Emigrant Wilderness

Jim, the intrepid hiker, was ready to hike.  He has done it all his life, including the John Muir Trail.  Here he is hiking in Florida last March with our friend Marge. The first day they hiked 10 miles. The second day they hiked 18 miles!  They said there was no place to camp so they had to keep going!  Florida is flat.

Nowadays, there is so much high tech gear you can acquire.  For his birthday Jim got a new, lighter backpack.  He already had a bear canister from last year's trek.  And he had a blow up pad that folded into a minuscule pouch.  The man was definitely good to go.  Jim loves to hike in the Emigrant Wilderness.

Wait!  Wait!  Maybe I could go, too?  I am not a hiker, but I decided I would do this.  From the start I was going to hike in one day, stay the night, then return to the trail head the next day.  And that is very much what I did.  Jim continued on for another two days.

                            Near the trail head at Crabtree Camp:

                           I made it!  It was mostly up, but I DID IT!

The Sierra Nevada Mountains of California have gorgeous lakes and amazing scenery.  There is nothing flat about this area except the surface of the lakes.

We camped at Bear Lake which is about five miles in.  It was a cool night full of stars in the sky.  Our permit allowed us to have a fire in an already established fire ring as we were so high in the mountains.  There were no bears.

Maybe next year I will walk further and stay longer with Jim in the Emigrant Wilderness.  I could invest in some gear upgrades, too, especially that amazing pad.

North Coast and Somes Bar

Getting antsy from too many garden chores, we took off after the Independence holiday to drive up the North Coast of California beginning in Jenner in Sonoma County to Arcata in Humboldt County then inland to Somes Bar.  Wow, California has some beautiful, magical beaches, walks, redwoods, and rivers.

                                The mouth of the Russian River

            Stillwater Cove: one of the most deadly beaches in California

                     Nature walk up the canyon from Stillwater Cove

                                        Close to Sea Ranch

                                     The Sea Ranch Chapel

                                       Dungeness Crab pots

                                Glass Beach glass in Fort Bragg

                Avenue of the Giants: a 31 mile portion of Highway 101

                                          Eureka, California

              Becky on Hippo Rock in the Klamath River near Somes Bar

                               Austin and Ruby hunting for gold

Danger Danger in New Mexico

On our drive home in November in our new to us Prius, we were diverted off Interstate 10 to avoid unsafe and icy conditions.  These photos show what the side roads were like.

                     At first everything was very glittery in the sun.

                                   Then the layer of ice deepened.

                                We were lucky the sun came out.

The Mad Potter of Biloxi

Jim heard about The Mad Potter of Biloxi on the Antiques Roadshow, so the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum became a destination stop on our drive home.  We were not allowed to take photos of his pots, so be sure to follow the links.  He was a most unique man.

Frank Gehry designed a portion of the museum.

It was noticeable that a big hurricane had made changes in the landscape west of Biloxi.  The people continue to come and go.  We ate at a great Vietnamese restaurant in an older, sturdy, survivor building.

A Beach North of St. Augustine

It was a foggy day, and a beautiful beach was there for us to enjoy.  Lots of little shore birds hunted for tasty tidbits hidden among all the tiny shells. Where was the sand?

Pygmies of Florida

Sometimes in Florida, we go bike riding in the well fields north of Tampa.  There are several of these areas that are developed for riders and walkers.

Once before we saw one of these little pygmy rattlesnakes, but this time there were two, and I had my camera with me.  They are easy to miss as they resemble cracks in the paving.

Other fauna we have seen includes alligators, herons, deer, and gopher tortoises.

A New York State of Mind 2013

Paralleling the Hudson River above the Henry Hudson Parkway in the Upper West Side

A preserved Banksy...Would you put your head there?

A brownstone

                                                     Central Park

Mike Kelley exhibits at MOMA PS 1

Chelsea Market

the uncommons near Washington Square