(Gr)ass Valley

From Yosemite, Heinz and Furball headed north to Grass Valley, CA (affectionately known as Ass Valley by the locals). Sue, a friend of Heinz's, lives there. On the way out of Yosemite on Highway 120, we were stopped when an RV caught on fire. We waited until the local fire department put the fire out and rescued the poor old couple driving it. It turned out to be only the first of many obstacles that day.

Navigating by road map is only a slightly more reliable means of getting yourself around then a divining rod or a ouija board. From the map, it looked like highway 49 would get us there with a minimum of fuss. We were mistaken. It's a narrow, windy road of frustration. We got stuck behind an 18-wheeler going 20 mph, taking up the oncoming lane at every turn (much to the dismay of the oncoming traffic). And staying on 49 was no mean feat, since it makes random detours here and there, not all of which are marked. (!!!)

At Auburn, CA, 49 picks up a few extra lanes and we thought we were home free. Wrong. We got stuck in road construction and had to sit there until the road crew saw fit to let us pass.

We (finally!) reached Grass Valley around 9 pm, where Sue was patiently waiting for us. She took us to an AMAZING restaurant, which seated us in spite of the fact that we were totally grunged out from a half-day of hiking at Yosemite and a half-day of raving lunacy behind the criminally stupid trucker. The food was delicious. Afterwards, Sue let us crash at her place for the night. Hurray!

The next morning, we got muffins at a local cafe that had live banjo music. (At 10 am on Saturday?! Okay.) Sue took us out to the Yuba River to play in the water. It was close to 100 degrees, and the water felt goooood. There were rocks and whitewater and little waterfalls and lots of friendly people playing and having fun. Basically, it was like a water park, only better. Heinz fell over a waterfall, but his enthusiasm was undiminished. It was easily the best day of the trip so far. Thanks Sue!


We said goodbye to Sue, put Grass Valley in our rear view, and headed for Oakland to stay with Furball's parents for a spell. The trip there was uneventful. Thank god.