A month filled with family and returning to the Redwoods

Some of the family we gathered with this past month.

Son Shawn, Daughter Ruth, Rob, Granddaughter Avienda, Me, Grandson Lukas, Daughter Erin

    It's been a busy month since I wrote last. We have spent time with 4 of our 5 children and 7 of our 11 grandchildren and my two sisters. We have traveled to Washington DC and returned to Samuel P Taylor State Park to be campground hosts for the next 5 months, and of course I've been hiking a bit!

    From October 18 through November 2 LesThora was parked on our Colfax property and while there I hiked up to the Weimar Water Company most days and we spent time with daughter Ruth, granddaughter Avienda, grandchild Chris and granddaughter-in-law Alana.

Avi enjoys giving me make overs, including using hair chalk on my hair.

The color washes out, but it's kind of fun wearing some unusual colors - currently purple ends.

Looking at the pink sunset sky behind our house, and noticing fall colors.

This oak tree came down in the horse pasture during the "atmospheric river" event in late October.

Sunrise from our outdoor sitting "room" near the parked RV

A cool looking spider on our property.

Mushrooms near our property.

Same mushrooms close up

The canal where I walk frequently when on our property.

This spot is about a mile from the house. It had just rained, but notice the dry "shelf" behind the roots. There were numerous holes in the dry bank and I could imagine critters traveling the dry path - kind of reminded me of the cliff dwelling structures at Mesa Verde National Park.

An injured Spotted Towhee that was hopping about on my morning hike to the water company.

The final stretch of road/trail from the canal up to the water company.

The view of the Sierras from behind the water company - finally some snow up there.

    My sister Theresa lives in Grass Valley, not too far from Colfax and we occasionally get together when we're in the area to walk. She is just a couple of houses away from Empire Mine State Park and that is where we usually walk, but on October 27 we headed to a trail along Deer Creek near Nevada City. A beautiful hike with a very safe, sturdy, but intimidating suspension bridge that made us both nervous as we crossed it. It was a beautiful fall hike with lots of yellow leaves.

A view of the bridge.

Down by the creek - can you see the bridge up above?

Another view of the bridge

Theresa on the bridge

Me on the bridge - holding on.

    

    On September 30 Rob and I flew to the Washington DC area so we could be present for our son Scott's  retirement ceremony after 30 years serving in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. As a young boy Scott dreamed of being a pilot, but truth be told when he was in high school he didn't want to work hard enough in school to go straight to college. He felt a call to serve our country during the gulf war and enlisted in the Air Force right after high school. After being discharged from active enlisted service he continued in the Air Force Reserve and used his GI Bill to go to college while working numerous jobs (at the same time) to support his growing family. When his boys were still babies after graduating college with a degree in criminal justice he went back into the Air Force as a commissioned officer and eventually became a pilot. His last assignment was at Joint Base Andrews near Washington DC as a pilot of Huey helicopters. We have been present for many of his Air Force milestones from graduation from basic training in San Antonio through various promotions and we were truly blessed to be able to attend his retirement ceremony where Scott invited me to give the invocation. During our time in DC we got to visit with Scott, our daughter-in-law Kristy and grandsons Kyle and Alex. Our son Shawn was also able to join us for the retirement ceremony.

Kristy, Alex, Abe Lincoln, Rob and me at Gettysburg the day before the retirement ceremony.

We left Scott back at the hotel to finish up some retirement paperwork. 

Part of the beautiful landscape of Gettysburg National Military Park.

    This was the first time Rob and I had visited Gettysburg. We had of course learned about it's history, seen portrayals of battles there and I, with my sixth graders, had memorized Lincoln's Gettysburg address 25 years ago. But none of that fully prepared me for seeing this hallowed ground in person. Today it is a beautiful park, but in July 1863 it was a horribly decimated site where thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers died or were injured. We began our day at the visitor's center learning the history and then drove around the park getting a feel for where things took place, and ended the day at the cemetery where Lincoln gave his speech.

 

Looking down from an observation tower.

Looking over the town of Gettysburg from the tower.

Another view from the tower.

Looking across what was a battlefield from a different tower.

Looking down through the tower.

Climbing up things like this usually makes me nervous, but the stairs themselves were closed so it didn't really bother me.

Looking across what was a battlefield to the Pennsylvania monument.

Looking down at interesting rock formations in the area known as "Slaughter Pen" and "Devil's Den," an area where many soldiers were trapped and killed.

A rock formation up close in the "Slaughter Pen" area.

On top of the rocks.

Contemplating history.

At the location where Lincoln gave his address - a  soldier's monument now stands there.

    Monday, November 1, was Scott's retirement ceremony and we began the day by going to the Jefferson Memorial to watch Scott fly by in the last flight of his career. It was a beautiful day, but I can only imagine all the emotions going through Scott's mind as he piloted the helicopter he loved to fly.

The Jefferson Memorial

Rob on the steps of the memorial as we waited for Scott's helicopter.

Looking across at the Washington Monument - that's Shawn in the foreground.

A close up of the Washington Monument.

Here comes Scott - they tipped the copter and waved in front of us.

I don't know if Scott was emotional, but I was.

Scott landing for the last time at Joint Base Andrews.

His flight was a couple of hours long so we had plenty of time to get to the base to watch him land.

Touchdown!

Getting sprayed with the traditional champagne and water.

Scott, a bit wet.

Grandson Alex, Rob, Grandson Kyle, Me, Kristy and Scott in front of the copter Scott had just landed.

Later in the afternoon at the ceremony - Scott sitting in the chair on the stage.

The helicopter with Scott's name on it.

All of us gathered -

Shawn, Me, Rob, Kristy, Scott, Alex, Kyle

Scott retired.

The hat was a gift from Alex and says "Retired Air Force" on it. 

    Scott and Kristy wasted no time in starting the retired life. They flew back to Maine where they are building a house on November 2 and were on their catamaran, Soarin Free, sailing south by that evening. They will spend the winter in southern waters around Florida before heading back to Maine in the spring to continue building the house during hurricane season. And we headed back to California on November 2 to get ready for camp hosting another season at Samuel P Taylor State Park in Marin County.

Sunrise from the plane as we were about to head west.

Beautiful clouds from the plane.

Yosemite from the plane on November 2 - I always love finding Half Dome from the air.

    

A tree next to the service station where we got propane on our way to Camp on November 3.

Leaves on the ground from that tree.

The creek by "my bench" at Samuel P Taylor State Park - the first place I went after our arrival.

    What a difference from when we arrived last year on November 1. Everything was crispy dry then and this little creek had no water in it until the first rainfall that didn't come until the middle of November, and even then there wasn't as much water as I've seen already this year. Samuel P Taylor State Park is located in the Mt. Tamalpais watershed - Mt. Tamalpais got 16 inches of rain from the atmospheric river event the end of October and the water continues to flow, though the creek is already not as full as when we arrived  3 weeks ago.

The view into the forest from my bench.

A visitor to my little sanctuary while I was there on our second or third morning here.

This woman was taking a picture of the creek from below the root that goes across it.

After my visitor left I went down on the little beach to take a picture of what she saw.

The bench I sit on most mornings with my hat that I sit on when the bench is wet, my thermal cup of tea and my journal.

This view of the creek  some days later right after a small rainstorm.

One day walking on the connecter trail to the Pioneer Tree Trail where "my" bench is I saw dancers in this circle  that they had made from greenery. It was a perfectly shaped circle, and a couple of weeks later it is still there, though not quite so precise.

A ring of Redwood trees along the connector trail.

Looking up from inside the ring of Redwoods.

A panorama shot from inside the ring.

This large truck delivering a tractor went by our campsite early one morning - backwards - to deliver the tractor to near the maintenance yard. The truck had another 1/2 mile of road to back up - impressive.

A new sign in the park warning visitors not to disturb the salmon.

We have not seen any salmon yet, but some visitors to the park have reported sightings.

The early fall rains have called them upstream, so access to the creek is now closed to protect these very endangered fish.

See the eyes in the dumpster?

A very dirty raccoon climbing out after I put the stick in the dumpster.

    Last year we knew there were raccoons in the park, but we rarely saw them. This year it is a regular occurrence to free juvenile raccoons from the dumpsters when they are empty or nearly empty. My theory is that the mother raccoons are letting their babies in, but then leaving them behind when they leave. If people would keep the bars closed on the dumpsters they couldn't get in.

    When we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary early in 2020 at Disneyland all of our children, their significant others and all of our grandchildren except one were able to join us. Lukas, now 19, was going to school in England and couldn't take the time off to come so he planned to visit California in April of 2020. He had his plane tickets, but then COVID shut the border. He finally made it to visit for a month this November. He joined us at Samuel P Taylor the afternoon we arrived and we have had a wonderful time with him. Currently he's on Shawn's sailboat in the San Francisco Bay with his cousins Sophia and Naomi. We'll see them all on Thanksgiving and then he and Erin head to Yosemite for an overnight before he flies back to England December 1 and then a week later to Cyprus to be with his family for Christmas and the next several months. We are looking forward to seeing him and the rest of his family in April in Cyprus when we are planning to try the European adventure we'd planned for in September and October. Wish us luck as Europe is starting to shut down again due to COVID. I heard today that Americans are being sent home from Austria.

Lukas with me in the Redwoods

Lukas inside the tree that Naomi encouraged me to go inside last year.

A tree across the Pioneer Tree Trail.

Lukas was a great hiking companion and on our first hike we encountered a couple of trees that he managed to move off the trail including this one.

Lukas found a sturdy stick to pry the tree down the hill and off the trail.

Here he is down below the trail maneuvering the top of the tree around other trees.

And here he is doing the final prying to move it sideways and off the trail.

Lukas standing at an overlook along the Pioneer Tree Trail.

This Bay tree was too big to move off the trail so the next day we came back with a saw to clear the trail. The only way to pass until we did this was to walk through leafless poison oak to get around the top.

Lukas with the brush saw ready to get to work.

Sawing with Grandpa watching.

A clear pathway after multiple cuts and lots of moving of logs and branches.

Lukas cutting a tree on the North Creek Trail another day.

The cleared path.

This obstruction was way too big to clear, but there was a relatively easy way around.

Stair Step Falls

This water fall had more water in it than I ever saw in it last year.

The vegetation in front of the falls makes it hard to get a good picture.

The lighthouse at Point Reyes

Sunday afternoon, November 7, we drove to the Point Reyes Visitor Center and to the lighthouse. 

The stairway down to the lighthouse closed before we got there, but it was still an impressive sight.

Orange growth on the rocks near the lighthouse

More of the orange on the rocks

Looking down at the ocean near the lighthouse

The beach and surf looking north of the lighthouse

    Monday, November 8, we headed back to Colfax for dentist appointments in Auburn on the 9th. One of the things Lukas said he hoped to do while he was in California was to go to the snow, so Monday afternoon we took Lukas, his oldest sibling Chris and Avienda to Soda Springs where we found a patch of snow next to a parking lot that the three of them found quite playable. The snow on the ground at 7,000 feet was pretty patchy as the recent storms have been relatively warm with high snow levels. I was amazed at how much fun the cousins ages 8, 19, and 24 had in a less than perfect snow patch.

A snow ball fight between siblings.

We wisely watched from the sidelines, knowing we'd be fair game if we threw a snowball.

Avienda getting ready to throw a snow ball.

Avi even found a patch to make a snow angel.

Lukas, Chris and Avi enjoying the snow.

Back in Colfax - Rob, Lukas, Chris and Alana looking at their phones.

Lukas putting the chimney cap back on after it blew off the night before.

Notice how we have managed to put Lukas to work while he's on holiday?

    On Tuesday, November 9, before returning to Camp Taylor, we dropped off Lukas in San Bruno. Son Shawn had the opportunity to join Scott and Kristy in Florida at a music festival if I was able to take care of his girls - 8 year old Sophia and 5 year old Naomi. Scott and Kristy "parked" the sailboat in Norfolk, Virginia on their way south and flew to Florida for the festival. So on Wednesday, November 10, I left Rob to carry on our camp host duties alone while I headed to Richmond for three days. Lukas joined us there on Thursday morning and helped entertain and "herd" the girls. 

Daredevil Naomi riding her bike up a skate park feature on Thursday morning.

The carousel in Golden Gate Park on Thursday afternoon - Sophia and Naomi behind me.

Erin and Lukas with the girls near the playground in Golden Gate Park.

Looking out over San Francisco Bay from the hills above Richmond in Wild Cat Canyon.

On Friday while the girls were in school Lukas and I went hiking - an over 9 mile round trip from Shawn's house up to and into Wild Cat Canyon. The Bay Area has some incredible natural areas!

A view of Angel Island with the Golden Gate Bridge behind it.

Looking to the top.

On top of San Pablo Ridge with Mount Diablo in the background.

A trail marker. -notice the Bay Area Ridge Trail marker second from the bottom? 

The Cross Marin Trail, directly in front of our Camp Taylor campsite is also on the Bay Area Ridge Trail.

Looking back from where we came.

Some cows on the trail.

Saturday morning at the neighborhood park in Richmond.

Sophia and Naomi getting the best of cousin Lukas.

Sophia in the blue jersey at her soccer game in Newark on Saturday night, November 13.

Back at Samuel P Taylor State Park, looking west from the top of a hill Lukas and I climbed on Sunday.

    Monday, November 15, Lukas and I headed north to Potter Valley near Ukiah so he could visit my sister Elizabeth and her family, including more cousins. We had a good visit, but I didn't manage to take many pictures. 

My sister Elizabeth, Me, my brother-in-law Bill and Lukas

A great picture of Lukas in Elizabeth and Bill's living room.

Pyracantha berries along the Jewel Trail  

Back at Camp Taylor on Thursday, November 17 (my birthday) Lukas and I went hiking on the Jewel Trail between morning and noon camp checks. The Jewel Trail goes up on to Bolinas Ridge from the Cross Marin Trail about 2 miles from our campsite. Our hike was a little over 5 miles round trip.

 Tomales Bay as seen from where the Jewel Trail meets Bolinas Ridge.

Looking at Barnabe Peak from the Jewel Trail.

I haven't made it up there yet - maybe tomorrow.

Looking down at where we'd hiked on Sunday - the hill we were on the top of is the grass covered hill below the tree covered hills near the center of this picture. You can see a line dividing very green grass from browner grass to the right. The green is where the cows are behind a fence and the line separating the green from the brown is the boundary of Samuel P Taylor State Park.

71 years old!

I was thinking 71 was kind of a dull year compared to 70 until Erin pointed out that it must be a special birthday of some kind since the digits are the reverse of my birthdate - 17. I will embrace that.

A seriously scary cake!

There weren't 71 candles, but there were more than enough!

Lukas and Rob in the Gator

 Lukas was a willing and very able helper while here at camp with us.

The last tree Lukas cut on the trails before heading to Angel Island with Erin.

Using an axe to help the tree separate.

It was a pretty big cut.

The separated tree makes navigating this trail a lot easier.

    One of the things I enjoyed last year and am enjoying this year at Samuel P Taylor is the great abundance and variety of mushrooms and other fungi. Following are just a few of the pictures I have taken of them since arriving here this year.

Emerging first shaped like balls

Now opened up

A side view of the previous ones

Size reference

Saw this trying to emerge one day

The next day

Teeny, tiny ones - the size of a little finger nail

And here are  beautiful ferns growing on a tree.

It is indeed good to be back at Samuel P Taylor State Park!

Do you see the second raccoon?

Are they thanking us for helping them escape?

In a more natural setting right after their release.

Elsie and Straus continue to thrive in the RV lifestyle.

Up above us

Elsie and Straus chilling