Patricia Harrelson

On Thanksgiving morning, I joined the ten Tippetts for a bike ride on the old railroad grade in Tuolumne City. It was a spectacular day with billowing clouds topping off a blue sky above the river canyon. We weren’t the only ones who thought a jaunt on this trail would be fun; there wasn’t a vacant place in the parking area at the trail head.

The bike riders took off with unbelievable energy while Jennie Lou walked, carrying Clare in a backpack, and I pushed Mary Autumn in the stroller. The kids riding ahead of us took every opportunity for a quick jaunt off trail or a jump over a berm. There were stops for tree climbing and rock climbing and Toyon berry fights. Mike and I did some plant identification, and JL and I chatted up a storm as we walked.

Here are two pictures: The first is when the advance party stopped and waited for us stragglers and the second is when bikes were abandoned for tree climbing. In a few days, I’ll post a Piccassa slide show with pictures from the entire weekend, including more from the bike ride.