Queen of the World!

The reference is all about Miz C.

Ever since our trip up Mt. Tam the other day, Cass is the one who remained fascinated by the journey from the valley floor, up through the clouds of mist to emerge in the brilliant sunshine of Tamalpais' upper slopes.

So today, Uncle D offered to show the girls to his favourite places on those slopes, which are not far from where we were on Thursday. When we stepped out of my sister's door, the temperature was probably in the high 60s. But after winding our way 3/4 of the way up Mt. Tam and reaching the car park that would be our starting point, the temperature climbed with us. At the car, it was maybe in the 80s? But as we left the well-travelled road and started climbing, the heat hit us. Kim and I estimated that the temp was somewhere well over 90 on those hills.

But so amazingly beautiful.

Our first mini-hike had us reach a little oasis of shade at the crest of a steep hill...there we paused to eat our sandwiches, perched on a bench that had been dedicated to a man back in 1925 who loved that very spot. It was a hot climb for the adults - I was so impressed that the girls made it with hardly any difficulty.

Brya was fascinated by the swallows diving for the dragonflies, the lizards basking in the sun and then by a hawk that sailed above us on the air currents...

photo by Brya

After our picnic, I headed out overland with the terrific trio to the next meeting spot, while K & D took another route to return to the cars and meet us there.

Sweetpea the hiker. See the banks of fog in the distance?

Once we met up at the next rendezvous, we all looked at each other - bright red faces, water bottles almost drained. Would we still journey on to the highest peak and make the climb to the very top, where the Mt. Tam Fire Tower was the ultimate destination?

We decided to at least drive to that next spot and then make the decision. The trio were rejuvenated by giant popsicles (ItZaGadoozy!) and listened to the cafe manager telling them about the train that used to run from Sausalito all the way to the top of Mt. Tam - back at the turn of the century.

Back then, you could pay $10 for the ferry from San Francisco, the train from Sausalito up to the top of the peak, lunch and dinner at the tavern there, and even stay overnight. Now there's a deal!

The guide who chatted to us near the old gravity train (the car that could travel back down the mountain on gravity alone) told us that at the height of the train's popularity, 700 travellers a day would travel up Mt. Tam.

So then we looked up at the last part of the climb and asked the girls - well? We gave them all credit for saying that they were game (though maybe with various degrees of enthusiasm).

Taking breaks at each patch of shade, we made our way to the very top.

This is Miz C at the base of the fire tower and the very highest that someone can climb. Way to go!

Queen of the world!

Mommy resting. Photo by Cass

Hot faces. Satisfied spirits.

After loving every moment of the journey, we trekked back down...

And when we once again reached the base of that highest peak, we were delighted to dunk our heads in the water fountains. Ahhhh!!!!!

Cassidy was thrilled that she made it all the way. Day 7 of our California adventure was definitely a thumbs up!

The following is a video clip taken from the very top of Mt. Tam. Oh, and Brya's reaction to the heat. ;-)