Vanocni vecere - Christmas dinner 13. 12. 2009

This year I am going to be in Africa at Christmas, so I had my early Christmas dinner with friends a little bit earlier. We had traditional Czech fried carp, potato salad, Christmas cookies, gift exchange, and watched Czech Cindarella and Russian "Mrazik" :) I had great time!
PHOTOS

Tento rok budu v Africe pres Vanoce a tak jsem usporadala Ceskou vanocni veceri s kamarady o neco drive. Meli jsme tradicniho smazeneho kapra, bramborovy salat, vanocni cukrovi, vymenu darku a divali jsme se na Tri orisky pro popelku a Mrazika! :) Byl to super vecer!
FOTKY

Metallica 12.12.09

Just a couple of days before Christmas Metallica ended their tour in San Jose! It was great and LOUD concert!
Photos

Jen par dni pred vanoci Metallica ukoncila turne v San Jose. Byl to skvely a HLUCNY koncert!
FOTKY

Emigrant Wilderness - Relief Valley 24.-25.10. 09

The weather in California has been very warm this year so we - Jeff, Eric and I took advantage of it and went backpacking to Emigrant Wilderness. I was there about two weeks ago with Petra and Miro, but in this two weeks the fall made beautiful changes! The tree colors were amazing! Eric had in mind to reach Granite Dome, but Jeff and I expected more relaxed backpacking. And we won :) By 4 pm we found nice campsite, made fire and enjoyed evening with conversation and wine. On Sunday we hiked a little bit on rocks above us, but we were far away from reaching Granite Dome - at least we have excuse to come back. After lunch with great views we went back to the campsite, hiked to the car and around 4 pm were leaving wilderness.
PHOTOS

Pocasi v Kalifornii je neuveritelne teple tento rok a tak Jeff, Eric a ja jsme toho vyuzili a jeli do Emigrant Wilderness. Ja jsem tam byla asi pred dvema tydny s Petrou a Mirem, ale za ty dva tydny podzim udelal nadherne zmeny! Zbarveni listi na stromech bylo uzasne! Eric chlel zvladnout vylezt na Granite Dome, ale Jeff a ja jsem chteli vice odpocinkovy vylet. A taky jsme vyhrali! Kolem 4 odpoledne jsme nasli pekne misto na stanovani, udelali ohen a uzili si vecer konversace u vina. V nedeli jsme si vyslapli na skaly nad nami, ale byli jsme daleko od dosazeni Granite Dome - alespon mame vymluvu proc se vratit zpet. Po obede s krasnymi vyhledy jsem sli zpet ke stanum, pak zpet k autu a kolem 4 odpoledne jsme odjizdeli domu.
FOTKY

Vancouver 14. - 18. 10. 09

My trip to Vancouver had two main reasons – visa and friend visit. I had to go to US consulate to get my working H1 visa in my passport, but it could have been in many different places, since my very good friend Iva lives in Vancouver, the choice was easy. I arrived to Vancouver Tuesday around 11 pm. It was small adventure since that day was in Bay area such a storm and heavy rain, and I was really surprised that the flight had only about 45 minutes delay. Wednesday morning I had 9.30 am appointment for my visa interview. The whole procedure was so difficult that it took couple of hours to get to talk to somebody, but I got my visa without any problems so all the wait was worth it! I had to come back again on Friday to pick up my passport, but till then I could enjoy Vancouver. Afternoon I spent mainly in Stanley Park, which is nice big park near Iva’s place. Unfortunately on Wednesday and Thursday Iva had school after her work, so we didn’t have much time to spend together. On Thursday I went to hike up Grouse Mountain, which is peak close to Vancouver, it should have nice views, but it was quite cloudy. Friday was raining quite a lot, so I stayed at the apartment in the morning and helped Iva with some school work, then picked up my passport and did some souvenir shopping. In the evening we went for a drink with Petr, one of her friend. On Saturday Iva had again school and it was raining a lot, so I spent the morning working on my computer and then later I came to meet her at one shopping center. In the afternoon we went for hike with Petr and some other friends, where we managed to get soaking wet. We ended up the day in swimming pool and then Petr invited us for nice Slovakian dinner and movie at his place. It was great! Sunday was my departure day, and we only managed to go for short walk in Stanley Park. Then I went to airport to catch my afternoon flight.
PHOTOS

Muj vylet do Vancouveru mel dva hlavni duvody – visa a navsteva kamaradky. Musela jsem jet na Americky konzulat, abych dostala me pracovni visa H1 do pasu, ale to mohlo byt na spouste ruznych mist. Protoze ale moje jedna z nejlepsich kamaradek bydli ve Vancouveru, vyber byl jednoduchy. Do Vancouveru jsem prijela kolem 11 vecer. Bylo to male dobrodruzstvi, protoze ten den v San Jose a okoli byla velka bourka se silnym destem a ja jsem byla skutecne mila prekvapena, kdyz let mel jen 45 minut zpozdeni. Ve stredu v 9.30 jsem mela byt na americkem konzulatu abych si pozadala o visa. Cely proces zabral par hodin ale nastesti, kdyz jsem se dostala naradu, tak vse probehlo bez problemu a tak cele cekani stalo zato!. Musela jsem si zpet pro pas prijit v Patek, ale do te doby jsem si mohla uzivat Vancouveru. Odpoledne jsem stravila v Stanley Parku, coz je pekny velky park blizko mista, kde Iva bydli. Nanestesti ve stredu a ctvrtek Iva mela po praci skolu, a tak jsem nemeli moc prilezitosti neco spolu podniknout. Ve ctvrtek jsem se vydala na hour Grouse, coz je kopec kousek od Vancouveru, je z nej pekny vyhled, ale bylo docela zamraceno. V patek docela prselo a tak jsem zustala rano v byte a pomohla jsem Ive s nejakou skolni praci, pak jsem si vyzvedla pas a koupila nejake suvenyry. Vecer jsme sli na sklenicku s Petrem, jednim Ivinim kamaradem. V sobotu mela Iva zase skolu a zase hodne prselo, tak jsem stravila rano pracovanim na pocitaci a pak jsem se potkala s Ivou v jednom nakupnim stredisku. Odpoledne jsme vyrazili na prochazku s Petrem a dalsimi dvema kamarady, a tam se nam taky podarilo se dokonale promocit. Skoncili jsme v bazenu a pak nas Petr pozval na velice dobrou slovenskou veceri a film u nej doma. Byl to skvely vecer! V nedeli jsem odjizdela a tak se nam jen podarilo vyjit si na kratkou prochazku ve Stanley parku a pak jsem jela na letiste na muj odpoledni odlet do San Francisca.
FOTKY

Kennedy Lake - Emigrant Wilderness 10. - 11.10. 09

This weekend I planned long time ago, I was supposed to go backpacking with Eric as part of our “getting ready for Kilimanjaro”, but he managed to hurt his back a week before so it looked that I will stay at home. Luckily Petra and Miro were planning to go backpacking too and they suggested that I can go with them. We went to Emigrant wilderness, which is between Yosemite NP and Lake Tahoe. I haven’t been here yet, so I was glad to visit new place. We decided to go on Saturday early morning (I got up about 4.30 am) and we managed to be by trailhead around 10 am. Actually earlier than our usual start if we drive on Friday. The hike wasn’t very challenging, about 8 miles, some up, but mostly leveled. It had some nice views and we met quite a few people on horses. When we got to our destination – Kennedy Lake, we also saw a couple of cows. We found nice place for camping, built tents, made a fire and enjoyed great evening by nice hot flames. In the morning we didn’t want to go straight back to the car, but since we slept little bit longer then we supposed to, we didn’t have much time for extra hiking. Our ideas where to go were different, so Petra and Miro tried to climb up to the slope above our campsite, I went to rocks further pass the lake. We decided to be back by 12.30 so we leave the lake by 1 pm. The hike back took us longer than we expected and we arrived at our car around 6 pm.
PHOTOS

Tento vikend jsem mela naplanovany uz hodne davno, mela jsem jit na turu s Erikem jako cast nasi pripravy na Kilimanjaro, ale Erikovi se podarilo si vyhodit zada tyden predtim a tak to skoro vypadalo, ze zustanu doma. Nastesti Petra a Miro planovali jit do hor taky a tak me navrhli, abych se k nim pridala. Sli jsme do Emigrant wilderness, coz je mezi Yosemitama a Lake Tahoe. Jeste jsem tam nebla a tak jsem byla rada, ze uvidim neco noveho. Rozhodli jsem se vyjet v sobotu brzo rano (vstavala jsem asi v 4.30) a zvladli jsme byt na zacatku tury kolem 10. Bylo to vlastne drive nez nas obvykly start, kdyz vyjizdime v patek. Cesta nabyla moc narocna, asi 13 km, trochu do kopce, ale vetsinu po rovine, krasne vyhledy do krajiny a potkali jsme i nekolik lidi na konich. Kdyz jsme dorazili k cili – Kennedy lake, videli jsme take nekolik krav. Nasli jsme pekne misto na kempovani, postavili stany, udelali ohen a uzivali si krasneho vecera u teplych plamenu. Rano jsme nechteli primo vyrazit k autu, ale protoze jsem spali trochu dele nez jsme meli, nemeli jsme moc casu na turu navic. Nase napady kam jit byly odlisne, a tak Petra a Miro se pokusili vyskrabat na kopec nad mistem kde jsme stanovali, ja jsem sla na skaly za jezerem. Dohodli jsme se ze budeme zpatky do 12.30 abychom pred 13 hodinou odesli od jezera. Cesta zpatky nam trvala dele, nez jsem predpokladali a tak jsme prisli k nasemu autu kolem 18 hodiny.
FOTKY

Yosemite - Young Lakes 19.-20.9. 09

Another weekend backpacking! The great Californian weather invites for outdoor activities, so this weekend Honza and I went to Yosemite for the weekend. We got permits for hike to Young lakes, which are three small lakes about 7 miles north from Tuolumne Meadows. We made it to the third one, the highest one, which had the greatest views. On Sunday we climbed little bit further for better views and Honza even went to "cool down" in the lake. The hike back was mainly downhill so around 3 pm we were back by our car.
PHOTOS

Dalsi vikend kempovani! Uzasne Kalifornske pocasi jen laka k aktivitam v prirode, a tak Honza a ja jsme jeli do Yosemit na vikend. Dostali jsme povoleni ke kempovani u jezer Young, coz jsou 3 male jezera asi 11 km severne od Tuolumne Meadows. Zvladli jsme to az k tomu tretimu, ktere melo nejhezci okoli. V nedeli jsme jeste vylezli jeste kousek vys abychom se rozhledli po krajine a Honza se dokonce i schladil v jezere. Cesta zpet byla vpodstate jen zkopce a tak jsme kolem 3 odpoledne byli zpet u naseho auta.

FOTKY

Deer Lake - Trinity Alps 5.-7. 9. 2009

Long weekend = backpacking trip! This backpacking trip was a great example that plans are made only so we can change them later! The first planned destination was Thousand Island Lake in Ansel Adams Wilderness, but about week before the trip we found out, that the permits are all gone. We changed our destination for Hoover Wilderness, where we could get permits just before the hike, but the day before leaving we were also told that the area is quite full of smoke from fire from Yosemite, so about one hour before leaving for the weekend we decided for one backpack in Trinity Alps. Petra Fantova, Petra Vyjidakova, Miro, Martin, Ryan, Lakshan and I left around 9 pm on Friday for about 5 hour drive to Trinity Alps. Around 2 am we found a spot by road near our destination and in the morning we picked up our permits and around noon started our backpacking trip. We had to climb about 4000 feet in 6 miles, and since everybody in our group was in different shape we split on the way. Petra F, Petra V., Miro and I climbed up the hill first and since it was cold we decided not to wait for the rest of our group. We just made arrows so the other group (without map) know where to go and finished the hike to the Deer lake. Unfortunately we didn't see the other three guys until the next day. As we learned later, Martin, Ryan and Lakshan didn't see our marks and took the wrong path. When they realized their mistake it was quite late so they stopped and camped by a stream. One of the downsides of this unexpected adventure was, that the guys were carrying tents where Petra V. and I should sleep, so we had to spend the night just under the sky. After we met the next day, we just made short day trip to Summit lake and move our camping to the guys' spot since it looked a little bit nicer. The third day we said bye to the mountains and descend back to the car. After stop at Reading for pizza dinner we got home around midnight.
PHOTOS

Prodlouzeny vikend = kempovani v prirode! Tento vylet byla prikladna ukazka, ze plany se delaji proto, aby se mohly pozdeji zmenit! Nas prvni planovany vylet byl k jezeru Thousand Island, ale asi tyden pred odjezdem jsme zjistili, ze uz nejsou povoleni pro kempovani v teto oblasti. Zmenili jsme nas cil cesty na Hoover wilderness, ale den pred vyletem jsme se dozvedeli ze oblast je plna koure od pozaru v Yosemitech, nakonec jsme se asi hodinu pred odjezdem rozhodli pro Trinity Alps. Petra Fantova, Petra Vyjidakova, Miro, Martin, Ryan, Lakshan a ja jsem vyrazili v 9 vecer asi na petihodinovou cestu. Kolem 2 rano jsme nasli misto u silnice kde jsme prenocovali, rano jsme vyzvedli povoleni na kempovani a kolem poledne jsme vyrazili na turu. Museli jsme se zdolat 1200 m prevyseni v 10 km a protoze kazdy mel trochu jinou kondicku, tak jsme se trochu rozdelili. Petra F, Petra V., Miro a ja jsme se vyskrabali na kopec jako prvni, ale protoze byla zima, rozhodli jsme se, ze nebudeme cekat a jen jsme udelali znacky, aby druha cast skupiny (bez mapy) vedela kam jit a dokoncili nasi turu k jezeru Deer. Nanestesti jsme zbyle tri chlapce uz ten den nevideli. Jak jsme se dozvedeli pozdeji, Martin, Ryan a Lakshan nevideli nase znaceni a vydali se spatnou cestou. Kdyz si uvedomili svou chybu, bylo uz pomerne pozde a tak zustali u jednoho potoku kempovat. Jednou nevyhodou tohoto necekaneho dobrodruzstvi bylo, ze kluci meli stany, kde Petra V. a ja jsme mely spat a tak jsme musely prespat pod sirakem. Pote co jsme se potkali druhy den jsme udelali jen kratky vylet k jezeru Summit a pak prestehovali nase kempovani ke klukum, kde bylo o neco hezceji. Treti den jsme se rozloucili s horama a sesli zpet k autu. Po zastavce v Readingu na veceri jsme dojeli domu kolem pulnoci.
FOTKY

Peceni - Baking 22.8.09

This Saturday night Petra (Vyjidakova) and Libor came for a visit. Since other Petra (Fantova) brought from her visit back home in Czech republic traditional poppy seed filling, we baked great typical Czech buns with poppy seed and farmer cheese filling and watch Czech movie "Pelisky".
PHOTOS

Tuto sobotu vecer Petra (Vyjidakova) a Libor prisli na navstevu. A protoze druha Petra (Fantova) privezla ze svoji navstevy dome v Cechach tradicni makovou napln, pekli jsme typicke Ceske buchty s makovou a tvarohovou naplni a divali se na cesky film Pelisky!
FOTKY

Green Day 18.8.09

Green day concert - great show!
PHOTOS
FOTKY

Grand Teton - Yellowstone NP 30.7. - 9.8. 2009

Six years ago I drove through Grand Teton National Park, but because of bad weather I didn't stop for a hike. The Tetons were so amazing that I knew I would have to go back at some point. This was one reason why I decided to drive about 1000 miles to Grand Teton for my vacation this year.

Pred sesti lety jsem projizdela Narodnim parkem Grand Teton, ale kvuli spatnemu pocasi jsme se nedostala na zadnou turu. Teton pohori me tak oslnilo, ze jsem vedela, ze se musim jednou vratit zpet. Toto byl jeden z duvodou proc jsem se rozhodla jet asi 1600 km do Grand Teton na moji dovolenou!

Thursday - Friday
Petra and I left on Thursday evening, after my class around 9 pm. We drove through the night and most of Friday, one was always sleeping, one driving. We arrived to Grand Teton in the late afternoon. Considering that August is a busy time and we didn't have any reservation, the plan was to try to get a campsite at least close to Grand Teton and in the morning be early for first come first serve basis campsite and the next day to try to get permit for the backpack. To my complete surprise we got campsite at the park and even a permit to start our backpack the next day - Saturday!

Ctvrtek - PatekVyjely jsme s Petrou ve ctvrtek vecer, po moji hodine na universite, kolem 9 vecer. Jely jsme celou noc a velkou cast patku, stridaly jsme se v rizeni a spani. Do Grand Tetonu jsme prijely k veceru. Protoze byl srpen, jeden z nejrusnejsich mesicu a my jsme nemely zednou reservaci, planovaly jsme kempovat nekde pobliz parku a brzo rano byt v rade na kemp, ktere jsou na bazi kdo driv prijde.... a druhy den zkusit dostat povoleni na backpack. K memu velkemu prekvapeni jsem nasly nejen kemp v parku, ale dostaly jsme i povoleni na nas vylet do hor hned na druhy den - Sobotu!



























Saturday
We packed our bags, made sure that we had everything necessary for 5 day - 40 miles backpacking trip and drove to the trailhead where we were planning to finish. We wanted to leave our car there and then hitchhike to our starting point (ranger recommendation), but we didn't see anybody around, so we decided for another, little bit more expensive solution. We drove to our starting point, Granite canyon trailhead and called a company who later transported our car to the finishing trailhead (again list of providers from ranger).
We finally started around 1 pm. We had to walk over 7 miles to our designated camping place. We walked through Granite canyon, first part in the woods, later it opened up more and we saw beautiful meadows with flowers. We camped in upper Granite canyon. Tired and not being able to make a fire and get rid of annoying mosquitoes, we went early to bed, just after dinner and hot chocolate.

Sobota
Sabalily jsme si batohy a ujistily se, ze mame vse nezbytne na 5 dni v horach a 64 km a jely jsme do mista kam jsme planovaly dojit. Chtely jsme tam nechat nase auto a stopem dojet k nasemu vychozimu bodu (na radu rangera), ale nikoho, koho bychom se mohli zeptat jsme na parkovisti nevidely a tak jsme se rozhodly pro drazsi variantu. Jely jsme do naseho vychoziho bodu a zavolaly spolecnost ktera nam pozdeji prevezla auto k mistu kam jsme mely dojit (opet seznam spolecnosti byl dodan rangerem).
Vysly jsme kolem 1 odpoledne. Musely jsme jit pres 11 km k mistu, kde jsme mohly kempovat. Sly jsme Granit kanonem, prvni cast lesem, pozdeji se kanon vice otevrel a nam se naskytl pohled na nadherne louky s kytkama. Kempovaly jsme v horni casti Granite kanyon. Unaveny a take jelikoz jsme nemohly zalozit ohen a zbavit se otravujicich komaru, sly jsme spat brzy po veceri a teple cokolade!
Sunday
After almost 12 hours sleep we hiked up to Marion Lake and join the crest Teton trail. When we reached the first of the two passes that we had to cross that day, the view of the Tetons appeared! We walked around 11 miles, passing Fox Creek pass, Death Canyon Shelf and Mt. Meek pass and descending into Alaska basin (out of Grand Teton NP boundaries) for the night by some lakes.

Nedele
Temer po 12 hodinach spanku jsme vysly k jezeru Marion a napojily se na cestu Crest Teton. Kdyz jsme dosly k prvnimu prusmyku kterym jsme dnes musely projit, objevily se pre nami vrcholky Tetonu! Sly jsme asi 18 km, prosly Fox Creek pass, Death Canyon Shelf, Mt. Meek pass a nakonec jsme sesly do Alaska Basin (mimo Narodni Park Grand Teton), kde jsme prespaly u jezer.
Monday
Our next camping zone wasn't too far away - only about 6.5 miles, but we had to climb up to the Hurricane pass (10372 ft), so we started quite early. The view from this pass was really unbelievable and we spent at least one hour on the top enjoying the view! We camped in South Fork Cascade canyon. Unfortunately there were designated campsite spots in the canyon and the one that we found at about the location that we wanted to stop was full of mosquitoes (more that usual!). We solved that problem by taking our dinner to the river and enjoyed our afternoon there!

Pondeli
Nase dalsi kempovaci misto nebylo daleko - jen asi 10 km, ale musely jsme vyjit na prusmyk Hurricane (3161 m), a tak jsme vysly pomerne brzy. Vyhled z tohoto mista byl skutecne uzasny a my jsme zustaly uzivat si pohledu na vrsku alespon hodinu. Kempovaly jsme v kanonu South Fork Cascade. Nanestesti tady byly vsechny kempovaci mista primo vyhrazeny a ten co jsme nasly v miste kam jsme chtely dojit byl plny komaru (vice nez obvykle!). Vyresily jsme to tak, ze jsem si vzaly nasi veceri k rece a uzily si nase odpoledne tam!
Tuesday
I think we broke a record in packing up and leaving - the mosquitoes helped with that a lot! We walked through South and North fork of Cascade canyon - full of beautiful waterfalls and small streams! Our first stop was Lake Solitude, after time there we started our walk to our highest point on our journey - Paintbrush divide. We tried to have lunch at the pass, but it got quite cold and windy so we started our descent. The way back was quite steep and the path was loose stones, so not a very easy task. We found our campsite after walking about 7 miles in Upper paintbrush canyon.

Utery
Myslim ze jsme vytvorily rekord v baleni a casnem vychazeni - komari nam k tomu pomohli! Sly jsme kanonem South and North fork of Cascade - plnym nadhernych vodopadu a malych ricek. Nase prvni zastavka byla u jezera Solitude, po prestavce tady jsme vyrazily na nejvyssi bod na nasi trase – prusmyk Paintbrush divide. Chtely jsme tam poobedvat, ale protoze se docela ochladilo a zacalo foukat, zacaly jsme nas sestup dolu brzy. Cesta dolu byla docela prikra a tvorena volnymi kameny, tak ze to nebylo zrovna jednoduche. Misto na stanovani jsme nasli po ujit celkovych 11 km v kanonu Upper Paintbrush.
Wednesday
This was our last day backpacking. Even the weather was sad, and the sun was hiding behind clouds, at least it wasn't raining! We had only 7 miles ahead of us and all downhill. Because when we got to the lower part of Paintbrush canyon the views stopped being interesting and we walked fast without stops to the car. We were back around 1 pm.

We found a campground in Colter bay and then drove to Jenny Lake. After short walk around we got back, made a dinner and went to sleep. We wanted to make a fire - finally we could, but the wood that we bought wasn't very good and we gave up after few tries.

StredaStreda byl nas posledni den v horach. I to pocasi smutnilo, slunicko se schovavalo za mraky, ale nastesti neprselo. Mely jsme pred sebou asi 11 km a celych zkopce. Protoze kdyz jsme se dostaly do dolnich casti kanonu Paintbrush, vyhledy prestaly byt zajimave a my jsme sly bez zastavek rychle zpet k autu. Tam jsme byly asi v 1 odpoledne.
Kempovani jsme nasly v Colter bay a pak jsme jely k jezeru Jenny. Po kratke prochazce jsme se vratily zpet, udelaly veceri a sly spat. Chtely jsme udelat ohen, konecne jsme mohly, ale drevo co jsme koupily nebylo moc kvalitni a vzdaly jsme to po nekolika pokusech.




Thursday
Our last day in Grand Teton we decided to hike up to Amphitheater lake where there were supposed to be great views. By this time we were used to getting up by 6.30 so we had an early start. The hike was only about 5 miles long, but with 3000 feet elevation gain. The views were really amazing, especially if one climbed around the lake. We had long lunch there, then stop by another close by lake - Surprise lake and then walked back. Since it was quite early in the afternoon, we wanted to do one more short and easy hike around Jenny lake to see Hidden Falls, but it started to rain. It had rained a few times before, but it was always over in couple of minutes. We thought that it will be the same this time and we started our walk despite the rain. We turned around very quickly, when the hail started to hit us and the sky above the mountains was black. We drove back to the campsite, checked our tent and went to the store for hot chocolate waiting for the rain to stop. The campsite was full of water, but luckily our tent was dry. We made a fire - quite challenging considering that the wood was now soaking wet, but we succeeded and made our dinner and warmed up a little bit before going to bed.

Ctvrtek
Nas posledni den v Grand Tetonu jsme se rozhodly vyplnit turou k jezeru Amphitheater, ktere melo mit nadherne vyhledy. Uz jsme si zvykly vstavat pred 6.30 a tak jsme vyrazily brzy. Vyslap byl jen 8 km dlouhy, ale asi s 1 km prevyseni. Pohledy od jezera byly skutecne uzasne, zvlaste kdyz jsme vylezly na skaly kolem jezera. Udelaly jsme si dlouhy obed a po ceste dolu se jeste zastavily u druheho jezera – Surprise a pak sesly dolu. Protoze bylo docela brzy, chtely jsme jit jeste na jednu kratsi a lehci turu kolem jezera Jenny k Hidden falls, ale zacalo prset. Uz nam prselo i predtim, ale vzdy prestalo behem par minut. Myslely jsme, ze to bude stejny pripad, a vyrazily jsme i pres dest. Otocily jsme se velice brzy, kdyz na nas zacaly padat kroupy a obloha nad horama byla cerna. Jely jsme zpet do kempu, zkontrolovaly stan a pak zajely do obchodu, kde jsme s horkou cokoladou v ruce cekaly az prestane prset. Kemp byl plny vody, ale nas stan nastesti suchy. Udelaly jsme ohen, coz byl docela narocny ukol kdyz vezmeme v uvahu, ze nase drevo bylo zcela promocene, ale podarilo se a my jsme si udelaly veceri a trochu se ohraly nez jsme si sly lehnout.

















Friday
Petra hadn't been to Yellowstone National park yet, se we decided to spend two days of our vacation there. First stop was of course Old Faithful. We saw the famous geyser twice and walk around hot pools and other geysers around the area. Then we drove to Bridge bay where we reserved our camping. To save some time in the morning we decided to drive to Grand Canyon of Yellowstone NP to see the famous waterfalls. Unfortunately the weather got again bad and we decided to leave most of the sights for morning hoping for some sun! Since it started to rain again and what's more, it was really cold, we had dinner at Canyon Village. The drive back was made interesting by stunning views of buffaloes on the road and all around and we even saw a grizzly bear - as a dot somewhere on the meadow!

PatekPetra jeste nebyla v Yellowstonu a tak jsme se rozhodly jet na posledni dva dny nasi dovolene tam. Nase prvni zastavka byla samozrejme u Old Faithful. Videly jsme znamy gejzir dvakrat a prosly se kolem horkych jezirek a dalsich gejziru v oblasti. Pak jsme jely do Bridge bay, kde jsme si rezervovaly kempovani. Abychom usetrily cas rano, vydaly jsme se do Grand Canyon of Yellowstone k vodopadum. Bohuzel pocasi nam opet nepralo a nakonec jsme se rozhodly nechat vetsinu zastavek s vyhledem na druhy den doufajice, ze bude svitit slunicko! Opet zacalo prset a navic byla pomerne velka zima, a tak jsem si daly veceri v Canyon Village. Cesta zpet byla zpestrena vyhledy na bizony na ceste a v okoli a dokonce jsme videly i grizliho – jako tecku na louce.
Saturday
We left early knowing that we had to cover the rest of the park. Today was the the first time in the week that we didn't have blue sky in the morning! We drove through all the view points around Grand Canyon of Yellowstone NP. Then we headed to Mammoth Hot Springs, stopping on the way at Tower Fall. At Mammoth Hot Springs we spent about 2 hours walking around the interesting formations, and then we found out that close by is a hot spring where we could swim. In a way I was quite sceptical, because the air was so cold that even the thought of putting a swimsuit on made me feel cold. We walked to the spot where a really hot spring joins a cold river and saw that quite alot of people were enjoying this natural bath! So we joined them. At that point we had all we planned for the day, but the thought of starting our journey home wasn't pleasant! We started to drive back the entrance to the park, thinking of stopping at some gift shop before leaving completely, but there wasn't anything in that part of the park, so we drove back to the Old Faithful area. After hot chocolate there we said good by to the park and started our journey back home to the Bay Area.

Sobota
Vyrazily jsme pomerne brzy protoze jsme mely na planu projet zbytek parku. Dnes poprve za celou dobu dovolene jsme nemely rano modrou oblohu. Projely jsme vsechny mista s vyhledem na Grand Canyon of Yellowstone a pak se vydaly k Mammoth Hot Springs. Po ceste jsme se jeste zastavily u Tower Fall. V Mammoth Hot Springs jsme ztravily asi 2 hodiny chozenim okolo zajimavych prirodnich utvaru. Zjistily jsme, ze pobliz je teply pramen, kde se da koupat. Byla jsem docela skepticka k teto myslence, protoze bylo zima a uz jen pri myslence na obleceni do plavek me byla zima. Dosly jsme ale preci k mistu a skutecne teply pramen se vleval do studene reky a tam jsme videly pomerne hodne lidi uzivat si teto prirodni koupele. Tak jsme se pripojily! To byla asi posledni vec, co jsme planovaly v parku delat a videt, ale myslenka na odjezd domu nebyla vubec prijemna. Vyjely jsme smerem k vyjezdu z parku, ale chtely jsme se jeste zastavit v obchode nez odjedeme uplne, nanestesti nic nebylo v te oblasti a tak jsme nakonec jely zpet do oblasti Old Faithful. Po horke cokolade jsme se rozloucily s parkem a zacaly nasi cestu domu do Bay Area.
Sunday
Again we drove the whole night and since we near Concord where there is a nice Czech restaurant at around lunch time we decided to finish our great holiday with great Czech meal! We were back around 2 pm.
The total miles drove: 2464, total photos taken: 753

Nedele
Znovu jsme jely celou noc a jelikoz jsme byly v dobe obeda u Concordu, kde je vyborna ceska restaurace, tak jsme se rozhodly zakoncit nasi dovolenou vybornym ceskym obedem!
Zpet jsme byly kolem 2 odpoledne.
Celkovy pocet km: 3942 , celkovy pocet fotek: 753
PHOTO/FOTKY

Yosemite - Cathedral Lake - Mt. Dana 18.-19.7.09

As I mentioned a few times, Yosemite is one of my favorite places in the world, so I couldn't resist and I went for a weekend hiking there. We (Carolina, Pavel and I) left on Friday evening and slept on road near Yosemite west entrance. On Saturday day we woke up early and drove to east entrance where we met with Shosh and Marina. The original plan was to hike up Mt. Dana the first day and go to see Cathedral lake the second day, but because the weather didn't look too good, we decided to switch the plans. Since there was a possibility to make a loop hike, we drove to Tenaya lake where we left one car and then went in one car to Tolumne meadows where the trail started. It was about 3.5 miles to the Cathedral lake. There we divided - Shosh and Marina went back the same way and Carolina, Pavel and I hiked the loop - total about 13 miles total. Later in the evening we stopped by Mono Lake to take pictures in the sunset. We spent the night at a motel.
The second day we got up early again so we could start our hike to Mt. Dana early - about 7.30. It was about 3 miles hike, but with the 3108 feet gain. Mt. Dana (13057 feet) is the second highest peak in Yosemite and in the higher parts there are not really real trail and one must be careful where to step! In the end we all made it! We spent some time on the top, took necessary photos and then hiked back down. We got back around 2 pm and then drove back home - avoiding all the traffic!
PHOTOS

Jak uz jsem nekolikrat vzpominala, ze Yosemite jsou jednim z mych nejoblibenejsich mist na svete a tak jsem nemohla odolat a jela jsem tam na vikendove tury. Carolina, Pavel a ja jsme vyrazili v patek vecer a spali u cesty pobliz zpadniho vjezdu do Yosemite. V sobotu jsme vstali brzy a jeli k vychodnimu vjezdu do Yosemit kde jsem se potkali s Shosh a Marinou. Puvodni plan byl to vyslapnout na Mt. Dana prvni den a jit k jezeru Cathedral druhy den, ale protoze pocasi nevypadalo nejlepe, tak jsme se rozhodli plan prohodit. Protoze byla moznost udelat okruzni turu, tak jsme jeli k jezeru Tenaya, kde jsme nechali jedno auto a pak jeli druhym autem k Tolumne meadows, kde zacinal cesta. K jezeru Cathedral to bylo asi 5.6 km. Tam jsme se rozdelili. Marina a Shosh sli zpet tou samou cestou, Carolina, Pavel a ja jsem udelali okruzni turu - dohromady asi 21km. Pozdeji vecer jsme se jeste zastavili u Mono lake abycho udelali nekolik fotek pri zapadu slunce. Spali jsme v motelu.
Druhy den jsem vstali opet brzy, abychom mohli zacit nas vystup na horu Dana co nejdrive - asi v 7.30. Byl to asi 5 km dlouhy vystup ale s 947 metrovym prevysenim. Mt. Dana (3981 m) je druhou nejvyssi horou v Yosemitech a ve vyssich polohach neni vpodstate zadna cesta a clovek musi davat pozor kam slapnout! Nakonec jsme to vsichni zvladli! Zustli jsme chvili na vyrcholku, udelali nezbytne fotky a pak sesli zpet. Dole jsme byli kolem 2 odpoledne a pak jsme jeli domu a vyhnuli se velkym zacpam!
FOTKY

Coldplay 13.7.09

Petra, Miro and I found out that Coldplay is coming to Shorline in Mt. View so we got tickets and enjoyed the great concert!
PHOTOS

Petra, Mira a ja jsme zjistili, ze Coldplay je na Shorline v Mt. View, tak jsme koupili listky a uzili si vyborny koncert!
FOTKY

Trinity Alps 3.-5.7. 09

Every long weekend is great for backpacking and this three day off around Independence day wasn't different. Petra, Miro and I went to Trinity Alps. For me it was first backpack in that area and I was again nicely surprised how beautiful mountains around California are. It was really long drive, but it was worth it.
I had class till 9 pm on Thursday, so we left after 10 pm from Concord. We found one spot somewhere by the road around 2 am and had about 4 hours of sleep. In the morning we drove to the trail-head for Caribou lake. The last about 17 miles were on dirt road with a lots of stones so we drove really slowly - my car is not really 4 wheel drive :-)
The first day of our backpack we had to climb up about 9 miles from a valley to the Caribou lake. It was beautiful hike with great views, even to Mt. Shasta at one point. We found nice place for camping, made a dinner and I went to sleep quite early (I was still recovering after illness), and Petra and Miro were enjoying almost full moon evening with a lots of stars.
The second day we took just one backpack with food and climb slowly to the ridge above the lake and then later to one of the peaks on the ridge. We took it really slowly and enjoyed the beautiful views all around us!
On Sunday we hiked back to our car and drove back, as I mentioned the drive was long and with one stop for dinner we arrived home around 1 am.
PHOTOS

Prodlouzeny vikend je vzdy dobra prilezitost jit do prirody a tento vikend kolem dne nezavislosti nebyl odlisny. Petra, Miro a ja jsme se vydali do Trinity Alps. Pro me to byla prvni navsteva teto oblasti a opet jsem byla prijemne prekvapena jak nadherne hory jsou v Kalifornii. Cesta tam byla docela dlouha, ale stalo to za to!
Mela jsem ve ctvrtek skolu do 9 vecer a tak jsme odjizdeli po 10 vecer z Concordu. Kolem 2 rano jsme se ulozili nekde po ceste u silnice a zdrimli jsme si asi na 4 hodinky. Rano jsme pak dojeli k vychozimu bodu k jezeru Caribou. Poslednich 17 mil bylo po spatne ceste s mnoha kameny a tak jsme jeli hodne pomalu - moje auto preci jen neni do terenu :-)
Prvni den naseho vyslapu jsme se museli vyskrabat asi 14.5 km z udoli k jezeru Caribou. Byla to pekna tura s nadhernymi vyhledy, dokonce i na horu Shastu. Nasli jsme pekne misto na kempovani, udelali veceri a ja jsem sla spat docela brzo (stale jsem se jeste dostavala z nemoci), Petra a Miro si jeste uzivali temer uplnkoveho vecera s mnoha hvezdickami.
Druhy den jsem si vzali jen jeden batoh s jidlem a vyskrabali jsme se pomalu na hreben nad jezerem a pak pozdeji na jeden s vrcholku na hrebeni. Nikam jsme nespechali a uzivali si nadhernych vyhledu kolem nas!
V nedeli jsme se vratili k autu a jeli zpet, jak uz jsem se zminila, cesta byla dlouha a s jednou prestavkou na veceri jsme dorazili domu kolem 1 v noci.
FOTKY

Mt. Shasta 20.-21.6.09

I was planning to climb Mt. Shasta for a while, unfortunately I couldn't find anybody to go with me :-(. I was giving up for this season, when my plans for the weekend were changed in a last minute and instead of backpacking in Yosemite I drove to climb Mt. Shasta with Pavel!
Mt. Shasta is at elevation 14,162 ft. - 4,317 meters. There are many different routes how to reach the top, but for the first time climbers is Avalanche Gulch the best. We started at trailhead Bunny Flat, the distance to the peak is about 6 miles (9,7 km) with elevation gain more than 7000 feet (2100 m). The first day we reached Helen Lake -popular campsite at 10,443 feet (3183 m). We build our tent and after dinner we went to bed around 8 pm.
The second day we got up (or at least tried to) really early. After quick breakfast we started to climb at 4.15 am to the top. The day was beautiful, it was cloudy in the lower elevations, but we had sunny weather! We summited around 9.45 am after fighting our hurting legs and lack of oxygen. The way down was little bit faster. We got back to the Helen lake around 1 pm, packed our tent and hiked down to the car.
PHOTOS

Planovala jsem vylezt na Mt. Shasta uz nejakou dobu, bohuzel jsem ale nemohla nikoho najit, kdo by jel se mnou :-(. Uz jsem se loucila s moznosti vystupu pro tento rok, kdyz se me plany na vikend zmenily na posledni chvili a misto vyletu do Yosemite jsem jela na Mt. Shasta s Pavlem.
Mt. Shasta je ve vysce 4,317 m - 14,162 ft. Je mnoho cest jak dosahnout vrcholu, ale pro lidi, co jdou poprve je nejlepsi Avalanch Gulch. My jsme vysli z Bunny Flat, vzdalenost na vrchol je asi 9,7 km (6 miles) s rozdilem v nadmorske vysce asi 2100 m (7000 feet). Prvni den jsme dosli k Hellen Lake - oblibene taboriste ve vysle 3183 m (10, 443 feet). Postavli jsme stan a po veceri jsem sli spat kolem 8 vecer.
Druhy den jsme vstali brzo (tedy alespon jsme se o to snazili). Po rychle snidani jsme vyrazili v 4.15 k vrcholu. Byl nadherny den, v nizsich polohach bylo zamraceno, ale my jsme meli slunicko. Na vrchol jsme dorazili kolem 9.45 po boji s bolavymi nohami a nedostatkem kysliku. Cesta dolu byla trochu rychlejsi. Dosli jsme zpet k Helen lake kolem 1 odpoledne, zabalili jsme stan a sesli zpet k autu.
FOTKY

Half Moon Bay 14.6.09

The original plan was to go to Arroyo Seco for "water" hike, but because of combination of different reasons we decide to postpone it a little bit. Then it looked that we won't do anything on Sunday, but luckily we ended up at Half Moon Bay for nice relaxing afternoon.
PHOTOS

Puvodni plan byl jet do Arroya Seco na "vodni" vylet, ale z ruznych duvodu jsme se nakonec rozhodli vylet prelozit a par tydnu. Pak to vypadalo, ze se v nedeli nebude delat vubec nic, ale nastesti jsme nakonec zkoncili v Half Moon Bay, kde jsme meli pekne odpocinkove odpoledne.
FOTKY

Redwood National Park 23. - 25.5. 09

Three-day weekend is always good chance to get out from the Bay area. This time we chose Redwood National Park, which is in North California = long drive! We - about 11 of us - left around 11 am on Saturday and since we were stopped by quite bad traffic on the way there, we arrived at Eureka KOA - camping, around 7 pm. The weather wasn't great, it was cloudy and cold. We build tents, made fire and dinner and since it started to rain, we went to sleep quite early. On Sunday we drove about 45 miles north to Redwood National Park. The hike we chose supposed to be about 16 miles long (of course we weren't planning on doing it all :-) ), but after quite short distance we got to a river without a bridge. We tried to cross it (some of us actually did), but because 4 people stayed behind, we decided to go back. It was still early so we drove to another nice and short hike - Fern Canyon and then we relaxed a little bit on a beach.
On Monday, little bit worried about the traffic on the way back, we stopped only at Humbold Redwood State park for short walk around big redwoods. Then we visited Confusion hill for walk through Gravity house and then drove through a tree. Traffic on the way back wasn't too bad, so we got home around 8 pm.
PHOTOS


Tridenni vikend je vzdy dobry dovod dostat se z Bay area. Tentokrat jsme si vybrali Redwood NP, ktery je v severni Kalifornii, takze daleka cesta! Jelo nas 11 a vyrazili jsme kolem 11 rano v sobotu a jelikoz jsme narazili na dopravni zacpu, tak jsme do kempu u Eureka dorazili kolem 7 vecer. Pocasi nebylo nic moc - pod mrakem a zima. Postavili jsme stany, udelali ohen a veceri a jelikoz zacalo i prset, sli jsme spat relativne brzo. V nedeli jsme jeli asi 45 mil severne do Redwood Narodniho parku. Vyslap, ktery jsme zvolili mel byt 16 mili dlouhy (samozrejme jsme neplanovali jej zvladnout cely :-) ), ale po kratke vzdalenosti jsme narazili na reku bez mostu. Zkusili jsme ji prebrodit (a nekdo to dokonce i zvladnul), ale protoze 4 lidi to nezvladli, rozhodli jsme se jit zpatky. Protoze bylo jeste brzo, jeli jsme na dalsi kratky vyslap do Fern Canyon a pak jsme relaxovali na plazi.
V pondeli, jsme se trochu bali jaka bude cesta zpatky, a tak jsme se zastavili jen v Humboldt Redwood SP na kratkou prochazku kolem vysokych redwoodu. Pak jsme jeste navstivili Confusion hill a prosli se domem, kde to vypadalo, ze gravitacni sila pusobi uplne jinak a nakonec jsme se projeli stromem. Doprava na ceste zpatky nebyla velka a tak jsme dorazili zpet kolem 8 vecer.
FOTKY

Rafting - North Fork American River 9. - 10.5. 09

This was the most difficult, but also the most exciting rafting I have ever been to. I managed to organize group of 12 friends and friends of friends to go for rafting to North Fork of American River. We left on Saturday and camped at the Whitewater Voyages campsite, which is nice place by the American River, about 40 miles pass Sacramento. The difficulty of the river was IV + and since the level of water was high we could expect some action! We had two rafts and in the first 10 minutes one of the rafts managed to flip. Nobody was hurt so now we can just laugh at all the pictures that was taken! The other excitement later was when different company flipped on different rapid and managed to loose everybody including the guide from the boat. We helped them to transfer some of their "swimmers" and collect paddles. After lunch the rest of the way was relatively calm. On the way back home (and actually on the way there too) we stopped at Czech Restaurant in Concord and had a few typical Czech meals, so great weekend over all!
PHOTOS



Tento rafting byl zatim nejobtiznejsi ale take nejvzrusujici ze vsech raftingu na kterych jsem byla. Podarilo se mi zorganizovat skupinu 12 kamaradu a kamaradu od kamaradu a vyjeli jsme na North Fork American River. Vyjeli jsme uz v sobotu a stanovali jsme v kampu Whitewater Voyages (spolecnost se kterou jsme jeli), coz je pekne misto u American River, asi 40 mil za Sacramentem. Obtiznost reky byla IV+ a s vysokou hladinou vody se dal ocekavat napinavy dej. Jeli jsme na dvou raftech a behem prvnich 10 minut se jeden z nasich raftu obratil. Nikdo nebyl zraneny a tak se muzeme ted uz jen smat nad fotkama. Dalsi vzruseni prislo kdyz se raft jine spolecnosti obratil a ztratil vsechny vcetne kormedilnika. Pomohli jsme jim vsechny lidi ve vode a padla posbirat. Po obede zbytek cesty byl relativne klidny. Na ceste zpatky (a vlastne i po ceste tam) jsme se zastavili v Ceske restauraci v Condordu a meli jsme nekolik typickych ceskych jidel (tlacenka, smazeny syr, ptacky, svickova), tak ze skvely vikend!
FOTKY

Narozeninove grilovani/Birthday BBQ 25.4.09

My birthday was April 18, but because it was end of my spring break and I wasn't sure if I would be home I decided to organize my birthday BBQ one week later. Like last year I organized it at Vasona park in Los Gatos. The weather was nice - sunny and little bit cold. We had some BBQ, chat a lot and in the end played some ball games. Then the party ended in my apartment. Martin brought his guitar and we also played one board game. It was great day!
PHOTOS


Narozeniny jsem mela 18. Dubna, ale protoze to bylo na konce mych jarnich prazdnin a nebyla jsem si jista, jestli budu doma, tak jsem se rozhodla zorganizovat narozeninove grilovani o tyden pozdeji. Stejne jako minuly rok i tento rok jsem jej mela ve Vasona parku v Los Gatos. Pocasi bylo pekne - slunecne a trochu chladne. Grilovali jsme, povidali a nakonec hrali nejake micove hry. Party zkocila v mem byte. Martin prinesl kytaru a taky jsme hrali jednu deskovou hru. Byl to skvely den!
FOTKY

Santa Cruz - volleyball 19.4.09

It was hot Sunday - great for beach! The sand was so hot, that we had to wear socks to be able to play volleyball, but at least it wasn't too difficult to find volleyball court! After a few hours of playing we finished up our day with nice dinner. Unfortunately too many people had the same idea about going to the beach so the traffic back home wasn't very pleasant.
PHOTOS

V nedeli bylo horko a tak idealni podminky na plaz. Pisek byl tak teply, ze jsme museli mit ponozky, abychom mohli hrat volejbal, ale alespon nebyl velky problem najit hriste! Po nekolika hodinach hrani jsme zakoncili den peknou veceri. Bohuzel prilis mnoho lidi melo ten samy napad a jeli na plaz a tak cesta zpet nebyla zrovna prijemna.
FOTKY

Murietta Falls Trail 18.4.09

Martin and I went on Saturday to Sunul-Ohlone Regional Wilderness for hike to Murietta Falls. Unfortunately we started quite late and since the hike was relatively difficult and long, and the temperature was high, we didn't manage to get to the falls. It was still great day with nice views. We ended up by small creek where we had nice rest and then went back.
PHOTOS


V sobotu Martin a ja jsme se vydali do Sunul-Ohlone Regional Wilderness na vylet k Murietta Falls. Bohuzel jsme vysli pomerne pozde a jelikoz cesta byla relativne tezka a dlouha, teplota vzduchu vysoka, tak jsme nakonec k vodopadum nedosli. I tak to byl moc pekny den s nadhernymy vyhledy. Skoncili jsme u maleho potoku, kde jsme si dali prestavku a pak sli zpet.
FOTKY

Los Angeles 10. -13. 4. 2009

On Friday my spring break started. This year I wasn't really organized and I didn't have any trip planned. Amy, math teacher at the same school as I teach offered me to go with her to visit her cousin in Los Angeles. It was very relaxing long weekend, full of chinese food and one small trip to Hollywood.
PHOTOS

V patek mi zacaly jarni prazdniny. Tento rok jsem ale zavahala s planovanim a tak jsem nemela naplanovany zadny vetsi vylet. Amy, ucitelka matematiky na stejne skole, kdy ucim ja me pozvala abych s ni jela do Los Angeles navstivit jeji sestrenici. Byl to pohodovy prodlouzeny vikend, plny chinskeho jidla a jednoho maleho vyletu do Hollywoodu.
FOTKY

Kaiser Wilderness 28.-29.3. 09

Winter backpacking is always great experience! This year we went to Kaiser Wilderness - area between Yosemite and Sequoia NP. I have never been there and I probably won't stop being surprised how many beautiful places are in Sierras! Martin, Ryan, Lakshan and I left on Friday evening, and slept on our way in Fresno. In the morning we drove about two more hours, picked up permits and around noon started to hike. The lower part of our "trail - nontrail" went through parts of snow and bushes without cover. After lunch we got to the higher parts with snow cover, even though quite wet. We found spot for camping around 6 pm, made fire, had dinner and around 9 went to sleep. In the morning Martin and I wanted to climb one of the surroundig hills so we could have some nice view. Ryan and Lakshan stayed at the campsite. It was about one hour climb, but it was worth it! The way back was quite easy and fast. We tried to follow our steps since Lakshan lost his snowshoe extension, but we didn't find it. We were back home around 11 pm.
PHOTOS


Zimni tury jsou vzdy skvele! Tento rok jsme jeli do Kaiser Wilderness - oblast mezi Yosemite a Sequoia NP. Nikdy jsem tady jeste nebyla a asi se nikdy neprestanu divit kolik nadhernych mist je v pohorich Sierra! Martin, Ryan, Lakshan a ja jsem vyjeli v patek vecer a prespali po ceste ve Fresne. Rano jsme jeste popojeli dve hodinky, vyzvedli povoleni a kolem poledne jsme zacali nasi turu. Spodni cast nasi cesty - necesty vedla snehem a krovim bez snehu. Po obedni prestavce jsem se dostali do vyssich poloh, ktere byly pokryte snehem, i kdyz docela mokrym. Misto na stanovani jsme nasli v 6 vecer. Udelali jsme ohen, veceri a kolem 9 vecer jsme sli spat. Rano Martin a ja jsme se vydali na jeden z okolnich kopcu abychom meli lepsi vyhled. Ryan a Lakshan zustali v kempu. Byl to asi hodinovy vyslap, ale stal za to! Cesta zpatky byla jednoducha a rychla. Snazili jsme se jit ve vlastnich stopach, protoze Lakshan ztratil jednu nasadu na sneznice, ale nenasli jsme ji. Byli jsme zpatky doma kolem 11 vecer.
FOTKY

Petra - Miro Narozeniny/Birthday 28.2.09

Petra's birthday is 2nd of March, Miro's 9th of March, so Eric and I decided to suprised them with birthday cake. Firstly we were planning to drive up to Concord, but because Miro's house were too crowded we persuade them to come to Fremont. I baked typical Czech birthday cake and we put all 63 candles on it!
PHOTOS

Petriny narozeniny jsou 2. Brezna, Mirovi 9. Brezna, tak Eric a ja jsme se rozhodli je prekvapit narozeninovym dortem. Nejdrive jsem planovali vyjet do Concordu, ale protoze Miruv dum byl preplnen, presvedcili jsme je, aby prijeli do Fremontu. Upekla jsem typicky Cesky narozeninovy dort a dali jsme na nej vsech 63 svicek!
FOTKY

San Francisco - Sausalito - Tiburon 22.2.09

I wanted to do this ride for a while, so Eric and I took bikes and on Saturday went to San Francisco. First ride was to the Fremont Bart station, then from Embarcadero we rode to the Golden Gate Bridge, Sausalito and Tiburon from where we took ferry back to San Francisco. It was great day, over all we did about 70 km!
PHOTOS

Tuto "projizdku" jsem chtela uz projec pred nejakou dobou, a tak jsme se s Ericem v sobotu vydali do San Franciska. Prvni cast cesty byla k vlaku ve Fremontu, pak z Embarcadera jsme jeli k mostu Golden Gate, Sausatlita a Triburon. Odtud jsme jeli trajektem zpet do San Francisca. Celkove jsme jsme ujeli asi 70 km!
FOTKY

Lake Tahoe 28.12.08 - 2.1.09

Even though Lake Tahoe is not very predictable in terms of skiing, we (Petra, Miro, Verka, Eric, Honza, Katka, Jeff and I) risked it and booked a cabin for about 5 days in South Lake Tahoe a long time before there was any snow. Luckily, about two weeks before we drove up, snow fell and we had 6 great days of skiing. I hadn't been cross country skiing for so long I even took one day off from downhill skiing and went with Eric for a nice ride around Echo Lake.
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I kdyz Lake Tahoe neni moc spolehlive na lyzovani, my (Petra, Miro, Verka, Eric, Honza, Katka, Jeff a ja) jsme zarezervovali chatu na 5 dni v South Lake Tahoe dlouho predtim nez byl vubec snih. Nastesti asi dva tydny predtim nez jsme prijeli napadl snih a my jsme meli 6 dni nadherneho lyzovani. Uz jsem nebyla na bezkach hodne dlouho a tak jsem si dokonce dala pauzu a jeden den jsem se jela projet s Erikem kolem Echo Lake.
FOTKY

San Francisco 27.12. 08

I wanted to see San Francisco in Christmas lights and Eric hadn't walked over the Golden Gate Bridge yet, so these two reasons were good enough for us to drive to the City! Unfortunately the weather wasn't great, walking over the bridge was pretty noisy, and we didn't see too many christmas lights, but in the end it was great day! The sun came up later while we walked toward Baker beach and we managed to take a few nice photos of the Bridge. On our list was also ice skating at Embarcadero center, but the line to get to the ring was so long that we decided to walk around the ferry building instead.
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Ja jsem chtela videt San Francisco ve vanocnim osvetleni a Eric jeste nesel pres Golden Gate Bridge a tak tyto dva duvody nam napomohli v ceste do San Francisca. Nanestesti pocasi nam moc nepralo, prochazka po moste byla docela hlucna a mnoho vanocniho osvetleni k videni nebylo, ale nakonec jsme meli pekny den! Slunicko se objevilo pozdeji, kdyz jsme sli smerem k Baker beach a podarilo se nam tak vyfotit nekolik peknych fotek mostu. Na nasem seznamu veci, co jsme chteli delat bylo take brusleni v Embarcadero centru, ale rada na brusleni byla tak dlouha, ze jsme se misto toho radeji prosli v budove odkud odjizdi trajekty pres zaliv.
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Vanoce - Christmas 24.12.08

This year I celebrated Christmas eve in my appartman with Eric, Petra, Miro and Martin. After a traditional Christmas dinner of fried carp and potato salad, we opened presents, watched Czech Cinderella and just relaxed. Czech Christmas cookies were also there. Katka, Verka, Honza and David also came later!
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Tento rok jsem oslavila Vanoce v mem byte s Ericekem, Petrou, Mirem a Martinem. Po tradicni ceske veceri - smazenem kapru a bramborovem salatu jsme otevreli darky, podivali se na Tri orisky pro Popelku a odpocivali. Nechybeli samozrejme ani ceske Vanocni cukrovi. Pozdeji prisla Katka, Verka, Honza a David na navstevu.
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Lava Beds and Crater Lake NP 19. - 23.12. 08

Just a few days before Christmas Eric and I went to see a national monument, Lava Beds, in northern California. This park is not well-known and has only a few visitor during winter. Lava flows created interesting caves here. We spent about two and a half days walking, crawling and admiring these beautiful formations. Before we went back to the Bay area we decided to head farther north to Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. The drive here was quite an experience! The road was covered with snow so it felt like driving through a snow fairyland! At Crater Lake we were very lucky; although we were told that the Lake is rarely visible during winter we had a great day with blue skies!
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Par dni pred Vanocemi Eric a ja jsme se vydali do narodniho monumentu v severni Kalifornii - Lava beds. Tento park neni moc znamy a pres zimu nema mnoho navstevniku. Lava tady vytvorila zajimave jeskyne. My jsme stravili asi dva a pul dne chozenim, lozenim a obdivovanim techto zajimavych utvaru. Nez jsme se vydali zpet domu, tak jsme se rozhodli zajet si jeste kousek na sever do Oregonu k Narodnimu parku Crater lake. Uz jen cesta sem byl zajimava, silnice byla pokryta snehem a tak to vypadalo jako projizdenim zimni pohadkou. U Crater lake jsme meli velke stesti, i kdyz nam bylo receno, ze jezero je malokdy videt v zime, my jsme meli nadherny den s modrou oblohou.
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Den Dikuvzdani - Thanksgiving 26. - 30.11.08

For the long weekend around Thanksgiving, which in the USA is celebrated on the last Thursday in November, we went to cabin in Truckee, near Lake Tahoe. Instead of the traditional turkey, we had much better goose and duck with cabbage and dumplings, which were prepared by Petr and Lenka. We managed a few small hikes; one of them was even on bikes!
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Na prodlouzeny vikend kolem dne Dikuvzdani, ktery se v Americe slavi posledni ctvrtek v Listopadu jsme vyjeli na chatu k Lake Tahoe, blizko Truckee. Sice jsme nemeli tradicniho krocana, ale zato mnohem lepsi husu a kacenu se zelim a knedliky, ktere pripravili Petr a Lenka. Zvladli jsme par malych vyletu z toho jeden na kole!
FOTKY