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| Sep | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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On the 1st, drove to the marina where we got some halibut to grill, walking about a mile around the marina. We then walked 5.15 miles to the beach, up the beach and back home.  Kathy at the marina  Saw this jellyfish swimming in the marina!  Seals (sea lions?) taking over this part of this floating dock        Fishing boats in the marina    Panorama of marina from the road  Same panorama, but without foreground cut out    Seal or something swimming in marina  Kathy at the beach  Birds flying over surf   Birds & surf   Panorama of Westhaven State Beach this day  LOTS of foam!  Sand in this area has a purplish tint!   Kathy by a bunch of dead crabs  Tide going out   Muscle encrusted float  Nearing surfing area of beach  BIGFOOT IS REAL!!!  ...and he can surf!       Banana slug  Kathy walking thru enchanted forest on way home    BIG leaves on this bush!  Home at last after walking 5 miles this day  Preparing to grill halibut  We grilled it on the Weber  Moonrise over neighbor house this evening On the 2nd, drove to near the surfing beach and walked 3/8 mile to the beach with chairs & stuff and spent a few hours watching the surfers.   Jef walked over to the jetty, snapping a panorama of Halfmoon Bay & Westport on the way  Surfing beach is to left of the jetty  Panorama from the jetty  Surfer getting up to standing  A whole pack of bigfoots!   Paddling on out     Trying to catch this wave  Fisherman heading out jetty - note that one needs good balance as you have to walk boulder to boulder, so not appropriate for Kathy    Dodging surfers on way back to our camp  Every beach in WA is a dog beach  Riding out the end of this wave  Surfer dog?    Tide has been coming in since we arrived - nearing high tide now  Jef & Kathy   We never got in any deeper than this  Who says you can't see stars at the beach?  Boogey boarder heading out into the turmoil  Our camp is to the right - Kathy sitting in front of the log  Jef's feet - tide almost made it up to our little camp  Sufers & birds   Surfer with jetty behind  After a ride, this surfer can just step off the board onto the sand!  We packed up and here is Kathy exitting beach  Panorama at our house this evening  On the 3rd, our last full day in Westport.  Front yard flower  Sunset this evening On the 4th, packed up and drove south to ocean view motel in Lincoln City, OR.  Jef needed to stop and pee here in WA - Kathy got out and walked around, too  Kathy had to pee just before we crossed into OR - bridge to Astoria in the background  Flawed panorama of the mouth of the Columbia  We would cross this bridge in 10 minutes |
 Kathy & Jef  View from our hotel balcony in Lincoln City  Kathy with a starfish  Jef & Kathy  My favourite pic from this day     Panorama at the beach - our hotel is yellow one on the bluff at the right  Berry girl at work again on hike back up to our hotel   Sunset this evening On the 5th, packed up and left Lincoln City OR and drove to Port Orford OR where we set up camp in a house we rented.  Close the curtain on that pesky photographer!  Stopped at the Devil's Punchbowl and did some wine tasting     Stopped by a roadside park to pee and let doggies roam free on the beach - Mia was energized    View from dining room of our Port Orford house    On the 6th, we packed up and drove into CA, staying at a hotel in Garberville CA after driving thru scenic redwoods - Jef took no pix. On the 7th, left Garberville and drove to St. Helena CA in Napa, but made a few stops in Alexander Valley to do some wine tasting, where we stayed at a nice motel, El Bonita. As it was in Napa, it was the priciest nite on the trip. We actually went in their spa this evening.  We stopped at the first winery we say, de Lorimier, so Jef could pee   deLorimier grapes  Next stop Alexander Valley Vinyards - here is their vault  We missed wine tasting at Hanna, which was the first winery we visited on our 2007 expedition to Alexander Valley  View from Hanna On the 8th, packed up and drove over the sierras to Walker, where we again stayed in the same room #11 at the Toiyabe Motel that we stayed at 3 years prior. We walked across the street and dined at Walker Burgers - awesome food!  Settled in the Toiyabe - forgot how cramped it was  Offramp from Toiyabe Motel to Walker Burgers  Our own laundry facility at Walker Burgers  Lots of nick-nacks on Walker Burgers property   View across street to our motel  We waited for our food here, picked it up and ate it in our hotel room  Outside our hotel room On the 9th, packed up and drove all the way to Ridgecrest, where we easily found a hotel room. We went to nearby Mexican place and ordered some to-go dinner.  Kathy drinking coffee in bed while Mia catches some morning rays  Jef & Kathy at a rest stop near Lone Pine  Still some snow in the sierras  Peanut  Rest stop had blooming Mimosas...  ...and desert willows  On the 10th, packed up and drove home thru Palm Springs area. We unpacked at home and started recuperating from the long trip. We started work 2 days later.  Sunset this evening  Crepuscular rays from setting sun  On the 11th, Jef did some catch-up work at the office while Kathy took it easy at home.  Sunrise this morning   Cool sky this afternoon On the 12th, back to work. Jef continued trying to catch up on work.  Lenticular cloud this afternoon On the 13th, a short day at work, so Jef took off early to see dentist to get cleaning and get game plan to remove bad tooth.  Took a few pix in front yard of chinchweeds   On the 14th, back to work a moderately busy day at the office.  Panorama of our bathroom On the 15th, a short day at the office, but of course, not for Jef. On the 16th, took it easy at home. On the 17th, walked to office in 58.5 minutes - not great, but first time in a while.  Windmills blooming and a couple fagonia stems doing well  Panorama from high point of hike On the 18th, back to work a short day at the office. On the 19th, a fairly busy day at the office. The Mannings had arrived for a visit, so we had them for dinner this evening.  In the dining room  On the 20th, we took 2F and Ann on an expedition to Sandstone Canyon. It was more adventurous than normal - 1F and 2F were in the black Jeep and after the first bouncy mile, when we stopped to look at the bat caves, 1F noticed fluid leaking from the engine compartment. Upon opening it, some oily substance was sprayed all over it, so we all piled into the white Jeep for the rest of the journey. The road was challenging due to recent erosion from the passing hurricane rain from a few weeks prior.  More pix from front yard this morning    Even creosotes were blooming  White Jeep with 200' cliffs behind it  One of only 2 vehicles we saw today  Panorama with camel rock at left and anticline at the right  Panorama with Ann at left and 2F and Kathy in front of anticline at the right  2F in alcove next to anticline  Kathy stopped here and we had a beer. Jef(1F) walked up canyon about half a mile to see how passable it was  1F convinced Kathy to drive to this point, but going further was a bit risky, so this was the turn around point - Jeff(2F) is wondering if any more rocks were coming down  Kathy starting to back out   Now turned around and heading down canyon |
  Kathy likes this monument in the main Fish Creek wash  We forgot there was a big step we had to ascend coming up, but it was invisible on the way down - Kathy screeched to a halt, but went down at a steep point, hitting this steel box(with the flag) and bending it back a little - this is nearly 2' above ground!  Above to go into narrow canyon again, but Kathy failed to find a passable route, so here is she(at left) and 2F(at right) trying to find the best route  1F found this downed sign - the old road was washed out, so sign needs moving anyway  1F noticed nothing spraying after starting black Jeep and drove it home without incident  Stopped at Iron Door on way home, but it was closed  Kathy failed to find a bathroom open  The king is dead! He wasn't breathing!  Amalgamated junk... or art?  Outdoor dining area has some antique equipment On the 21st, Kathy was not feeling well, so cancelled all patients and Jef worked at the office.  Sunset this evening  Sunset from inside the pool  Having a drink on the front patio  On the 22nd, back to work a full day at the office. 1F and Ann drove to SD for a few days, as 1F's mom needed help moving out.  Great sunrise this morning         This turned out to be a fairly cloudy day On the 23rd, drove to Escondido for Kathy's MD appt, stopped at her favourite fruit stand, Staters & drugstore in Ramona on way home, but then we stopped at Edwards and did some wine tasting, as well.  Kathy going krazy with the chalk  Jef & Kathy at wine tasting area - we did see 2 camels down in the valley, as well On the 24th, Kathy did a homecare & Jef did some work at the office, but otherwise we took it easy. On the 25th, another take it easy day. On the 26th, after a moderately busy day at the office, 2F & Ann took us out to dinner at La Casa.  The 4 of us at our table  1F took pic so that pool could be seen in background  Kathy ordered halibut - but overcooked  1F & 2F ordered the filet - also overcooked  Ann's meal  We did have a pesky fly  2F brought their van to main entrance so Ann didn't have to go down stairs On the 27th, mostly took it easy at home, but we took Ann to Glorietta for a quick field trip - 2F was still worried about drama regarding his mom's moving and so passed.  Lots of chinchweed in meadows before mouth of canyon    Even desert senna is blooming!   Bees are having a "field day"   Got Kathy to pose with wildflowers   Stopped by dinos and noticed a nest in this one's mouth!   Ann & Kathy in peril    Oh, no! Not the poor defenseless Jeep!  Reinforcements are on the way!  Even some barrels are blooming  Gearing up for happy hour sunset at the start of our driveway   Cass & Ann   Around peak of sunset colour   Even 2F joined us for the moonrise & sunset    Sunset over our street number On the 28th, a short day at the office. 1F came home to go on a walk with 2F, but he wasn't in the mood, so they took a quick 30 minute car drive to see if anything was going on. On the 29th, we had a moderately busy day at the office after having coffee with the Mannings on the front patio. Later that evening we had a fire in the back yard & made some 'smores..         On the 30th, the Mannings left us for AZ, That afternoon, Jan called and needed help getting up after falling. We failed getting her up and Kathy wrenched her back, so we called 911 and paramedics got her up on a chair.  Sunrise this morning   Doggies saying goodbye as Manning were packed up to leave  Kathy pissed at paparazzi after wrenching her back  Looks like another good sunset this evening  Sunset at the Mall - note the desert island in the sky with no giant | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Aug | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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On the 1st, broke camp and drove to Susanville where we stayed at the Super 8 - getting the last room available.  Before breaking camp this morning  Panorama of creek    Stopped by McGee Creek campground to use bathroom and find out it now costs $30/nite  Rock at right resembles an animal with alpine wildflowers blooming  View of Crowley Lake from road to McGee Creek  Prickly poppies blooming with 395 in background  Walker River  Doggies in hotel room On the 2nd, drove to Klamath Falls area and got cheap cabin at the Rocky Point Resort.  Took a break for some lunch  Mt. Shasta was visible from a few parts of the road this day - this near Bieber  As Kathy drove half the day, Jef snapped a few pix in agricultural area south of Klamath Falls  Hay!    Kathy at the wheel  Our room at the resort  We can see the lake from our deck On the 3rd, drove to Eugene and briefly said "hi" to Harriet before driving to Salem area and staying in hotel.  We had stayed in room B  Jef got up early and snapped a few pix of sunrise over the late at the resort     Visiting Harriet  Jef & Kathy at Harriet's place On the 4th, drove to Port Orchard WA and dined with Stacey, Eric, Ronan & Eli this evening.  Us in the guest room  Having dinner with the family  Walking around the neighborhood On the 5th, Jef took it easy at home while Stacey took Kathy somewhere. On the 6th, took it easy around the home and engaged the grandkids.  Eli is not allowed in the pantry, but wants in  Ronan  This family walk was about 1.5 miles  Running around the back yard    Playing with wheeled toys  Ronan wants Eli's car  Papa Jef is recruited to push Ronan in Eli's car  Heading in to the house  Back at it  Doggies in yard around sunset  On the 7th, we visited the LeMay car museum in Tacoma, then Eric cooked us a nice dinner, and we checked out the hot tub.  Ronan wants to be the life of the party  He just loves this as a hat   Ronan wanted to warm up by using papa Jef as a freeway for his cars  The main concourse in the car museum    1912 Standard Electric  Talk about a scary hood ornament!  Stock car with Mexican plates   What to do if engine won't fit in regular car   Model racetrack    View from dining area is port of Tacoma  Ready to eat some lunch  Ronan showing mom & nana his new car  Watch for cops - don't have license yet  Eli learning to drive from big brother   Eli is not quite ready to drive  Toy cars? Jackpot!  I want this and that and that...  Don't think these prices are around any more   VW bus - Dyer & Jef went an a tour of WA in one of these   I think my dad & his sister had one of these in the 30s  1926 Model T  1885 Columbia bike  1902 Studebaker electric     1906 Cadillac  Kathy sys her mom had one of these  1951 Chevy truck  1946 Ford  1957 Metropolitan  1937 Cord & 1932 Ashburn  1919 Stanley steamer  Morgan 3 wheel  Ronan riding out with booty - VW bus with camp trailer  LeMay car museum from the parking lot  Dinner included crab cakes  Checking out jacuzzi On the 8th, drove to Bloedel Reserve, arriving at our scheduled time. Then took it easy at home the rest of the day.  Elias at start of walk  Dandelion & bee  Ronan has to disburse dandelion seeds    Tree frog  Tree frog pond  Stacey photographing brown-eyed susans    Nature girl  Nature boy  Approaching the mansion  Jef & Kathy  Kathy, Jef & Ronan in living room of mansion  Ronan running around in front lawn of mansion  mom & daughter  Hitting trail again    Big trees!  Look, a mossy tree!  Trail follows creek here   Using bridge to cross to other side of creek     Stacey pushing hard to get Eli up this trail       Duck, oh duck, oh duck! Goose, oh goose, oh goose!!    Japanese pavillion area  No bathroom, however   Checking map for nearest bathroom  Back at visitor center     Checking out the reflecting pool     Back home, the bouncy house was set out for kids to play  |
 Ronan & nana in the "moat" of the bouncy house   Some shots from down under         Uh, oh! Is that a cop car down there? Gotta get my story straight.... I didn't do it.... yeah! that should work  Toys in setting sun - VW busses were Ronan's gift from last summer    On the 9th, drove over an hiked from the Staircase campground in Olympic Nat'l Park  We went there in the black Mazda  Starting up the trail  Some big stumps  Looking down at the creek   We turned back, but on other side after crossing this bridge     Hiking down the other side of the creek   Some trees were very mossy   Ronan got tuckered out  Back at the house  We dined on sushi this evening  Fuschia at sunset On the 10th, drove UNDER downtown Seattle to the Woodland Zoo.  First thing: have lunch at the zoo  Ronan at Leopard enclosure   Stacey taking pic of orchid   Toucan play at this game  Ronan getting a ride from mom   Lemurs?   Wierd - faces kinda look like butts!     We had a tough time getting Ronan to pose with these scary gorilla statues  But we finally did it!   Looks like this dangerous "log dragon" has finally been tied up!  Gorilla enclosure  Shortly after this, boy & girl gorillas "got it on"  In the butterfly enclosure      Spiky flowers!   Flamingos  Duck pond  Weird duck!  Fighting for position at feeding time  Big bird! Red crown crane, I think  Tall bird!  Some kind of duck  Small horseys   Small cattle  Home on the range  Ronan getting stretched taller  Hippo  Giraffe  That's a BIG CAT, and I'm not lion  Grandpa monkey  Lion    Feeding time for rhino  Monkey  Orangutan  Orangutan eating celery  Orangutan enclosure  Fat chinese lantern plant   Otters?   Bug eating plants  On the 11th, went to the beach at Anderson Point with the kiddies.  The crazy kid finds all sorts of things to play with in the guest closet  Ronan & Eli  Mom is the Play Doe expert  So much for the saguaro with fancy cactus flowers   Ronan & Nana playing trains  Stacey now makes craft projects for sale on the internet - here is one with a watercolour of a coffee martini with an old regular martini pic for reference  Strawberry boy  Yukk!  Spaceman Ronny  Ronan at right is about 1/3 of the way down to the beach  1/2 way down  Arriving at the beach  Setting up first camp  Happy beach girl!  Eli   Skipping rocks   Still have blooming flowers  Picked up and now moving camp to better location   Stacey taking pic of kiddies  Eric & Ronan getting their feet wet  Birds   Dead fish washing ashore - believe these are goldfish  Ronan is in earth-mover mode today  Needless to say, mom would have a difficult clean up this evening  Ronan played with this Trex decking for about 5 minutes  Also this seaweed whip  Whirly kid!     Even mom got into it     Heading back to car  Pizza this evening On the 12th, drove over to Eric's parents land in the Seabeck area to (unsuccessfully) find the corners of their lot.  Berry girl had competition for the local blackberries   Kathy & Ronan with Hood Canal & snow in Olympics in background - this is a panoramic view from John & Mary's beachfront lot  Panorama showing edge of 125' of beachfront property, just right of rightmost part of this pic  Preparing to eat some Seabeck pizza  Lunch time  Eric preparing burgers for dinner this evening   Ronan keeping backyard trees healthy On the 13th, took it easy at home.  Jef & Kathy brought dinner home from a Mexcan Restaurant - this is something like a tostada that looks like pizza On the 14th, had some breakfast and drove to Shelton, where the Morgan's had broke down and kept them company for a couple hours & shuttling Jim/to from Super 8 to repair shop. Car was not fixed, so left them at hotel and drove to our AirBnB house in Westport.  Ronan visiting us before we left this morning On the 15th, took it easy in Westport. Pam & Jaime came down for a little visit this afternoon, before driving back to their hotel.  Our Air BnB house for next 3 weeks in Westport - Stella Maris On the 16th, we checked out property and found forms for the footing being erected. Later that day, Pam & Jaime drove down from hotel in Shelton in a rental car and we spent some time with them, including checking out the 98 year old Pinetree Inn.  Our lot on Baker  With Pam & Jaime at the Pinetree On the 17th, Jef walked over to our lot and back, but otherwise took it easy this day. The Morgans arrived to spend a few nites with us.  Checked weather forecast for Borrego from remnant of hurricane - the predicted 4" missed Borrego, but it still got about 2" of rain  Panorama of Stella Maris house interior with living room & Kathy at left & kitchen at right  Lots of dandelions blooming in Westport at this time  Our lot  Panorama with forested neighbor lots and houses across the street  Road at edge of our property connects with water department road which ends at beach trail about 3 minutes away   More dandelions  Stella Maris is 2nd house from end of our street  Nearing sunset |
 Kathy & Jef  Morgans finally got a their car fixed and joined us in Westport for a few days On the 18th, took it easy at Stella Maris with the Morgans. I think we drove them downtown for a looksee of the marina.  Broadway in Westport: not very broad  Kathy bar-b-queing brats on the charcoal grill, complete with charcoal left at the house  Pam & Kathy getting back from berry-picking expedition in neighborhood  On the 19th, drove downtown again, and as Bennett's was full again, we dined at the Aloha Alabama.  Mia barked at this visiting deer, but didn't know what to do next   We drove downtown, and when Bennetts was too busy, went to Alabama Aloha   We can see the lighthouse from our front yard, this is nearing sunset On the 20th, another easy-going Westport summer day.  At the breakfast table this morning  Sunset is tinted with high smoke blown here from some fire  On the 21st, took Morgans to the Westport Winery where we did wine tasting and dined. Afterwards, we toured the grounds.  Mia & Peanut in our front yard this morning  Kathy & Jaime at the front of the Westport Winery  Kathy waiting for table to eat after we did wine tasting  Everybody loved the food  Touring the back yard of the winery  These glass bulbs mark the hub of trails going out as spokes from this center of the garden  One of neary 100 sculptures in the 50 acres of gardens  English garden area  Sad angel sitting on a bench  Colouring pencil sculptures  One trail segment  Sculpture of girl on front of wrecked boat - perhaps part of mermail museum  Another trail segment  French garden area   Pam & Kathy  Pam & Kathy by blue wine bottle wall & giant scrabble set    Sculpture of dog by dog bowl & pond    Lighthouse in field in wheelbarrow  Razor clam sculpture  Entrance to English garden area  Weird ground-hugging fir tree!  Fron another angle  Note the spherical sculpture is rock filled with a surface of horse shoes welded together!  The "drawing room"   Kathy & Pam taking a break on this "bench sculpture"   Blue mermaid by boat sculpture "Rose, Blanc & Bleu"   Some sculptures have fancy signs for them  I think these numbered flags correspond to a type of golf course embedded in the garden. These poles are by a 4" pipe stuck in the ground. Speculating on the warious type of balls that could be used: a whiffle/pickle ball could be hit with a racquet at tee, which might be these red tipped posts nearby. Ball could be picked up and swatted until near the hole, and ball could be tossed and eventually land in the 4" pipe.  Plaque by bench Kathy & Pam were sitting on: Don Tapio, who started these gardens suggested the owners grow grapes and make a winery  Wine bottles put in ground are used to delineate the trail from the garden at this point   Throne of the garden gnome king   Giant chessboard  Mermaid statue in front of mermaid museum is by a grape arbor   Intermational Mermaid Museum - perhaps something to check out on next visit  Note the giant guitar sculpture On the 22nd, the Morgans left us for their ill-fated trip home this morning. Jef & Kathy took it easy at 'home'.  Everybody sleeping in the living room this morning  Critters in the front yard   Doggies in back yard - yellow building is Casa Limon, the local Mexican eatery On the 23rd, Jef & Kathy walked to the beach.  A little fog made sporatic appearances at Westhaven State Beach  These guys are making a maze, apparently  Walking north towards point   Patch of wildflowers with Point Chehalis in background  Kathy near point  Doggies in living room On the 24th, took it easy at home before driving to the beach with beach chairs and stuff mid-afternoon.  Photo taken at 7am this morning with sun penetrating high smoke. Mystery, as it looks like lighthouse at right, but that would imply sunset, so probably not the lighthouse  Took pix of flowers in our back yard this afternoon            Jef & Kathy at the beach  Pelicans   Kathy lying on tummy at the beach    Sunset had an even ruddier sun On the 25th, Jef walked over 4 miles.  Blackberry blooms on our Westport lot  State of construction at our Westport lot   Westport BMX track in Harriet Dorland Municipal Park is only a 2 minute walk from our lot  This park has lots of stuff, including this basketball court  Yet another beach day  Pellicans   Tons of sand dollars - Kathy displaying a few   Razor clam shell   Seagull  Kathy loved the sea foam  The sun heats it up, so it warms the feet of whoever steps in it  Found this message in a bottle - probably a joke, but someone in Yosemite was apparently lost - half the message blew away before we read it, however  Kathy & her beach  This windsurfer was out a while, but a bad day for this   Just noticed after looking at pic that this surfboard had a hydrofoil! Behind him is the end of the Westport Jetty at Point Chehalis    Pellicans  These guys observing that a mysterious mountain forming - currently only about the size of the bucket at the left, but it might become a giant mountain some day?  Running family  Jef & Kathy  Jef & someone who thinks Jef takes too many pics  Back home, Kathy cooking up some brats on the grill On the 26h, Jef only walked ½ mile. Kathy took it easy.  Our little back pation from the alley On the 27th Jef walked to the beach on the trails, going 3+ miles. Kathy stayed home. On the 28th, we walked 3+ miles walk to beach along the road, then up the boardwalk to trail and back to the road near the lighthouse. We made a batch of spaghetti this evening.  We walked to the beach via a trail and noticed this slug and it's mess  Nearing the beach  Kathy at the beach  Mia ridding yard of cat vermin On the 29th, we walked about 3.5 miles to beach using the trails. Wound up missing turnoff to beach & hit road by lighthouse.  Kathy by lighthouse  Lighthouse from paved trail  Water tower (next to our lot) from the paved Westhaven State Park paved trail  Kathy with ocean in background  Sun was getting low  Kathy finally at the beach  Going up our trail from beach  Very few houses have nice lawns like this in Westport On the 30th, we walked 4 miles to beach and back, this time not missing all the turnoffs.  Mossy bush  Dandelion  Kathy has to disburse dandelion seeds!   Kathy near the beach  A big foam day at the beach!   Kathy talked to these people for about 10 minutes  Apparently their first beach visit  The son was interested in surfing  Kathy said this was a bad surf day  They should go to northern parking lot near the point to see the main area for surfing   Walked on shortcut to our lot and saw these deer On the 31st, as part of this day was rainy, stayed home and watched TV.  Puddle in front of our house  Lighthouse from our house this evening  Cleared enought just before sunset that we got some sun | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Jul | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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On the 1st, drove Kathy to MD appt in Escondido, then stopped at Kathy's favourite fruit stand for strawberries, and then shopped at Staters. On way home, we decided to test Kathy's ability to hike and did about 3/4 mile up/down Santa Ysabel Preserve trail from Hwy 79. We then drove home to Borrego.  Kathy & Jef at turnaround point  This is part of the Coast to Crest Trail (currently only 49 of 71 miles have been completed)  Kathy walking back to car  Trailhead is by the rightmost grove of trees  One of only a few flowers still blooming  Nobody likes the photographer - incidentally on other side of Hwy79 at trailhead is what was proposed to be part of Coast to Crest Trail, but is not at this time On the 2nd, did chores at home before bringing burgers, tater salad & strawberry pound cake to Morgans where we dined and hung out at the pool for a couple hours in the evening.  We helped ourselves to burgers & tater salad  Arriving at the pool  Only the 4 of us this evening     Just before Jef turned off the lites On the 3rd, back to work a full day at the office - first day since Kathy took off entire last week.  Little hazy this afternoon  Horizontal bright line is one of the solar plants in the valley On the 4th, took it easy at home. Jef did some tear down of raised garden & burned some of it in fire this evening. Found a few fireworks from years ago and blew them all up.  Jef found these fireworks  Kym's goofy dog as Jef got fire going  Jef put out fire on rug a couple times this evening  Big firework going off on float in pool  Kathy came out for the last few fireworks   Jef put out the 2nd carpet fire before turning in On the 5th, back to work for a medium busy day at the office.  Some paloverdes are still blooming  Saw a band of smoke on the horizon this evening On the 6th, a short day at the office. Lupita fixed fish tacos for us for the next week. On the 7th, a long day at the office. On the 8th, took a quick trip to Ramona for some shopping & then took it easy most of the day.  Stopped on the grade to take pics of these late blooming agaves  Desert apricot  Desert apricot bushes in front of agaves  Got held up for 10 minutes in Dry Canyon  Big oopsie!  Probably took curve too fast and rolled it  Looking to our sunroom late this afternoon On the 9th went over to replace controller at Sewanee - now all valves are working.  Took pic of wiring in old controller in case it became a big problem figuring how to wire new controller  Roadrunners are pretty used to people over at Sewanee   Actually running  This pic was added to the road shot below   Wiley coyote with prev pic photoshopped in  Mia was first in the pool this afternoon   Mia was the 1st to exit the pool  Jef & Kathy    Drying out from the pool  Miller time with Kym  Kym & black bark On the 10th, Kathy in too much pain to come in to work today, so Jef went to office for half a day to do some work.  Next weekend should be pretty warm here  Kathy is having trouble with dental tori, and this piece broke the skin in her mouth and she loosened it and got it out On the 11th, Kathy wanted to take another day off, so Jef cancelled everyone and did some work.  Jef started raking beans towards the trunk of this mesquite On the 12th, a busy day at the office with no Lisette.  We had some light clouds this day for a change  Tom showed us his "souveneirs" from a recent visit to Iowa (mosquito bites)  Contrail clouds  Sunset this evening On the 13th, antoerh busy day at the office.  Kym & Kathy tested the waters this evening - water temp was about 90°F On the 14th, took the day off for Kathy's dental appt in RB - she arranged for tori removal surgery to be done after our trip (in 2 months). Took Kathy to sushi at Akai Hana. Did some shopping and did a 1 mile test hike on PCT. That was too much for Kathy, however.  Kathy in a bad mood at sushi - "Jef never listens"  Some wild buckwheat flowers amid dead grass  Starting on hike     This might be pentstamen blooming and showing fall colour  |
  Kathy at turnaround point - she had great difficulty making it back the half mile to the car     Noticed black dots on trail - possibly chamois seeds   Sunset this evening  Looks like a block of very hot weather for mid July On the 15th, took it easy at home. Made a batch of Kathy's tuna salad.  Sunrise this morning  Shadows on bathroom wall this morning  Raised garden almost razed  Muggy hot day at the office  Sunset over the pool  Raised garden On the 16th, Kathy got a massage & Jef did some work at the office. We are in the middle of a hot spell where swamp cooler is not working well - we switched to mini-splits at 9am this morning. On the 17th, back to work for what was to be a long day, but due to 4 cancellations, only a medium busy day at the office.  Sunrise this morning  Water bugs in pool  Baby bird by hot tub On the 18th, a long busy day at the office.  Kym's flower finally blooming  Sunrise this morning On the 19th, drove Kathy to MD in Rancho Mirage & did some shopping on way back.  Kym's flower continues to bloom  Another contrailly day On the 20th, a busy day at the office. Realtor emailed pix of our new pad up in Westport.  Deer is at top left corner of pad  Looks like alley on side of lot had been turned into a gravel road  Closer view of deer at the left  Panorama of the pad   Another contrailly day in Borrego On the 21st, a medium busy day at the office.  Parking lot this afternoon - high was about 120°F! On the 22nd, Jef did a little at the office, but we hung around at home all day. This evening, Kathy tried walking around the circle to see how she would do: after 1 lap with all the spurs, she wanted to do another lap, so wound up walking about 2.2 miles and Kathy did okay.  Segas get burned this time of year  Wendy dropped by for some technical help & we had some vino & olives - here are Kathy & her with empty wine glasses and an appropriate T-shirt on Wendy  Kathy moved this gecko to front yard this evening  Crescent moon to left of intersection of signs denoting our 1st spur  Kathy after doing the spur  Kathy from behind  Kathy from the side  In front of Kathy  Setting moon with lights on Montezuma and below that, lights in the valley  Jef & Kathy - note blood in Jef's hand as it blocks most of headlamp light from camera  Kathy heading up spur #3 On the 23rd, hung around the house all day - Kathy didn't wake up until just after noon! Had about half a minute of sprinkles near midday on this muggy day.  Doggies taking bathroom break  Raised garden area almost cleared out  Muggy day sunrise  Boatmen in the pool - some very much alive On the 24th, back to work a busy day at the office.  Clouds on this hot day  Around sunset On the 25th, a medium busy day at the office.  Looked like a possible T-storm  It didn't rain on us, but from rocks glittering here, it looks like it did in the mtns. On the 26th, a short day at the office.  Giant dust devil going down Palm Canyon Drive this afternoon On the 27th, drove to SD for MD appt for Jef then did some shopping.  Smoke from Bonny Fire in Aguanga apparent when we drove past Henshaw when is was only a few hundred acres  Stopped to take pix of cattle at intersection of S2 and Hwy79 and saw these planes fly over - probably heading to Bonny Fire  Panorama with cattle and Bonny Fire smoke above our Camry      Sunset was fading as we approached home  Bonny Fire smoke arriving in Borrego Valley - we did smell smoke at home this and next night On the 28th, back to work a medium busy day at the office with 3 cancellations.  Kathy found this baby chuckwalla in office and relocated outside  Note how it blends in with local soil  Bonny Fire smoke still entering our valley - it was over 1500 acres about this time  Sunset over our pool On the 29th, Jef made roast & eggs for doggies for trip and 36 deviled eggs. That afternoon Kathy & Jef took deviled eggs to small party at John's to introduce his 2 grandkids who her just rescued from Brazil after a 3 year struggle. Met 2 other artists: Sally and Kevin.  In John's apartment with Kathy, John, Sally, Kevin & Jef  Joseph at left and John at right sitting under portrait with adults dining on drinks & appetizers at John's triangular table  Joseph approaching granddad - perhaps he is hungry and appetizers not appetizing to him (or other grandson, John) |
 Charles showed up with more appetizers - Joseph & John mostly hung out on comfy chairs playing on cell phones  One of John's new creations downstairs  Looks like a start of another project  Works for another installation  Middle object looks to be a waterfall installation  Panorama of south studio with kid's bikes  This will probably go with waterfall sculpture outside  This 3D sculptue is an even more abstract sculpture of a horse - note the "hat wall"  Sunset panoramas on the roof     John still doesn't mind a bee hive in the exterior recipticle on upper deck    2 Ravens flying to the moon  2 Ravens flying from the moon   John & Kathy on mid deck at sunset. Temp was about 110°F  Vertical panorama with Kathy & John and sunset over Indianhead   Last of sunset colour  Jef got in pic  Joseph & John eating cheese burgers  Joseph clowing around while John bears it  Joseph  Kathy, John & Joseph  Joseph took these 2 pix and Jef spliced them together  Another Joseph pic  Grandpa with the boys  Joseph is pretty rambunctious  John feeding his horse  John with grandson Joseph saying goodbye on the 30th, continued packing. Jef did some work at office. Cleaned car.  Building storm over Toro Peak On the 31st, did a little work at the office before driving to the great white north - camping in Lone Pine this evening. Whitney Portal was closed, so had to detour thru Tuttle Canyon to get there. Kathy had some problems, so had to made 2 special trips to Lone Pine during the night, but otherwise a great evening.  Hazy morning - can't even see the mountains!  Stopped at Rancho Mirage MD to pick up meds and took pic of this roadrunner in the parking lot  Panorama of a raging Tuttle Creek behind our site  Doggies guarding our campsite  Looking to be a great sunset  Tuttle Creek and White Mtns to east with sunset colour   Our campsite  Panorama with sierras on the left   Kathy & Peanut   Owens Lake is not dry  Mia at sunset  Great sunset!    Sunset colour over snow in sierras     Nested between sunset and sagebrush is our little camp   Looking at the sunset  Sitting around the campfire  Either picking up camera before timed exposure completed, or UFOs  Sitting around campfire under a rising moon | |||||||||||||||||||||
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4Q'23