OK. Here's the final post from our Turkey Week Vacay... that was fun.
Channel Islands NP has quickly become one of my favorite places in CA. True, I've only been there twice, but both have been magical experiences. Anyway, here's a short vid featuring the kids and the island foxes.
One of the better decisions I made for our Turkey Week Vacay was bringing the inflatable SUP along. The two paddles I did off of Santa Cruz Island were well worth the hassle of lugging the SUP around SoCal. There are tons of sea caves to explore right from Scorpion Harbour, and the snorkeling there is pretty awesome as well. Just attach you leash, dive in, and go look for Nemo.
For our last leg our our turkey week vacay, we decided to head out to the Channel Islands. Kimbo and I went out to Anacapa Island during our honeymoon and had an amazing time kayaking around, so we were looking forward to going back and exploring a different island. Santa Cruz.... the largest of the 8 channel islands. 22 miles long and 2 to 6 miles wide. The island has a rich history with archaeological evidence suggesting it has been occupied for at least 10,000 years... and interestingly enough the Channel Islands provide the earliest evidence for human seafaring in the Americas... as it is the side of hte discovery of the earliest paleontological evidence of humans in North America.
After Europeans came and settled in the area, the islands have been used for ranching, growing grapes, base for otter hunters, fisherman, and smugglers... hence "Smuggler's Cove".
On our way out we ran into Win and Natalie! Former co-workers of mine, who are married, about to start a family, and live in LA. We visited Win's folks in New Zealand when we were there, and we had last seen them in NYC when we visited Ko. A pleasant surprise.
our ferry... if there are waves... sit in the back. It's a long way out and it was a bumpy ride...
Santa Cruz Island
Hiking back down... Anacapa Island behind.
The "beach" at Potato Harbor. The kayaking operation is in the background. They have all you need to get out in the water.
Oh... what did the boys find?
The Channel Island fox... the smallest fox in North America.... a smaller subspecies of the grey fox that is endemic to the Channel Islands.
These guys are very friendly... and somehow even though they can go through your food and garbage they don't really feel like they are a nuisance.
These foxes are endangered, and at one point in the 90s their numbers were down to the hundreds. Scientists theorize that due to the decline of bald eagles (from the DDT exposure in the 50s), the golden eagle population started to thrive (they hunt the island foxes) and take over the island. Bald eagles deter golden eagles and subsist mainly on fish.
Conservation efforts were quite successful with the removal of the Golden Eagle.
Nikko thinks every furry animal is as nice as Mingus... a potential problem we'll need to address soon.
The two trail runs I went on were highly enjoyable...
it's a big island...
Scorpion Cove from the southern bluff
Pat had found the "most comfortable" grass he'd ever laid down on...
really steep cliff sides.
The ladies and their boys with employee housing in the background.
Looking back at our camp.
A look at one of Santa Cruz Island's many caves...
Potato harbor - That looks like a great place to moor.
Trippy clouds.
The boys like sticks...
Kai was the caboose!
Nikko likes sticks too... and copying Kai.
Check out all this washed up Crawfish! Wow... that would have been a haul...
Taking my inflatable SUP to the Channel Islands? Probably the best decision of the trip. Exploring the sea caves, snorkeling with the fish whenever, and enjoying the view from the water. Amazing. A must take item for your trip...
Pat looking good! He joined me on my 3rd jog on the island.
Artifacts at Smuggler's Cove
House at Smuggler's
On the way back, Kai got to steer the boat for a bit!
So did Nikko!
Make sure to time your departure with the sunset..
porpoises!
If you have 25 min, check out this vid... narrated by Kevin Costner. It's actually pretty awesome.
And if you only have 1 min, here's one showcasing the sea caves on kayaks.
Check out this Trip Report of kayaking the 4 main Channel Islands.
Here's a quick vid showcasing the two hikes we did on our short visit on our way down to LA during our turkey week vacation. The rock formations there are pretty awesome.
After a few cold nights in J-tree, we knew it was about to get even colder. So a few days prior, I booked a cheap room at Desert Hot Springs Spa. This place is a time warp straight to the 70s... and it really looks like they haven't upgraded anything. The geology of this place is pretty cool... the Mission Creek Fault runs right through here and separates two aquifers. One side is the Desert Hot Springs Basin with natural hot springs, and the other side is the Mission Springs Basin with cold water...known for its exceptional taste. So there are plenty of spas here, and this one has 8 pools with varying temps. The kids were in heaven.
The place also had a Thanxgiving dinner special, so it worked out great for us... looking for some R and R that required no cooking, setting up tents, or making beds.
As a disclaimer, this place is a bit on the dirty side... we didn't see or hear anything first-hand to make us want to leave... but let's just say this isn't the place to take someone you want to impress. And another side note... this place also is bankrupt, has one of the highest crime rates, drug use, and gang presence... not to scare you away from soaking in the hot springs after a day of climbing in J-tree... but you definitely shouldn't have any valuables with you or leave anything in the car. One night, Kai rode his strider to a near by Chinese restaurant... and while we ate someone took his Kinder Bike, which was parked outside! Yup... some low life stole a balance bike from a 4 year old. People are amazing. Sometimes in the wrong ways.
Kai enjoying one of the 8 pools!
And testing out the pull out bed...
the kiddos also got to enjoy a TV lunch.
Hi Nikko!
Thanxgiving lunch!
After devouring an excess of empty calories, we tossed our off spring into the shevanagan and headed into LA. We went straight to Griffith Park and went to the Old Zoo.
After Pinnacles, we drove down to LA to visit our friends Emily and Finn. We stayed a night with them and they hosted a successful movie night and the kiddos had a great time in their yard with an amazing tree house.
Nikko happy in the kitchen...
we met up with Pat & Sid to go to Travel Town, then got some N. African Tacos for lunch...
Once in Joshua Tree we were quite lackadasical in getting to our campsite. Big mistake. Between Thanxgiving and X-mas is their peak period... and as most of the campsites are first come first serve, you have to get there early it turns out. At the visitor center we saw that there were plenty of sites open. By the time we got to the entrance station, the ranger there told us that he doubted that there'd be any sites open. Turns out the visitor center doesn't update their open site numbers that frequently. After that we opted to go straight to Jumbo Rocks Campground, and after nearly giving up, we parked next to a car that turned out to be leaving. I really think we got the last site in J-Tree. Crazy. They need to have a reservation system in place from Nov to Dec. It's really chaotic and you basically have to vulture around to get a site there.
After that stressful experience, we set up our campchairs and drove off to Keys View. I wanted to do this hike, but it was quite blustery up there.
Salton Sea... 234 ft below sea level (vs Badwater Basin at 282 ft below). Check out the 6 min short below for a succinct tragic history of the sea and its surroundings. For a more scientific view check this one out.
some man on wire action. I'd like to hop on a high line someday... next time in J. Tree... I'd like to dedicate a few hours to set one up.
we had a funny interaction at camp.... as Kimbo was putting Nikko to bed in our van, our neighbor was getting something out of their car. Kim asked, "how are you doing?" to no response. Kim brushed her off as a bit unfriendly... then 10 min later her husband came by with a few logs signing to us that he was deaf. They were leaving and were giving us their firewood. Both couples were deaf and didn't hear anything from Nikko. Probably the best neighbors you can have if you have a crying baby camping.
The next morning we took Kai on his second hike of the trip. Ryan Mountain... Only 3 miles, but 1000 ft of elevation gain. Kai started off with a good luck hug.
Nikko did some hiking on this one...
After some snack breaks...
and some photo breaks...
Boom! The kiddos made it! Easy peasy.
Summit Shot!
After the hike down, we had another snack, and I got Kai on rope, scrambling around the boulders.
Kai = slab master
Back at camp, I went for a quick scramble to catch the sunset...
From Kimbo's perspective.
The next morning, Nikko was still asleep in the van. Nikko was not a very good sleeper the first 5 nights of this trip... but Kai was great.
We snuggled Kai up during breakfast. The weather was quite cold for J. Tree. At night dropping into the 40s.
Exploring more of the rock formations before breakfast.
Breakky time!
Skull Rock
Some useful links:
Mountain Project Page: Plenty of useful basic info here. When to go, where to stay, classic climbs, etc.
Download the OruxMaps for the area, as the park map really sucks. Or buy a topo. The fee maps here are useless.
Check out Indian Cove Campground (reserve-able, but not in the main area of the park) and explore that area the whole time. No driving, etc...
If you are arriving sometime between Thanxgiving and X-mas get to the campsites early to stake out a spot. They go quick. Or just make a reservation at Indian Cove. Though it would be a drive to anything from there... but if you are staying for only a night or two, sounds like a good place.
Go explore some of the caves. You can get the book, or probably go to the table of contents and google some of the spots.
