Filling in March through April
After finally getting the more recent stuff put together, I decided that
I should get caught up on the pre-trip things. We were doing some other
things besides me working on the Dart!
Pond
For the past three Springs we have had a couple of mallards coming into
our pond. This time I got a decent picture of them before they flew off.
They are out of the water and up on the
sand beach. A couple of weeks later we had the pond mucked out, and
I didn't see them after that. Now, I ask you, why is this man (Steve)
smiling? I guess because he is about done.
Local Traveling
One weekend near the end of March we went north to Shady Cove to see the
Daffodil Trail. This clump of daffodils was
different, and spectacular.
There were also
also large fields of daffodils.
Afterward we drove on up to Lost Creek Reservoir and I shot this
cloud picture over the lake.
A few days later we journeyed over to Jacksonville for our friend,
Hans' birthday party, complete with
cake.
Happy Birthday to Me
Yes, on April 11 I had a birthday. To celebrate, Amelia took me to
Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge and the
Lava Beds National Monument. At the
Lava Beds I shot this
fungus looking rock.
At the wildlife refuge we saw coyotes, bald eagles, many species of birds, but
mostly
geese and
more geese. Back home, I got my presents and a birthday cake
hidden by the mug. The hat has my own personal
license plate number on the back (OK, it's not my own plate number, it's
the one on the Dart). Oh, is that a pizza box I see in the background?
Yup, we were so tired we had a take out pizza (from the Grotto, of course).
Twentynine Palms
Mid-April saw us embarking on a series of flights to Palm Springs (it ain't
easy getting from Medford to Palm Springs), and then by car to Twentynine Palms
to see our friends, Sandy and Larry. We went out to
Joshua Tree National Park. There were
flowers among the rocks and
Joshua Trees and
plants growing in unlikely places and
interesting rocks. Later, we repaired the old gas barbeque and had a
bunch of
grilled veggies. The next day, Kathy came over from Parker Dam and
the girls went shopping while
Larry and I hung out. When we flew back I got this shot of the
windmills near Palm Springs. After connecting in Los Angeles, we flew
along the coast part of the way north, giving us a look at
Santa Cruz Island,
Isla Vista (University of California, Santa Barbara),
Point Lobos, Carmel River Beach, Carmel Beach, and part of Pebble Beach.
After changing in San Francisco we passed just east of our house and I got
a picture of it (from a bit far away, too bad). It is pretty much
dead center in the picture.