tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61421717011102580942024-03-05T03:52:20.941-08:00Western WildsMy explorations of Southern California and beyondTeresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.comBlogger152125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-44441957032425603422019-07-01T09:50:00.002-07:002021-02-18T09:58:02.348-08:00FIELD TRIP: Hiking Red Top Mountain State Park, Georgia - May 2019<p>I was visiting Atlanta for a work conference and have a dear friend who had recently moved there so we met up and did a little exploring in <a href="https://gastateparks.org/RedTopMountain" target="_blank">Red Top Mountain State Park</a>. </p><p>We had planned to camp, but it was a rainy day (and neither of us are super into camping) so we just spent a few hours there swimming in the lake and walking around. It has been some time (almost 2 years!) since we were there - I'm very behind on my blog posts - so I don't remember a lot of the details, but I wanted to share some of my photos. </p><p>Here's the little beach:</p><p> <iframe allowfullscreen="" aria-hidden="false" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d5004.766835786339!2d-84.71803457248417!3d34.14857596932142!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x88f5456d87d498b3%3A0x6a88786018c2484f!2sBeach%20%40%20Red%20Top%20Mountain!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1613584157736!5m2!1sen!2sus" style="border: 0;" tabindex="0" width="600"></iframe><br /></p><p>And the <a href="https://gastateparks.org/sites/default/files/parks/pdf/trailmaps/RedTopMountain_TrailMap.pdf" target="_blank">trail map</a>. I believe we walked the Iron Hill Trail which took us along the edge of Lake Allatoona. We saw almost no other people - likely because of the drizzly weather. <br /></p><p>Thinking back, I'm remembering marveling at how many different kinds of green there were. That was my experience the last time I visited Georgia as well - especially coming from Southern California! Against the red earth, it was beautiful. And it was just so incredibly nice to swim in the lake. There have only been a handful of times in my life that I've enjoyed lake swimming and this was one of them. I'm sure the company helped. :) </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW0ST5TX7eV8eoFlAvQoxVbQzC4_ZAcya09EztG08P5F43A65cPqqzs4dPp4EoAthyphenhyphenMGKjEokMDLpWo1xXKZ9OMpbycE9C2khRce4ylRCpEObo0ewnvGl0v2pwf4U7k5u2NK4ceti-VW3P/s2048/_IMG_7502.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW0ST5TX7eV8eoFlAvQoxVbQzC4_ZAcya09EztG08P5F43A65cPqqzs4dPp4EoAthyphenhyphenMGKjEokMDLpWo1xXKZ9OMpbycE9C2khRce4ylRCpEObo0ewnvGl0v2pwf4U7k5u2NK4ceti-VW3P/w400-h300/_IMG_7502.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_cW_DBPdR4OrJcB-eSkJglgwuMTYywg1b007JXQDoYfBDWddWAtBUbJlMPbnG9DzORFxP1k4Ncfw4qOOKEiwcSNStDMlshotHAnJbW77PVTmiK33VhnSrpOFMDIAyPWSK-Z95zi8L_P5/s2048/_IMG_7512.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLumaupye0eqDdcg3MwdnmvZJ4-_PwppJsQwbw3b1Fzz87OJsPxaHxH0SkFNvuBq-_BsRNBJQJNWsAMXSjEZoenYU2YPsfVO_yE32hGN5Yl2baQW1rj7h0L9cyCE4zo-M9vQDtNO1CUzDy/s2048/_IMG_7485.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLumaupye0eqDdcg3MwdnmvZJ4-_PwppJsQwbw3b1Fzz87OJsPxaHxH0SkFNvuBq-_BsRNBJQJNWsAMXSjEZoenYU2YPsfVO_yE32hGN5Yl2baQW1rj7h0L9cyCE4zo-M9vQDtNO1CUzDy/w300-h400/_IMG_7485.jpg" title="Tulip poplar" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tulip Poplar (<span><i>Liriodendron tulipifera</i>)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7PuMMTbkpiEslronVbX9_CZbZ9amotGFok9ZVKEp4VTCi5zlSCYsNGvXrtsqH6IvCXWfVG_JMXxRBsmC0fLvEvG-q4BaVWTSL_BIfNHsh2e4YH4vLK8ho5vvK2KOMFRq36cSa_eaG830L/s2048/_IMG_7481.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7PuMMTbkpiEslronVbX9_CZbZ9amotGFok9ZVKEp4VTCi5zlSCYsNGvXrtsqH6IvCXWfVG_JMXxRBsmC0fLvEvG-q4BaVWTSL_BIfNHsh2e4YH4vLK8ho5vvK2KOMFRq36cSa_eaG830L/w400-h300/_IMG_7481.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_tJtE7MAkT6I6qN4YRr3p-UQKbJ2iZaZDeoja6MjePEmbeShyphenhyphenG-utiU8YFWPtENIn6ASgVQAGGCGTjTYhY4waEKeFsQGbUu8p7-Z2HRVK9YqWob_iaC1BwWssyhErqSl_MmPdmHMM4ul/s2048/_IMG_7480.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_tJtE7MAkT6I6qN4YRr3p-UQKbJ2iZaZDeoja6MjePEmbeShyphenhyphenG-utiU8YFWPtENIn6ASgVQAGGCGTjTYhY4waEKeFsQGbUu8p7-Z2HRVK9YqWob_iaC1BwWssyhErqSl_MmPdmHMM4ul/w300-h400/_IMG_7480.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /> <br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-23555838355473880562019-05-18T16:41:00.000-07:002020-01-01T13:56:07.243-08:00Scuba Certification with Eco Dive Center, CA - March/April 2019I've always wanted to learn how to scuba dive and an upcoming work trip to Australia (my first time there) inspired and motivated me to get my open water diver scuba certification. I'd been snorkeling on Maui years ago and loved it and I was ready to take things a bit further and explore the world under the waves. <br />
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THE RESEARCH <br />
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After doing a little bit of online research I chose <a href="https://www.ecodivecenter.com/content/scuba-certification-in-los-angeles---open-water-diver--scuba-training-in-los-angeles-ca" target="_blank">Eco Dive Center</a>. I liked how the certification was spread over 2 weekends with Saturday classroom/pool and Sunday ocean dives - more chance that weather would be good on at least one of the ocean dive days. Plus, it's close to my work so would be fairly easy to pick up and drop off equipment and they had good reviews. I'm really pleased with my choice.<br />
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I had considered just doing the classroom and pool portion here and
completing the certification in Australia - mainly worrying about how cold the water is here! - but after speaking with someone at Eco I was convinced to do it all here - as he said "If you learn how to dive in Southern California where it's cold and dark wearing a hood and gloves, then you can dive anywhere!". As I would find out, the certification process isn't exactly "fun" and another friend who had been certified before made the great point that at the Great Barrier Reef I'd want to be exploring and looking at everything, not demonstrating diving skills. <br />
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BEFORE THE FIRST DIVE <br />
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The first part of the process is to get your book and study all the concepts of diving and get familiar with the gear - and there is quite a bit of it! The text was easy to understand with good illustrations and little quizzes throughout to test your understanding. I would recommend not trying to read it all at once. Some of the concepts are a bit technical and they needed to sink in a little for me (I've got a master's degree, but not in a science field so I was taken back to High School with concepts of air pressure, buoyancy, water density, etc.).<br />
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I also needed to go into the shop to buy my fins, snorkel, mask, gloves and boots. These are required to be purchased, not rented, and I felt like the person at the shop really spent time with me to make sure everything fit properly and I was comfortable with it. It's a bit hard to spend such a chunk of money on something before you even know if you're going to like it, but I figured if I hated it I could sell them - lots of divers here in SoCal - or at least use the mask and snorkel for snorkeling. I opted for fins that you can separate into 2 pieces since I'd need to fit them into my suitcase when I went to Australia - the Tusa Hyflex Switch Bungee Strap Travel Fins. I'd also bought a one-piece bathing suit to wear under the wet suit. <br />
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A few days before the first classroom/pool day I picked up my wetsuit, hood, weight belt, tank, BCD and regulator from the shop so now I had my whole kit. . .<br />
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and Man was it HEAVY! I've been keeping in pretty good shape doing Crossfit 2-3 times/week for a couple of years and I still had a hard time. I would come to learn that you only put everything on when you're just about to get into the water, and you rely on others to help you move around otherwise. It's heavy and awkward for everyone!<br />
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DAY 1 - CLASSROOM AND POOL <br />
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So the first day of class came and that's when I found out that instead of a class of 8-10 people, my class only had 4 because 2 of them were younger than 15. It was a man who had already been certified and his 2 sons. This was great and gave me a lot of extra time and attention from the instructor (the great Skip Tucker) and it was reassuring knowing that I was diving with another adult who already knew how to do it. Also, I couldn't be a wimp about things if the kids weren't!<br />
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The classroom sessions are really time to go over the skills you have read about and for the instructor to demonstrate some things and answer any questions you have. You also go over the tests for the chapters in the book to correct them together and review any answers anyone got wrong. <br />
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After the classroom session that first day we made our way to the pool in Hawthorne. That first day was hard, I'm not going to lie! First of all, we had to tread water for something like 10 minutes without touching the side. I was fine with it, but then right away we had to swim 200 meters (that was 8 laps of 25 meters each) without stopping. We could use any stroke we wanted and good thing because I got winded after only 1.5 laps of crawl. I hadn't really swam for years. I finished the rest on my back. Relieved I passed!<br />
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Next - getting a wet suit on is a workout all in itself, and I think mine was a bit small so I never really got the crotch of it pulled up enough to not have the neck strangling me, but I made do. There was also a moment of realization when, after I was suited up with BCD, weight belt, tank, etc. I dropped my fin and instinctively bent down to pick it up - but then couldn't stand up again! Lots of learning here.<br />
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The time in the shallow side of the pool was great to start to feel comfortable with the gear and just breathing under water - which is so cool! Obviously, it's a relief from the weight as well. This is when it became clear to me that certification is pretty much all about learning how not to die when you're diving. Fun stuff! So you do things like take out the regulator (i.e. the only thing keeping you alive down there!) and throw it away from you so you can <a href="https://youtu.be/drqRGj1Vixw" target="_blank">practice retrieving it</a>. You learn how to empty your mask if it fills with water and even remove the mask altogether and put it back on and clear it. You learn the hand signals for communicating underwater - telling someone else you're out of air and that you need to share theirs and how to do that. You learn how to drop your weights in case you need to ascend quickly. And lots of other things. All while keeping calm and equalizing your ears and making sure you still have enough air to get back to the boat. It's a lot! And honestly, I was a bit nervous for the following day in the open ocean - but also excited!<br />
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DAY 2 - OPEN WATER DIVES 1 AND 2 <br />
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So the next morning is an early one - I think we had to be in Long Beach (a 45-minute drive for me) by 6:15, ready to go. We went out on the <a href="http://sundiverinternational.com/" target="_blank">Sundiver Express</a>. This boat is small and does not have an indoor area or bunks - which also made it super fast!<br />
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It was so nice to experience the sun rise over the marina. I just love boats and the water. There were maybe 20 people on the boat, most doing their certification.<br />
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So you use what you learned the previous day about setting up your gear and then it's a couple of hours out to the diving spot off Santa Catalina Island. You talk with the other divers, eat food, and just enjoy the time. That day we dove at <a href="https://www.californiabeaches.com/beach/button-shell-beach-on-catalina-island/" target="_blank">Button Shell Beach</a>. It's not a great spot for diving once you know what you're doing because there isn't much to see, but I think they take new divers here because it's protected and there is a flat, sandy bottom which makes it easier to do the skills training.<br />
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So, we geared up (this time I'd brought a bottle of diluted conditioner to help get my feet/legs into the wet suit and in general just had more experience in putting it on - I turn mine almost inside out because it seems like getting the ankles placed correctly affects the whole rest of things) and got into the water. There is this moment of exhilaration as you take that first giant stride before you land in the water. It wasn't even as cold as I'd feared - not with my boots, gloves, and hood. However, with the hood on you are continually needing to pull it away from your ears as you descend so you can equalize and it took me a lot longer than others to get my ears comfortable. But you can't rush it - you just descend slowing and keep trying until it happens, which it eventually did.<br />
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That first dive pretty much everything went wrong. My ears not equalizing, I was underweighted so I kept floating up (and then had to equalize again) - Skip noticed and gave me some small weights to help, my mask wasn't tight enough so water was getting in and I kept accidentally exhaling through my nose (luckily I didn't inhale through it!).<br />
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Since there were so many new divers the sandy bottom was all kicked up and visibility was awful. At one point, I was disoriented and couldn't find my diving buddies because there were so many people down there and I'd forgotten to check the color of their snorkels, fins, etc. But I found them and we gathered in a semi-circle around Skip to demonstrate the skills we'd learned in the pool the day before. On one of the skills where you remove your regulator from your mouth and replace it I forgot to clear mine before I breathed in and so I took a big breath of salt water and had to cough it out through my regulator. And it was so unpleasant, but I survived and now I know I can get through that.<br />
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These were some profound moments for me. I was uncomfortable because of all that I detailed above, but I was down there and I was breathing and there wasn't really anything I could do about any of it and I couldn't even tell anyone (the not talking thing is so weird!) so all I did was take another breath. And another one. And soon I accepted my circumstances, however uncomfortable and however unnatural it felt to me to be below the surface of the ocean, breathing. And it was a very zen experience.<br />
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I guess I could have abandoned the dive and gone back up to "fix" things, but I'd gotten so far and I knew I could hang on and I'd have another dive that day to try again. And the second dive was better. It's a steep learning curve so it's also very satisfying because you're getting better each time. I even had some moments to look around at the sea life before we came back up from the second dive. There were these bright orange fish - the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/chis/learn/nature/garibaldi.htm" target="_blank">Garibaldi</a> which is the state fish of California.<br />
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DAY 3 - CLASSROOM, WRITTEN TEST AND POOL<br />
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The second day of classroom is similar to the first but you're working through the more advanced chapters and taking the final written test which you need to pass in order to continue. Luckily, we had been paying attention and we all passed and then we were off to the pool again.<br />
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This pool day included the more advanced skills like <a href="https://youtu.be/W7mnnEa023Q" target="_blank">breathing out of a regulator that has free-flowing air </a>(meaning something is wrong with it), and the <a href="https://youtu.be/lFYezmhwnZo" target="_blank">controlled emergency swimming ascent</a> (CESA) as well as others. The one that was really hard for me was manually inflating the BCD - for this you have to breathe in through your regulator and then exhale into the BCD manual inflate tube. It was hard for me to get a seal around the tube and hold the valve open only when I was exhaling but I eventually got it. In general, I found it hard to control my buoyancy - I was either sinking or floating - hard to stay still. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm on the right here</td></tr>
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DAY 4 - OPEN WATER DIVES 3, 4 & 5<br />
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Once again we were to be at the boat at 6:15 on Sunday - this time with <a href="http://www.pacificstardiving.com/" target="_blank">Pacific Star</a> in San Pedro. We were greeted with a beautiful sunrise this day.<br />
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This was a larger boat than last time with bunks below and an indoor area for meals. It also took more time for us to get out to the island, but it was great to hang out with the dolphins on the way.<br />
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Views of the island from the boat were beautiful - I felt like I was back in Hawaii or some other far away place but was right here in SoCal.<br />
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This day we mostly dove between <a href="https://cadivingnews.com/dive-spot/gem-dive-site-catalinas-multi-faceted-bird-rock/" target="_blank">Bird Rock</a> and <a href="https://cadivingnews.com/the-jewel-of-emerald-bay-indian-rock/" target="_blank">Indian Rock</a> spending some time over <a href="https://cadivingnews.com/dive-spot/west-eagle-reef/" target="_blank">Eagle Reef</a>. This was definitely a more advanced dive spot than the previous day but also more to see. Lots of surge this day - that's where below the surface the water is going back and forth and you just have to move with it, but it makes it hard to gather in a group to demonstrate skills. Plus, it was all rocky reef with tall kelp here so it was a bit difficult to navigate among the rocks when our buoyancy skills weren't great yet. The current at the surface was pretty strong too - making it hard to demo surface skills like tired diver tow, but we persevered!<br />
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And it was so peaceful to just be down there with the fish and there were a lot of different types. If you could stay still for a bit there were so many creatures on the rocks - huge red urchins, turban snails and so much more.<br />
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I didn't yet have an underwater camera, but someone else from the class did so he took these photos.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm on the right</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm on the right and that orange in the foreground is a Garibaldi</td></tr>
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And then we were done! We bid farewell to the island and headed back to LA.<br />
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I really hope to book another trip out to the island when I can spend my
time looking at all the reef life. Now that I've got the skills down
and some practice under my belt. <br />
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What a great experience! I can't say enough how glad I am that I made this happen. It wasn't easy with having to devote 2 full weekends and it was definitely outside of my comfort zone, but I'm so glad I did it. Met some great people who I hope to dive with again and learned a lot about myself and my capabilities - mostly mental ones. I would recommend learning to dive to pretty much anyone who has the means and wants to challenge themselves and see a part of this beautiful world that is not explored by most.<br />
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And now, to book my dive trip to the Great Barrier Reef! <br />
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<br />Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-79273262355670847282019-04-30T15:58:00.000-07:002019-12-31T16:38:30.238-08:00Painted Lady Migration, Getty Center, Los Angeles, CA - March 2019I was at the end of a work day after running from meeting to meeting as usual when I got a text from a co-worker and friend who sits on a higher floor than me telling me I had to come upstairs to see the "monarchs".<br />
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Turns out the little guys were migrating right over the Getty Center, thousands (millions?) of them! I can't even describe how awesome it was. We work at the Research Institute which is a semi-circle shaped building and their path took them through the garden from the south and right up over the middle of the semi-circle where I was standing. I could hear the flutter of their little wings. Heaven.<br />
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I stood just communing with them for a while, took some videos and then I walked around campus tracing their path and trying to find some that had landed because they seemed too small to me to be monarchs. They were on a mission so not many were dilly dallying, but I was able to spot a few resting so I could see that they were actually Painted Ladies (<i>Vanessa cardui</i>).<br />
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So why did this happen this year and not in the past 13 years I've been here (at least never that I'd heard of or seen)? According to Arthur M. Shapiro, a professor of evolution and ecology at the University of California, Davis in this <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/17/us/migrating-painted-lady-butterflies.html" target="_blank">New York Times article</a>:<br />
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"Substantial rainfall in the deserts near the Mexican border, where the North American painted ladies lay their eggs, is the reason for the unusually large swarms. The rain caused plants to thrive, giving the painted lady caterpillars plenty of food to fuel their transformation." <br />
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The last swarm like this was in 2005 and the superbloom of wildflowers this year likely attracted them with a steady and abundant food source. More info and videos from other Angelenos <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/california-super-bloom-millions-painted-lady-butterflies-migrating-los-1361001" target="_blank">at Newsweek</a>.<br />
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I didn't get any shots of them in stillness this day, but I'd seen them before. Here's another one of my photos of one so you can see what they look like.<br />
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I saw the butterflies for another week or so - not in the numbers I'd seen on that first evening, but still enough to notice them. Very cool thing to experience right in the middle of this big city.<br />
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<br />Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-50167843711114671282018-12-22T16:31:00.000-08:002019-12-31T16:32:40.384-08:00Cove Trails, La Quinta, CA - November 2018We have a tradition of renting a house with friends in the desert for Thanksgiving and this year we were very close to the <a href="https://www.playinlaquinta.com/see-do/hiking/" target="_blank">Cove Trails in La Quinta</a>. Made our way to the trails there more than once for a quick walk and some drone flying. Full sun so not a summertime location, but beautiful in the fall/winter.<br />
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Here's where we were:<br />
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We just took a couple of quick trips - with and without the dog. Here are some photos.<br />
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<br />Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-53636356557005657762018-10-31T20:30:00.000-07:002019-04-14T20:32:26.204-07:00Quick trip to Mt. Charleston, Nevada - October 2018My parents were passing through Las Vegas while I was there for a conference so we headed up to <a href="https://www.gomtcharleston.com/hikes-trails/" target="_blank">Mt. Charleston</a> for some nature and views. The last I'd visited this location in the fall had been in 2010 and the <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2010/10/fall-colors-mt-charleston-las-vegas-nv.html" target="_blank">color change of the quaking aspen was breathtaking</a>. <br />
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Instead of hiking up to Cathedral Rock we stayed in the car and took 158 north to the Desert View Overlook. Here's where we ended up:<br />
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It was much less walking for my parents and still beautiful views.<br />
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We decided to stop by Cathedral Rock before heading back to the city and we caught sight of some quaking aspen! Not as many as before, but still beautiful.<br />
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A full map here:<br />
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See the <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/search/label/Mt.%20Charleston" target="_blank">other posts on this blog from this location here</a>.Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-8668324324068363732018-08-01T19:59:00.000-07:002019-04-14T20:02:19.028-07:00Hiking Henninger Flats, Altadena, CA - July 2018My friend D invited me to join her and some co-workers on an early morning hike of Henninger Flats in Altadena - part of the Eaton Canyon Natural Area. I'd never hiked that area and it had been some time since I'd been out in nature so I accepted the invite right away. It seemed a bit early to me (7am I believe), but after the hike I realized why - it's pretty much a full sun trail and almost entirely up hill! I was glad we had the coolness of the morning still in the air as we hiked up that mountain. Here's where we were:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d3300.2016157773573!2d-118.0915035852143!3d34.192324717783265!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x80c2dd2201383f4b%3A0x21496be732eb4eb3!2sHenninger+Flats!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1555297273194!5m2!1sen!2sus" style="border: 0;" width="600"></iframe><br />
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Out and back is 5 miles. Just the right length. Really nice views from the top and that campsite up there was pretty empty. Would be peaceful to camp there - so close to LA but feels so far away.<br />
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Here is some <a href="https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/henninger-flats-trail" target="_blank">more information about it</a> and some photos.<br />
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<br />Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-56099408436531513262018-07-31T19:36:00.000-07:002019-04-14T20:02:37.908-07:00Hiking Daley Ranch, Escondido, CA - July 2018I went back and forth about including this post in the blog because I forgot my camera and phone so didn't take any photos - plus, I just don't have much to say! But I decided to include it so that I'll know I've been there if I'm in the area again. Here's where it is:<br />
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Here is a <a href="http://www.escondido.org/Data/Sites/1/media/pdfs/DaleyRanchMap.pdf" target="_blank">trail map</a> and some <a href="http://daleyranch.org/explore/hiking/" target="_blank">good info about this location</a>.<br />
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I went with A and I have to say that we didn't expect it to be so hot. It was steaming hot and most of the trail was in full sun so by the time we were headed back to the parking lot I think I was on the verge of heat exhaustion. We made sure to drink lots of water and sports drinks and jumped right in her pool when we got back! <br />
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In general, it was a nice hike with some bodies of water and elevation changes, but just too hot! I recommend to bring lots of water and a hat.Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-87511317277573436902018-06-30T12:28:00.000-07:002019-04-14T19:28:30.892-07:00FIELD TRIP: Watkins Glen State Park, New York - June 2018T and I were in upstate New York (finger lakes area in the town of Hammondsport near Ithaca) for a wedding in June and we had a few hours to kill before we headed to the airport. It had rained a bit over the weekend, but was beautiful this day and the staff member at the hotel recommended Watkins Glenn which was kind of on the way to the airport. So glad we took her advice! Here's where it is:<br />
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We paid the $8 to get into the park via the South Entrance and it was a quick walk from the parking lot to the river gorge.<br />
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According to <a href="https://parks.ny.gov/parks/142/" target="_blank">their website</a>, "Watkins Glen State Park is the most famous of the Finger Lakes State Parks, with a reputation for leaving visitors spellbound. Within two miles, the glen's stream descends 400 feet past 200-foot cliffs, generating 19 waterfalls along its course." I definitely was!<br />
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I don't recall ever before having such a large payoff for such a
small amount of work! Which was perfect for this day as we didn't want
to get wet and sweaty before jumping on the plane. We only spent about
45 minutes here, but it was definitely worth the detour.<br />
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Some photos:<br />
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<br />Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-75886019422173744482018-05-01T11:44:00.000-07:002019-02-03T15:25:45.962-08:00City Nature Challenge 2018, Malibu Lagoon State Beach, California - April 2018One April weekend I heard about this <a href="https://healthebay.org/event/city-nature-challenge-2018-malibu-lagoon-bioblitz/" target="_blank">City Nature Challenge</a> through Facebook (I think?) and I wasn't doing anything so I headed out to Malibu Lagoon on a whim.<br />
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According to the event invite "The City Nature Challenge is a competition between major cities to see who can make the most observations of nature, find the most species, and engage their residents in worldwide bioblitz.".<br />
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I've been to Malibu Lagoon probably more times than any other outdoor location - I've talked about it <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/search/label/Malibu%20Lagoon" target="_blank">9 times on my blog</a>! - but I am still always finding something new. Here's where it is:<br />
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This day I found it EXTREMELY difficult to find parking but then I ended up finding a free spot north of the lagoon near the public library and it required me to walk through this lovely park that I'd never seen before - Legacy Park - and I even got to use the restrooms at the library!<br />
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Once I got to the lagoon there was a table set up for people to sign up officially and grab a bucket to collect trash as they went - all the buckets were already taken so I think it was a well-attended event. The way this works is that you take photos of the things you observe and post them to <a href="http://inaturalist.org/">iNaturalist.org</a> using the app or the website. I've been using iNat for years to track my observations and to get help with ID-ing things so it was easy for me to participate.<br />
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And then I just wandered around and took photos.<br />
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The big "new thing" this day was that there were so many Terns! I've seen a few here before, but this day there were a TON of them. It was very cool to see that many!<br />
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According to the signs that blocked off part of the beach, two endangered species, California Least Tern and Western Snowy Plover, nest here.<br />
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I didn't realize while I was there that there were 2-3 different types of Tern so I didn't pay close enough attention to the markers - mainly, the color of the bill. Looking back at my photos now and doing some more research online I see that most of the Terns I saw had red bills so they were Elegant or Caspian Terns, not California Least Terns, which have a dark yellow bill. I'll have to look more closely next time!<br />
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When doing research for this post I see that the <a href="https://smbasblog.com/" target="_blank">Santa Monica Bay Audubon Society</a> does monthly bird walks so I'm going to go on one of those soon and then I'll learn more.<br />
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The tide was not that low so I didn't find anything particularly notable in the tide pools, but I did find a black sea hare (the largest sea slug in the world) as big as my foot which is always impressive. I'd seen them before, but it had been years.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDtCc1pmUYYKzTl2Zk8RLRAs_I2lwbrkBJbFAC2Z1Wm_423yASPCJ4aT4GtLnL-Jyd2igfKF5vrHIRJA9HFi0XpeTQfVbFjdWYOXHPxjxGdqfVbJIhaH_EhweOemJLwPgXszlqgLZmc7L5/s1600/iIMG_5483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDtCc1pmUYYKzTl2Zk8RLRAs_I2lwbrkBJbFAC2Z1Wm_423yASPCJ4aT4GtLnL-Jyd2igfKF5vrHIRJA9HFi0XpeTQfVbFjdWYOXHPxjxGdqfVbJIhaH_EhweOemJLwPgXszlqgLZmc7L5/s400/iIMG_5483.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">California Black Sea Hare <i>(Aplysia vaccaria)</i></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
I know it looks like a pile of slime (and nothing for scale) but check out this video I just found which really shows you what they look like. The video was shot in Abalone Cove which is where I first went tide pooling and I really think it gives you a sense of the search and excitement you feel when you find something really cool! NOTE: I generally do not pick up the animals.<br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/15I8eIqh9iI" width="560"></iframe><br />
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And here are some of the other photos I took.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPR1vqnwPAXSa_UHRDyXAo0Q_-emZU85rprVjvrgbU_egMy6I5zDPC9aflUuNZpjBaFAWxz2I8902viI631B0VNByfOrcRaBO12XfBelkIvaMX6NVwXdTrPdS54xmASIWhPamw4cQc4Sd/s1600/_IMG_5476i.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPR1vqnwPAXSa_UHRDyXAo0Q_-emZU85rprVjvrgbU_egMy6I5zDPC9aflUuNZpjBaFAWxz2I8902viI631B0VNByfOrcRaBO12XfBelkIvaMX6NVwXdTrPdS54xmASIWhPamw4cQc4Sd/s400/_IMG_5476i.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Limpets</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUUZo_ielYlq-MS8pw-s7RULd-MDF8fnBzdWIjjkAlgtYswZgxNXoKxtv4uXhSkOe73eVZ30pptF5peZSDxr8XxRJOHyNskXR6tPKmk9y5vZvoudNVvD5Pz3rbMIXkOSBxTlOLd1O5PmMk/s1600/_IMG_5478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUUZo_ielYlq-MS8pw-s7RULd-MDF8fnBzdWIjjkAlgtYswZgxNXoKxtv4uXhSkOe73eVZ30pptF5peZSDxr8XxRJOHyNskXR6tPKmk9y5vZvoudNVvD5Pz3rbMIXkOSBxTlOLd1O5PmMk/s400/_IMG_5478.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barnacles and Limpet</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTc7lNqGpxsfaotIx4aGUCLF-V2QJos8ppmHZvWX1_3LWUOYsMFIpnQEW9eDPssjPrUCbXcr1bgxcJsODT8_jg7yDdGbfYhM5rmQyuirDz5iJZTaYPuqLFiay6mcp0xBvII7n6-J9y7Mgs/s1600/_IMG_5481i.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTc7lNqGpxsfaotIx4aGUCLF-V2QJos8ppmHZvWX1_3LWUOYsMFIpnQEW9eDPssjPrUCbXcr1bgxcJsODT8_jg7yDdGbfYhM5rmQyuirDz5iJZTaYPuqLFiay6mcp0xBvII7n6-J9y7Mgs/s400/_IMG_5481i.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barnacles and Limpet</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE3LltqZ_MyLIs9HXSRa_tcdTS-iyRH7f1ZAmw0v7I4SijeD7o3lWk6tlojW1IHiP5EVSSCFN-5iFBEg3w15aZUyK_OTOWdCBSFm7_6jnx96kbVSaocbzQcS8-5BD1zBhA-frWVPSSa09b/s1600/_IMG_5486i.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE3LltqZ_MyLIs9HXSRa_tcdTS-iyRH7f1ZAmw0v7I4SijeD7o3lWk6tlojW1IHiP5EVSSCFN-5iFBEg3w15aZUyK_OTOWdCBSFm7_6jnx96kbVSaocbzQcS8-5BD1zBhA-frWVPSSa09b/s400/_IMG_5486i.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giant Kelp (<i><span class="taxon taxon-124748 species Chromista"><span class="othernames"><span class="sciname">Macrocystis pyrifera</span></span></span></i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVVnKMYAfKM7S1G7Hjm4b0VrcklaMmtrNd3RmnT_YUPuwzcRP_lAGUC5rvxbz_0TGi1H3uI-V-HQo-E_l7YZGojK7exjMeOrqGuINM9D843KPqSLB5fZMR2xTrRbDEkZa3BOaH17FREIA4/s1600/_IMG_7229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVVnKMYAfKM7S1G7Hjm4b0VrcklaMmtrNd3RmnT_YUPuwzcRP_lAGUC5rvxbz_0TGi1H3uI-V-HQo-E_l7YZGojK7exjMeOrqGuINM9D843KPqSLB5fZMR2xTrRbDEkZa3BOaH17FREIA4/s400/_IMG_7229.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Willet (<i><span class="taxon taxon-144491 species Aves"><span class="othernames"><span class="sciname">Tringa semipalmata</span></span></span></i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEieTkUrpjOoWwRrwdQv-Mddv3sFJu6_riAur40_rF-myLg6qP70s8YmeZK0qOOlGDicTKXJvn6lSbdfQZrx9zKIZHSXQzLWj88sn5wIGKHizjbRzIZRfWeCYl1kEqLzsNv5mjWLE_EYCh/s1600/_IMG_7234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEieTkUrpjOoWwRrwdQv-Mddv3sFJu6_riAur40_rF-myLg6qP70s8YmeZK0qOOlGDicTKXJvn6lSbdfQZrx9zKIZHSXQzLWj88sn5wIGKHizjbRzIZRfWeCYl1kEqLzsNv5mjWLE_EYCh/s400/_IMG_7234.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brown Pelican (<i><span class="taxon taxon-4328 species Aves"><span class="othernames"><span class="sciname">Pelecanus occidentalis</span></span></span></i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhauN-0dTW6TiRGCdGIFtlLyTj4-xP6A5TqzY5F4O_yZsivNjpdqf7oN6It5yIUzRVW3ehJwq9UZY6z6DNCW5OvBZ7TturbecQhocrba28VBWFXbpihLi9XdacsKpsUfJDKE3mtXIBz9yGE/s400/_IMG_7240.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terns and American Coot</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KvZBLfPg8JBeXa9-GeiuWb1dHqTD8avawZFtVv2qVevhjFPSwnphfKvbfZXP5cKZW4bJw2768gG3UqsA2_jaSxfHdCnOREH3FKIhSyflqLV5w8vuzDFEisYMnR5Il7fzExyv8AG_RhMA/s1600/iIMG_5485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-KvZBLfPg8JBeXa9-GeiuWb1dHqTD8avawZFtVv2qVevhjFPSwnphfKvbfZXP5cKZW4bJw2768gG3UqsA2_jaSxfHdCnOREH3FKIhSyflqLV5w8vuzDFEisYMnR5Il7fzExyv8AG_RhMA/s400/iIMG_5485.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandcastle worm (<i><span class="taxon taxon-59635 species Animalia"><span class="othernames"><span class="sciname">Phragmatopoma californica</span></span></span></i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
If you look now at the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2018-los-angeles" target="_blank">project page for the City Nature Challenge Los Angeles</a> you can see that throughout these 3 days 2,442 different species were observed by 856 different people with the Western Fence Lizard getting the most observations (384!). Looking at the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2018" target="_blank">Leaderboard</a> for the challenge you can see that San Francisco won with 42,762 observations (of 3,197 different species)! This year I only contributed 9 observations as I was just getting my feet wet, but it was fun and worthwhile to participate in and I think I'll do it again next year.<br />
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For more of my photos from Malibu Lagoon State Beach, see the <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/swCgmnoMVDzfQJV6A" target="_blank">album here</a>. <br />
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Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-46353398746399914922018-03-01T13:38:00.000-08:002019-02-03T15:25:03.836-08:00White Point Tide Pools, San Pedro, CA - February 2018For my birthday this year I arranged a little tide pool trip with friends preceded by lunch in San Pedro. I picked <a href="http://beaches.lacounty.gov/white-point-royal-palms-beach/" target="_blank">White Point/Royal Palms Beach</a> because it had been a while and Abalone Cove/Sacred Cove (my favorite tide pool spot) has been closed lately due to constant land movement and falling rocks.<br />
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This area also has a really rich history which is described on their <a href="http://beaches.lacounty.gov/white-point-royal-palms-beach/" target="_blank">website</a>. <br />
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It had been a while since I'd visited White Point (looking back now I see <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2011/09/white-point-tide-pools-san-pedro-august.html" target="_blank">it was 2011</a>!).<br />
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Here's where we were:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d3318.645386309282!2d-118.32380084940176!3d33.71812378060351!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x80dd48344d2c0fff%3A0x2b0d730b427282fc!2sWhite+Point+Park!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1532892532634" style="border: 0;" width="600"></iframe><br />
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I was with quite a few friends who had never been "tide pooling" or at least hadn't considered it that and I really enjoyed sharing what I know and hearing their discoveries and questions.<br />
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My favorite part about White Point is that there are these big shelves of rock where the tide pools are. They allow for more permanent settlement of tide pool creatures than when the rocks are more mobile/moveable.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicRxwDv0CvEiFwt4VogSZ3aKSZszQT_4wAoVlBpbNurkSp5lWutdccf3wbtOi_64MT3RMqTa4kDmXLyRSzF2Nnueg7Lt6nAJFZO5UhSHDSMS6k0Ewm1EkHr3lwVbcAMnYrb02zZIjC4QLs/s1600/IMG_5148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1413" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicRxwDv0CvEiFwt4VogSZ3aKSZszQT_4wAoVlBpbNurkSp5lWutdccf3wbtOi_64MT3RMqTa4kDmXLyRSzF2Nnueg7Lt6nAJFZO5UhSHDSMS6k0Ewm1EkHr3lwVbcAMnYrb02zZIjC4QLs/s400/IMG_5148.jpg" width="352" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMrLvBCzHizyd0We4ZAgetoHrrAbKE5-1BB7Cz5OOqEPczzB0PqaNns7Lrtx5abUu7mCfQSSMuifaTQXn5zaRuDe8qT6Rs1acVB3OpXE5Xj2TCB3Pw8uGPKLqiHPid8HOAmvIsFxoPZRHd/s1600/IMG_5156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1011" data-original-width="1600" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMrLvBCzHizyd0We4ZAgetoHrrAbKE5-1BB7Cz5OOqEPczzB0PqaNns7Lrtx5abUu7mCfQSSMuifaTQXn5zaRuDe8qT6Rs1acVB3OpXE5Xj2TCB3Pw8uGPKLqiHPid8HOAmvIsFxoPZRHd/s400/IMG_5156.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1KyTMfxPgxrEGc2zmZDtI-bnJ1VGrZiXvU9ls6VS25uMRwfhn45INce5IiiGmQx-0UNwQhqajc80CAei9v1v9B80pm5Vn0GM0mJtL_9U8CIiaDivjroGfFZ8puXLV6zLrmWcXFi_nKJNi/s1600/IMG_5157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1KyTMfxPgxrEGc2zmZDtI-bnJ1VGrZiXvU9ls6VS25uMRwfhn45INce5IiiGmQx-0UNwQhqajc80CAei9v1v9B80pm5Vn0GM0mJtL_9U8CIiaDivjroGfFZ8puXLV6zLrmWcXFi_nKJNi/s400/IMG_5157.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTS4EpB8I2HYglhY9or6XmoPzRegIPh8RKYFD8cuZivdMf9RQziddDzYOWjCkIHLgWLMVelVXCdiyhrARPbfJsktCY7nfy4o03Gs2JJmlNzik3lpApeL025NaQQF4lx4Daj2V-4jevENTo/s1600/IMG_5170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTS4EpB8I2HYglhY9or6XmoPzRegIPh8RKYFD8cuZivdMf9RQziddDzYOWjCkIHLgWLMVelVXCdiyhrARPbfJsktCY7nfy4o03Gs2JJmlNzik3lpApeL025NaQQF4lx4Daj2V-4jevENTo/s400/IMG_5170.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barnacles and chiton</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-jEmydME1Jo-cB5aio2I3URnwauXn5251q4YX4ilqOUBix-dQpiDepZ76UVfbp46KZYCrlT2W5JqksQnoNkAUdcdgTOcgsM2ADhWav6c0m5Ps4Rdx8RtK7bM4tkv-KqgRPHJcK6qIDd4/s1600/IMG_5172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-jEmydME1Jo-cB5aio2I3URnwauXn5251q4YX4ilqOUBix-dQpiDepZ76UVfbp46KZYCrlT2W5JqksQnoNkAUdcdgTOcgsM2ADhWav6c0m5Ps4Rdx8RtK7bM4tkv-KqgRPHJcK6qIDd4/s400/IMG_5172.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barnacles and shell from striped short crab</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEVA1c1EBQNKHLTztsToX7uW7E700601k_bb7B2SqIzN-2XmtH4ZD6mW2lDVHKCr4lporQV7HChg9pfKS0t9A1WaYg1ZyKs11DgmyiL41_hdCqt5isVLOBifHhXV1mGIlZheqY3voPOxlY/s1600/IMG_5182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEVA1c1EBQNKHLTztsToX7uW7E700601k_bb7B2SqIzN-2XmtH4ZD6mW2lDVHKCr4lporQV7HChg9pfKS0t9A1WaYg1ZyKs11DgmyiL41_hdCqt5isVLOBifHhXV1mGIlZheqY3voPOxlY/s400/IMG_5182.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tube snails</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
One new discovery of the day is that we saw a lot of these white patches on the rocks.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSDp2gMWS5YxuvVuc5lfZ9YQettIkZ9_e2K8xr4xwyJOABos6w0P6AqJ-Vmf5YALH1OAkBZlMs0GcK-1XA5tCJN19VEbvnlbeHhn8MRYmi0bOQ_qubW1jvDq_J1WLu1YmRkyPRTc4eHwHP/s1600/IMG_5173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSDp2gMWS5YxuvVuc5lfZ9YQettIkZ9_e2K8xr4xwyJOABos6w0P6AqJ-Vmf5YALH1OAkBZlMs0GcK-1XA5tCJN19VEbvnlbeHhn8MRYmi0bOQ_qubW1jvDq_J1WLu1YmRkyPRTc4eHwHP/s400/IMG_5173.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some anemone and chiton there too</td></tr>
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I thought maybe it was some kind of encrusting sponge or algae of some sort, but it turned out to be the bottom part of an oyster after the top and animal (after death) have washed away. Pretty cool!<br />
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View from the parking area.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Catalina in the distance</td></tr>
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This day when we were leaving we also saw a couple of dolphins swimming by. I even caught one on camera.<br />
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Every time I plan this kind of outing I always think "We have to do this more often!" and this time was no exception. Great day outside with some great people!<br />
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More of my photos from other trips to White Point <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/VZ9YmKCFh77Fa9LE6" target="_blank">here</a>.Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-54171319093946257052017-11-15T09:44:00.000-08:002018-07-29T12:14:42.002-07:00Purisima Creek Redwoods Preserve, San Mateo County, CA - November 2017T and I spent a weekend in Half Moon Bay for our anniversary and before we headed back to LA we decided to make a quick stop at the <a href="https://www.openspace.org/preserves/purisima-creek-redwoods" target="_blank">Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve</a>. Here's where we were:<br />
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According to the preserve's website "The trees seen here at Purisima Creek Redwoods Preserve are probably about 100 years old. They make up what is called a second-growth forest. The original redwood forest was logged in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The largest redwoods were probably close to 1,000 years old when they were cut, with diameters between 10 and 20 feet."<br />
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We came into the preserve from highway 35 (Skyline Blvd), parked at the South Parking Lot and walked on the Purisima Creek Trail down for a mile or so. Park map <a href="https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/map_PCR.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can just make out Half Moon Bay in the distance</td></tr>
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We didn't have a ton of time and T wasn't wearing the proper footwear for hiking so we didn't stay long, but I'm still glad we stopped here. I always love these kinds of places - covered with ferns and moss.<br />
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<br />Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-87987204822222906032017-11-01T18:10:00.000-07:002019-02-03T15:24:13.206-08:00Olympic National Park, Washington - September 2017My last of three posts about my visit to Washington state last Labor Day weekend. On my final day there we made the spontaneous decision to drive to the Olympic National Park to visit some of my sister and BIL's favorite places.<br />
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I'd visited them many times, but we'd not yet had the opportunity (or good weather) to make the trip out there together so we decided to go for it.<br />
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This was our route:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m58!1m12!1m3!1d683800.9150566976!2d-123.87073719049909!3d47.9731770904347!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!4m43!3e0!4m5!1s0x54850d50a6c6744d%3A0xcf6ee3d7648ad542!2sBurlington%2C+WA+98233!3m2!1d48.4756621!2d-122.3254374!4m5!1s0x548fe9a4d291b6fd%3A0xf5e669eab50680c0!2sPort+Townsend%2C+WA!3m2!1d48.117038699999995!2d-122.7604471!4m5!1s0x548e4aec9a9ce0a7%3A0x406b3943986bc515!2sHurricane+Ridge+Visitor+Center%2C+Hurricane+Ridge+Road%2C+Port+Angeles%2C+WA!3m2!1d47.9691373!2d-123.4983979!4m5!1s0x548e51b222b8cfdb%3A0x1ec746dd41a43af0!2sLake+Crescent+Lodge%2C+Lake+Crescent+Road%2C+Port+Angeles%2C+WA!3m2!1d48.057192!2d-123.79993839999999!4m5!1s0x548e800749bb1c77%3A0x2b19d7071fb29301!2sRialto+Beach%2C+Mora+Road%2C+Forks%2C+WA!3m2!1d47.9196047!2d-124.63832079999999!4m5!1s0x54903c3256128b2b%3A0xdfa86644a0f0930e!2sBainbridge+Island%2C+WA!3m2!1d47.6248791!2d-122.52100069999999!4m5!1s0x54850d50a6c6744d%3A0xcf6ee3d7648ad542!2sBurlington%2C+WA!3m2!1d48.4756621!2d-122.3254374!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1530472107390" style="border: 0;" width="600"></iframe><br />
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All told, we (and by "we" I mean "BIL") drove 481 miles and were gone 19 hours!<br />
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We left before sunrise and got the Coupeville ferry to Port Townsend. Gorgeous sunrise from the ferry.<br />
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Our first stop was <a href="https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/visiting-hurricane-ridge.htm" target="_blank">Hurricane Ridge</a> where we friended a chipmunk.<br />
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Some views on the drive back down.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0veSRaCdigU3OX_Ra9tAdljbaKpGf6QNNKHZeBoTJ8fpnlVtFWIvA1O0asY9F6HPhYIDjov7T9gO5eouCMU8cSG_zy37VYABLeORaSKjXe0O_PdI1M7ilG2VOkGEl6uaRsIpHA-HDAIhJ/s1600/IMG_4247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0veSRaCdigU3OX_Ra9tAdljbaKpGf6QNNKHZeBoTJ8fpnlVtFWIvA1O0asY9F6HPhYIDjov7T9gO5eouCMU8cSG_zy37VYABLeORaSKjXe0O_PdI1M7ilG2VOkGEl6uaRsIpHA-HDAIhJ/s400/IMG_4247.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mt. Baker</td></tr>
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Next stop was <a href="https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/visiting-lake-crescent.htm" target="_blank">Lake Crescent</a> where sis and BIL had spent the first part of their honeymoon. And we were out on the kayak again! Sis sat this one out so BIL finally got some time out on the water.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water so clear!</td></tr>
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This lake was so clear and the weather was just right for a swim (and I'm not usually one to swim in lakes on the count of murky/muddy bottoms).<br />
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After the swim, sis wanted her turn out in the kayak so we explored another part of the lake.<br />
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It had been a few hours and we wanted to make it all the way to the west side of the peninsula to <a href="https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/rialto-beach.htm" target="_blank">Rialto Beach</a> so we got back on the road. What a beautiful (and photogenic!) beach. The coastal forest here results in a lot of driftwood and the sea stacks right off the coast make such a impact.<br />
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Our dinner spot - River's Edge in La Push - left something to be desired in the service category, but the view was unrivaled.<br />
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And then as the sun set, we headed back east all the way to Burlington. What a fabulous day! I'm so fortunate to have friends and family who live in some many different parts of the world and are up for exploring them together. Forever grateful.<br />
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More photos from my trips to Washington <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/RFk2kXn8FXDyQNLx6" target="_blank">here</a>. Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-34560231409355786832017-10-15T11:29:00.000-07:002019-02-03T15:23:40.863-08:00Kayaking Bowman Bay, Anacortes, Washington - September 2017This is the second of three posts about the trip to see my sister in Washington state. After we got done <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2017/10/kayaking-pass-lake-anacortes-washington.html" target="_blank">kayaking Pass Lake</a>, we headed over to Bowman Bay, but it was very foggy so we decided to come back another day... I'm so glad we did!<br />
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This is a bay directly next to Deception Pass. Here's where it is:<br />
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I think this was my sister's first time kayaking in the ocean but the water was pretty calm so it wasn't too scary and oh so beautiful!<br />
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We headed out to the north around Rosario Head and right near Northwest Island we saw some seals! They stayed with us for a few minutes. They are quick and I was only able to get this photo (they are those blips in the water).<br />
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After that we decided to head south past Lighthouse Point and the water was so smooth (plus there was not a lot of boat traffic) that we even went out a little into Deception Pass in view of the bridge. Such a beautiful place!<br />
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BIL once again went above and beyond and had hiked up Lighthouse Point to wave down at us and take this amazing photo.<br />
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Out on the water really is where I belong.<br />
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One more post about our trip to the <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2017/11/olympic-national-park-washington.html" target="_blank">Olympic Peninsula</a> the next day!<br />
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More photos from my trips to Washington <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/RFk2kXn8FXDyQNLx6" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
<br />Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-49313922845149978102017-10-01T18:42:00.000-07:002019-02-03T15:23:03.232-08:00Kayaking Pass Lake, Anacortes, Washington - September 2017I decided to visit my sister for Labor Day up in Burlington, WA, north of Seattle. My main reason for visiting was to see her perform in community theatre, but we also had time to explore a bit and we took full advantage. It was one of those trips where we hadn't made any plans in advance, but everything seemed to work out in terms of weather and everyone being on the same page with what we'd do. It also helps that they have amazing friends who will lend them a pedal kayak whenever they want. Also, my brother-in-law is some kind of saint and did most of the heavy lifting (literally) as well as lots of driving which made this whole trip so stress free for me and my sis.<br />
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After picking up the pedal kayak we headed to Pass Lake. Here's where it is:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d5295.749712737736!2d-122.64139912279963!3d48.42054681698786!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x54857ca0efa8195d%3A0x7538473e2ca0e54b!2sPass+Lake!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1530468490538" style="border: 0;" width="600"></iframe><br />
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For those of you who have not had the pleasure of kayaking in a pedal kayak, it's incredible. You have regular paddles for when it's shallow, but otherwise, you can use these amazing foot pedals with minimal effort to move you along.<br />
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There is even a control lever up front for steering! So easy! To make it even easier, we would get into the kayak on dry land and then my BIL would pull us into the water with the wheeled cart! Hardly got wet at all. (I already mentioned this was the best trip, right?)<br />
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I think this was the first time I'd kayaked on a lake (usually it's the ocean, marina, or sound) and it was so quiet and peaceful. Not too much time taking photos, but here are a few:<br />
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We continued our kayaking the following day at the nearby <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2017/10/kayaking-bowman-bay-anacortes.html" target="_blank">Bowman Bay</a>.<br />
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More photos from my trips to Washington <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/RFk2kXn8FXDyQNLx6" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-66419555876440501842017-09-08T15:59:00.000-07:002019-02-03T15:21:43.371-08:00Hiking Malibu Creek State Park, Malibu, CA - August 2017In the <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2017/08/field-trip-peak-district-national-park.html" target="_blank">last few posts</a> we were in England traipsing around the Peak District with V&T and then they came to visit the west coast a few months later to watch the solar eclipse. They were able to spend a few days in LA and we headed out to <a href="https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=614" target="_blank">Malibu Creek State Park</a> in the hopes of doing some wild swimming (well, V wanted to do some anyway!).<br />
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Here's where we were:<br />
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I'd been to this park <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/search/label/Malibu%20Creek%20State%20Park" target="_blank">many times before</a>, but only in the spring. This day was sunny and clear and oh so very warm! The creek was completely dried up.<br />
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I don't think I'd realized how much of the trail is in full sun. It was toasty.<br />
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My photos from this area are usually full of beautiful wildflowers, but this time of year they were scarce. Here are a couple that we did see.<br />
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We hiked over to the M*A*S*H site and visited the handful of redwoods (that seemed a bit dry but offered some much appreciated shade) with some cool views over the dam.<br />
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Then we headed back and took a little turn-off to visit Century Lake for V's much needed swim. Even with a sighting of what I believe to be a kingsnake (it was red, black and white striped) nearby she still jumped in and I'm sure it was refreshing.<br />
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You can see more of my photos from MCSP in the <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/ypuS1hmYXN1VGeg38" target="_blank"> album</a>.<br />
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Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-66148722394216751572017-09-05T10:32:00.000-07:002019-02-03T15:21:05.064-08:00FIELD TRIP: Treak Cliff Caverns, Peak District National Park, England - June 2017This is the last post of 4 from my trip to the <a href="http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting" target="_blank">Peak District National Park</a>. I was traveling with V & T and we'd been in the park for a couple of days walking the <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2017/08/field-trip-tissington-trail-peak.html" target="_blank">Tissington Trail</a> and visiting <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2017/08/field-trip-dovedale-peak-district.html" target="_blank">Dovedale</a>.<br />
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On this day, we packed up our things at the B&B and headed north towards Sheffield. After a quick jaunt up <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2017/09/field-trip-mam-tor-peak-district.html" target="_blank">Mam Tor</a> we kept driving east towards Sheffield and decided to visit some caves.<br />
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Our first stop was Speedwell Cave, which we'd read in a tour book had "an eerie boat-trip through a long, dark, flooded underground tunnel" but for a reason I can't quite remember we decided not to stay and take the tour.<br />
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Instead we headed up to <a href="http://www.bluejohnstone.com/" target="_blank">Treak Cliff Cavern</a> just north - and I'm so glad we did! It was much less crowded. In fact, we were the only 3 people on the tour.<br />
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Here's where we were:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d2381.8971214214794!2d-1.799488649066077!3d53.34509778240834!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x487a2cfb10ebbd23%3A0xa1c272e244f783e4!2sTreak+Cliff+Cavern!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1526173412740" style="border: 0;" width="600"></iframe><br />
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These caves are known for being the only place in the world where you can find <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_John_(mineral)" target="_blank">"Blue John" stone</a>, a blue, banded, fluorite which has been actively mined here since the 1750s. These are extremely beautiful stones. Hard to capture on a camera in the dark, but here's a shot I took:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ykvVddHVWBpfLoTwypJMzP5Yu6Jvq4GNutPZLgp4lLiFj2GmiuG6h4sWazo3O87HGCChcN5_p0sTfw-oJuLSAuAgTbqwexz3RAo6VqOPRLk5GQ2DIloM7PdCZUSa_RtoDvN_9_4cTg8V/s1600/_IMG_3825.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ykvVddHVWBpfLoTwypJMzP5Yu6Jvq4GNutPZLgp4lLiFj2GmiuG6h4sWazo3O87HGCChcN5_p0sTfw-oJuLSAuAgTbqwexz3RAo6VqOPRLk5GQ2DIloM7PdCZUSa_RtoDvN_9_4cTg8V/s400/_IMG_3825.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><span id="goog_1958787612"></span><span id="goog_1958787613"></span><br />
There were also some very cool fossils in the limestone. . .<br />
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as well as colorful flowstone.<br />
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One of the caves has "dead" stalagmites. This happens when skin oils from human hands affect the surface tension on the stone and they stop growing. Here's one example:<br />
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And some more photos from our visit:<br />
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Highly recommended. Great tour guide. Very cool stuff to see. And loved the selection of jewelry and other items made with the stone at the gift shop. Really glad to take a little piece of this unique material home with me.<br />
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You can see more photos of my trip in the <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/q4CNGyc2ve3kjgHEA" target="_blank">Peak District album.</a> Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-56797224624805931962017-09-01T12:02:00.000-07:002019-02-03T15:20:44.984-08:00FIELD TRIP: Mam Tor, Peak District National Park, England - June 2017This is the third post of 4 from my trip to the <a href="http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting" target="_blank">Peak District National Park</a>. I was traveling with V & T and we'd been in the park for a couple of days walking the <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2017/08/field-trip-tissington-trail-peak.html" target="_blank">Tissington Trail</a> and visiting <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2017/08/field-trip-dovedale-peak-district.html" target="_blank">Dovedale</a>. On this day, we packed up our things at the B&B and headed north towards Sheffield. <br />
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We still wanted to take in some sights so we drove the hour north to <a href="https://www.visitpeakdistrict.com/things-to-do/mam-tor-shivering-mountain-p689981" target="_blank">Mam Tor</a>, in the High Peak (also called Dark Peak) area of Derbyshire.<br />
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Here's where we were:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d19053.32156144496!2d-1.8271416874381232!3d53.349249236568944!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x487a2d13434da15b%3A0xb981304dbdab36c!2sMam+Tor!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1516390693368" style="border: 0;" width="600"></iframe><br />
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Mam Tor means "mother hill" "so called because frequent landslips on its eastern face have resulted in a multitude of "mini-hills" beneath it. These landslips, which are caused by unstable lower layers of shale, also give the hill its alternative name of Shivering Mountain." (See <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mam_Tor" target="_blank">wikipedia article</a> for more info).<br />
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We didn't have a lot of time and it was <i>super</i> windy so we parked the car (possibly illegally!) right at the bottom of these stone steps and made our way up.<br />
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The view from up there is spectacular - truly awe-inspiring. And with the wind as it was the clouds were flowing by, making really interesting shadows on the land. So many shades of green. It was a quick stop but definitely worth it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT1F2YqnJhKYHO2fiFWGYNXgLUT9sjMk6jcGmu__Qsc6erK-qefFlgKxZ5MPoQjDCDD6mWkSPrQHLY6d4s7g2xTvcTmHmU78FDb6ThNXL4RcMpNTjqTQKdApMw1ctZNjLizKUTSJW3QT46/s1600/_IMG_3808.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT1F2YqnJhKYHO2fiFWGYNXgLUT9sjMk6jcGmu__Qsc6erK-qefFlgKxZ5MPoQjDCDD6mWkSPrQHLY6d4s7g2xTvcTmHmU78FDb6ThNXL4RcMpNTjqTQKdApMw1ctZNjLizKUTSJW3QT46/s400/_IMG_3808.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great example of the common way to get over a fence onto the public footpath (called a stile)</td></tr>
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Next up: Treak Cliff Caverns.<br />
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You can see more photos of my trip in the <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/q4CNGyc2ve3kjgHEA" target="_blank">Peak District album.</a>Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-31092482235761155002017-08-15T12:53:00.000-07:002019-02-03T15:20:25.003-08:00FIELD TRIP: Dovedale, Peak District National Park, England - June 2017This is the second post of 4 from my trip to the <a href="http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting" target="_blank">Peak District National Park</a>. I was traveling with V& T and we had arrived in Sheffield by train from Brighton the day before. We'd gotten out that evening to dinner taking the Tissington Trail (see the post <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2017/08/field-trip-tissington-trail-peak.html" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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In the morning after our full English breakfast and time feeding the baby lambs (!!) at our B&B (<a href="http://www.bassettwood.co.uk/index.html" target="_blank">Bassettwood Farms</a>) we headed out for a hike at <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ilam-park-dovedale-and-the-white-peak/features/visiting-dovedale" target="_blank">Dovedale</a>.<br />
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There is so much to say. If I had to describe it in one word that word would be "prehistoric". There was something ancient about this place.<br />
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We parked at the Dovedale Car Park and walked north along the river. Here's where we were:<br />
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Although it was sprinkling a bit while we were here that only added to the atmosphere. I had never seen such a lush green color. In photos it almost looks unreal.<br />
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We stopped at the info booth to buy this lovely illustrated map.<br />
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Such interesting and strange names of the park highlights, at least to an American ear.<br />
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There's Thorpe Cloud which of course isn't a cloud at all, but is a limestone hill (a reef knoll). And then there's Ravens Tor and Pickering Tor - "tor" meaning hill or rocky peak.<br />
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Throughout my trip I found myself looking up all kinds of unfamiliar land-related words like "dale" (we would call it a valley) and "moor" (open land, often infertile and overgrown with heath, "heath" being "a dwarf shrub with small leathery leaves and small pink or purple bell-shaped flowers, characteristic of heathland and moorland"). Don't you love it when definitions are circular!<br />
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Even the "Peak District" isn't called that in the sense of the word "peak" that most people would assume. According to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_District" target="_blank">wikipedia entry</a>, "the landscape generally lacks sharp peaks, being characterized mostly by rounded hills, plateaus, valleys, limestone gorges and gritstone escarpments". One theory about the name is that it comes from "the Pecsaetan or peaklanders, an Anglo-Saxon tribe who inhabited the central and northern parts of the area from the 6th century AD".<br />
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Anyway, back to exploring Dovedale . . .<br />
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The stepping stones were delightful. Full of fossils to pour over.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dovedale Stepping Stones</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dovedale Stepping Stones</td></tr>
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We decided not to climb Thorpe Cloud but headed along the riverside path. Along the way we noticed some odd trees with coins hammered into the trunks. We thought maybe it was some form of art project, but it turns out to be a custom in this area - done for luck. Curious how old the oldest coins are and who brings a hammer on a hike.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndGG48a6OtHB8_pB52NcRZhUyzqLIT7tZ8sjR6zRgVA7Y8-h5ove96C_BXPu4gHR5Q2DANt5TDUoqsXhmejFCapUGbFphqSrePp9PK8eo8ymsBm2c9f0fPdkUDgdiNaB55th_1gHW6XWv/s1600/_IMG_3719.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndGG48a6OtHB8_pB52NcRZhUyzqLIT7tZ8sjR6zRgVA7Y8-h5ove96C_BXPu4gHR5Q2DANt5TDUoqsXhmejFCapUGbFphqSrePp9PK8eo8ymsBm2c9f0fPdkUDgdiNaB55th_1gHW6XWv/s400/_IMG_3719.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
You can see some more great photos of these money trees on this <a href="http://www.amusingplanet.com/2009/10/strange-money-trees-of-england.html" target="_blank">Amusing Planet blog post</a>.<br />
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There weren't too many flowers along the path, but we did see some common spotted orchid which were so delicate and beautiful.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge1w3Y605gKMic0AG5eAwcdsaGfqQx1GDm8RD0D8XVLG0Sl3gBtFSBjZ9JEdMPCuQbqtHH6TtVVIT6fgGTGEuMpx_T8q6unh2u3jRIWpPGtoLTXcQWJHUB2rH8ey_b0Pj6rhVS4j52CjLR/s1600/_IMG_3721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge1w3Y605gKMic0AG5eAwcdsaGfqQx1GDm8RD0D8XVLG0Sl3gBtFSBjZ9JEdMPCuQbqtHH6TtVVIT6fgGTGEuMpx_T8q6unh2u3jRIWpPGtoLTXcQWJHUB2rH8ey_b0Pj6rhVS4j52CjLR/s400/_IMG_3721.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common spotted orchid (<i>Dactylorhiza fuchsii</i>)</td></tr>
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As we walked, there were little shallow caves to explore.<br />
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And towards the end of our hike, the Dove Holes which were larger.<br />
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Here are some more photos from our time there:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ilam Rock</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">Goosander (Common Merganser) mom and babies</span></span></td></tr>
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After all that walking we were ready for our "cream tea" back at the B&B (which, again, doesn't have much to do with tea - it's a light afternoon meal where you drink tea or coffee with scones, clotted cream and jam).<br />
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This day, we also tried to find the rare, warty great crested newt at Fere Mere ("mere" is another word for "pond") in Monyash, but no such luck. I guess we should have hammered some coins into the trees at Dovedale.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpvLQL0Pb7tuyMK6LtPMZQthgVWIPNwgk7nTd8vT6eYHGhSLIela_6Yb-Ic4-Z6DYyjds1cb7mqMgLymfSEnKUeZfPSsQQA69GHD98L4iB8UgeU2EZ_dVUaqbDlBuBvfizU3H-DE0sLIV/s1600/16499515879_dc8edf11df_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitpvLQL0Pb7tuyMK6LtPMZQthgVWIPNwgk7nTd8vT6eYHGhSLIela_6Yb-Ic4-Z6DYyjds1cb7mqMgLymfSEnKUeZfPSsQQA69GHD98L4iB8UgeU2EZ_dVUaqbDlBuBvfizU3H-DE0sLIV/s400/16499515879_dc8edf11df_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo of great crested newt by Flickr user Kentish Plumber (https://flic.kr/p/r91keH)</td></tr>
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What a lovely day. Next up, <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2017/09/field-trip-mam-tor-peak-district.html" target="_blank">Mam Tor</a>. <br />
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You can see more photos of my trip in the <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/q4CNGyc2ve3kjgHEA" target="_blank">Peak District album.</a>Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-34835829560279528292017-08-08T13:52:00.000-07:002019-02-03T15:20:02.257-08:00FIELD TRIP: Tissington Trail, Peak District National Park, England - June 2017This is the first post of 4 from my trip to the <a href="http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting" target="_blank">Peak District National Park</a>. I was traveling with V& T and we had arrived in Sheffield by train from Brighton that afternoon. We'd rented a car and driven about 2 hours south (through Bakewell - delicious tart!) to arrive at <a href="http://www.bassettwood.co.uk/index.html" target="_blank">Bassettwood Farms</a> bed & breakfast where we would stay for a few nights.<br />
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We needed some dinner and our host told us about a pub in nearby Fenny Bentley so we walked there via the Tissington Trail. According to the <a href="http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/410218/PDNP-White-Peak-Trails-Map.pdf" target="_blank">trail map</a> "This was one of the last of the Victorian railways – it opened in 1899. It supplied milk to London and several quarries were opened along the track sending limestone to the industrial areas. The Trail was created after the railway closed in 1967." <br />
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The trail started right outside the village of Tissington (population 150) so we walked around there a bit. I think it only has 2 streets and this is one of them (!):<br />
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Once on the trail proper we walked south for 2 miles or so enjoying the greenery and wildflowers along the path. We only encountered a couple of other people during our hour on the trail.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GZzeSLxhbJaXmvUMXHrlWPPj3ZXA2c-GZ5m6_mwsfbjCrVd_CuJu21I7yCvE6wbXIxVKX2CE0e81Tz4DzRuCHB2sx72ExzCFeOR4p3PtvGBmkq6y3iq1PRDuOq4c8778cedL3vr2BkMn/s1600/_IMG_3675.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GZzeSLxhbJaXmvUMXHrlWPPj3ZXA2c-GZ5m6_mwsfbjCrVd_CuJu21I7yCvE6wbXIxVKX2CE0e81Tz4DzRuCHB2sx72ExzCFeOR4p3PtvGBmkq6y3iq1PRDuOq4c8778cedL3vr2BkMn/s400/_IMG_3675.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> <br />
On this trip, I had the luxury to be traveling with friends who are expert wayfinders so all I had to do was move one foot in front of the other and take in the bucolic landscape. I highly recommend it!<br />
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At some point we turned off the trail onto the "public footpaths" which are really just invitations to step over a fence and into someone's sheep grazing pasture! No idea how V & T navigated us through a series of these but this was our view for some time. It was heavenly!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOgUy3xQP7eFPrddQXkg0-SvUrFFWXgWN9Xoj9oGMaxSePuzcSO_fXY8LRWu7VekPFXfTPqlfzFw8-SXkp0TxWw0p7GKsxzVqWnPnJ9jTZXHvsJqwiNMKSHZiHnqzmazHP_6F-khkDjSHz/s1600/_IMG_3682.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOgUy3xQP7eFPrddQXkg0-SvUrFFWXgWN9Xoj9oGMaxSePuzcSO_fXY8LRWu7VekPFXfTPqlfzFw8-SXkp0TxWw0p7GKsxzVqWnPnJ9jTZXHvsJqwiNMKSHZiHnqzmazHP_6F-khkDjSHz/s320/_IMG_3682.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Another fun thing I've encountered while writing this blog is a Google "street view" of the trail that we walked! Here you can see our path (the blue dots). Click on the map to take a virtual tour (note: it can be a fit finicky. I guess Google needs some more wayfinding experts on staff! If you click into street view you should be able to select the trail. <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@53.0511199,-1.7514948,2a,60y,36.78h,89.7t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s0OfM8gcT8E__ZvjVEwW5AQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656" target="_blank">Here is the start</a> if you have trouble!). When we got to the southern point on this we headed east across the pastures to Fenny Bentley. Someone even took some 360 photos crossing the pastures at the same place we crossed so you can recreate it pretty well (ah the wonders of technology).<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m24!1m12!1m3!1d16735.209834099336!2d-1.761621729765921!3d53.05844771484529!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!4m9!3e2!4m3!3m2!1d53.0575543!2d-1.738283!4m3!3m2!1d53.0506643!2d-1.7525807999999998!5e1!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1512684323129" style="border: 0;" width="600"></iframe><br />
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Here is one of those 360 photos (click "View on Google Maps" to rotate it):<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m0!4v1512669788176!6m8!1m7!1sCAoSLEFGMVFpcE5CQ19mMEFqUWlKVUY3OFBkanlremxoVElQcHdjaENRNmkzdm9N!2m2!1d53.0479164!2d-1.7456789!3f129.25395564103616!4f11.14824916786175!5f0.7820865974627469" style="border: 0;" width="600"></iframe><br />
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Dinner at the pub was delicious (I even tried black pudding!) and we had some great ciders. By the time we left the sun had set and it was pretty dark. And as you might expect, when it's dark here it's DARK.<br />
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We could have taken the roads, but as you can see from the map above the quickest path from Fenny Bentley back to the B&B (which is marked 68 on the map above) was right through some more sheep pasture! Lucky for me, I had my navigators and they got us back home expertly, even correctly figuring out if that trickle of water to our right was a brook or a stream. I mean, I have a good sense of direction, but this was at another level! <br />
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At one point, we were walking through one of the pastures and the only way we could locate the sheep was to listen for the sound of them peeing! Little known fact, sheep pee when they are startled (I have no idea of this is true, but seemed to be the case for us so I'm going with it). Definitely not my usual Saturday night activity but happy to be taken out of my element. At a certain point the mud and sheep droppings become one and the same and you just go with it, especially in the dark!<br />
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What a joyful day. Next up, beautiful <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2017/08/field-trip-dovedale-peak-district.html" target="_blank">Dovedale</a>.<br />
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You can see more photos of my trip in the <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/q4CNGyc2ve3kjgHEA" target="_blank">Peak District album.</a><br />
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Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-73268253783737530202017-08-01T12:03:00.000-07:002019-02-03T15:19:40.139-08:00FIELD TRIP: Peak District National Park, England, UK - June 2017My workplace was sending me to a conference in Sheffield, England so I added on some time to visit my friends V & T in Brighton in the south of England and we decided to spend a few days in the <a href="http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/" target="_blank">Peak District National Park</a>. The only time I'd been to England was in High School and we stayed in London. I hadn't heard of this area before we started planning but I am so happy we decided to go there! We had such a fantastic time exploring the park and all its wonders together. I can see why it attracts millions of visitors every year.<br />
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It's between the large cities of Manchester and Sheffield so we took a train from Brighton to Sheffield and then rented a car to drive to our bed & breakfast near Tissington at the southern end of the park.<br />
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Here's a map to give you a better sense of it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fNgfjuXNOJOHeDVKCvRp1fkLGI5TqzFfVc6wNXO-fDNmv49nLNhEqK4m9usKWMteFHts6WTIRbQZmVZg-djr2kS5P0W2RKasXV_o2KB-48tgNTCC01cNLmLbOUXTCy3r3KUd6JWbGNlN/s1600/pdnpa-map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="989" data-original-width="764" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fNgfjuXNOJOHeDVKCvRp1fkLGI5TqzFfVc6wNXO-fDNmv49nLNhEqK4m9usKWMteFHts6WTIRbQZmVZg-djr2kS5P0W2RKasXV_o2KB-48tgNTCC01cNLmLbOUXTCy3r3KUd6JWbGNlN/s640/pdnpa-map.jpg" width="492" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/visiting/maps/pdmap</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Post 1: <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2017/08/field-trip-tissington-trail-peak.html" target="_blank">Tissington Trail</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Post 2: <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2017/08/field-trip-dovedale-peak-district.html" target="_blank">Dovedale</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Post 3: <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2017/09/field-trip-mam-tor-peak-district.html" target="_blank">Mam Tor</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Post 4: <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2017/09/field-trip-treak-cliff-caverns-peak.html" target="_blank">Treak Cliff Caverns</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For all of my photos visit my <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/q4CNGyc2ve3kjgHEA" target="_blank">Peak District National Park album</a>. </div><br />
Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-48909618129460260902017-06-17T22:39:00.000-07:002017-09-19T22:40:37.392-07:00FIELD TRIP: Spring Valley Nature Center, Schaumburg, IL - May 2017I had a work trip in the not so interesting city of Shaumburg, IL and my parents drove over from Detroit to spend some time with me.<br />
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One of the days we visited the <a href="http://www.parkfun.com/spring-valley" target="_blank">Spring Valley Nature Center</a>. Here's where we were:<br />
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After having been surrounded by hotels, car lots, and business parks for days I found the green and the birds refreshing. Some pretty diverse sections of this 135 acre park. Glad I always try to find green spaces nearby when I'm traveling.<br />
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Here are some photos I took on our walk.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNyRg3YDV5xkleXcZhyphenhyphen2zF4aG6s7pRSQg006DUOD82gGRIsNZv7Ydy3bf8VvJob1PNwyVXzNIZ44dKdll-cZUI3F6b50q3Dz6NkJaMjZ5Cbtf0fx1286AFlG0cyOKJ9MZQ3AEvamGnsNoK/s1600/_IMG_7052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNyRg3YDV5xkleXcZhyphenhyphen2zF4aG6s7pRSQg006DUOD82gGRIsNZv7Ydy3bf8VvJob1PNwyVXzNIZ44dKdll-cZUI3F6b50q3Dz6NkJaMjZ5Cbtf0fx1286AFlG0cyOKJ9MZQ3AEvamGnsNoK/s320/_IMG_7052.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-winged Blackbird</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Robin</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great Blue Heron</td></tr>
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<br />Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-11465344403015535252017-05-13T20:08:00.000-07:002019-02-03T15:18:56.167-08:00Wildflowers and hiking in Malibu, CA (Circle X and Sycamore Canyon) - March 2017Each year I try to make it out to the annual wildflower bloom somewhere in Southern California. This year my schedule just didn't allow a long trip, but I still wanted to see some color so I headed out to Malibu with my friend and frequent excursion buddy, K.<br />
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We decided to start out at <a href="https://www.nps.gov/samo/planyourvisit/circlexranch.htm" target="_blank">Circle X Ranch</a> since I'd read somewhere that there were wildflowers there and I'd never been to this park. Here's where we were:<br />
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Turned out to be quite hot and while the trail started in shade, it quickly become full sun and a bit on the edge of the mountains with few wildflowers so after a short time K and I decided to head back down to PCH and drive a little farther to Sycamore Canyon in <a href="http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=630" target="_blank">Point Mugu State Park</a>.<br />
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Here are some photos I snapped during our short stop at Circle X.<br />
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And here's where we ended up next: <br />
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The last time I'd been there was in <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2015/02/hiking-in-sycamore-canyon-malibu-ca.html" target="_blank">November 2014</a> and that time I was shocked at how bare and brown the hills were.<br />
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This day, there was so much fog - even as the day wore on. This coolness was much appreciated after the heat higher up in the mountains and it gave the area an eerie quality that was very cool when paired with the brightness of the wildflowers.<br />
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We didn't see the blankets of wildflowers covering the hills as I've seen in other areas, but there was quite a variety of colors and flowers.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZ7ac8g5asQWv0HSsfRsiFOvQ5jc1S8_23bsk6p8HcgWFGKwPR9ned4mxPsvHSv4tniJeTY3w9XuRgUs0QIrCJXfYK3pMipeDl1kWB7gYO0st7F0tsqJGXtyL9uRD_aWZJPKlVYwIiWog/s1600/_IMG_7025i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZ7ac8g5asQWv0HSsfRsiFOvQ5jc1S8_23bsk6p8HcgWFGKwPR9ned4mxPsvHSv4tniJeTY3w9XuRgUs0QIrCJXfYK3pMipeDl1kWB7gYO0st7F0tsqJGXtyL9uRD_aWZJPKlVYwIiWog/s400/_IMG_7025i.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Indian Paintbrush (<i><span class="_xdb"></span><span class="_Xbe kno-fv">Castilleja</span></i>)</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-GPBEQJDeKGceuPM4cg42nR_L9J2-Qoap9wWO_EPApgBm5f-gRY19XBCXZEdBoMsuRdSW81pe9BKUKnnA5GTooTVDDQpZ4Qv7q1oRsjUl-6ajkpyHtRr1eWA5sg8iDNtUxH70jl0ztvk9/s1600/iIMG_7022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-GPBEQJDeKGceuPM4cg42nR_L9J2-Qoap9wWO_EPApgBm5f-gRY19XBCXZEdBoMsuRdSW81pe9BKUKnnA5GTooTVDDQpZ4Qv7q1oRsjUl-6ajkpyHtRr1eWA5sg8iDNtUxH70jl0ztvk9/s400/iIMG_7022.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF3UDdYEDvcyFhrHMWcm6m8ey6eDQFN3rxc0KG88GrdQbqM4XyuFQ3S-MNcmegNDMpSK6oR03vM3ET20P7lVIwYhE4pLRpLYfnivsrtnfY0CP7ZW-3igJ0ebrjH8J9WhzBtS_uccRsuROD/s1600/_IMG_7039i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF3UDdYEDvcyFhrHMWcm6m8ey6eDQFN3rxc0KG88GrdQbqM4XyuFQ3S-MNcmegNDMpSK6oR03vM3ET20P7lVIwYhE4pLRpLYfnivsrtnfY0CP7ZW-3igJ0ebrjH8J9WhzBtS_uccRsuROD/s400/_IMG_7039i.jpg" width="300" /></a></div> And even an interesting beetle (love the name!):<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0W1U2C23HOob-TcN_ERrH5YrCMbqqUNqXvURPXHrk_U-Okje3_-oSKkDTNCaTUEcmiraIWRkAtsLXRPE5k582hj-yZ1nTShJQ-wmV8AO_HtQQW2QfF7vAlSfQcd9ahtq-qdYqj_faoQY/s1600/_IMG_7037i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0W1U2C23HOob-TcN_ERrH5YrCMbqqUNqXvURPXHrk_U-Okje3_-oSKkDTNCaTUEcmiraIWRkAtsLXRPE5k582hj-yZ1nTShJQ-wmV8AO_HtQQW2QfF7vAlSfQcd9ahtq-qdYqj_faoQY/s400/_IMG_7037i.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diabolical Ironclad Beetle (<i><span class="st">Phloeodes diabolicus</span></i>)</td></tr>
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A very pleasant day wandering around the hills of Malibu. Check out more of my photos of Sycamore Canyon in the <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/oLsZRb4UqEW78oTY8" target="_blank">album here</a>.<br />
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Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-58778938806492828742017-04-23T11:05:00.000-07:002019-02-03T15:18:17.234-08:00Malibu Lagoon tide pools after the rains, Malibu, CA - February 2017As part of a weekend with friends from near and far I took everyone to one of my favorite local tide pool spots - <a href="https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=835" target="_blank">Malibu Lagoon State Beach</a>. It had rained for days (very uncommon right now) but the skies cleared up just enough for us to get some sun and take a look around.<br />
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I like this spot because it's easy to get to (there is a parking lot and restrooms nearby) and you can usually see some interesting tide pool life and a variety of birds throughout the year.<br />
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This time, with all the rains the tide was much higher than expected so we didn't see the usual tide pool creatures but there were plenty of interesting birds and some unexpected items washed up on the beach. In all my years of tide pooling (over 10) I'd never seen any of these before - wasn't even sure what one of them was!<br />
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It was really great to share an afternoon at the beach with these fabulous women.<br />
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Here's where we were:<br />
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And some photos from our visit:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIU_cds26Z2XkP0AjoFCOvdHHWoy-e7WbTqDV8QsI0hogzSiEkb_owATkfd7OwlRkjtu3MDrO_qZ7iJlkgzUh1gdu98CSf0OcIEnjUaXfBOLbnjcDMs96oycs0TLXMv4Bvvn6mJS7HN5a/s1600/_IMG_6928i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIU_cds26Z2XkP0AjoFCOvdHHWoy-e7WbTqDV8QsI0hogzSiEkb_owATkfd7OwlRkjtu3MDrO_qZ7iJlkgzUh1gdu98CSf0OcIEnjUaXfBOLbnjcDMs96oycs0TLXMv4Bvvn6mJS7HN5a/s320/_IMG_6928i.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giant Keyhole Limpet - <i>Megathura crenulata</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sand Star (didn't know these existing before spotting this one) - <i>Luidia foliolata</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHaII3su4hjMF3zMR8NKy6hDW7EhqQ2a7IH3bMXDMeLZAVhVHJGfJiOW1aCBatO2GB6vF8Ykq22I7WI-duNJAmh5KWiit-sAzaFJj5kEv7yxy10Ye_a2788Mg42Huzoi8tXPJLA06OonwJ/s1600/_IMG_6934i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHaII3su4hjMF3zMR8NKy6hDW7EhqQ2a7IH3bMXDMeLZAVhVHJGfJiOW1aCBatO2GB6vF8Ykq22I7WI-duNJAmh5KWiit-sAzaFJj5kEv7yxy10Ye_a2788Mg42Huzoi8tXPJLA06OonwJ/s320/_IMG_6934i.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bubble Snail (first time seeing one!) - <i>Bulla gouldiana</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGaRrzHaAPeTw76VHGfXxT14TZa-shv_y_BPE85fZ4yrmTJ5oggbeFTrggYBaxrWBCqJo4_8IysNjeTP4vxyy4J8SCaClAn4j4Hpml8UHhJoLT8LEWEK5Nk6yqkYyisSau8k5k6fWaffYJ/s1600/_IMG_6935i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGaRrzHaAPeTw76VHGfXxT14TZa-shv_y_BPE85fZ4yrmTJ5oggbeFTrggYBaxrWBCqJo4_8IysNjeTP4vxyy4J8SCaClAn4j4Hpml8UHhJoLT8LEWEK5Nk6yqkYyisSau8k5k6fWaffYJ/s320/_IMG_6935i.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bubble Snail (first time seeing one!) - <i>Bulla gouldiana</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEx6UKyVJEVQwAPn7qrLU7PiMIWBVIFVo2PrNhtC11M7MYBcQuNSWrU-ndJfR-X_l8AM9Wz2Gb9K1rt8VmlXAZWCA28mVGonaaYEQePkAuo0R0UtoAhrne1N9Qg-4Uu0lLGNzPiyQ0DrSg/s1600/_IMG_6937i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEx6UKyVJEVQwAPn7qrLU7PiMIWBVIFVo2PrNhtC11M7MYBcQuNSWrU-ndJfR-X_l8AM9Wz2Gb9K1rt8VmlXAZWCA28mVGonaaYEQePkAuo0R0UtoAhrne1N9Qg-4Uu0lLGNzPiyQ0DrSg/s320/_IMG_6937i.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">Female Red-breasted Merganser</span></span><span class="fbPhotoTagList" id="fbPhotoSnowliftTagList"><span class="fcg"> - </span></span><i><span class="_Xbe kno-fv">Mergus serrator</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCNosvfmUAMP_76Yo0YgAG-ivFNPuLLn_OhYMfQxVAObJWkgcASGu94nwGCTALW3b-uGp3iApBIqTjSdkPDKHI6JQNt5wZ-zDeA6R6D2TxJjnkLEfwbXBivfHWbJiXChdYZTr3zQisjUHK/s1600/_IMG_6938i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCNosvfmUAMP_76Yo0YgAG-ivFNPuLLn_OhYMfQxVAObJWkgcASGu94nwGCTALW3b-uGp3iApBIqTjSdkPDKHI6JQNt5wZ-zDeA6R6D2TxJjnkLEfwbXBivfHWbJiXChdYZTr3zQisjUHK/s320/_IMG_6938i.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Group of Brown Pelicans - <i>Pelecanus occidentalis</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgoybDTYJa6uSVcmrguFF60mSAChtMJ3aFky-RdfUTTw7_sQTIgyQ89G-3a0qiB4rZbC6TgckhYq3GXg608ZxuCdIMu36wTxmPlJ-pRoGak7YlX9smtpUyIEE3LGKCdqvWSBx09VM6GJw/s1600/_IMG_6941cropi.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="1038" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgoybDTYJa6uSVcmrguFF60mSAChtMJ3aFky-RdfUTTw7_sQTIgyQ89G-3a0qiB4rZbC6TgckhYq3GXg608ZxuCdIMu36wTxmPlJ-pRoGak7YlX9smtpUyIEE3LGKCdqvWSBx09VM6GJw/s320/_IMG_6941cropi.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBMPet2xQt3M8MS8as-e-1Rl7WV3jFISdbtmk8rEL45x2aL7C-3bNYfKZVOtU4VTEm8vWV54lnDGsesaGbcQJ_Ks0f5AFak1FxiLszLTEiGRxdNzxPUYms0K_XQNEaQTsQuHmZFkoqrvoR/s1600/_IMG_3132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBMPet2xQt3M8MS8as-e-1Rl7WV3jFISdbtmk8rEL45x2aL7C-3bNYfKZVOtU4VTEm8vWV54lnDGsesaGbcQJ_Ks0f5AFak1FxiLszLTEiGRxdNzxPUYms0K_XQNEaQTsQuHmZFkoqrvoR/s320/_IMG_3132.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sheep Crab shell - <i>Loxorhynchus grandis</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ekWMucCOLcPJkYZ3ilqkMa4ouBLgp_Bb8vuI72diy7L7si1wbO6jiVnc_GHggnchkqZe2d325F0DyS4PS9a3mAyFHjMolOQpdMFOixcPuHiqa0c0fQcWFIdH13sVUHuOiJshK3OhM6yw/s1600/_IMG_6942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ekWMucCOLcPJkYZ3ilqkMa4ouBLgp_Bb8vuI72diy7L7si1wbO6jiVnc_GHggnchkqZe2d325F0DyS4PS9a3mAyFHjMolOQpdMFOixcPuHiqa0c0fQcWFIdH13sVUHuOiJshK3OhM6yw/s320/_IMG_6942.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sheep Crab shell - <i>Loxorhynchus grandis</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>I've been to this spot many times and always seem to find something new. Check out more of my photos <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/swCgmnoMVDzfQJV6A" target="_blank">here</a>.Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-28687073485465588002017-03-01T13:35:00.000-08:002019-02-03T15:17:40.596-08:00Hiking Solstice Canyon after the rains, Malibu, CA - February 2017It had been way too long since I'd gotten outside to reset, explore and take in the sights so T and I headed out to <a href="https://www.nps.gov/samo/planyourvisit/solsticecanyon.htm" target="_blank">Solstice Canyon</a> in Malibu. I really enjoy this hike because you can take the high road - Rising Sun Trail - which is a bit strenuous (with fantastic views of the canyon) or the low road - Solstice Canyon Trail - for a relaxing shady stroll.<br />
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Here's where it is:<br />
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(Parking is free but sometimes gets full. There are restrooms in the parking lot.)<br />
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I've hiked these trails <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/search/label/Solstice%20Canyon" target="_blank">quite a few times</a>, but this time felt different because we'd had some nice rains and everything was so green! With a drought that has lasted for years and seems to be the new normal I'd never seen the hills so green and saturated. It was refreshing.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMTwebG1wvjHWpQ0FZHq0ukRzm9jWAOaPB8xtoOrsjrpldRva2MWkuU03b8pymcf_TRradA3vXA-1o9ijlGJmF1AI4htsRZv25olbJsaulAbOzGloSOFJcqpcLQUmPv-0wF_BJ12BqT2zx/s1600/_IMG_6869.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMTwebG1wvjHWpQ0FZHq0ukRzm9jWAOaPB8xtoOrsjrpldRva2MWkuU03b8pymcf_TRradA3vXA-1o9ijlGJmF1AI4htsRZv25olbJsaulAbOzGloSOFJcqpcLQUmPv-0wF_BJ12BqT2zx/s320/_IMG_6869.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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It looked like parts of the trail had been damaged by recent rains but it was still fine for hiking the day we were there.<br />
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And although more blocked off than I'd seen it before, the waterfall was flowing nicely.<br />
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There were many wildflowers along the trail<br />
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and we even spotted this pair of Acorn Woodpeckers on a granary tree.<br />
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All in all a very nice quick trip outdoors.<br />
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See more of my photos from Solstice Canyon in the <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/6rmkEW6RSh3gD3iu9" target="_blank"> album</a>.<br />
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Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com0Solstice Canyon, 3455 Solstice Canyon Rd, Malibu, CA 90265, USA34.038993 -118.7551548.5169584999999977 -160.063748 59.561027499999994 -77.44656tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6142171701110258094.post-10599741541952406162016-09-30T11:02:00.000-07:002017-05-28T11:35:46.053-07:00Kayaking the Los Angeles River (Sepulveda Basin Recreation Zone), CA - August 2016NOTE: Life has been insane lately and so my attention turned away from the blog and I was only reminded recently, when I saw that the kayaking season on the L.A. River is opening again, that I had never written about my last trip in August 2016!<br />
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tl;dr - Go kayaking on the L.A. River, either location, this year!<br />
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Back in August 2013 I had kayaked the L.A. River for the first time - the Glendale Narrows portion (now referred to as the Elysian Valley Zone). You can read about my experience <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2013/08/kayaking-los-angeles-river-august-2013.html" target="_blank">here</a>. It was great, so I was eager to go again and this time I decided to book a trip on the more "wild" portion of the river - the Sepulveda Basin.<br />
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Once again, I went with <a href="http://lariverexpeditions.org/" target="_blank">L.A. River Expeditions</a> but if you have the experience and equipment you can kayak the river anytime Memorial Day to Labor Day. Any member of the public is welcome to walk, fish, and kayak in the Recreation Zones free of charge. You do not need a permit unless you are part of an organized group. More info on the website for the <a href="http://lariverrecreation.org/" target="_blank">L.A. River Recreation Zone</a>.<br />
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The last time I went alone, but for this trip I went with a friend who lives down near San Diego. She wasn't sure how it would go considering she'd not kayaked before (she'd white water rafted I think) and sometimes got sick on boats, but was up for trying it out.<br />
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She didn't have any trouble at all and we both really enjoyed the trip. It's a completely different way to experience L.A. This part of the river definitely feels more peaceful and wild than the section in Elysian Valley, but both of them had a wide variety of plant and bird life. The L.A. River Recreation Zone is located in the Pacific Flyway, which
is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds and a huge variety of
birds visit here to hunt for food and rest.<br />
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This section seemed deeper to me (we weren't getting stuck on the rock/concrete bottom) and there were no rapids (in contrast with the Elysian Valley Zone) so may be better for newbies.<br />
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The bonus of this trip is that it's very close to the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve which I describe in a post <a href="http://westernwilds.blogspot.com/2014/03/sepulveda-basin-wildlife-reserve-van.html" target="_blank">here</a>. So many birds and such a peaceful place right off the freeway.<br />
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Here are some photos from the trip (not many since I was busy paddling my kayak!)<br />
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If you want to go with L.A. River Expeditions make sure to book your trip soon. They regularly sell out and you can only kayak the river until Labor Day. Enjoy!<br />
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<br />Teresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11639112976963463256noreply@blogger.com015758 Burbank Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91406, USA34.1672351 -118.472928300000048.645200599999999 -159.78152230000003 59.6892696 -77.164334300000036