Upper Carr Canyon Road

I didn't work today and took advantage of the SVHikers Meetup group to walk the upper section of Carr Canyon Road to the Ramsey Vista campground and back.  What I thought was a 4-mile walk ended up being a 6.7-mile walk that took up most of the late morning and early afternoon.

Steve called me at 8am to tell me they were walking the upper section this time, so that I knew where everyone was once I got to our usual meet-up place by the bridge.  I told him to not wait for me, that I would catch up with everyone.  I was slowed down by a white Tacoma truck driving 10mph up the road.  I parked the Honda by the middle falls and continued walking uphill at 8:30am.  I had Zeke with me and he stayed well by my side.  I stopped a few times to photograph flowers: the wild geraniums are now at their peak and the purple penstemons are now coming up.  Coneflowers are fading.  Despite the many stops I made, it only took me 20 minutes to catch up with everyone.  There were many familiar faces:  KimG, Kim C-F, Galen, HollyW and Rita, who is DeborahT's cousin.  Deborah is the wife of Tom, Kevin's best friend here at work.  Deborah and Rita look and sound so much alike!

There was little traffic on Carr Canyon Road today.  The white Tacoma truck parked off the road for a bit but then passed us twice during the hike.  We stopped as a group twice to rest and chat some more, first at the group campsite, then again at the second campsite 1.5 miles up the road.    It was refreshing to sit and talk with people again and catching up with both Kim's lives and learning about Rita's.  We didn't get back to our cars until almost noon, then decided to have lunch at Papa's Diner.  Only Galen absented himself, so once again at the restaurant, sitting on the patio, we all chatted some more.

Service at the diner is hit or miss, with the food often burned or slow in coming.  Today it was Kim G whose simple chicken salad took the longest, and I had to ask twice about the status of the "Puppy Patties" that the restaurant gives its canine customers when their owners order a meal.  I had a Patty Melt and this time it was nicely prepared.

I enjoyed hanging out with everyone, but I didn't come home until 2:20pm (!!!), just 20 minutes before Kevin came home.