tim and Ken and I took Rory and Jake for a cycle ride around Yosemite park area.
I was thrilled to see how good the boys have got on their bikes now. It's a pity there were not more off-road challenges for them to really show me how good they have become. I can't wait until I can take my neice and nephew riding like this.
What was so great is how much they enjoyed riding with us too. We managed to make it around the whole valley floor and then almost up to Mirror lake before Jake's infamouse puncture occured. Ken was beside himself with frustration and incomprehension- how come this wheel keeps puncturing. We thought we were clever and had fixed it this time by taking the sharp rim tape out but after lunch at mirror lake we got back to the bikes to find it was flat again-aaagh! We gave up on it and Rory and I rode on as the other limped home.
We met Vanessa and Marne and the whole huge crowd of family and friends up at mirror lake and had some lunch there, I panned for fools gold with the boys and waded in the ankle deep water- it's hardly a lake -more a trickle now :(
Jen wanted to cycle too so she had to settle for borrowing my bike and pedalling alone. A pity we could not co-ordinate bikes to ride together again. Although the terrain was somewhat tame here (enough for her to cope with riding with the brakes on bacwards- UK style!)
While Jen stole off on my bike Tim and Ken and I were led by the boys and Katy to our own private area on the river where we had built a dam with Vanessa the day before.
The water was extremely cold but Ken dove straight in and swam across the river only to be carried down stream by a fairly strong current but he managed to make it across.
Then Tim and I edged in more gingerly, Tim first, then I did the "1,2,3...dunk" which made me scream!
Eventually Rory plunged in just before Jake did the "1,2,3...dunk" technique too (with a fair amount of cajoling from tim and I first). Now we were all wet we started the fun and games.
We worked our way upstream along the sides stepping on the rocks to wade against the current then dived into the whitewater and floated downstream before swimmimg like mad to get ashore again before we were swept too far downstream.
We soon forgot the water was cold and we just kept doing laps for ages- eventually Rory, Jake and I swam across to the other side of the river and climbed out and upstream to jump in above a huge rock and swim back to Katy on the shore.
Katy watched on sedately perched on a rock as any cool teenage girl would, deciding the cold and lack of river walking footwear would keep her out of the river today.
We had such fun it was hard to get out but eventually the cold dug deeper into the bones and drying off in the sunshine was a much preferred option.
Tonight we picniced at Yosemite Lodge on the river- a great big gathering of family members of all generations- with T-shirt issuing and speeches by Mike and great political debates raging between Roger and Joan amongst the plentiful alcohol.
Apparently Vanessa and Mike used to stay in cabins on this very spot but they were washed away in a flash flood a few years ago, and the new lodge was built.
What a great place to spend time with family and friends!
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