Song - Sugar Mountain by Neil Young
This was the view from our room at the Ahwahnee in Yosemite last week. Mr. B gave me a gift of three days at the
Chef's Holidays Sessions they have there annually.
On
the way up there we drove through the devastation of the Rim-Fire from
last summer. It went on for as far as your eye could see and was so sad
that I couldn't even snap a photo.
But once into the Valley everything was beautiful......
We arrived just in time to get settled into our room and then see our first Chef demo. It was Parke Ulrich from the
Waterbar
in San Francisco who also made our Grand Finale dinner on Thursday
night. The other two chefs who did great demo's during our stay were Jimmy
Bradley from
The Red Cat &
The Harrison in NY as well as Harold Dieterle from
Perilla in NY.
But the best part of the whole trip was having Mr. B to myself and the beauty of Yosemite!
The clouds rolled in on Thursday night and it felt spiritual.
I kept looking for a Tibetan monastery on the mountaintops somewhere.
Occasionally a spit of sun would land on a spot on a mountain and highlight it for a
moment. Then just as fast as it came, it would then disappear. Then another
place in the clouds would open for a second just letting your eyes feast upon one tiny miracle after another!
It was truly magical.
Thursday morning we woke to snow. Just a dusting of snow on the mountain tops and collecting on the trees.....my favorite.
Before heading home we stopped at the museum in the Village and visited with
Julia Parker. She was busy weaving a small basket but she is always happy to pause and tell you something wonderful.
Several summers ago, I took a basket weaving class from Julia. From personal experience I'll tell you, it is hard work collecting the red bud or reeds, splitting them and making a nice tightly woven basket.
She is a good soul.
"Climb
the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow
into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own
freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." - John Muir 1901
