Friday!

Whooosh!  Another week has flown by!  How is it that they're going by so quickly?!  Is the world spinning faster?  I wish the days would slow down!  I'm trying to get stuff done here!

This week was a bit more productive in that I finished my weaving project.  And, I've started to get back to exercising everyday.  It's just walking with a little running here and there but it's a big deal that I'm getting back to it.  I was doing great earlier this year but fell off the fitness wagon months ago.  I haven't been all that enthused about getting back to it.  The heat had a lot to do with it.  It's VERY nice that the weather is cooling down now!  Mornings have been in the 50's and that's much more comfortable than 80's.  Especially when the sun is shining.

I snapped a couple pictures on my walk this morning.  I think it's interesting that these trees are covered in little yellow flowers when the calendar says it's Fall.  Looks a lot more like Spring to me!

Another accomplishment for this week isn't quite complete but what I've done so far feels really good!  I've been going through absolutely everything in my craft studio.  I'm getting rid of things (donating, trash and recycling) and organizing.  I'm finding so much more space!  I love that!

I also accomplished something I've been putting off...a dentist appointment.  Ugh!  I had all my old fillings replaced earlier this year and thought I was good to go and wouldn't need the dentist except for cleanings for quite a while.  Wrong!  During our June/July road trip some of my bottom teeth all of a sudden became very sensitive to cold and sometimes chewing.  The dentist checked it out and couldn't find anything wrong.  We decided to give it some time and use Sensodyne toothpaste. It's not any better and I've been putting off calling for months.  I just don't like going to the dentist!  The only  thing he found this time is that the nerves under two teeth look  inflamed.  So, I've been instructed to take Advil every six hours for three days.  He said it often fixes the problem.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  If that doesn't work I'll need to go back and get a "medicated filling" to try to calm the nerve.  If that doesn't work...root canal!  Ugh!   But, hey....going this week was an accomplishment!  Right?!  :-/

Ok....I need to get off the computer and back to work!  I want this day to be productive.

Have an awesome weekend!

Hiking Devil's Slide

When my husband arrived home from work last Thursday evening, he asked if I'd like to go for a hike or something on Friday. He had a rare day of no meetings and thought it would be a great opportunity to take a day off and spend time together. What a sweetie! And, what a great thing for him to have a day off!

The weather finally started cooling down last week which made hiking a comfortable possibility. We quickly decided on a trail in the San Jacinto Mountains near Idyllwild, called, "Devil's Slide". We got up early Friday morning, had a good breakfast, loaded our day packs and drove up the mountain.  We made a stop at the Idyllwild ranger station for a permit for that trail and a wilderness parking pass.

It was a beautiful day!  The sky was blue with some desert clouds building in the distance.  I think the temperature was in the 70's to low 80's.  The humidity made it seem warmer, especially in the sun, but after the heat we've had the past few weeks, it was really nice!

There were interesting and beautiful things to see right from the start of the trail.

Check out this twisty tree.  I wonder what makes some trees do this?

Here's the whole tree.  It's dead but still standing strong and beautiful.

We saw another one later that day...

 Gorgeous blue sky!  And, more dead trees...but...the color and texture is beautiful!

So are the lines and shapes.  Strong and pretty!

This one looks like a dragon.  Click on it to make it larger and check out the scary looking head!

Little babies...trees of the future.

Hubby found a ring of bark on the trail, cleared out the center, and put it on my wrist.  A bracelet!
It was strong enough that it stayed on all day and didn't break when I took it off.  

The trail was two and a half miles long with 1700 feet of elevation gain.  It was a very good workout!

The terrain varied from smooth dirt, roots, rocks, steep drop-offs along the side,

and a couple of muddy sections.

There were a few sections that leveled out...slightly.  But, most of the trip up was just that, UP.

Lots of climbing!  There were some switchback sections that climbed pretty quickly.

At one point, we looked down and saw four sections below us.  I couldn't get a good

picture though because of all the trees.  But, here are two shots of some of them.

The steep climb made for a quickly changing view when we looked down the mountain and into the distance.  We started below the level of "Suicide Rock" (on the right side of the photo) but quickly climbed to a point that it was straight across from us.

And, in a very short time, we were above it and much farther away.  There was a marine layer over the valley that was slowly burning off and, even farther away, we could see clouds over the ocean.  What an incredible view it must be on a crystal clear day!

There aren't many flowers right now.  But, I did spot a few...like some Indian Paintbrush...

Some teeny, tiny flowers...

I think this might be Buck Brush...

Ranger's Buttons!  So cute!

We saw a few berries.  I think this is a Gooseberry.  Wicked!  Even the stems!  Hubby lifted a leaf out of the way so I could take a photo and it pierced his finger.  Ouch!

The above photo and the one below are from the same bush.  I love the colors in the one below.

More thorns!

We saw lots of lizards darting around and jumping from rock to rock.

Some were laying around, enjoying the sunshine.  They even posed for pictures!

So cute!

Now, I have more photos to use for sculpting lizards in my ceramics class.

Hubby is taking the class with me this semester.  :-)

We kept seeing tiny fur balls darting across the trail so fast that we couldn't get a good look at them.

We assumed they were chipmunks but weren't sure until this one actually sat still for a moment.

There were busy gray squirrels too.  Some of them had huge, fluffy tails.

I wasn't able to get any pictures of them.  But, I got a picture of this skinnier tailed squirrel
running around.  They all seemed quite busy getting ready for winter.

After a couple hours of hiking, we made it to the saddle junction.  I think the elevation is about 8,000 feet at this point.  There are lots of signs and trails that take off from this point.  Including, a trail that leads to Tahquitz Peak...the peak we went to last year but from a different side.

Even the famous Pacific Crest Trail runs through here.  A 2,663 mile trail that runs through the Cascade, Sierra, and other mountain ranges from the border of Canada to the border of Mexico.

At the saddle, we noticed strange things growing on the trunks of some trees.

Weird!  Creepy!

And, really big!

I also spotted this yellow growth.  The color is pretty but I wasn't about to touch it.  Eeeew!

From the saddle, we decided to follow one of the trails for a while and see where it lead.

The terrain started changing from mostly brown to partly green.

And, all of a sudden, we were surrounded by green fern.

The farther we walked, the greener it became and the fern got taller and taller.

It went from a few inches tall at the beginning to hip high further down the trail.

The clouds were getting bigger and gently drifting in front of the sun, giving us periods of shade.

It was gorgeous and magical up there.  I had no idea we'd find anything like this when we reached the saddle.  It was worth every steep step and all the heavy breathing and sweat!

We even came across a wet, boggy area.  I wonder if it's always there or if it was from the recent monsoon storms?  Either way, it's pretty cool and provides much needed water for the wildlife.

As we hiked back down, the clouds got thicker and darker but

we never heard any rumbling and they didn't seem to get any bigger or closer.

After our hike, we headed into the town of Idyllwild for a bite to eat.  We wanted to try a new place and decided on "Restaurant Gastronome".  They had outdoor seating under the pines with a terrific view of the mountain we had just climbed.  I had a delicious sandwich made with tender chicken on a soft, fluffy thin bread (I can't remember what they called it) with lettuce, tomato, purple onion and a yummy raspberry sauce.  Hubby had a delicious barbecue chicken wrap.  And, we had some ice cold beer.  The weather was wonderful, the food was delicious, and the company...there are no words to describe how wonderful he is!  I'm a very lucky girl!  Thanks, hubby, for a wonderful day!  

Big Trees

I love trees!  So, going to Kings Canyon and Sequoia to see the Giant Sequoia trees was pretty exciting!  They're some of the oldest living trees on earth.  They can live to around 3000 years.  Yes, you read that right.  Pretty amazing, huh?!  And, they grow up to 310 feet high and 35' wide.  That's BIG! 

On our first day out to explore, we stopped at Grant Grove in Kings Canyon.  Check out the size of the trees in the center of the next picture.  The trees just to the left are really big.  That can give you an idea of how EXTRA BIG the Giant Sequoias are.  They're amazing.

Here's my daughter taking a picture of a massive redwood...

Look how tiny she and some of the other visitors look next to these giant trees...

Magnificent!

Their thick bark makes them resistant to fire.  However, if the fire is too hot and intense, the inside of the tree may burn.  It's not uncommon to find a tree that is hollow on the inside but still very much alive.  The water and nutrients it needs are carried up the tree through the outside layers.  Fire can actually be good for them.  The heat releases seeds and the ash mineralizes the soil and provides important nutrients for them.

The azaleas growing underneath them in Grant Grove were so pretty!...

There is a fallen tree in Grant Grove that has been hollowed out by fire. 
 Look at the size of the bottom section...

The park has made this tree accessible and welcomes visitors to explore the inside. 

It's like a tunnel!

The center section is open to the outside.  I imagined hiding out inside the tree
during a storm and being able to watch through it's big window...

There's a hole in the center of the ceiling that acts like a skylight...

or a frame for a picture of a nearby redwood...

The other end was enclosed all the way around.  Look how tall the "ceiling" is...

That's me walking through...

This is the other end...

Another thing to see in Grant Grove is the Centenial Stump sign. 

It's an interesting story.  You can click the photo to enlarge and read it...

In Sequoia National Park, we ran across this...

Here it is looking toward the top of the tree. 

It's like a road.  That's our Yukon parked next to it...

This is the root end with my daughter and husband sitting down and checking it out...

There's also "Tunnel Log" in Sequoia. 

There was a fairly constant stream of people driving up, stopping to look, and taking pictures of their cars (and motorcycles) as they'd drive through the tunnel.  We probably could have fit our Yukon through but didn't want to chance it.  So, here's a picture of another car...

At the Sherman Grove in Sequoia there's a patio/overlook with a brick section in the size and shape of the General Sherman tree.  It's interesting to walk across it and get a better idea of how thick some of these redwoods are...

There are several slices of Giant Sequoias scattered throughout the park.  Here, my daughter and I are leaning against one and trying to stretch our arms across...

Yes...we're tree huggers!

Giant Sequoias aren't the only amazing trees in the park.  
Another is the Sugar Pine that grows enormous pinecones
like the one my hubby is holding...

Some parts of the forest have a lush green carpet of fern, flowers and moss.

So pretty!

The ferny trails were so different than what I'm used to and fun to walk along.

We learned on this trip that the big redwood trees in Kings Canyon, Sequoia, and even Yosemite are different from the giant redwood trees we've seen along the California coast.  They're called "Coastal Redwoods".  They grow about 60 feet taller but aren't quite as big around as Sequoia trees.  They live up to 2200 years...a 1000 years less than Sequoias. The Coastal Redwood trees only grow in a narrow band along the coast, from Central California to parts of Oregon. I think the only place Sequoia trees can be found is on the western side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.  Pretty interesting. They're both incredible and amazing wonders to see. 

I still have more to post from our trip.  I hope you'll come back for another visit.  :-)