Carol was up in Santa Barbara for the weekend nearest her birthday and asked several of us to once again circle the Aliso Loop to celebrate. Here are the lucky eight that made it to the trailhead on a beautiful Easter Sunday morning. Don’t miss the fun video at the end.
And finally, a birthday chorus by the Aliso Loop Players
On the way home Sunday from our Joshua Tree weekend we stopped at the Whitewater Preserve. Carol’s friend Randy had suggested it. Click here to jump to the Whitewater Preserve website.
Carol and I got an Airbnb place in Sunfair near the National Park and had two wonderful days of hiking and poking around within the park. Two galleries below. Shots with people, shots of plants and the terrain. People first
Now sans people
Friend Carla invited me to join her on the monthly public hike on the Sedgewick Reserve. We were all set to leave with the moderate level hike group when the leader heavily cautioned any of is without lugged soles to not come on his route. So we moved over to the easy group and had a very interesting experience. A very nice feeling of being way into the country and curious insight into how others lived and grew up.
Friend Christy included me in her annual Winter Solstice hike this morning. Seven of us met at the end of Tunnel Road shortly after six for a hike to a secret spot of Christy’s near Inspiration Point. It was wonderful walking along as the day commenced and the light unfolded. We arrived at our destination in time to see the sun crest the mountain and thereafter share some wishes for the new year while drinking the warm Oregon Chai Christy had packed up the hill.
Click on the image above for some larger shots of our outing. Thanks Christy and friends for a lovely start to the return of the light.
It being the 28th of April and a Saturday into the bargain many of the “Usual Suspects” met at Sage Hill campground for the annual Aliso Canyon Trail hike. It was a warm and beautiful day and a very nice outing. At trail’s end Cathy O popped some wonderful chocolate cupcakes out of her cute new Fiat and we all enjoyed a birthday treat with the birthday girl. Clicking on the montage above displays some nice shots of our day.
In addition here are two videos from our outing. In the first you can view an enactment of one of the seven deadly sins. In the second I demonstrate proper hiking techniques in the back country.
Carol and I drove up to June Lake on Sunday and spent three nights and two full days exploring some of the Eastern Sierra, particularly looking for areas with fall color. On the way up we stopped for a hike at Lava Falls and a visit to the National Park Service’s wonderful partially rebuilt Manzanar site and museum.
Monday morning some other visitors suggested Highway 120 as a good spot for color so we explored along the June Lake Loop then up 120 into Yosemite; lunching, hiking, and poking around in Tuolumne Meadows. Monday’s dinner was at the spectacular Convict Lake Restaurant, YUM. What an end to day one.
Tuesday I went for a wonderful morning hike up to the waterfall overlooking our Double Eagle Inn then we drove over to the Mammoth Lakes area for an afternoon of discovery in new territory for both of us.
Wednesday we drove away from June Lake and stopped for breakfast at Toms Place before descending to Bishop and heading south on 395. We stopped at Olacha for a photo op, Red Rock Canyon for a short hike, and the Lancaster In-N-Out for lunch.
We had a great time and passed through and visited much spectacular country. Click on the above montage to see a slide show containing images and more details of our outing.
Carol Carter had this fun idea for several of us to join in on a Santa Barbara Botanic Garden hike up Rattlesnake Canyon this morning. She, Steve, Marilee, and I met SBBG docent Diane Kennett at the trailhead at nine. Along with three other folks we had a very informative and pleasant few hours polking around along the trail. The most interesting factiod of our outing was discovering that a dam was constructed within Rattlesnake Canyon at the same time as the one in Mission Canyon, ~ 1804. You can see it in the left image of the middle row above.
After our outing Steve, Carol, and I repaired to La Super Rica for a wonderful lunch. Another great day in the life. Clicking on the above montage will present a larger one of same for more detailed viewing.
Carol, Margaret, Ralph, and Ashe (TUS) along with Virginia spent the day on Mount Pinos finding flowers, chatting, lunching, and hiking.
Virginia and Ralph arrived at Ashe’s at 9:00 a.m. where we piled into the Volvo and drove down the hill to pick up Carol then on to Carpinteria to get Margaret on board. We decided to drive south on Hwy. 101, in on Hwy. 126 to Interstate 5, then up to the Mount Pinos exit. A short stop at a Subway for Ashe to grab a turkey sandwich and tank up then it was on task, i.e. off chasing flowers.
We ended up at the 8,300 foot parking lot where we had a nice hike into an adjoining meadow then stopped for a shared lunch before hiking on up to the 8,800′ summit of the mountain with lots of botanical stops and visiting along the way.
Our return drive was quite spectacular, through Lockwood Valley to Hwy. 33 then down to the edge of Ojai before skirting Lake Casitas on Hwy. 150 and on into Carpinteria to drop Margaret off before heading to Santa Barbara, arriving home around 7:45 p.m.
To see a slide show of our wonderful day click on the image above.
I flew off to Denver on the 13th. Eric and the boys (Henry 8 and Eliot 6) picked me up at the airport. Kerri flew home on Friday evening from a trip to Boston and we all had a nice 5 days.
Friday Eric and I drove north to Boulder and had a great lunch at Lucile’s followed by a four mile hike in the nearby Flatirons. Saturday Henry, Eric and I went to a nearby skateboard park where Henry honed his skills. Afterward we three hiked to the top of the Castle Rock. That evening Kerri, Eric, and I went to a wonderful Italian restaurant in Castle Rock where we shared and much enjoyed 3 hors d’oeuvres, three main courses, two desserts, and a bottle and a half of wine, YUM. Sunday was more time at the skateboard park and generally hanging out.
Monday Eric and I drove south to explore the Air Force Academy campus then on to “Garden of the Gods” for a short hike. My last morning on Tuesday I got to witness Rex, Henry’s pet king snake, consume two small frozen mice. A little later Eliot, Eric, and I (all second sons) went out for a nice, mouseless, breakfast and chat before we dropped “El” at school, drove up to Boulder, then off to the airport where I got my plane ride home.
