Ebbett's Pass - Day 90

Long ago, the early inhabitants of what would become California must have headed out from the coast and travelled west. When they at last came across uninhabitable desert, they would decide, "This is where our state should end." Each time I enter California from the desert, I am stunned by the quick change from desert to arable, livable land. I don't know how they got stuck with Death Valley, because the rest of the state seems to be gold and green.

Today I entered the Golden State by crossing Ebbett's Pass. The Pass consisted of ever tighter and steeper switchbacks as the ascent continued. Near the top, the road's designers decided the road was too narrow so they had to remove the dashed line in the middle and just let drivers navigate around each other on their own.

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But once past the actual Pass, California starts spewing it beauty with alpine lakes, wild flowers,

gold grass hill, and high-altitude, breathtaking panoramas.

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At one of these panoramas, I came across a man and his two beautiful daughters playing on the rocks. One of the most effective ways to meet people is to offer to take their picture for them, and ask for the same in return. The father lined up between the daughters standing on the rock and I snapped their photo. When it was my turn, the cuties stayed on the rock and posed with lucky me. I spent the next 20 minutes talking with "Mr. Mom", while his daughters flitted about the rocks.

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It turns out Mr. Mom had just moved from Seattle with his daughters; his wife was

tying up loose ends and soon to follow. Mr. Mom had left a career corporate job in building supplies, and it was his pleasure to tell me that he had quit. He said, "I just couldn't take it anymore. If I had to continue with all the crap and politics, I would have gone completely crazy. It was work all day until exhausted then home too late and too tired to play with the girls. They were missing out, and I was missing out. Something had to give, so I just quit and left it all behind." His wife, having just completed 20 years of schooling (PhD I think) would be moving down soon and earning the wages for the time being.

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Mr. Mom and daughters were exploring their new habitat, and were excited to swim at the lakes up the hill. They happily went on their way. It was refreshing to meet someone fortunate like myself to have "figured it out" and is out there enjoying life as much as possible.

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Once back on flatter ground, I entered Murphys, CA. I could lunch at a Murphy's restaurant, be served by a lass name Murphy. Maybe get my oil changed at Murphy's garage. Find long lost Murphy relatives, and hear tales of Murphy lore. It took longer for me to think of these thing than to pass through the whole town. Not much too it.

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I'm back in San Francisco for a short stay. The next three states I will be visiting are Oregon, Washington and Minnesota.