Alaska Part 3

The last of the Alaska pictures that I will put up:

On our day off - not paddling - we hiked about a mile in to a gold dredge.  There was a self-guided tour that took us all over the boat.  It was cool to see how things were done.  Many of the tools for the operation were left on the boat when mining stopped.
The above picture is the pilot house of the dredge.  Each of these levers did something.  One was for forward another back.  The pilot would stand behind these levers and watch the buckets dig the dirt and mud - and hopefully gold - and carry it to the back part of the dredge where everything was sorted and the gold kept while the rest was deposited out the back.
After our walk to the dredge - and short naps - we took another short walk, this time down the river.  I don't know what this thing is on the bank, but it's not important.
When I was living with Kristen and Sam, my favorite reading material was the book "Outhouses of Alaska."  This was the one at Slavens Roadhouse.  It didn't make it into the book but I think the birches in the foreground make it look picturesque.

That's it of the good Alaska pictures.  I have been pretty busy with the new house and haven't gotten to take many pictures lately.  However, I am hoping to have pictures of the new place soon to add to the blog.

Fall in Alaska

Fall in Alaska.  It comes early there - the end of August.  It was great to see the birches and spruces change from green to yellow on our trip.  These are four pictures from our time spent at Slavens Roadhouse and on our hike to the gold dredge.

At least one more set of pictures to come.  Stay tuned.

Yukon River

The Yukon River in Alaska.  It reminded me of a long lake more than a river.  We floated for about 160 miles from Eagle to Circle - about 5 days on the river with an extra spent at a road house.  Here are some of the pictures.  Don't let them fool you, it was a little chilly and rained a lot.

At the end of the second day, it was rainy, cold, and windy.  As soon as we landed and got the raft unloaded the rain stopped and it started to clear up.  This (below) was the view for dinner that night.  It was a great place to see moose and other wildlife.  Unfortunately, all we saw was a beaver.  Not exactly the big mammal that we were looking for.
The last night was spent on a sandy beach.  Plenty of firewood and marshmallows made the long-lasting sunset fantastic.  The morning was foggy - at least around the campsite.  We delayed our departure hoping that the fog would lift.  When it did not, we set off.  The sky cleared no more than 200 yards down river.
I hope you enjoyed these.  There will be more pictures coming soon.

South Manitou

After a little hiatus, I am back to posting on my blog here are some pictures from a trip to South Manitou that Jenny and I took with Holly and Mike right after camp this summer.  The day started off cloudy and somewhat cold.  However, we hiked to a shipwreck, had lunch, and then came back to climb the lighthouse.  These are two pictures from the top, both looking northeast-ish.

As you can see, the water was a very pretty blue color and the clouds were retreating.  This was my first time to the top of the lighthouse - despite several previous trips to the island.  The structure itself is nothing spectacular, but the view is one of the top two from a lighthouse that I have climbed.
In case you want to see what the lighthouse looks like, here you go.  It doesn't look very imposing from the ground, but the railing doesn't inspire too much confidence when you are up there.
The ferry ride back to the mainland was very pleasant.  Naps were taken in the sunshine.  We had great views of the Crib to and from the island.  It is an impressive lighthouse in its own right - the cormorants love it.
South Manitou Island is one place that everyone who visits northern Michigan should go to at least once.  Camping just one night allows you to explore all of the island.  The National Park Service has done a good job making the area around the dock very welcoming and comfortable.

Summer

I don't think that I will have anytime to post this summer - perhaps when I get some time off.  Please head over to Camp Leelanau/Kohahna website to see what I am up to.

Foul Ball 2

How about another picture from the RiverCats game last week?  This foul ball went right over our heads.  I'm glad it wasn't any lower; I didn't see it until hit off the wall behind us.  All I know about the batter is that his name is Patterson and he stole 3 bases during the game, including home.  It was pretty sweet.

I have looked through all of my pictures from the game and they are all very similar - pitchers pitching and batters batting.  Next time I will have to mix up my shots and get some of the other players.  When's the next game?

Water Ribbons

Second post today.  This is a shot of Lower North Falls in Silver Falls State Park.  It is my second try with Photoshop.  I didn't do as much with this one as I did with the baseball.

Don't expect two per day from now on - Im just excited about my new toy!

Foul Ball

My first attempt at Photoshop was somewhat successful.  I have not learned much about my new toy, but I have been having fun with it.  This is my second test and I like the results.  This was taken at a Sacramento RiverCats game against Round Rock.  I don't know this guys name or what happened during his at bat - other than this foul ball.

I will be playing around with my new program a lot in the coming days in an attempt to get to know it before I head off to camp.  Look for more - from the game and other places - soon.

Cabin Pictures Part 2

The water was high, fast, and cold.  Somehow I made it across safely to the island.  I was happy when I got there, until realized that I had to get back.  While waiting for my feet and legs to thaw, I took some pictures.  Here are some that I like.

Look at how close the water is to the rope in this first picture.  The rope is on the far right.  Usually when I'm at the cabin, people that want to swing on the rope have to stretch to grab it.  If I was tough enough to swim over there, I probably would have been able to hit the knot at the bottom with my head.

Along with being cold, the water was crystal clear and a pretty lime green color.  The reflections in the water were very pretty and I tried to capture that in this photo.

Jenny and I went to the cabin again this past weekend with Amy.  We were there for maybe an hour - just enough time to take some more pictures, see that the water is even higher than it was in these pictures, and take a short nap.  Look for those pictures some time soon.

Cabin Pictures

We had wonderful weather during our trip to the Washougal on Saturday.  The water was high and very cold.  The leaves were starting to come out on all of the trees and the island was small compared to its summer size.

Here are some of the pictures from around the cabin.  The first one is the perplexing for sale sign at the gate pointing to the cabin.  The last is of the new orange cabin on the lane.  It looks much more orange in the picture.  It really is a light brown color due to the stain the put on it.

People in Anza-Borrego

Here are the last of the pictures from Anza-Borrego.  I wasn't there by myself as the other would imply.

The first is of our return to the car after hiking in the Palo Verde wash.  We were on the lookout for the trail that would take us to an abandoned mine and found it shortly after this picture was taken.  In case you are wondering, that is an ocotillo cactus by Meg.

Sure, the Stallard family likes to hike and explore when on vacation.  However, there is also a lot of down time reading and relaxing in the sun.  This relaxing doesn't take place only near the pool.  Here are Jenny, Tom, and Meg enjoying the shade while Dave, Tim, and Bob explored further up a slot canyon.
Ever want to know how big a Joshua Tree is?  Find Jenny (not too hard) and do your estimates.  When we were in Joshua Tree National Park, we were looking for the biggest Joshua tree that Dave had ever seen - he had shown us the picture earlier.  We thought that this might be it, but alas it was not.  Still, it's pretty big.
On our last day, we went on a hike to another slot canyon.  It got tight in a couple of places.    Here are some other shots and more explanations of how tight the canyons were.

So that's it for Anza-Borrego.  I will get some other shots up soon.  Spring is here - technically - and summer is coming soon.  I'll have more time and better weather to go out in the future.

Squirrel Encounter

A couple of weeks ago, we had a beautiful day and the squirrels were out in force around the capitol.  This one was getting pretty friendly, but once he realized I had no food for him, he chirped, turned tail, and took off for the nearest tree.  

I hope that this brightens you day just a little.

Joshua Trees in Joshua Tree

My last post showed some of the rocks in Joshua Tree National Park.  While the rocks there are famous and lot of fun to climb, the national park was not named for them.  Instead, in case you didn't know, the park was named for the funny looking trees that grow there.  Here are some.

I tell ya, the Mormons sure are adventurous.  I'm not sure when they made their way to this area, but they were the ones that named the trees Joshua Trees.  Evidently the trees reminded these people of Joshua raising his arms to God.  Sure, I guess I see that.
These trees have a few other historical names and one of them is more descriptive - Spanish bayonet.  The leaves are very long and sharp along the sides and at the tip.  When I hear Joshua, I tend to think of something that is welcoming and personable.  However, Spanish bayonet seems less friendly for some reason.  Perhaps if this name stuck the park would not be as popular.
Somehow I think that the park would survive with a different name.  Pictures are nice, but being there is something else completely!  Seeing the trees stretch from horizon to horizon is amazing.  They are absolutely amazing and hilarious at the same time.
Dr. Seuss was right to use these trees as inspiration for the trees in the Lorax.  They seem like something that has come to live out of one of his stories.

Rocks in Joshua Tree

Anza-Borrego is relatively close to Joshua Tree and since Jenny and I had never been there, we decided to take a day trip to see the funny trees.  While I am not posting any trees this time, I will in the future.

As Dave knows, Joshua Tree is a popular place for rock climbers and while I didn't get any pictures of people scaling vertical wall faces, I did take some of smaller rocks.  The one above was at a pull out when we spotted our first Joshua tree.  The small plant in front is a young Joshua tree, so I guess I did post one tree.
This arch was a pleasant surprise.  We climbed under it and I was a little nervous about that large boulder wedged against the arch.  The left side (in the picture) seems to defy gravity by hanging up in the air.  I quickly scrambled up and under but still didn't feel safe on that side because of the other boulders behind it.  

Near this spot, a dad was teaching this two kids to climb.  We could clearly hear his instructions.  It seemed to be an easy wall to climb, but then again, I was watching, not doing.

We ate our lunch surrounded by rock climbers - so we had some entertainment.  Conversations on the top of the rocks were easy to hear in this little valley.  The most entertaining part while watching was the repel off the top.  One lady was a little timid about coming down, I guess but I would be as well.

Slot Canyons

Two months later...

The first three pictures are of a slot canyon along the Calcite Mine trail.  A little trail off to the side took us through this canyon.  The guidebook instructed us to stop when we came to a small wall, but a few adventurous souls decided to continue further while the others relaxed and enjoyed some cookies.

the one below is upstream from the small wall just before the canyon widened - and became less interesting.
While walking through the canyon, I was reminded of a trip to Wisconsin Dells many years ago when I was but a wee lad.  On a Duck Tour, my family and I got off to visit a canyon called "Fat Man's Misery" (or something like that.  Perhaps "Fat Man's Nightmare.")  I don't remember just how wide that was, but I don't think a large person would be very happy in some parts of these canyons.
the one below was explored on our last full day in Anza-Borrego.  I'm not sure the name of the trail - it's not important - but it was very popular with both hikers and off-roaders.  Before we entered the canyon, we encountered some mean looking VW Beetles ready for some serious rock climbing.  The people attending the vehicles were nice enough but a little perplexed as to why we would be hiking when we could be in an ORV.  I had a similar question for them and the beer.
I hope you enjoyed this journey down  - actually up - the slot canyons visited this year.  I have some more pictures that I will put up; those will show that I didn't go on this trip by myself.

Silver Falls State Park

I love waterfalls.  I love Silver Falls State Park.  It is located about 45 minutes east of Salem and feels like it is in the middle of nowhere - at least until it is over run by visitors in the spring and summer.  Last weekend was very nice and there were very few people on the trail - relatively.

These two are of the same fall - Lower North - from different sides of the stream.  The trail goes behind the fall where you get a little shower and hear the thud of the water on the rock just below.  The picture below seems a little hazy because there is a lot of mist thrown up in the air.  I was about 200 yards away from the falls when I took this shot and had a hard time keeping the lens from fogging up and getting some moisture on it.  It's hard to be me sometimes!
So these waterfalls are not included in the count for the Trail of Ten Falls, but they are still nice and I enjoy them.  Sometimes the smaller ones are nice as well.
I was not far off the trail here (in fact I could have used the bridge over this little stream as a foot rest) and many people passed by without noticing me.  How do I know?  I scared them when I said hello.  Entertainment for all.
Hope you enjoyed the falls.  Stay tuned for more pictures from the desert.

Desert Waterfalls

At last some pictures from the trip to the desert!

The first day out, we went on a little hike to stretch the legs and start to enjoy our surroundings. About halfway up the canyon that we were hiking, a little stream showed up. Evidently a young lady in the group ahead of us was taken completely by surprise and was not use to fording very shallow streams - she ignored the stick, slipped on a rock, and fell on her backside. Her shocked shriek was barely audible over her companions' - and I'll admit, my own - laughter.

The hike was pretty easy and we were able to take our time and enjoy the views. It turned out that there were a lot of small waterfalls as we followed the stream.

As we neared the palm oasis (our destination), the stream widened and the vegetation was more spread out. Meg and Tom put up with my photo side trips and Jenny had some people to talk to while she waited.

We turned around at the palm oasis which - as you have probably guessed - was an oasis with a bunch of palm trees. It was a good spot for a break and many people were eating lunch and taking a break. Most were on the large boulders that were there, but others were hidden behind rocks, bushes, and I saw one young lady in a bush.

There were many opportunities for photos and many interesting - yes, interesting - sights. Unfortunately, I was not quick enough to get a shot of a roadrunner and the only coyotes that came near showed up at about 4 o'clock one morning and started howling. I have some more pictures to share but I thought I would post what you expect to see in the desert.