Kennedy Meadows Resort & Packstation — Hotel in Sonora

This happened at Kennedy Meadows:

What's All American is when we got a big family camp-out cooked up on a Saturday night. One big family, one big rendezvous, one big campsite. Half are cousins of mixed North European descent; half are cousins from Latin America. Somewhere in the mix, a marriage must unite the two. And five colors of tents are staked, and five stacks of wood, ready to burn, and there's chicken being seasoned, burgers patted out, and there's two boys with BB guns and two with bows and arrows, and seven shared water bottles for target practice.

And then we got someone wise on Otis Redding and Al Green, who puts a match to this whole scene, and there's smoke, and there's fire. And we're all holed up in a canyon, high in the hills, held close by Sequoias and Ponderosa Pines, their shadows slowly lengthening along the meadow floor, like outstretched arms that will only let go at the last of the afternoon.

And the river keeps a steady shush on sharp words and dismay. And there's no wall around it. No roof, no floor, no line on any side, and all the dogs are getting along. And about all that could interrupt things is the joy of ice cream, coming with the gilded light, as day melts into night, as the starshine warms and the moon steps out on her great stage, striking the first of evening's chords. And the fires now stoked for this second set, the beat comes counting down to the sound of James Brown, "I've got soul, and I'm super bad."

And can you even tell who's who as the night shadows fall? Can you separate the body from flame, the dancer from light?

Flickering figures lick canyon walls, bright Love's smiling secret given to all--as the darkness looks enviably on: "You can never, never, never extinguish this light. Don't you know who you are? Don't you know how you see?"

And slow and late comes the call of dreams, cued up by night sentries, Harleys droning above, high up in the canyon, a yelp of cowpokes, half drunk, half Coyote, riding up to the pass--all the way to the moon they say. And you believe them too. You can see them there as the moon sails away. And you believe too they'll look back past their shoulder, our fires below, all unified, nodding with sort of a caretaker's pride, the fires looking all the same, all cousins here, all joined in hands, one out of many, all camped in the sands, wide awake dreaming, eyes up yond the rim, all deathless sparks flying, emulating the stars, rising endlessly, indefatigably--because there's no border that separates us and the stars, no difference in the all-inclusive sky, and nothing warms hearts like camping out,...

My friends and did a half day horseback ride to Relief Reservoir. We are novice riders, one of us a beginner, having never been on a horse. Let me tell you, it was amazing! A little nerve wracking at times, but definitely an experience you will never forget. ||Our group left at 10:30am. We were included in a group that consisted of our party of 3 and a family of 4, with two kids. The kids were around the age of 9 and 12. The whole process of paying (it was $65 for the half day ride, plus tip for your guide) and getting on your horse was easy and straight forward. We had plenty of help and there people all around us directing us where to go and what to do. Staff was friendly and informative. They gave a brief tutorial on how to hold the reins, where to put your feet and hands, how to stop the horse and turn it the direction you want to go. Then off you go! ||The trail starts out simple enough. The horses walk along at a slow pace, single file. We had one guide in the front and one in the very back. They were watchful and gave directives if need be. The trail starts to climb in elevation and becomes very rocky. I will admit that there were parts that had me nervous, close to the edge of cliffs, but your horse doesn’t want to cliff dive anymore than you do. Trust your hose and stay calm, it passes quickly. (I do have a fear of heights.)||The scenery is ever changing and nothing short of spectacular. You cross two bridges, walking parallel to the river, next to giant rock walls, and the closer you get to the reservoir it wouldn’t have surprised me if we saw a battle between cowboys and Indians. ||Once at the top of the reservoir, you get off your horse and have about an hour to eat lunch (pack a lunch or snacks!) and explore. You could probably make it down to the water, but we were content with just admiring the views while we relaxed. ||Going back down the trail was a little more hectic for me. The horses struggled at times with the steep decline and rocks. I will admit I was more nervous going down than up and I felt it on my body the next day. (I was sore everywhere!) You just do your best to lean back, hold on to the back of the saddle, and trust in your horse. Again, these are seasoned horses that have probably done this trail hundreds of times. Personally, I’m not sure I would bring my younger kid (age 8) but the kids in our group did great! ||When it was all done, drinking a beer at the saloon on the property, I looked back on it as an epic adventure that I won’t ever forget! Thank you Colby (my horse for the day) for being steady and...

I really wish I could give more stars, but until they put some money into the cabins I will give it a 2, and that is mostly for the location. I understand that these are "rustic" cabins, but there are some much needed upgrades.

Cabin #11 is one of the most popular, as it sits right next to the river. However, the oven does not work (and hasn't for at least 5 years) and the stove top surface between the burners is constantly hot. Not sure why they refuse to buy a new $800 oven. The beds are extremely old and make a lot of noise. The couch is also very dirty and needs to be cleaned. The roof above the deck had a bunch of holes in it, so I could only imagine the rest probably does too.

Cabin #15 should be completely re-built. I am not sure how they expect anybody to sleep upstairs, except the family of bats. There is sunlight coming through the roof, so it gets wet and very cold up there during the night. The furniture in this cabin was filthy; I preferred to sit on a folding chair over the couch. Again the beds where old and loud.

Sleeper cabin #6 was one of the nicer cabins. There are a few of the sleeper cabins that have new roofs and have been kept up nicer than the more expensive cabins. If the other cabins where more like these, I would give 5 stars.

I really don't mind the simplistic, rustic feel of the cabins; simple light bulbs, older windows, heck even the gaps in the doors are fine. However, I just wish the owner would give these cabins the TLC they deserve to make this spot truly...