cool clear water

XC Ski at Bear Valley

2012-02-01T22:16:00.000-06:00

It was overcast and a bit drizzly last Thursday when I went cross country skiing (for the first time in several years) at Bear Valley. They offer a senior program that includes rental, lesson and trail pass for $25. Ski, binding and shoe design has changed considerably since I bought mine. That (or rusty skills) resulted in several falls; embarrassing but no harm done. And in spite of the falls (and really, really sore muscles) I got bit by the skiing bug and couldn't wait to go back.

The next Monday it was bright and sunny. Most of the foot or so of snow on the ground was maintained over the week-end due to cold temperatures. The easy flat trails that circle around the meadow are all groomed. Some back country trails are open, but I'm not up to exploring those yet.

This time I brought my old boots and skies. Oh they are so nice. Just a bit wider than the newer design. They almost made me feel like I had my ski legs back!

The Stables Trail heads out west from the beginning and crosses a little creek and pond.

The trails are groomed for regular skiing (see the two sets of tracks on the left) and for 'skating'.

Several trails come together at the 'Warming Hut'. They serve warm food and drinks. It's not so far from the start of the trails, but sure is a welcome sight on the way back!

Another trail follows Bloods Creek. It was gorgeous out there and I didn't see another skier the whole loop.

Coming in from Bloods Creek the trail goes through shady woods. That was the most fun because the colder snow made for faster (and easier) skiing!

According to the Bear Valley website they got an inch of new snow last night. Not so much, but anything is good now. I'll check it out tomorrow!

Wide Angle World

2012-01-20T17:45:00.001-06:00

Taking pictures with a wide angle lens is more fun! My new camera is another Canon (of course!) PowerShot SX40 HS. The lens is 24 to 840 mm. This is my first wide angle ever and I didn't know what I was missing!

So, I've been experimenting; walking down a trail and trying to guess where to stop to take shot. More often than not I stop way too far out to fill the frame with the wide angle lens. It usually takes a couple stops until the subject does fill the frame. Pretty soon I hope to get the hang of it!

One day I hiked late in the afternoon on the Carson Creek trail at Glory Hole on Melones Reservoir. Love the fading light on the oaks.

Another day on the Heron Point trail at Tuttle Town, also on Melones, with beautiful big manaznitas.

The trail systems at both locations are through oak grasslands. So cool to get so close to the ancient oaks.

A spur off the Carson Creek trail is accessible as the water elevation decreases. Another opportunity to test the wide angle!

(The 840 mm is another story. It's a challenge to hold steady. I've been practicing on birds and considering another blog to use as a record of those attempts. And maybe as a bird list too. Ummmm)

Yosemite Hike

2012-01-12T22:59:00.000-06:00

The weather was still holding and the destination was North Dome and/or Indian Arch Rock. This was a new trail for me. With mostly a southern exposure, the trail was clear for the most part. The temps were in the mid 40s in the morning and closer to mid 50s by mid day.

This little bonsai was soaking in the winter sunshine. Last January it was probably under 15 feet of snow!

There are only a couple water crossings on this trail. The first was kinda intimidating! While the ice was really thick, it was also very slippery.

In the heavy forest there are some patches of ice and frozen snow on the trail. Not so bad going up hill, but watch down coming back down. I was really glad to have hiking poles to assist!

Once up on top the trail continues along Indian Ridge with great views of the valley walls.

The trail turns off to the east and into the trees at the end of Indian Ridge, but not before this fantastic view of North Dome. This was my turn around point; it's probably another 1 1/2 miles down to the Dome from here. But I wanted to see Indian Rock.

Returning north on the trail I got my first glimpse of the Arch in the distance through the trees.

The trail to Arch climbs steeply and offers more great views of Half Dome and Sentinel Dome in the distance. (Of course, Half Dome is spectacular from the North Dome trail too, but my pics from there, not so much!).

I stopped part way up the hill for lunch. Noticing tiny acorns on the ground I was looking around for an oak tree. Then realized they were from low growing alpine oak like bushes.

Without the acorn I would have assumed they were manaznita.

The Indian Rock formation is massive; still, it seems very fragile!

This was a hard hike; close to 8 miles at 8000 feet elevation, but oh soooo worth it!

New Year's Day in Yosemite

2012-01-02T11:53:00.000-06:00

The signs on the highway said the passes were open and a call to Yosemite road conditions confirmed 'no restrictions on any of the park roads. What?!? On New Year's Day? No snow in the Sierra Nevada so far this winter has resulted in this unique opportunity to visit Tenaya Lake and Tuolumne Meadows with a drive up Tioga Pass on New Year's Day.

Adventure Pal P and I loaded up my Rav with winter layers and equipment only to find temperatures hovering in the high 40s to low 50s with bright sunshine. It was almost surreal to be at 8000 feet elevation in shirt sleeves in January!

Our first stop was Olmstead Point to catch a glimpse of Tenaya Lake. (The park removes the interpretive signs in the winter; didn't know that).

Lots of people along the shore of Tenaya Lake, walking dogs, sitting in the sun; AND ON THE LAKE..... ice skaters, a couple hockey players, many slip, sliding around, and even a remote control monster truck!

I got brave enough to go out a few feet so P could snap this shot. But no walking across the lake for this California girl!

There was a weird low rumble from the ice; maybe an echo from the ice skaters? And all these cool vertical frozen bubbles.

On to Tuolumne Meadows where we parked and climbed a ways up the face of Lembert Dome to sit in the sun. (And take advantage of gnarled trees to try the wide angle of my new camera).

The day was just too perfect not to do a hike so after grabbing a snack we took off up the trail along the Dana Fork. There was some snow, but not enough to worry. The river was spectacular with only a couple small pools of open water.

We made one last stop at Tenaya Lake on our way back down the mountain. The late afternoon sun created the illusion that these folks were walking on water!

According to monobasinresearch.org, who have been keeping records since 1933, the other two late closures of Tioga Pass happened on December 29, 1976 and January 1, 1999. Wonder how long it will be open into 2012? Not long I hope!

Peach Country Sunset

2011-11-29T17:41:00.001-06:00

Testing Blogger on iPhone

2011-11-25T08:51:00.001-06:00

Following a morning shower last week the sun came out and the temperature reached the low 80s!

Canyon de Chelly

2011-11-20T10:55:00.000-06:00

It's a short drive down to Canyon de Chelly from Monument Valley, less than 100 miles.

Several friends had mentioned the campground at C de C. It's No Reservations; No Fee.
Wow, it is so beautiful, set in the Freemont Cottonwood trees that were at the very PEAK of fall color.

With just one day I decided on the South Rim drive and a hike to White House Ruins.
Along this stretch there are seven places to stop and view the canyon so it took me a while to get out to the White House trail since I stop at every single one. Each offers another amazing view of the canyon and the ranches along the Chinle Wash.

Not much water in the wash, but it's easy to follow it's path by the cottonwood trees.

White House Ruins trail is the only one that allows public access without a Navajo guide. It's only maybe three miles around trip, but a 700 foot drop in elevation.

The sand stone cliffs are formed in swirls that defy imagination.

The roads up the canyon twist and turn around the cliffs through narrow passages just begging to be explored. Next time I will set up tours to see more of the canyon!

At the bottom of the trail there is a homestead with a hogan under a huge cottonwood tree, but NO pictures. The privacy of the people who live here is sacred.

Horses roam at will and ignore silly hikers.

The cottonwood trees against the red rock were brilliant!

The White House ruin is the one white plastered dwelling set among the others. Need to research to learn the significance of that!

Heading back to the trail up the canyon walls I met the horses again who were on their way home for the night.

It was getting late and I knew it was iffy to catch Spider Rock in full sun. Nope, didn't make it this time, but I'll be back for another visit soon!

Monument Valley Utah

2011-11-17T11:22:00.000-06:00

Monument Valley was not on my original list; I intended to go straight down to Canyon de Chelly. But 'Al' from Page said absolutely I could not skip Monument Valley if only for a day! There is a relatively new Visitor's Center/Gift Shop/Hotel with this view from the deck. The East and West Mitten Buttes are to the left; on the right is Merrick Butte. It was too late to do the Wildcat trail round the West Mitten so I strolled around the area just soaking it in.

Everything is much bigger and farther away than it looks. I think the regular tour loop around the valley is 17 miles. The Wildcat trail out to the Mitten is a 3 mile loop.

Traveling in the vicinity of the Utah/Arizona border is tricky with AZ not participating in daylight savings time and my iPhone NOT understanding AZ reasoning about that issue. That resulted in always feeling a bit worried about getting the wrong time for something. It was the worst for the Antelope Canyon Tour. Very structured and don't be late! At Monument Valley everything is a bit more casual. When I arranged with Herbert for my sunrise tour he just said be out front about daylight to meet Ruth. She arrived in a big white 4x4 Ford truck armed with two cell phones!

This was really cool. Just me and Ruth and the valley. We saw NO ONE for about an hour. Then a couple locals passed us as they headed out to work. There are a few scattered homesteads across the valley. The night before I had seen random headlights. It was a bit eerie.

The public is allow access on a short loop; the guided tours go out on a 17 mile loop; and Ruth took me way out to the farthest reaches of the valley. We had rough road, we had extreme sand, we had road that looked more like moguls. Ruth wouldn't use her 4 wheel drive until absolutely necessary. Under instructions from the boss no doubt!

There are several arches in the sandstone cliffs. First we saw "The Ear of the Wind".

Next was Moccasin Arch. We liked that one as it shared a name with my Moccasin of course.

Ruth walked into Big Hogan as I was turned away taking pics. I was so glad she did because it gave me a great perspective how how BIG it really it.

The sand and cliffs were absolutely gorgeous in the morning light.

Near the end of the farthest reach of our tour Ruth took me to a spring. It bubbled out of the ground creating a small creek where cottonwood trees took advantage of the water. The white stuff on the road is salt from the water. (I had serious doubts we would get across the sandy creek, but Ruth did it with the help of her 4 x 4).

Back in the public area are we made a stop at this cliff face to see the pertroglyphs.

My Navajo friend Al was right, Monument Valley is not to be missed. And there's so much more to do next time: a trail ride and an overnite in the valley that includes native dancing and music at Big Hogan after a dinner prepared by Ruth. Can't wait!

Glen Canyon Powerhouse

2011-11-16T15:53:00.000-06:00

We exited the dam and entered the powerhouse via a bridge across an expanse of green grass. (See tiny bridge at far end of next shot, that's the one from the employee elevator).

Under the grass are eight 14' penstocks that provide the water to the generators. At construction the penstocks were left exposed. It was soon discovered that vibration from the water flow would require modification. Thus the tons of dirt with grass planted on top.

This diagram illustrates how a penstock enters the powerhouse. The huge water flows work with low pressure to turn the turbines.

Inside the powerhouse a glass walled gallery allows visitors an amazing look at the 8 generators that each produce 1300 megawatts.

One generator was torn down in anticipation of the installation of the new stainless steel turbine and wheel.
(All eight will eventually have the old cast wheels replaced with new stainless).

Even at Glen Canyon with the capacity to produce seemingly endless electricity, it's a WATER FIRST policy that is reflected in the logo.

My visit here was a highlight of my whole trip. Next year, Hoover Dam, and it won't be by mistake!

Glen Canyon Dam

2011-11-16T15:36:00.000-06:00

So focused on visiting Antelope Canyon I completely spaced on the major fact that I would be driving right past Glen Canyon Dam. In an instant my van was parked and I was checking out the Visitors Center and Tours of the Dam?!?

Wow, the dam is HUGE! 710 feet (more than twice HH) with a bridge above and the powerhouse below.

Construction lasted from the mid 50s to the mid 60s. To house the workers, 'camp' was established at the current location of the small city of Page. (I'm wondering if the locals still call Page 'camp'?).

The Lake Powell catches runoff from snow melt in the Rocky Mountains in a 100,000 square mile watershed. At capacity, it's 186 miles long.

Fifteen of us followed our leader, a young Navajo gentleman, past serious security checks where we got a lecture to make NO terrorist jokes at the risk of being escorted out immediately.

On the crest of the dam we were lucky to see the tops of the eight intake structures. Hopefully soon they will be covered with water.

At the far east end of the dam is a crane that travels on railroad like tracks. The two other distinctive structures on the crest are the ELEVATORS. The one next to the crane provides access into the dam for employees. The other is strictly for visitors.

There are 94 employees at the dam. Of those four are women. One of the women is a mechanic, one is a powerhouse operator.

We rode the elevator not quite to the very bottom of the dam where we disembarked in a tiled gallery that would lead us to the power house.

Along the way we got a peak at a regular inspection gallery. No tile in there! Funny they mention employees riding bikes for transportation. I think the elevators are the important tools here!

(More on the power house in the next post).

These four jet valves are on the east abutment. They are 96" and each release 4,000 cfs.

Two spillways tunnels exit just downstream of the dam. The 40' diameter tunnels are controlled by 2 40' by 52' radial gates and can carry up to 100,000 cfs of water around the powerhouse.

Back at the top of the dam, the sun was setting and folks were anxious to get on their way. That gave me a chance to have a short conversation with our tour guide. He was aware of HH and we talked about the controversy surrounding the construction of both these dams.

OK, now for the powerhouse.

Cowboy Coffee

2011-11-15T12:38:00.000-06:00

I so wanted to order an iced, soy latte here, but alas, it was closed!

Upper Antelope Canyon

2011-11-14T18:42:00.000-06:00

A quick Internet search didn't turn up much about the water flows in Antelope Wash. I probably should have gone to the Visitor's Center in Page. Be that as it may, my understanding is that the water flows down the wash, sometimes alot of water, meets the barrier of rock, cuts through the slot canyon (about a quarter of a mile long) then continues flowing down the wash. An interesting thing is that the depth of sand in the bottom of the slot canyon changes from year to year or flood to flood.

I'm really glad I saw this slot canyon, but not sure I'll go back. Too many people. No opportunity to absorb the awesomeness of the canyon. There are special 'photography' tours for 'experts'. Those might be smaller (and probably include mostly people who don't forget to put their memory cards back in their cameras!).

This shot was taken with my iPhone. Wish I had something better for you. Next time I'll visit the Lower Canyon. It has some ladders and stairs, maybe that discourages a few folks. Sorry to be so negative! It really is awesome!!!!

TheToadstools

2011-11-13T11:15:00.001-06:00

The main stop along Highway 89 between Kanab and Page is the BLM Paria Contact Office. That's where you pick up your permit if you are lucky enough to be drawn for the daily lottery to hike to The Wave. It's also the place to get the latest information for hikes to Buckeye and Wire slot canyons. Of course I had to stop, if only to buy a post card!

The rangers were very busy answering questions from visitors in the office. It's the perfect time of year to hike this area; not to hot and generally no rains. At an Interpretive Maps center they had a cool message board, even providing paper and pencils!

Not far east of the BLM office I stopped to investigate a sign for a trailhead. Yes, this was just right for a late afternoon walk; a mile out to the Toadstools.

The trail followed a dry wash on one side and beautiful layered cliffs on the other.

Before long I saw the first toadstool!

Up against the white cliffs is another grouping. It's clear that these formations are firmly in the grip of the evolutionary process. Some were near the end of their 'life' as a toadstool.

I hiked around the base of these white cliffs and came upon a moon scape of many hoo doos and toad stools. Unfortunately, the pix just couldn't capture that scene.

The sun getting low in the sky as I headed back to my van. Along the way I passed several serious photographers with their equipment heading out the trail; no doubt planning to arrive for the beautiful light at sunset.

One last look back and I was deep into the shadows of the dry wash for the rest of my walk back to the trail head.

Three Days in Zion

2011-11-12T11:22:00.000-06:00

The wind was howling along I 15 for my drive from Valley of Fire to Zion so I was happy to find Zion warm with only light winds. Driving around Loop B to my site I was abit surprised to see so many Roadtreks, umm, that was cool; even more surprising was two friendly faces coming over to ask if I was with the 'Roadtrek' owners. Well, no, but 'now you are!'. My new friends were a group of Roadtrek International owners in the middle of a 'Walk About' of the South West. They invited me to join them for dinner, we hiked together and even shared a pot luck the next night. Too much fun!

The campground was busy, but I got a great site with this wonderful view of the mountains.

It's been several years since my last visit to Zion when I did the lower elevation trails in the valley and The Narrows up the Virgin River. This time I intended to do two of the higher elevation hikes. My first day was the Angles Landing Trail. It's actually two distinct sections. First is the 1000 foot climb up to Scout's Landing. The second and hardest pull is the 500 elevation gain up the narrow ridge to Angel's Landing. Several signs warn about the second section with a this view from Scout's Landing.

The trail leaves the valley with long sweeping switchbacks that get narrower and steeper as it climbs up the side of the cliff.

The elegant rock work blends perfectly with the natural rock.

The trail follows a narrow canyon filled with maples for a few hundred yards then begins the climb up Walter's Wiggles, really narrow and steep.

Many people were hanging out at Scout's Landing; there was an almost party like atmosphere as we all tried to keep the chipmunks out of our packs and from crawling up our legs! The last push up the ridge to Angels Landing started here and climbed the cliff with a chain for handholds. This was my turn around for the day. Maybe I'll try the ridge in the future, but doubtful, just too many people for me.

One of the amazing views up the Zion Canyon.

The next day I set out on the Hidden Canyon trail. Again, the trail was paved but didn't required the extensive retaining walls of the Angles Landing trail. And again, there were many people. But here's an idea, next time, and needing two cars, start at the East Entrance and hike 'down' to the valley.

Near the top of the Hidden Canyon trail is a great set of stairs up the side of the cliff through a small drainage.

Also near the top is the best view of Weeping Rock. Yes, those are tiny people down there!

Pretty soon the trail makes it's way around the sandstone mountain with a chain again as a sturdy handhold that is very much appreciated. Unfortunately, on my down through this section I met a young man literally dragging his 4 year old son who was sobbing in terror up the trail. It was disturbing and colored the rest of my hike but was a good reminder why I don't do these kinds of hikes with crowds of dumb people.

Up near the Canyon the sun created lovely shadows with the ferns.

More kids were running and climbing around the rocks near the entrance to the canyon. I kept my eye out for parents, but never did see them. And that's when I turned back. Maybe I'll see the arch on another visit, but kinda doubt it. Instead I'll do the Observation Point trail or maybe even the hike down from the East Entrance.

I had originally planned to go to Bryce after Zion, but it had snowed up there and turned cold, besides I had my Roadtrek friends at Zion. It was sad to leave!

Lost Maples Detour Post

2011-11-11T20:25:00.000-06:00

(I'm taking a detour from posting my trek east to post pics from this week at Lost Maples; back to Utah soon).

Last year I visited Lost Maples a week or ten days later in the month to find most of the leaves down; not so this year! Both the Big Tooth Maples and the Sycamores are in flaming color.

My RV friends met at the campground mid-afternoon on Wednesday. We got our rigs set up then went out for a late afternoon walk under cloudy skies. The park was quiet and the woods were beautiful.

Texas has finally cooled off and I woke up to frost on my windows! It wasn't until close to 10 o'clock that I headed out for a hike. Last year I did the East Loop, so this year it was the West side.

Huge sandstone boulders have been used through out the park to create stepping stones at the creek crossings

While the East loop 'follows' the a creek, the West loop is 'in' the creek! Lucky for me I choose to do it in a dry period.

That morning there were only 4 or 5 other hikers on the West loop trail. We got acquainted as one would stop for a shot of an especially gorgeous maple and the rest would pass or wait for their turn. It was fun to leap frog along the trail in that manner for the first couple miles. After that I was pretty much on my own until near the other end when we all ended up together again.

Texas water is totally fascinating. In a terrible drought, all the creeks and many of the rivers are dry, still water is seeping out of the rocks in unexpected places. This tiny seep eventually fills two good sized ponds down stream. And the water is pristine!

The leaves are just holding on the sycamore tress. Yellow and brown to the bright red of the maples.

It's not the best in the pic, but try to image that these leaves were absolutely iridescent against the sky.

A very few wild flowers were still blooming along the creeks. I bet spring would be a riot here!

More brilliant leaves.

Hiking it's hard to remember to look back; I'm usually too focused on moving forward, but after one final water crossing at the end of the loop I did happen to look back to this......

Even with frost on the windows in the morning this week, the days were perfect. Too much fun with old and new friends, hiking, and last but not least, a piece of apple pie at Love Creek in Medina on the way home!

Valley of Fire

2011-11-06T19:39:00.000-06:00

My annual fall trek to Texas began with an overnight in Fresno to visit friends T and R, along with darling grandsons, one of whom was celebrating a birthday! After a quick overnight in Barstow I scraped through Las Vegas traffic to happily turn south to the Muddy Mountains.

Many years ago I read about the Valley of Fire in the AAA Via magazine. It was referred to as a great escape from Las Vegas. And for me it was my second surprise in Nevada this year. (The other being, of course, the Ruby Mountains!)

Valley of Fire was the first and is the biggest of Nevada's State Parks. There's a $10 fee to enter that can be applied to a camp site. Red rock is soon on both sides of the road. The first observation point is at the Bee Hives.

A couple miles into the park on the one road through the valley is the Visitor's Center. It sits against the mountains under these craggy rocks.

There is a short trail from the Visitor's Center to Balancing Rock.

Well past lunch with no shade in sight I went back to the campground for a snack. That was a good choice as I ended up leaving my van in camp and walking the Scenic Route back around to the main road near the entrance station. It's a dirt road, but very few visitors that day, so no problems with dust or traffic. The rocks were spectacular and I took many beautiful pics.

There are two campgrounds. One is developed with showers and electric hook-ups. It was maybe half full. I choose primitive camping with only two other rigs.

This is the road through the primitive camp.

I tried to choose a camp protected from the wind, but was rocking and rolling most of the night.

Back to camp after my hike it was time to explore the rest of the park before dark. A mile or so past the VC is a feature called the Seven Sisters. Several of the sisters were busy with a wedding party, but I did get to see these two.

It was hard to believe, but as the sunset got lower in the sky the rocks actually got brighter. This is looking east from a ridge near some petrified logs.

Up and over another ridge on the far east side of the Valley goes the Arrowhead Trail, now the main road through the park.

It was almost too dark to photograph Elephant Rock. Next time I will know to get there a few minutes earlier.

In contrast to the vivid red of the park sunset, looking over to Lake Mead the clouds took on a lovely pink hue. It was time for me to make tracks back to my camp; I made it just at dark!

(BTW, Valley of Fire would be a great winter time escape from Tuolumne County by driving over Tehachapi)

Cali Color

2011-10-20T22:13:00.000-05:00

This afternoon Auntie and I took a ride over to Calaveras Big Trees. Driving up Highway 4 from Murphys we were very surprised to see the bright color of the maples that grow along the creek. The leaves don't usually hang on the maples for long so we were very lucky to see them and were actually not expecting much color at the Big Trees; it's still a bit early. Holy smokes we were in for another surprise!

Darn the apple ranch was closed, so no apple donuts, just a quick snack of cheese and crackers. Auntie settled in for a read in the sunshine while I headed out to hike the North Loop.

Trying not to exaggerate but have to say this is probably the most beautiful color I have EVER seen at the Big Trees. The Dogwoods are maybe 60-70% turning today. No storms are forecast so the next week or two should continue to be outstanding.

I walked the loop in the opposite direction of my usual route. It was almost like being on a whole new trail!

Love this old stump along the upper section of the trail.

I met two groups on the lower section but nobody was on the outer loop. Hope you enjoy the rest of the hike.....

Finally, to back track a bit, this old snag is called the Mother of the Forest. Notice that she is almost as tall as the live trees nearby. She must have been really, really tall in her prime. And what a view of the dogwoods from way up there!

Rainy Day Roses

2011-10-06T19:31:00.005-05:00

It's raining today, but it wasn't the day I saw these roses at Shore Acres in Oregon.

Dragon in the Mist

2011-10-05T22:17:00.007-05:00

On a foggy morning I was greeted at Shore Acres State Park by a dragon in the mist.

The estate at Shore Acres began life as a summer retreat created by ship builder and logger, Louis Simpson, for his wife Cassie. The home evolved into a three story show place with an indoor swimming pool and ball room. Unfortunately, it burned in 1921 and the planned replacement fell into disrepair during the Great Depression. Enter the State of Oregon who purchased the property in 1942. The Visitors Center was built in the gamble-roofed style of the original home.

Maybe it was the mist, maybe the remains of the tennis court on the bluff, whatever, I felt the presence and continuing influence of the original owners so strongly here that it was spooky.

The developed gardens are surrounded by forest. Entry through the main gate into formal garden might seem abrupt, but no, it was a lovely transition and the forest is the perfect back drop for the gardens.

Sword ferns were sprouting new fronds in both the gardens and the forest.

There were very few visitors on this foggy week day morning. The biggest crowd was photographing in the begonia house.

Estate trees were gathered from all around the world. The Monkey Tree caught my imagination. The trunk is spiky, kind of like a palm, but not.

The branches are smaller versions of the trunk. It's a big tree, maybe 30 feet, or more.

A foil to the more exotic plants are variegated geraniums and baby's tears.

A few steps lead down to a pond in a Japanese influenced garden. Wooden gates offer access out to the trail along the bluff and down to the Simpson's private beach.

Yet another garden path leads to the Rose Garden. I'm guessing maybe August was the perfect time of year to visit. They were amazing. Stay tuned the roses in a future post.

A famous feature of the park that I didn't get to see is The Wave. Instead, the rock formations that create these amazing waves were clearly visible.

If you look closely at the above pic you will see an overlook and wall on the edge of the bluff. Just behind that is a fully enclosed observation building that sits on the location of the original home.

The park has many miles of great trails through the forest in addition to the Oregon Coast Trail that travels along the ocean on the bluffs. I hiked north on the Coast Trail. A couple miles up is the Sunset Beach campground; a great base camp for exploring more of this section of the coast on a future visit.

By mid afternoon, the mist was receeding into the woods and the dragons reverted to their regular work as roots sparkling in the sunshine.

Bullard's Beach and Bandon

2011-10-02T23:01:00.006-05:00

Oregon State Parks are really, really nice. Bullard's Beach is just north of Bandon. It's pretty big but individual campsites are secluded and protected from the wind. There's a great trail across the dunes to the beach and a bike path that follows the road. Many birds make their homes in the woods between the campsites. And my neighbors were all super friendly.

But the thing that made Bullard's Beach perfect was meeting friends for a 'get together'! That's Laura and Harley on the left; Marda and Monty in the middle; and Karen and Blossom on the right.

Bullard's Beach is on the north side of the Coquille River. Bandon on the south. The Coquille River Light house sits at the north jetty about a mile from the campground. It was built in 1896 and in use until 1936. Many people come to this area to fish in the river. I had intended to kayak, but way too windy that week.

The south jetty has a fog horn that seemed like it *might* be the tsunami warning the first time I heard it! That's Bullard's Beach in the far reaches of the next shot. It's several miles long and I walked most of it over the course of the week I was there.

Between Coos Bay to the north and Flora Lake to the south (a total of maybe 30 miles) there are at least 12 state, county, city, federal parks. Not to mention the many scenic overlooks with interpretive signs AND access to the beaches. Face Rock was fascinating. The source of many local legends.

Quintessential Oregon coast.

The Bandon Museum is terrific. They have great exhibits of the local history. Including a quilt with the names of my cousins from Oakdale. That is a bit of a mystery to be solved! Virtually the whole downtown and waterfront of Bandon burned in 1936. It's worth a stop at the museum for that story alone. And now the waterfront has been restored yet again. It's really beautiful with sculptures, benches, art displays. And if it's too windy to walk on the beach, just go back to the wharf and have a shrimp cocktail at Tony's Crab Shack. (Which is what I did several times!).

The Caldera from the Boat

2011-09-28T18:51:00.004-05:00

It's 700 feet from the top of the rim of the caldera to the elevation of the lake. The hike is close to a mile with gorgeous views around every switchback in the trail.

We had heard about the opportunities for swimming and fishing at the boat dock but didn't carry equipment down with us. Still, it was fun to watch the jumpers while we waited for our boat. (And you know the boys were plotting a plan for their next visit that would include swim trunks!).

The Umpqua carries 50 passengers along with the Captain and the Park Ranger. (I got a little worried when I saw the Captain putting on his heavy coat and hat!).

Seeing the rim from the water was amazing. It's up close and personal. I took many pics, but can't post them all here.

Maybe you remember those ridges I posted in the Ruby Mountains? Well, turns out they are called Shark Fins and are created by lava flows. Our Ranger shared excellent information, history and stories for the whole 2 hour trip.

My Hetchy friends will know that I was very curious not only about how they got those boats into the water but also where they were stored for the winter. (With 50 - 60 FEET of snow annually!). Mystery solved at Wizard Island where we saw several Boat Houses for a safe winter. Oh, and the boats arrived via helicopter!

From the West Rim road a tiny speck in the water on the far side of the lake is known as the Phantom Ship. It's a couple hundred yards from the East Rim and in a location with shallow water on the shore side and a drop off into deep deep water in the front. The change in color of the water from shallow to deep was marked and dramatic but hard to photograph!

Yet another amazing feature is the castle on the east rim.

To be honest, the wind and the waves breaking over us were not so much fun at the beginning of our trip. But our Captain was skilled and knew directions and speeds to run to avoid the worst of the waves. In the end, it was a fabulous trip and we had a blast!

One last camp fire and yummy s'mores ended our last adventure of the summer of 2011. (Umm, wonder what the Super Nephews are planning for next year?!?).

Crater Lake Awesomeness

2011-09-28T18:30:00.005-05:00

We arrived at Crater National Park late afternoon and soon found our site in Mazama Campground. The excellent plan we made to set up camp and have some food before driving out to the lake worked out very well. You can see from the smiles that all were happy and excited to finally be there!

A glitch developed when we tried to hike up to the Watchman Tower though. More snow and this time I wasn't about to cross the trail closed sign!

So instead of hiking, we hung out at the Watchmen overlook to watch the sun set on the lake. The sun created amazing colors on the mountains in our view to the east.

This cool flower was growing on the rocky hills.

Between the parking lot and the overlook is this crazy tree. It looks like a 'watchman' to me! And maybe not a very happy one either.

When he wasn't entertaining tourists from other countries, G spent some serious time reading the interpret signs and soaking in the grander of the lake.

It was a bit chilly overnight but not too bad for the kids in the tent. After a breakfast and hot chocolate we drove back into the lake for our boat ride.

Another group shot before our hike down the caldera to the boat launch. (That's our navigator behind the map).

Lassen National Park 2011

2011-09-24T18:49:00.007-05:00

School has started and it's the second day of fall all ready, 'bout time to post pictures from our fabulous Oregon road trip.

After my quick visit to Lassen last fall I was pretty sure Sister and the Super Nephews would love it there too.

We stayed overnight on Highway 99 to get an early start into Lassen; several hikes were planned!

The Visitors Center is a great place to get oriented for a day in the Park. G loved the Richtor Scale that measured how hard he jumped as if he was an earthquake! Next up was a stop at Sulphur Springs. Yep, it smells just like sulphur.

From my previous recon trip I knew the place to have lunch was the picnic area at Helen Lake. Scratch that plan, Lake Helen was still frozen over and the picnic area was closed!

Back to the cars for plan B.......

.......Bumpass Hell!

A quick parking lot lunch and we were very shortly in for another surprise. OK, yes, there was a sign about treacherous conditions, but there were tons of people returning on the trail so we headed out. It's maybe 1 1/2 miles out to Bumpass Hell, usually an easy hike. Not that day, 2/3 of the trail was still under snow. Luckily it was squishy and not too slippery. Still, keeping an eye on two boys on a snowy trail across a steep canyon, well, you get the picture! I was a wreck and they had a blast!

Bumpass Hell lived up to it's name and I did hear a couple comments from visitors about the proverbial 'snowball in hell'.

The hot springs area is 16 acres. The main section is accessible by a raised board walk. Weirdly right in the middle was a lovely pool of fresh water from the snow run off.

We saw this flowering evergreen scrub in several places, but I couldn't identify it. Maybe somebody out there can. Or G can save it as a question for his natural history hero, John Muir Laws.

Here's a closer look....

Probably no need to mention that G has never seen a big rock he didn't want to climb?

Returning to the car, the trail didn't seem quit so harrowing, but I was happy it was a short drive to our camp at Burney Falls.

Lower Emigrant Hike

2011-08-09T19:03:00.005-05:00

Last week adventure pal P and I hiked out of the Crabtree Trailhead into the Emigrant Wilderness. It was a great day for hiking, never got hot, even on the exposed switch backs. The Crabtree parking lot was full, but we saw few people on the trail.

Here's the bridge at the beginning of the trail.

It's a good uphill pull to Camp Lake. The trail follows a small drainage that had nice wild flowers abit past their prime, but still pretty. And it's always good to see green grass in August.

The south shore of Camp has plenty of room to spend a summer afternoon. Wonder why I don't go out there more often! These crazy reflections are looking toward the north shore.

Phlox are still blooming.

Mariposa Lilies are few and far between.

This has been an outstanding year for Mountain Pride. Over Tioga Pass it is spilling across all the granite rock.

We hiked passed the trail intersection to Bear Lake a half mile or so down to the bottom of the next canyon before deciding to go back to Bear. Good decision. We ended hiking between 8 and 9 miles as it was!

Bear is bigger than Camp and has this island a short swim out from the camping area.

We hung out for about an hour for lunch and a rest while soaking in the gorgeous views.

Two hours hiking and we were back to the trail head and ready to roll back down the hill to Sonora.

Testing Image Size

2011-08-07T18:11:00.004-05:00

This is Tom's barn in Chinese Camp. Pic from last March. I'm trying out a larger size image. Hope it works!

2nd Annual Gull Lake Adventure

2011-08-06T16:37:00.010-05:00

We planned our Gull Lake adventure for later in the summer this year to be sure the snow was gone. That was a good call back in February.

The Marina is just a couple minutes walk from our cabin and has a little store, picnic tables behind a wind break, and a cool bar with stools to watch the boats and fisher people.

These two were out early but didn't have any luck this day.

Several vintage boats were tied up at the dock.

One day we visited Virginia Lake. It was cold and windy. We didn't stick around there for long! (this was the most snow we saw all week)

Another day we explored Convict Lake. It was gorgeous that day; we all sat on the shore for close to four hours while S tried his luck again at fishing.

Wild roses are blooming all over the mountains.

A highlight of our week was visiting Hot Creek. Still not sure where the Fish Hatchery is located (maybe it was closed). But I'm pretty sure it was near this area of the creek where we saw these beautiful White Pelicans.

A couple miles out a gravel road we found the Thermo site. Hot water dumps into the creek, thus the name! There is a trail along this section of the creek and more thermo sites to see; we'll save that hike for another trip.

The creek was fenced and seriously signed along this section. Some folks ignored the sign and swam anyway. We thought that wasn't a good idea!

This is the scalding water that flows into the creek. Amazing color!

(don't know why I can't uncenter this text!) Be that as it may, this view is looking downstream on Hot Creek.

And here's the gang after our walk down the trail to the creek.

Ruby Mountains - Last Night

2011-07-18T19:55:00.003-05:00

This is how much I love the Ruby Mountains..... I *almost* changed my header picture!

But instead of so drastic a measure, I decided to stay an extra night, and that required moving to a new site. This one was right on Lamoille Creek.

My friend Patty is camp hosting at Thomas Canyon for her third year, and her partner in crime, Doug, is working on his fourth season. Don't tell anyone, but they actually get paid for working here!!!!

Doug invited us to join him at his campfire my last evening where we watched the storm clouds up the canyon and the light changing on the mountains.

No storm, but the almost full moon did come up while we sat around the fire.

Great-grandpa Bunny Bunny created the best sunset yet for my last night in the Canyon.

Ruby Mountains - Terraces

2011-07-17T17:13:00.003-05:00

There are a couple day use areas in the canyon. My favorite is The Terraces. It was originally the site of a Forest Service Station. Now it has individual picnic sites dispersed among the quaking aspen trees, each very private.

And then there's the views down the canyon from my favorite spot.

A rustic water system, an old foundation, and stairs build into the granite terraces are all that's left of the Ranger Station.

The cabin over looked a cool native flower garden in the front.

Out the back door those lucky rangers had a waterfall.

The early soldiers thought the red rocks were rubies and so the name Ruby Mountains. They were actually finding garnets. I didn't find any rubies or even garnets in the creeks, but the granite rocks sure had lots of color mixed in. (On second thought, maybe after this big run-off it will be a good time to look for garnets!).

I walked down the road hoping to get some good shots of the terraces. No luck there, but Lamoille Creek was sure beautiful.

Ruby Mountains - Road's End

2011-07-16T19:05:00.006-05:00

Road's End is the trail head parking and day use area at the beginning of the the Lamoille Canyon. The mountains surrounding the bowl at Road's End are just teasers for the rest of the range. The trail through Liberty Pass heads off into the Wilderness area for 35 miles passing under Liberty Peak at almost 12,000 feet. For a day hike though there are several options that include four lakes in a loop.

Without looking at the map I assumed Liberty Pass was in the middle of the pic below, but taking a closer look I think it actually turns off to the right and then goes behind these mountains.

My friend Patti who is camp hosting at Thomas Canyon had warned me that reports were the hiker's trail was snowed in, but the horse trail was relatively clear. The hiking trail follows Lamoille Creek on the north slope while the horse trail is on the more exposed southern slope. (Also a more gradual climb :).

In the parking lot I had seen a young couple with snow boards and was hoping to see them again on the mountains. But as it turned out, they had all ready hiked up the canyon AND snowboarded back down! If you look closely at the pic you can see their tracks.

The trail was very rocky and almost always full of water creating a very challenging hike, more like climbing stairs. I crossed several small snow drifts across the trail, but I could see it was probably going to stop me soon.

The beginning elevation at Road's End is 8800 and I hiked an hour and a half to this point where I finally had to call it quits for this trip. Next time I will do a loop up the horse trail to Lamoille Lake, then on to Liberty Lake before to turning back to pass the two Dollar Lakes on my way back down the hiking trail.

I knew the snow would stop me before the lakes, so no disappointments, and with these gorgeous views all the way back down.

Ruby Mountains - Island Lake

2011-07-14T19:54:00.004-05:00

Thursday afternoon I drove down to Elko (in a big thunder storm!) to the Forest Service for a map of the back country trails. It was easy to choose Island Lake for my second day hike. On the south side of the canyon so free of snow, the trail begins at elevation 8800 and climbs to 9600 over two miles.

Looking back down the trail, my van is in the upper left corner of the parking lot.

The trail has nine switch backs. Some crafted with beautiful rock walls.

The creek from Island Lake was roaring, but from the looks of the bridge it had been it had been significantly higher before. The up stream section is constructed of 8 2x8s (or maybe 10s) layered on edge. Look closely in the pic to see the damage caused by the high water.

After some rock scrambling across melting snow and mud at the top, I found Island Lake still mostly frozen over. A local hiker just ahead of me on the trail said she had *never* seen it like this so late in the season.

It won't be many warm days before the ice on the lake is gone, but I bet there will be plenty of snow left on the mountain the whole summer.

On the trail back down I came across a chipmunk gather material for her nest. In case you're wondering....she won the stare down!

The U shape of the Lamoille Canyon is so dramatic, I just couldn't capture it in a picture, although I kept trying!

From a pull out on the road at the bottom of the canyon I could look up the creek and see the notch that marks the location of Island Lake.

It doesn't look like two miles does it? But believe me, at 9000 feet, it felt like that and more!

Ruby Mountains - Thomas Canyon

2011-07-13T22:14:00.005-05:00

It was a long, flat drive across Nevada on I 80 and somewhere along the way I forgot that the Ruby Mountains were another 20 miles out of Elko. Finally though I turned onto the National Forest Scenic Byway up Lamoille Canyon. My first view of the canyon was across the Lyons Club camp in the valley and up to the Lamoille Glacier.

The Ruby Mountains are located in the Humbolt-Toiyabe National Forest. Very much like Yosemite, the valley is U shaped by the millions of years of glaciers. Hanging valleys and hidden lakes rim the tops of the canyon walls.

The 8 miles road into the valley, which received a major face lift last summer by the Nevada DOT, is a joy to drive. My van hardly noticed the several thousand feet increase in elevation from Elko in the valley.

There's only one campground in Lamoille Canyon. The other developed areas are lovely, but for day use only. Thomas Campground is about four miles up the canyon in a thick forest of Quaking Aspens along Thomas Creek.

At elevation of 7600 feet, it's still spring there.

The canyon is very narrow. I looked up out my back window to a lovely little waterfall.

And to rugged mountain tops from my front window.

All along the tops of the mountains are fantastically shaped peaks.

My first evening I walked up the road a couple miles. Several 'knife edge' ridges like these are along the north wall of the canyon. I'm guessing they were formed by water after the glaciers.

Thomas Canyon was formed by a smaller, side glacier to the main Lamoille glacier. Mt. Fitzgerald watches over the campground.

And provides the headwaters for Thomas Creek.

There are several smaller beaver dams along the creek (including one right in the campground!), but this was by far the largest.

My first day I hiked up the Thomas Canyon to the snow line. People had been crossing the snow fields, but that was out of my comfort zone. The deep winter snow and late, cool spring would limit my hiking the whole week, but no worries, the big flow in the creek and millions of wild flowers, not to mention the view back down the canyon made for a great day!

(I'll do my posts of the Ruby's in a series to keep them a bit shorter. Stay tuned for Day 2!)

Day Tripping Yosemite

2011-06-27T13:57:00.001-05:00

It’s been a banner year for water in Yosemite with a 199% of normal snow pack. Friend S and I cancelled two previous times due to Merced River hitting flood stage. It did lap on the road a couple of days, and parts of the meadow are still under water. But no serious flooding thanks to our unusually cool June.

So this day, we did a tourist loop around the valley, checking out the water falls and visiting the museum to see the current exhibits.

First stop is always Bridalveil Fall. It was 10:00 all ready, but the sun was just beginning to peak over the canyon wall.

The mist was heavy and the water was an inch or so deep on the walk way, but we braved the elements to catch a glimpse of the whole fall.

Next stop was along the Merced River in the meadow. Don’t be fooled by this calm water, it was roaring just a mile or so down stream. The flow was in the 6-7,000 cubic feet a second, down from a high of closer to 8,000 or maybe even a little more.

We expected crowds and were pleasantly surprised to find it wasn’t that bad. Easy parking and relatively quiet roads. Another stop at the meadow to see Yosemite Falls.

Crossing the bridge we couldn’t get a parking place for the long shot of both the Upper and Lower Falls, so continued on to the new parking area at the base of Falls. What a joy this area is compared to the old bus parking. The Park did good on this one!

The view walking up the trail to the base of the Lower Fall is always amazing. This year it is beyond awesome. I’m so glad I got to see this run-off, even if not the peak.

We walked the loop, again braving the driving mist and wind to cross the bridge at the base of the Lower Fall. The creek was crazy over the rocks.

Just a few hundred yards back down the trail the same Yosemite Creek flowing flowing serenely under the next bridge.

Late dogwood blossoms!

And with a last long look at Half Dome we hit the trail for home.

(FYI for anyone going to Yosemite, the museum has an outstanding exhibit called “Views and Visitors: The Yosemite Experience in the Early 20th Century” this year. It’s worth a stop by the Visitor’s Center)

Carlsbad Caverns

2011-06-26T17:49:00.001-05:00

Reading Nevada Barr’s “Blind Descent” a few days before I left Texas resulted in a impromptu decision to visit Carlsbad Caverns. This instant of happy serendipity lead to the absolute highlight of my trip home.

Careful signs warn visitors about the trail down into the cave from the Natural Entrance. At that point I still was planning to hike back out (!).

It was a long drop from the entrance to the bottom, right around 100 feet, and that was why the Indians didn’t enter this cave past the dark zone.

The trail drops 800 feet in a mile or so, and with minimal lighting, is great. The best part, very few visitors choose this entrance! I got to experience the cave without the crowds for most of an hour on my hike down.

I tried a few pics, with sorry results. It wasn’t until I got into the Big Room that I discovered my iPhone would take really good shots!

Another surprise in the Big Room was a concession stand! Cavern visitors could have a some food, a cold drink, AND buy a T-shirt!?!?

OK, as it turns out, early visitors did enter through the Natural Entrance and they DID hike out again, and so, the tradition of providing refreshments at the bottom of the cave has deep roots.

I hiked the Big Room Loop, doing my best to dodge large groups of people. It really wasn’t so bad. They have 600,000 visitors annually. And there just isn’t much room to spread out.

After the Big Room I rode the elevator up to the Visitor’s Center to grab a quick lunch. Then made it back down just in time for the 3 pm Ranger lead tour of the King’s Chamber. It lasted another hour or so. Our guide was totally crazy about the caves and it was fun to listen to her stories.

I had caught a glimpse of the Green Pool on my hike down the trail and was really excited to get a closer look. The water in the cave is crystal clear.

This pillar is the last really big one before the tour ends. Even though I was really getting tired by now, I was so disappointed the tour ended.

There are two more ‘easy’ Ranger lead tours available. And then, there is a descent into the ‘Lower Room”. I’ll do the other two for sure, and maybe, even the Lower Room.

There are 130 miles of explored caves in the Guadalupe Mountains. The mountains were formed by the lifting a a reef (yes, think ocean!). And the basin at their base is what’s left of that sea. (Really interesting geology here. Out in basin are layers of salt).

The Pecos River runs through the town of Carlsbad. I didn’t get to see it either this trip. For sure I will go back!

(FYI, next summer, 2012, the Park has a contract in place to replace all the lighting in the Caverns).

Sugar Pine Railroad Hike

2011-06-15T22:38:00.001-05:00

Along the Stanislaus River two sections of the old Sugar Pine Railroad are open to hiking, biking, and equestrian users. Many thanks to the owners of the private property that allow us access through their land! A long range plan has been in the works for many years to create a 25 mile ‘rails to trails’ corridor. So looking forward to that!

Today, Adventure Pal P and I hiked the section from Middle Fork Road to Lyons Lake. It’s 9 miles round trip. The weather was just short of being hot. Most of the way is broken shade.

It’s a really lovely walk through the forest, but the payoff is reaching Lyons Lake. Thanks to way above average snow pack there was a big spill from the dam.

This is domestic water for a large part of Tuolumne County so no boating or swimming.

I like how the water in the spill is the color of the braces of the spillway in this picture. At least it is on my monitor. And no, it wasn’t really that color!

There are still a few dogwood blossoms left on the trees at the higher elevations.

At 3:30 when we got back, my car temperature said 82, and it was closer to 95 by the time I got home to Jamestown. We picked the hottest day of the year (so far) to hike!

Orla, Texas

2011-06-03T18:48:00.001-05:00

I was looking for a good place to stop to make some breakfast when I came upon Orla on Highway 285. Tumbling down buildings were a great photo op, but I thought there must be more to the town because a new sign pointed to a Post Office. As it turns out, Wikipedia tells me, Orla IS a ghost town with only two remaining citizens AND, yes, a post office.

Here’s the Historical Marker. I can’t read it on my Acer, hope it tells us something interesting about Orla!

Balmorhea State Park

2011-06-03T18:46:00.001-05:00

Following several ‘escape from I-10 for a couple hours’ stops at Balmorhea, this time I planned my travel across west Texas to include an over night stay.

Here is my perfect camp before the SEVERE wind, thunder, and lightening arrived (and stayed until close to mid-night!).

The canals carry the water from the springs out of the park, through downtown Balmorhea and then into ag land. The first pic is in the park; the second in town.

The water in the springs stays between 72* and 76* year round. These warm temps reflect the temperature of the rocks the water flows through underground.

About 6 pm the Rangers came to the spring to ask us to leave because of the lightening storm on the way. A few stragglers didn’t want to leave. One guy had just arrived after the 7 hour drive from Austin. Very disappointed!

A Great Horned Owl watched the activity from a tree. Probably very happy the humans were leaving his territory early!

Even (or because of) with the storm we had a gorgeous sunset!

Lake Livingston State Recreation Area

2011-05-30T20:44:00.001-05:00

I liked Lake Livingston so much I extended my stay there to three nights on the return leg of my trip. It’s in the forest and feels very much like Cherry Lake in Stanislaus National Forest. My camp was on a hill near the water line.

The lake is owned by the Trinity River Authority and the city of Houston. TRA has 30% of the water rights; Houston the other 70%, It has 450 miles of shoreline. I remember reading the capacity and thinking it is bigger than Melones, but the exact number escapes me tonight!

The park itself has 5 – 6 miles of hiking and biking trails. Along with several more miles of roads. I rented a bike and enjoyed it so much I bought a folding bike when I got back to Austin!

This is typical of the trail system. The tree across the trail at the far end of the park looks like a gate!

The Nature Trail is a one mile loop past a wetland area with an open pond developed to attract as many birds as possible. The feeding stations were frequented by several brilliant cardinals. Blue iris were blooming along the shore.

In the evenings I watched the egrets and herons flying off to their roosting areas and then returning to the lake in the morning.

And one evening there was a gorgeous sunset.

Lake Livingston is not more than 4 hours from Austin. I’m looking forward to kayaking and biking trip next fall.

Martin Dies, Jr, State Park

2011-05-30T20:09:00.001-05:00

On my LA trip I stayed at two different state parks near Jasper, TX (on Highway 190) for a total of five nights. My first night out was at Lake Livingston State Recreation Area. Coming home I stayed one night at Martin Die’s Jr. State Park before heading west another hour and three nights at Lake Livingston again.

It was a Monday night in late April, kind of overcast, and the Martin Dies campgrounds were empty. I choose a site north of the road and was the only camp on my loop. It was actually a little spooky. I almost left, but was so glad I didn’t when two Palliated Wood Peckers stopped on a pine tree directly out my window. These were the first of several I got to see that evening.

My other neighbors were Cotton Tails. These guys are BIG; at least double or triple the size of our local little Cotton Tails in CA foothills.

I missed the dogwood bloom this trip, but the magnolia were amazing. They are as tall as the pines with many blooms in the very tip tops of the trees! (not this one)

Martin Dies has miles and miles of trails. They are in heavy vegetation and looked to be a bit overgrown. I’d like to explore them sometime with a hiking partner along; next time!

Saturday Morning at the Mall

2011-05-28T13:23:00.001-05:00

…..with my new Mac Book Air!!!!

I am so excited to be able to see my photos clearly! Not to mention yours! There will be many hours of rereading blogs to soak in the gorgeous photography I have been missing!

(My only worry is transferring my blog with Live Writer to the Mac. Will continue to post on my Acer until I get acquainted with new computer!).

Lake Martin

2011-05-13T14:41:00.001-05:00

(I fell in love with this whole area and am so sad reading the news reports. Here is a link to a story today on CNN.)

By Sunday morning most of the gals were packing up to leave or ready for a quiet morning in camp. Carolyn hooked up her fiver, towed it home to Butte Larose, and came back to go exploring Lake Martin with me and Birdie.

There’s a fabulous Visitor’s Center, a boardwalk through the swamp, and a trail around the lake. People actually go boating on this lake with the biggest alligators you ever saw! Kids playi along the shore, and fishers wade in the water. It’s all about what one is used to I guess!

Birdie has eagle eyes when it comes to sighting birds. She spotted this great Night Heron fishing in the weeds.

It was amazing to me to see alligators in the wild. Mostly they were out sunning themselves, but we did spot one swimming in the middle of a pool.

The Nature Consevancy owns this area and operators the Visitor’s Center. The volunteers were great and the photographs displayed were beautiful shots of the local wildlife.

We saw great birds on the boardwalk but no more alligators. Good thing, that might have been too close for me. The water is not more than a couple feet below the walkway.

My friends, Carolyn and Nancy, graciously stopped for a quick picture.

At the Visitor’s Center Carolyn confirmed the location of the rookery she had seen several years before. This was just the best way to end our visit to the swamp. Egrets, great blue herons, little blue herons, and roseate spoonbills were nesting in the woods about a hundred yards from the roadway. With binoculars and long lens we got a really good look. It was just the best! Thanks Carolyn!!!!!

OK, well, maybe one more thing to top off the day. A big platter of crawfish! After a lesson in blending the perfect sauce and removing the tail meat from the shell, Birdie and I each finished off 2 pounds of crawfish and Carolyn declared us honorary CANJUNS!!!!!

Henderson Swamp Tour

2011-05-13T13:45:00.001-05:00

(The folks in this area are waiting to hear if and when the Morganza Spillway will be opened. Maybe Saturday or Sunday)

The Atchafalaya River runs through the Henderson Swamp. On some maps I see it referred to as Henderson Lake. Not sure the difference. We choose a boat tour from McGee Landing. (It’s on the other side of the levee in the previous post). Our Captain was born and raised on the swamp. He is a real expert on the natural history of the area. On that day two weeks ago tomorrow he told us he anticipated 10 feet or so increase in elevation of the water. That was way before any idea that the spillway might need to be opened to relieve pressure on the Mississippi River.

Cyprus trees live in the water and wood from stumps that have been under water for years is still sound. What’s left of the Cyprus forest is now federally protected.

In the middle of the main channel the water is 300-400 feet deep. The juxtaposition of the stories of the swamp and going under the I-10 bridge was a bit disorientating. Without this reminder of the 21st century it’s easy to get lost in the old days of the swamp.

The BIG flood in memory was 1927. We were encouraged to do some reading about it. News stories I have heard this week say it’s different now because in 1927 they didn’t have the levees. It would be interesting to compare the rainfall, run-off, and river flows from 1927 with the current situation.

All over the swamp are these ‘beautiful’ water hyacinth plants. They are an invasive species with their very own dedicated crews that that work to keep them under control.

Along the edges of the swamp are hard wood forests. And so many birds that were all beyond the capabilities of my little camera at these distances. (But I did get some cool shots at Lake Martin!)

Breaux Bridge

2011-05-07T17:34:00.001-05:00

(Flood Update: The Corp is considering opening the Morganza Spillway on the Mississippi River by the middle of next week. The sole purpose of this spillway is to relief pressure on the Mississippi. When it is opened the water will flow into the Atchafalaya River Basin. This will significantly impact Butte Larose, but maybe not Breaux Bridge. Google Morganza Spillway for an inundation map).

Last Saturday we drove over to Breaux Bridge for breakfast, more music and a walkabout. It was a bit drizzly, but not enough to slow us down.

I wanted to do the history walk that started at the Visitor’s Center near the bridge. They were fresh out of the tour maps, but the very helpful woman who was working the Center called her Mom to find the online version and then printed out a copy for me!

When we were out on the Swamp our Capitan mentioned how the addition of ice had changed the culture of the people who lived in the swamp. Before ice, they lived day to day on what they could fish and hunt. After ice came, they could hold their harvest to ship out of the area. An ice house still stands on the south side of the bridge.

Magnolia’s are blooming all over the south.

Lucky for me it got just too rainy to continue my walk. I ducked into Cafe Jacqueline’s where the gang was having brunch to find them totally entranced by Major Handy and his partner Louise. Major was singing some old classic rock; then did a quick change to his accordian to be accompanied by Louise on her ‘wash board’ and bottle openers for Cajun music. They played for most of two hours and were absolutely the best.

After lunch we wandered around the shops for awhile and then hatched a plan for the rest of the day.

Some wanted to go explore the next little town, St Martinville and see the Evangeline Oak. Darn I hated to miss that, but couldn’t pass up the swamp tour.

A couple last snaps before leaving town…….

Louisiana GTG

2011-05-06T19:58:00.001-05:00

Because Houston is on I-10 between Austin and Butte Larose where I would be meeting RV friends for a GTG (get together) I decided to take the northern route via Lake Livingston on Highway 190. Besides, by driving the ‘back roads’ I would get to see neat new parts of the state at less than 80 miles per hour! For the first couple hours it was beautiful ranch land. Lots of cows and horses. Many sale yards with parking lots full of trucks and trailers. East of Huntsville this one had a restaurant with such cleaver name I *almost* stopped for a burger, but made do with a pic instead.

It wasn’t long before I entered the ‘Piney Woods’. So fun to see pine trees in Texas. This is the perfect highway for a road trip.

That first day was the day of the terrible tornadoes and it was really, really windy all the way. I stayed at Lake Livingston State Park. Really nice; more about the park in a later post.

My second day, it was a lovely morning and hard to leave my camp at the edge of the lake. Sorry to say that the late start got me to I-10 at 5 pm, bumper to bumper traffic, but also my first glimpse of Henderson Lake/Swamp from the bridge.

One of the excellent Louisiana Welcome Centers is located at the Butte Larose exit. The two I have visited are both designed after old southern homes. I didn’t take enough time here; it will be my first stop next trip.

There is so much to learn about this area I just skimmed the surface. Like this special boat for the swamp, don’t know what it’s called or even which end is which!

But I *think* this is the back end.

Down the road less than a mile from I-10, but feeling much more remote is Frenchman’s Wilderness RV Park. This is my camp……

And here’s part of the gang (we eventually made it to 16!) on our way to lunch at Carolyn’s favorite Cajun restaurant. (FYI, it’s exit 115 north off I-10).

Most of us had the lunch special “Crawfish Etouffee’ with rice, fried catfish, potato salad and a heavenly home made roll (read flour, sugar, and butter!). The etouffee was absolutely delicious. I could get a recipe, but where would I get the crawfish?

Our camp at Butte Larose was in the middle of the complex system of waterways of southern Louisiana. The whole area is the Atchafalaya Basin; with the Atchafalaya River running the 150 mile length; along the river is the Atchafalaya Swamp; also the Henderson Swamp that includes the man made Henderson Lake; Teche Bayou (among many others) that runs through Breaux Bridge; several ‘black water lakes’ and canals that connect many of the above. We were so lucky to have Carolyn who lives in the area to get us around on the back roads that snake between these waterways.

We visited several small towns near our camp……Breaux Bridge, Henderson, and St Martinville. Just past our camp is this pontoon bridge. The pontoons are adjusted up and down based on the elevation of the water. Unfortunately the height restriction never changes and is too low for my van.

The road into Breaux Bridge follows this levee that contains the Henderson Swamp (I hope that’s right). On the other side of the road is another waterway. No sure why the swamp needs a levee and what looks like a river on the other side doesn’t!

Over the pontoon bridge and along the levee to Mulate’s for more Cajun food and Zydeco music. Breaux Bridge claims to be the first town to serve crawfish in restaurants. And Mulate’s claims to be the original restaurant!

Forest and Friends were playing amazing Cajun music. Folks were doing the Cajun 2 Step; and the Cajun Jitterbug, it’s really, really fast!!!

There’s more, stay tuned…

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T18:49:00.001-05:00

The search…..

……and success!

Urban Hiking

2011-04-24T09:16:00.001-05:00

If I do long miles or hours, steep hills, or many steps I call my downtown walks ‘urban hiking’. This time I did a long walk and many, many stairs. Usually I park in a big lot just north of Ladybird Lake and about 3 blocks east of Congress. That’s a good walk up Congress to the Capital. It was very busy. Many school groups getting to do their spring field trips.

Baler Creek trail is basically closed and used by the homeless people. And the wildlife! I saw this turtle sunning herself from up on the street level. (See? it was a hike!)

The Visitor’s Center at the Capital is the old Land Office Building. It’s very different from the Capital, but quite beautiful.

The attic (now offices) is closed to the public. This is the third floor and the end of the public areas.

So I counted the stairs….from the sidewalk to the attic door was 100 steps. In addition to the main stairways is a really cool spiral stairway. The middle section is open, but the lighting is really weird.

There are excellent interpretive displays in the Center. And friendly folks to talk about the history of Texas. They are extra happy when they get to mark down a visitor from California in their ledger.

It is the Land Office Building, so naturally there were many displays about surveying the state. Our HH survey crew might have been a bit wild and crazy, but I don’t know if they would last with these guys. I wonder what they used those six shooters for?!?

On to the Capital for more ‘urban hiking’. Luckily I made it through the metal detector and was off to count the steps. Somewhere around 160 I got confused due to getting lost in the building! It’s so big and a bit like Mrs. Winchester’s Mystery House because it’s been added on to a few times. Now, I think I know the way from the bottom parking to the last gallery open to the public and will try that again before I go back to California. Another option will be to join a tour that goes up to the fourth gallery. I have read both that the stairs inside the dome are part of the tour AND that they are not. I hope they are!

BTW, the Capital has a double dome, the one you see outside AND the one you see inside.

A silent protester braved the sun on the Capital steps.

And with that I headed south on Congress back to my van stopping only once more for an ice tea at Starbucks. But I have to tell you I was beat the next day! A sure sign of a good hike!

Rain Lilies and More

2011-04-23T19:18:00.001-05:00

My favorite stops along a loop on Highways 71/290 include Fredericksburg, Enchanted Rock, and the Johnson Settlement. I’ve blogged about these several times before so will try to pick some new and different pics for you.

This building in Fredericksburg has been for sale for many years.

After a piece of Coconut Cream Pie down the street I needed to go for a bike ride!

Oh yeah, they make the yummiest pies in town.

The best surprise on this trip was the bloom of Rain Lilies at Enchanted Rock and along the highway right of ways. B told me they usually only bloom after a good rain, but they must be desperate this year because it was really just a shower that brought them out.

Finally, I never drive home without stopping to say hello to this old oak on the Johnson Settlement.

Port Lavaca Boondock

2011-04-23T18:56:00.001-05:00

I camped on the beach with the BIG rigs at Port Lavaca for a week. It was a very windy. We created wind breaks with the rigs. See my red chair protected by my van from the south wind.

One morning we had a beautiful sunrise. And one evening a gorgeous sunset that I didn’t get because my memory card was in the van not my camera!

Great Grandma’s House in Chinese Camp

2011-04-23T18:48:00.001-05:00

A few days before I came back to Texas Auntie and I drove past this tumbling down family home in Chinese Camp. Auntie’s Grandma (my Great-grandmother) lived here. Auntie stayed summers, sleeping in the screened porch in the back. She said it seemed to be on it’s last legs even then. They were not allowed upstairs. That was more than 75 years ago. No one has lived here in my memory.

The Trees of Heaven have taken over all the abandoned places in Chinese. Soon the leaves will completely block the house.

I like the ‘heart’ gingerbread at the peak of the roof and wonder who choose this design and why.

Ranch Rainbow

2011-04-23T18:37:00.001-05:00

Drizzly Day at Ironstone

2011-03-16T18:41:00.001-05:00

It’s hard to tell it’s almost spring here in the foothills, unless you visit Ironstone Winery in Murphys. The flowers were amazing even on this drizzly day.

One of the lucky gardens who work there said they have 562 wine barrels of bulbs this year.

Pale yellow daffodils and white tulips are perfect partners.

Most of the tulips are just starting to bloom…..

Raindrops.

Drizzly days don’t bother the funny face violas.

Trees are bursting in bloom too.

A visit to Ironstone is never complete without a stop to see the nugget.

(Note to my Texas friends…..this nugget was found less than three miles from our place in Jamestown at the old Harvard Mine.)

Happy Pi (3.14) Day to Pai!

2011-03-14T20:03:00.001-05:00

(special thanks to B for the cute pic)

Seeing the Elephants

2011-03-13T18:09:00.001-05:00

ARK 2000 is an elephant sanctuary located on 2000 acres near San Andreas owned and operated by PAWS (Performing Animals Welfare Society). To celebrate our birthdays friend P and I went to see the elephants yesterday.

Entering the facility the first thing you see are these huge fences that surround the 10 acre Siberian Tiger habitats. No, the original plan for ARK 2000 did not include tigers but when an desperate situation developed in southern California, ARK owners Pat and Ed agreed to rescue 36 of the over 100 tigers that needed immediate care.

Each of the tigers has it’s own personality and name. One of the females came over to the fence very deliberately to greet Pat. She says that they do not think of these animals as pets, but as friends.

We were allowed inside the perimeter fence to get camera lenses through the chain link. Still these are long shots. If a tiger turned in the direction of the fence we were asked to step back. Sometimes they don’t come down the hill at all so we were very lucky to even these.

Our group of 20 visitors were asked to park our cars at the Asian elephant barn. The three Asian female elephants are Annie, Gypsy, and Wanda. They have their own dedicated barn and pasture. On a previous visit I got to tour inside that barn. It includes an ‘elephant hot tub’. Big enough for just one elephant at a time, and do they ever love it!

We walked on down the road along the pasture of African females Mara, Maggie, Ruby and Lulu. They were enjoying some forage hay and were reluctant to follow us out to the elephant lake. After much coaxing Mara followed Ed (carrying a birthday gift that looked like a bag of treats) along the fence line.

Maggie came for a few minutes but decided she much preferred the company of her elephant buddies to ours. Mara, on the other hand, was very content to hang out for special attention.

As always, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Ed had treats in his pocket.

After hanging out at the lake for an hour or so we walked back to the corner where the other girls were gathered.

Elephants show respect by backing into groups of their elders.

The diverse group of visitors came from as far away as Los Angels for the opportunity to spend the day with these wonderful animals.

We are so lucky to have this facility so close to home.

After lunch we caravanned to the area of the sanctuary dedicated to the bull elephants. Again, rescuing bull elephants was not part of Ed and Pat’s original vision, but when the need arose they stepped up to do what was necessary to house not one, but THREE bull elephants.

The three Asian bulls are half brothers. Sabu, below, is new and still in quarantine. He is 11 feet tall and weighs 7 tons. That’s Brian, elephant handler extraordinaire, with Sabu. Maybe you noticed the fencing in the female’s pastures……big posts with 1” cable for the rails? The bull elephants require even bigger posts with that same size used for the rails. The posts go six feet into the ground set in concrete.

Don’t be fooled by what looks like a small enclosure, it’s actually only the alley way that connects Sabu’s pasture to his barn. Yep, each bull elephant has his own private barn.

Looking back at Nic’s barn on the left and Sabu’s on the right I realized that the barns were built on the knoll with the pastures on opposite sides clearly as a every effective means for keeping the bulls separated. This view is from the location of Prince’s barn still under construction. His pasture will be on the far side of his barn.

We got to meet the welder responsible for the outstanding work done on these fences. It’s hard to imagine the scale, but this gate is just over 12 feet tall.

And here’s Nic! Don’t let this mellow attitude fool you. He is treated with total respect, never taken for granted for a minute. Bull elephants are extremely unpredictable. While Ed fed Mara her treats by hand, he tossed bananas to Nic from a safe distance.

Pat and Ed do not believe in captivity for any animal. The only reason these animals are here is that they cannot survive in their natural worlds. All the elephants were handled for years and years by barbaric methods that included bull hooks and chains. Look closely at Brain’s stick….it has a soft ball on the end. This is his tool for directing the elephants in the direction he needs them to go.

Inside Nic’s barn were got to observe a routine health exam/training exercise. Nic voluntarily positions himself in the specially built enclosure to allow blood to be drawn from his ear.

Windows built near the floor allow Nic to safely raise his each individual foot for inspection, cleaning, and a trim if necessary. Nic’s feet are all in good condition. Elephants who have stood on concrete in a restricted area for many years are not so lucky.

Seeing the elephants and watching these dedicated people work with them is truly an amazing experience. If you ever get the chance to visit ARK 2000 I hope you jump at the chance. If not, please consider ‘adopting’ an animal or making a donation.

I Can't Comment!

2011-03-11T17:03:00.001-06:00

I can't leave a comment on anyone's blog! Maybe someone can help?

If you are reading Bonnie....so glad you and Mom are safe (and comfortable) at home.

24 Hours in Napa

2011-03-08T22:45:00.001-06:00

Mustard is blooming all across the valley. I found this field along Jack Tone Road on my way to meet a friend for a quick visit in Napa.

The ‘Riverfront’ is a faux section of town that is beginning to look really natural. Give it 30 or 40 years and we won’t know the difference.

There is probably a list describing the downtown art, we didn’t have one, so each piece was happy serendipity.

Another happy surprise were the art installations in the empty store fronts. Vintage Button Lady and Mosaic Woman are two striking examples.

Appropriate for the parking garage.

In front of the Napa Valley Museum.

I really like art created from found objects, but this one stretched my imagination. It’s a pile of ranch junk. I know…….

Good food, fun walks around town, a search for Italian cherries, and some exploring was a good start to learning about Napa, but the area really deserves more than 24 hours.

Sugar Pine Snowshoe

2011-02-21T10:44:00.001-06:00

Monday was forecast as the clear day between storms. Yay! They got that one right. I snow shoed the Sugar Pine Railroad between Middle Camp Road and Lyons Lake with adventure buddy P. It was a perfect day!

The utilities district had run a snow cat with a plow though on Saturday. It’s probably a bit more than a foot deep on the railroad bed.

The pines on the north slope were shrouded in heavy snow.

And the oaks were still holding on to enough snow to be spectacular against the blue sky.

Before long we were down several layers.

I have hiked (and taken horses) on this railroad many times; it’s a popular local trail, less than ten minutes off Highway 108. But not yesterday, no tracks, no people for the two plus hours were were out there.

(To my Texas and Florida friends…..this area is 30 minutes from my place in Jamestown where we got only a light dusting of snow :)

Between Storms

2011-02-16T20:59:00.001-06:00

Rain, wind, hail, and sunshine all had turns today. Just before dark we got a break between the crazy storm cells.

I didn’t see many birds today, but this little gal was trying to get warm and dry as the temperature began to drop again.

Not often is the sunset brighter in the eastern sky.

Clouds shortly covered the moon again.

Home Snaps

2011-02-10T22:42:00.001-06:00

Waiting in Austin for the weather to break in Dallas there were seven AA planes in my line of vision on Wednesday morning. After a de icing process we got into the air at 930 and had a smooth ride above the storm into Dallas.

It was still really cold in Dallas, in the middle teens, and high winds were blowing snow around the airport.

Sister and Auntie were waiting for me at Sacramento. We didn’t get home until after dark which was cool because this morning I found a really big surprise waiting for me!

The China Lilies are blooming big time thanks to so much rain last fall.

After a grocery run I headed out to walk the perimeter fence. Here’s a hazy shot of the snow in the mountains from the lava cap.

I was looking for the first wildflower, and found two! The first was a light sprinkling of Gold Fields. It won’t be long before these tiny flowers cover in the hills in a yellow carpet.

The second, on the southern exposure, were tiny white Johnny Jump-ups (or Shooting Stars) starting to bloom.

The steers were moved in the week I left for Texas, so they don’t know me and were very curious about what I was doing in their territory.

No blooms yet on the Buckeye but the white bark was sparkling in the sunshine.

It’s hard to imagine after so much rain this winter that there is actually dust on the lava cap. We really need the rain that is forecast for next week, but I’m happy I got to go for a welcome home walk today.

Ice and Snow

2011-02-05T14:23:00.001-06:00

Sometimes the local paper forecasts an ‘arctic blast’. That usually means very cold air is dropping down on us from Canada and it might last a day or so. This time it arrived Monday night (after an 80* high that afternoon) and lasted until Friday afternoon. Nights were in the teens and days didn’t reach 30 degrees. But the SNOW that we woke up to on Friday morning made all the whole cold week worthwhile.

A tiny creek in my complex was frozen early in the week.

I peeked outside about 1 am on Friday morning to find a light dusting of snow and was happy to see close to an inch by morning. All schools and government offices were closed. The guy upstairs didn’t listen to radio and left early for school.

My van was frozen solid for until Saturday morning, no sun on this side of the building.

The water in the pool was a gorgeous color against the snow.

The snow was so cold it looked like coarse salt piled in the leaves of the agave plant.

The last time it snowed in Austin was 2006, the year these two were born. Hope they remember how much more fun they had this time!

Mittens were lost and fingers were cold too soon. After a warm up we did our best to clear the walk and stairs with my camp shovel.

Main Street Sculpture

2011-01-30T21:24:00.000-06:00

Marble Falls (about 45 minutes west of Austin) has this really cool program that allows artists to display their work along the old Main Street. Every year or so they change out the art works. I wanted to see what was new before I head back to CA next week.

The most striking new (to me) piece is this dragon fly on the Uptown Theater. (I like the reflection of the wing in the window too).

Here’s a closer look….

This horse is created from ‘found’ objects. It would be fun to spend some time identifying all the different pieces. Love the wrench that acts as a part of the foundation for the whole work.

And a closer look…..

Ms. Long Ears in the late afternoon light.

There’s a great restaurant on Main Street, but rats, it was closed!

Finally, unrelated to this post, but interesting to me, there was a grassland fire along Highway 290 ….. on the 30th of January!

Sunny Day at McKinney

2011-01-22T18:13:00.001-06:00

Rock climbing, hopping over puddles and collecting shells (fresh water clams?) was the best fun at McKinney this afternoon for Grandma, Mama, and Pai.

Traffic Signs

2011-01-12T20:55:00.001-06:00

The neighbors on this street got together to create signs to try to slow down the speedy drivers. There are duck crossings, bird crossings, and pig crossings too. Hope it works.

Seen on Congress Avenue

2011-01-06T19:14:00.001-06:00

Duct tape bike……

Mueller Lake Park

2011-01-05T21:35:00.001-06:00

There’s a cool park on the site of the old Mueller Airport (along with a housing development :). It’s just off Airport Blvd near I 35. Looks like the area is being built in phases. Some houses have been there long enough to have established trees. Other areas have roads and sidewalks, no homes. And on the Manor Road side, still open fields.

I wonder what the plans are for the air traffic control tower besides sending holiday greetings?

The lake functions as part of the watershed runoff system. There are almost 5 miles of trail, picnic areas, play grounds, and many excellent interpretive signs.

It’s actually a park within a ‘green belt’ so much of the area is native vegetation while specific areas are developed for multi-uses.

Driving by on Manor Road I didn’t know about the park. What first caught my eye (and peaked by curiosity) was a giant spider sculpture.

But first, near a parking area I found these…….

….and then along the trail was the spider.

I swear I didn’t see that raised leg when I snapped the first picture!

Enlarging a photograph….

2010-12-28T19:38:00.000-06:00

This is a test…..hopefully if you click on the picture it will bring up a larger size in a new window…..

By the way, this is yard art on Oltorf near the train tracks. I often get to see it because the trains that run through the middle of Austin are so long!

Happy Christmas

2010-12-24T12:25:00.001-06:00

Wishful Thinking

2010-12-22T19:40:00.001-06:00

These folks might want to consider moving to California. It hasn’t rained here for close to 40 days and the temps hit record highs yesterday!

Missed the Eclipse

2010-12-21T09:24:00.001-06:00

The sky was clear when the moon was rising at dusk, and still at 9:30 pm. By 1:30 am the fog had moved in over the city. I kept watch for a couple hours, hoping the wind create a break in the clouds. Not this time.

Mustang Grapes

2010-12-15T12:45:00.001-06:00

For a couple of years I have been fascinated by these huge vines that grow all around the Texas Hill country. They looked somewhat like the wild grapes at home, but gosh, way too big. Yesterday I stopped by the Entrance Station at McKinney to ask, and sure enough, they are grapes!

A quick internet search came up the a story from someone’s grandmother that they are called ‘mustang’ grapes because they are so hard to tame.

Their trunks can grow to 8 – 10 inches in diameter. With the help of an oak tree they reach 30 – 40 feet in height.

When the leaves are off both the grapes and the helper trees, it’s easy to see interesting shapes against the sky.

I love the lines they create; great subjects to sketch too.

Luminations

2010-12-14T18:18:00.001-06:00

One week-end every December, the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center hosts an event called Luminations, lining the borders of the pathways in the gardens with 3,000 luminaries. Last Sunday a certain 4 year old had a long afternoon nap that we took advantage of for an evening outing. It was one of the few cold nights we’ve had in Austin but we were bundled up for an after dark adventure.

A better view would be from the top of the tower, but I didn’t think about it until on the way home.

Some of the luminaries are actually lit with candles; others with a tiny battery operated light.

Fun old standards and Christmas songs were provided by the Austin Banjo Club. Pop corn and hot chocolate were available. Frosty was on hand working the crowd and posing for pictures.

It was a late night for a little kid, but lots of fun, and maybe the beginning of a new tradition.

Happy 4th Birthday Paidia

2010-12-12T21:54:00.001-06:00

Pai had several special requests for her birthday this year. The first was for Auntie Katie to create a Spiderman Birthday Cake.

Katie nailed that one!

Next on her list was inviting her favorite friends….Marta, Crystal, and Sophia. Yep, another score!

A birthday party is not complete in Texas without a piñata.

Spiderman looks kind of scary but he was all sweetness inside.

Catching up on fun with Sophia came before presents!

Can you believe they slowed down long enough for Grandma to get one perfect picture?

Then it was back outside to scatter the leaves Mom had carefully raked into piles.

The perfecting ending to a perfect day.

Time for the Christmas Parade

2010-12-05T10:05:00.001-06:00

The weather was pure pleasure. Is it really Christmas?

Pai is almost 4 (!) and so really loved the parade this year.

I caught a couple of shots that are quintessential Austin.

A decorated car…….

and the Shady Grove float….

Guadalupe River State Park

2010-12-03T20:56:00.001-06:00

On my way to Lost Maples, a quick stop at Guadalupe River State Park satisfied my curiosity. It’s a beautiful stretch of river, but way too close to San Antonio. A half mile or so of river front is bordered by hundreds (it seemed like) of parking spaces. I wouldn’t want to be there when they are full of people escaping the city.

The river is gorgeous and in all fairness, I bet there is much more to see than what I caught in the half hour I was there.

Love the Cyprus trees.

(OK, maybe a mid-week, off season visit?)

Lost Maples State Natural Area

2010-12-03T20:24:00.001-06:00

My first week back in Texas I camped at Lost Maples. The weather was perfect, but sadly, most of the maples had dropped their leaves. This is the classic shot of the park and you can find many beautiful versions on Goggle Images.

Lost Maples is 2200 acres and was created in the mid 70s. The trees grow along the river and creeks at the bottoms of the canyons. Almost 12 miles of trail traverse this rugged steep country. And while it seems very remote (and did take me 3 hours from Austin) it’s not that far from San Antonio.

The light was beautiful on the tress when I arrived late in the afternoon.

This one is at the Entrance Station.

Since it was so late I went directly to the trail head instead of checking out the campground. It was maybe 80/20 as to the color left. Not so much.

The East Loop follows the Sabinal River. Low flows made crossings easy, but Gore-Tex boots would be important at higher flows. This is a good example of the many, many maples (without their leaves) along the river.

Water action on the sandstone creates interesting canyon walls.

A couple miles along the river, I came across this sign and decided to save that part of the trail for the next day.

I was really glad I went out Monday afternoon because Tuesday dawned cloudy and drizzly. What color that was left was very muted.

So, back out the East Loop trail I continued up the ridge past the warning sign. It began with these lovely rock stairs.

Only a 400 foot climb, it felt like more due the rough trail. It’s the kind of trail that one plays leap frog with other hikers and in the process gets to visit several times along the way. Across the top of the ridge was really nice with several overlooks of the river far below. And then the trail dropped down the front side of the ridge. A young family warned me that it was steep. Oh, gosh, how steep would it be?

It was so steep that parts looks more like waterfalls than a trail I have no idea how they maintain these trails. It must be a nightmare. I was sure missing my hiking poles that are back home in California!

Finally at the bottom the East Loop hooks up with the West Loop along a series of pools on the river. It’s very beautiful and there is primitive camping allowed all along this area.

OK, for future reference, to see the maples, it’s ok just to stick to the flat trails along the river. The maples do not grow on top of the ridges. Although, IF the leaves are on the trees, it might be pretty to see the hillsides from the upper overlooks.

Not far from the end of the East Loop there is a pipe targeted at a Red Tail Hawk nest across the river. It’s not a telescope, just a pipe pointed in the right direction. If you can locate the whitest hollow in the cliff face, go up to the top of the white band, and just to the left you will see the nest.

An interpretive sign says the hawks are clearly visible during nesting season. That would sure be fun to see!

It seemed like the most ancient trees were holding their leaves the longest. This old timer stands guard at the end of the trail.

Next year I’ll get my reservations early (for mid week) to be sure to see the peak of the color. It must be amazing!

My Apologies to Junction

2010-11-15T17:37:00.001-06:00

Crossing the North Llano River a few miles west of Junction marks the end of the desert and the beginning of the Hill Country. I look forward to stopping in Junction (at the confluence of the North and South Llano Rivers) for the Pecan store just off the highway and a coffee shop down the street. (Also used to be a cool cowgirl store called Crosses and Conchos, but it sadly closed).

This trip the weather was so perfect and the trees were so beautiful that I decided to stay over night at the KOA by the river. I got all settled in (read…took a nap) and then went exploring.

This is where the apology becomes necessary. I had mistakenly assumed that the street with my coffee shop stop was the whole town. That would be wrong. Turns out Junction is the county seat of Kimble County and while not as fancy as some, the courthouse sits in the center of town surrounded by lovely old trees.

Sadly, it is also surrounded by many empty store fronts. It would be so cool to see the little towns bustling with activity again. Maybe even a movie playing at the Texan!

This bridge, built in 1937, spans Lake Junction on the South Llano. It has a very modern pedestrian lane completely separate from traffic.

Looking upstream from the bridge is Lover’s Leap. There’s a golf course along the river under Lover’s Leap that based on my golfing ability should probably be named Golfer’s Leap.

The dam was built in 1965 to supple domestic water. It’s maybe 20 feet high, more like a weir, with big abutments on each end. This whole area is completely open to the public. I bet the kids love to walk across the dam (giving the water folks fits!).

On one side of the lake is the City park and on the other is the County park. Looking down river my van is parked on the City side.

On a Saturday afternoon in November the rope swing wasn’t getting much action.

So now I know more about Junction, it’s a neat little town. I will surly go back, and not just because it’s on the way to Austin.

Saguaro National Park

2010-11-13T19:29:00.001-06:00

My redwoods and bristle cone pines are going to have to make room for the saguaros. I am so in awe of these spectacular plants and got a brief introduction to them by driving the 8 mile loop.

There are many turn outs and over looks along the road to get good looks at the saguaros. (Great trails too, but those will have to wait for more time).

At the top of the loop the terrain becomes more rocky. These are called the Javelina Rocks.

There are two sections of the Park just outside the city limits of Tucson. I visited the east side on my way to Interstate 10. And looking across the park to Tucson in the distance, R and J’s house is on the very far side of the city at the base of the mountains. What a marvelous place to live!

Zinnias and Mexican Sage

2010-11-09T22:53:00.001-06:00

My zinnias have been a happy spot of color all summer and now the Mexican Sage is blooming too. I’m sad to leave them, but hope the birds will enjoy the seeds for a few months.

(Had to put up the wire to keep the wild turkeys from digging up the plants :)

California Gold

2010-11-07T18:31:00.001-06:00

Quaking aspens are changing at higher elevations.

And down by the river a Black Oak.

(I’m packing to leave for Austin next week, probably no posts for awhile :)

Table Mountain Sunset

2010-11-04T22:42:00.001-05:00

Field Trips are Fun

2010-11-02T11:48:00.001-05:00

Super Nephew G attends Chinese Camp School. There are two rooms, one for K, 1st and 2nd; the other for 3rd through 6th grade. The 7th and 8th graders go to Jamestown now. (Several generations of our family have attended school in Chinese Camp, but I’ll save that for another post!).

I got to go with the ‘big kids’ on a field trip to Bell Meadow and the Clavey River. They learned about the Tuolumne River watershed.

And how rocks become soil.

A stop to rock climb resulted in a great find…..Indian grinding stones!

After lunch we hiked down the Clavey River to a very cool location called the “Tubs”.

After time playing along the river it was time to stop and record thoughts and feelings in journals.

Super Nephew G was really concentrating. I wonder what he wrote?

The rivers create these ‘tubs’ in the granite through out the Sierra. They are the quintessential swimming holes in the summer, not today!

Doug, the class mascot, was ready for a rest while the kids wrote in their journals.

There was time for one last stop to skip rocks across a pool on our hike out of the canyon.

These kids are really lucky to have Miss Betz, who so clearly loves the mountains, as their teach at tiny Chinese Camp School.

More Apples

2010-10-31T17:31:00.001-05:00

Coconut Apple Strips fall into the recipe category of favorite old family traditions that include Fig Swirl Cookies, Cinnamon Twists, and Ravioli. Like the others, they are labor intensive, and only made for very special occasions. This time it was Cousin J’s 75th birthday.

I picked up a basket of tart Granny Smith apples at The Red Apple ranch in Murphys. (Before Granny Smiths, we used Pippins).

The original crust is rich with evaporated milk and sugar; I used the basic Betty Crocker pie crust instead. The sliced the apples are dusted with lots of cinnamon.

The apples in the crust are baked for 20 minutes in a hot oven, then the topping of coconut, eggs, and evaporated milk is poured over.

Back in a moderate oven until the coconut browns.

My Mom often made multiple recipes of these when we were kids. I remember them covering every surface in the kitchen. Just a double recipe filled my little kitchen with a heavenly aroma!

And the final step……cut into the strips.

Happy 75th Birthday J !!!!!!!

Halloween

2010-10-31T17:23:00.001-05:00

In California….

….and in Texas…….

Before and After

2010-10-19T11:46:00.001-05:00

The original bed in my Roadtrek was the three cushions that also serve as the seats for a dinette. Finally the spirit moved me to dramatically upgrade the bed.

BEFORE……..

Because I had purchased the fabric several months ago, all I needed was a piece of memory foam. I created a fitted sheet type cover for the original cushions covered with the 2” of new foam. I also sewed four pillows and the inset panels for the doors from the same fabric. The brown pillows are stuffed with my down comforters, sheets, and a couple down coats.

AND AFTER………

The Buzz Saw

2010-10-18T20:47:00.001-05:00

Sometime late in the 30s Grandpa Frank bought an old car for Grandma Stella to learn to drive on the ranch. It’s sketchy now whether it was a Dodge or a Plymouth. Unfortunately, while practicing driving ‘out back’ with Joe, the car caught on fire. That was the end of Grandma’s driving and the beginning of the buzz saw.

The frame and wheels are the old car, while the shaft and the blade came from Joe Cavagnaro (Moccasin).

Joe Lemas (blacksmith in Sonora) built the table.

The Wisconsin V-4 engine was recycled from the old trammel (gold mining equipment).

The gas supple requires careful adjustment. (That’s the gas tank on the right sitting on the boards).

A sharp, strong crank usually starts the engine on the second or third try. (btw, that’s Grandpa and Grandma’s little red house in the background where I live now).

Tthe engine turns the belt (from Uncle Art in Chinese Camp) that spins the saw……

….that cuts the wood.

The old saw is put into service a couple times a year. For the last month or so, we’ve been cutting wood. Dad feeds the logs into the saw while a helper catches the cut piece of fire wood and throws it into the bucket of the backhoe. (These pics were taken last spring when the grass was green).

(And yes, it’s scary as hell to operate!)