I am not one to complain about all the great rain we’ve gotten this week. God knows we need it. Yesterday was mostly overcast but dry. It was a good day for a drive in the hill country, and for a pickup party at Becker.
Sunday drive.
Category: Nature
Coastal run.
I made a quick trip to the Texas Gulf Coast this past week. I got in some birding at High Island on Wednesday and Thursday. Then made a quick stop into Kemah at my favorite marine resale shop, then back home.
I enjoyed the birding. Not a record setter, but it was the only time I could make it down there during Spring migration. I got some nice photos, saw about 60 species, and brought home another used sail.
I love it down there.
Wildflowers.
During Noreen and David’s visit, we got out and about quite a bit to enjoy our beautiful Central Texas Spring weather.
I spied this interesting conjoined twin Texas Bluebonnet at the Wildflower Center. The stem was wide and flat.
Earth Day 2024.
Some National Parks are created to preserve a rare species. Others are created to preserve a uniquely beautiful location. I’m sure there are other reasons that motivate a place being enshrined and protected as a US National Park.
Sequoia National Park was founded in 1890, to “protect giant sequoia trees, the largest living trees by volume on Earth,” according to the National Park Service website. In the early days of Sequoia NP, fire suppression was a major focus. It was fascinating to learn that in doing so for upwards of a century, we were actually threatening their existence. It turns out that the seed cones of the giant Sequoia trees require the high-temperature heat from wildfires to release their seeds. And natural thinning by wildfire is also needed to provide adequate sunlight for the new trees.
In the end, modern researchers have provided better guidance to preserve these gentle giants, who are obviously resilient to fire. It was hard to find one of these up to 2000-year-old trees that hadn’t been scarred from fires at some point.
This is an important lesson to think about on this 54th Earth Day. We should act with preservation and conservation in mind, but learn and adapt to the best methods. Sometimes we are wrong.
Park Warriors.
As we roll into this year’s Earth Day, I find myself coming home from a whirlwind trip to California where I experienced four national parks in four days with Lori, Doray, and Laura.
The first park was Yosemite, where I got a glimpse of the amazing scenery of El Capitan, Half Dome, Bridal Veil Falls, and Yosemite Falls. We walked through the Yosemite Valley, along the Tuolumne and Merced rivers.
We stayed at the Wawona Hotel. It was comfortable, but the shared bath/shower house attached to the Hotel might not be for everyone. There’s no elevator, so pack light, because everything must be removed from your vehicle at night to prevent attracting bears. The restaurant meals were good. The scenery everywhere was amazing.
The next park was Kings Canyon, a deep glacially-formed canyon where the ‘kings’ are gigantic monarch sequoias, including the one called General Grant. We enjoyed up-close views of these giants, and hiking through incredible groves of trees.
The next park was just down the road, Sequoia National Park. Snow and downed trees had kept the connecting road, Generals Highway, closed this season until just an hour or two before we arrived. This was a much appreciated surprise which saved us hours of driving.
Inside Sequoia, we stayed at Wuksachi Lodge for two nights. It was comfortable, but we schlepped everything up and down stairs here, too. The restaurant and lodge was convenient for breakfast and dinner. But we made our own lunches to eat on the go. We visited petroglyph rock, the Giant Forest of 2000+ year old sequoias, and its museum. We had lunch at Beetle Rock, overlooking the San Joaquin valley. The highlight of Sequoia for me was the hike to, and up to the top of, Moro Rock and its 360 degree views of the canyons and surrounding valleys. It was breathtaking.
Even though we were pooped, we made the trek down to see the biggest known single trunk tree, by volume, in the world, General Sherman. Impressive. But I sure wish it wasn’t downhill from the parking lot at the end of day three. 🙂
The next park was Pinnacles, which featured rugged peaks formed from volcanic eruptions. We didn’t spend much time here but we enjoyed lunch and a hike. We didn’t originally plan to hit this park but realized it was close enough to include in our trip after we arrived.
We started and ended the trip in Santa Barbara, which allowed us to see Laura’s beautiful new home.
I’m back home now. And scheming my next park adventures.
2024 Eclipse.
Happy New Year! I know. I’ve been MIA. Sorry about that. But, I’m still here!
Noreen and David joined us in Austin for the last week or so. They flew down to see the total solar eclipse. Our house and much of Central Texas were in the zone of totality. We wanted to maximize our amount of time in totality. So, Monte picked Lampasas, Texas as our destination, about an hour drive northwest of our house. The forecast was not great for Austin or Lampasas, but we took our chances, and it turned out great.
Lampasas experienced over 4 1/2 minutes of totality, and it was awesome. The clouds cooperated and, like in 2017, the predicted Armageddon didn’t happen. We didn’t hit traffic or crowds.
One thing that was particularly cool, and that I really don’t recall it being as striking during the last eclipse as it was this year, was how upon reaching totality, it was like the lights just turned off. I don’t remember it being that sudden or that dark in 2017.
I guess I’ll have to travel somewhere if I’m going to see another. There’s one in August 2026 in Spain, maybe I’ll make that one!
Eccentric.
Today we drove a couple hours into the hill country to see the annular solar eclipse of October 2023. We originally thought we would drive to the center of the path, but decided to head for the eastern edge. This meant we wouldn’t see the complete “ring” of the sun around a concentric moon passing in front of it. Instead, we wanted to see the edge of the moon barely passing by the sun, hoping to see some Bailey’s Beads. That means the passing moon wouldn’t be centered inside the sun, but just barely touching the border. I wasn’t able to capture any Bailey’s beads his time – I think the sun’s light was still too bright. But it was a fun roadtrip. The next eclipse is less than 6 months away!
We drove to the west side of Canyon Lake. Eclipses are pretty cool. 🙂
Nevertheless, she persists.
It’s nice to be home. And, thankfully, the forecast for the next few days includes rain and lower temperatures.
We have been trying to keep our trees alive, but it is difficult with the extended, excruciating drought, and the water restrictions that come with it. We got a pretty good thunderstorm overnight. And in the morning, I was greeted with an amazing sight. The flowering plum tree that looked nearly dead, brown, and crispy the day before has pushed out some new green leaves and white blooms. A sign of the indomitable persistence of Mother Nature.
Fingers crossed we don’t lose this tree or any of our other struggling, stressed trees on the property.
Fun visit.
Monte and I made a long weekend trip to Seattle to visit family – old and new. We have 3 new great-niece/nephew babies to meet, and my brother had a big birthday to celebrate.
The last time we were up in the Pacific Northwest together was 5 years ago. The last time all my siblings were together was over 4 years ago. So I was really ready for this trip 🙂
We visited the Museum of Flight just north of the SEA airport. This was my first visit, and I would recommend it. It has one of the largest collections of aircraft on display. We flew a flight simulator and did a barrel roll. We walked through a Concord, a 747, a 787, and one of the Air Force One planes from the Kennedy, Nixon, and LBJ administrations. The space flight exhibits are great, too.
After the museum, we drove to southern Washington to meet Byron, Rachel and Matthew’s 4-month-old baby, and my great-nephew.
The next day, we booked it back up to North Seattle and stayed with Patrick and Nga. We had a nice visit and a great dinner. And as a bonus, both their boys were home.
Saturday morning we made it to Noreen and David’s. We took the Edmonds-Kingston Ferry, popped into Poulsbo for coffee and a walk along the waterfront.
Saturday evening we had a party for Brian. It was wonderful to have all 5 of us siblings together again after way too long. We laughed way too much and enjoyed our time together.
On Sunday we walked around the woods in the morning, and watched the Seahawks game in the afternoon. Jared and Cass came over with their new twins, Nora and Viola, my great-nieces. I got to hold each of them for a while. They are tiny and precious.
The next day it was time to head back to the furnace that Austin is. On the way to the airport, we stopped in Port Orchard to see Fran’s kids, Rebecca and Aaron. They are 20 and 18 and each has a good plan for their futures. It was great to see them.
The only faces I didn’t get to see were Neil, who is working 12-hour days, 7 days a week for the next few months, and Julie, who is in Denver. But other than missing them, it was a perfect visit. ❤
Vacationland.
At the end of July, I flew up to Portland, Maine, to join Lori, Mike, and Louie aboard S/V Trident. They have been on board together since June, making their way from the Chesapeake up to Maine. I joined them for the two-week cruise along the coast and islands of beautiful Maine, ending up with a visit to Acadia National Park (’cause, you know, goals).
Friday & Saturday – Austin to Portland to Boothbay Harbor
I flew into the Portland airport. After several unsuccessful tries, I finally found an UBER driver that agreed to take me the 90-minute drive to Boothbay Harbor. Mohammed was at first reluctant but finally agreed to drive me, and we had a great talk along the way.
The first night in Boothbay, we dinghied to the Lobsterman’s Wharf for the first of many lobster dinners I indulged in during my stay. In the morning we taxied to and from the grocery for provisions, loaded everything up, ready to head out the next day.
Sunday – Boothbay Harbor to Monhegan Island
We sailed to Monhegan Island. Its beautiful, sheltered harbor has only a few visitor mooring balls, available on a first-come-first-serve basis. We snagged one and enjoyed a great hike up each of the two hills – one led to the Monhegan Lighthouse, and the other to the Monhegan Brewing Company. I logged a geocache along the way, earning my Maine badge! 🙂 (’cause, you know, goals…) I even found a few pieces of sea glass where we beached the dinghy.
Monday – Monhegan Island to Matinicus Rock to Camden
Lori & Mike raised the dinghy and we dropped the mooring line early the next morning. Lori graciously added a long side trip out east to visit the remote Matinicus Rock, home to the largest colony of Atlantic Puffins in Maine, and Razorbills and Arctic Terns as well. We didn’t stay long, but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing these rare birds. Mike saw a shark, we think it was a blue shark, along the way.
After seeing the Puffins, we headed back to the northwest to the vibrant harbor of Camden and grabbed a mooring ball before sunset, for two nights.
Tuesday & Wednesday – Camden to Rockport to Isle au Haut
Camden Harbor has hundreds of moorings. We explored both sides of the harbor, checking out their wine bars, and bakeries. On our second day there we went ashore for a short walk, and ended up walking the 2 miles or so to neighboring Rockport. Along the way we stopped in to the Camden-Rockport Historical Museum. We grabbed a taxi back to Camden in time to clean up for a nice dinner ashore. The next morning we left Camden, and headed to the southernmost portion of Acadia National Park, an island called Isle au Haut. We anchored there for one night. We took a long dinghy ride to their town dock, and walked down the road to the Acadia National Park Ranger Station for our first official park visit. We visited the lovely Shore Shop Gifts store and bought some ditties, and then picked out 3 big lobsters from the local lobsterman to boil on the boat for dinner.
Thursday – Isle au Haut to Seal Cove to Burnt Island
Bad weather was in the forecast for the next few nights, so we all took one last dinghy ride to shore for a morning walk along the rocky beach and then we said goodbye to Isle au Haut and made our way to a sheltered anchorage. Along the way, we stopped and anchored in Seal Cove for lunch, a beautiful undeveloped place, but we didn’t spy any seals. After lunch, we headed to and anchored off of Burnt Island (near North Haven) for two nights. We were the only boat there, so we had the entire island, its trails and coastline, and a pair of osprey and bald eagle nests, to ourselves. We explored the island at the end of the first day, and spent a rainy second day aboard the boat, doing boat chores.
Friday & Saturday – Burnt Island to Southwest Harbor
After the storm passed, we moved farther up the coast, to Southwest Harbor, one of several harbors on the biggest island in Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island. After we grabbed a mooring ball for the night, we headed to shore for dinner. We ended up at Beal’s Lobster Pier for my third lobster of the trip!
Sunday – Southwest Harbor to Somesville
The next morning, we moved on, exploring the Somes Sound, which cuts up the middle of Mount Desert Island. Somes Sound was formed by glaciers many years ago and the sea filled it in when the glaciers melted. It is a rare US coastal fjard, which is like a fjord, but not as deep or mineral-rich as those found in Scandinavia. Regardless, it was beautiful, and we made our way up to the top of the sound to anchor overnight outside of Somesville.
yacht to the left is the S/V Rebecca, owned by the CEO of H-E-B
It was a peaceful, beautiful spot. We got there early in the day, and we took the opportunity to go ashore and hop on the Island Explorer free Acadia Park Shuttle for a ride into Bar Harbor for some more provisions. The bus is a fantastic way to explore the entire park. It’s a well-run outfit with 11 different routes that you can take to visit different spots in the park.
Monday – Somesville to Northwest Harbor
The next day we headed back down Somes Sound, this time going into a slip at a marina, as there were some strong storms expected for the next few nights. Lori and I explored the downtown area, and for dinner we all walked over to the Nor’Easter Pound and Market for dinner. I had my fourth lobster of the trip!
Tuesday & Wednesday – Northwest Harbor to Winter Harbor
The next day was a rainy lay day, so we got up early to shower and do laundry. Then Lori and I donned our rain jackets and boots and took the Island Explorer bus to Sand Beach, hoping to find some sea glass. Sadly, we only found one jagged piece of recently broken brown glass. Oh, and a sand dollar! We walked the Ocean Path from Sand Beach to Otter Cliff, catching the bus to Jordan Pond, and then back to Northeast Harbor. We made the most of a rainy day and saw more of the beautiful Acadia park.
We all walked back up to mainstreet and enjoyed some beverages at the bar at Colonel’s Restaurant, then had another fine meal aboard the boat for the evening.
Thursday – Winter Harbor to Bar Harbor
The next morning, we had a lumpy sail over to the Schoodic Peninsula, getting a ball at the Winter Harbor Yacht Club. This area is home to the only portion of Acadia National Park that lies on the mainland of Maine. We went ashore, walked into town and caught the Island Explorer one more time for a ride around that portion of the park.
In the morning, Lori and I took Louie on a lovely walk down to the end of Grindstone Point and enjoyed the views. Back on the boat, we dropped the mooring and headed to Bar Harbor for the night, where we got one of the 5 mooring balls that the city of Bar Harbor maintains.
We went ashore, and I walked along the shore path and back to take in more of the beautiful sea views. We had drinks at Paddy’s Irish Pub and then went back to the boat for dinner aboard – my last night of the trip.
Friday – Bar Harbor to Bangor to Austin
Friday morning, Lori dinghied me over to the dock and we hugged goodbye. Another adventure come to a close. I grabbed a taxi & a bus to the Bangor airport, and then made it home at the end of a long travel day.
Maine calls itself ‘Vacationland.’ After spending 2 weeks there, I can see why. The Maine coastline is huge and full of rustic islands to explore. Acadia National Park is the 3rd most visited US National Park. The scenery is amazing. The free shuttles make it easy to get around without a car. The seafood is delicious. There is a nice mix of remote destinations and tourist destinations to explore. The summer weather is pleasant. The wildlife is abundant. I’ve never seen so many beautiful b0ats. This is definitely a must-see sailing destination.
Lori, Mike, and Louie were very gracious to let me join them on this part of their summer cruise. I had a really wonderful time. ❤
Heeling.
Monte and I crewed on Camelot for Kurt & Kevin this weekend during one of the Austin Yacht Club Summer Series races. It was a hot and steamy day on the water but we had a great time.
Two more parks.
We drove straight to Colorado on the way north, about a 15-hour drive, and stayed with Julie in Denver for a night. Then we headed to Gene and Jo’s for two nights. We made a side trip to Estes Park as well. The family get-together was very special.
On the way back south we had another nice visit with Julie.
Then we broke up the long trip home into a couple of days including stops at two national parks.
We stayed in Ft. Davis for a night with a reservation to attend one of the McDonald Observatory’s star parties. The skies were not cooperative for viewing at the observatory, but we had fun.
We left Ft Davis on Wednesday well before dawn, and on the drive up to I-10, I noticed that the clouds parted, opening up a clear, starry sky. So we pulled over in the middle of pitch-dark range land with coyotes howling all around and enjoyed a full-sky view of the Milky Way.
We enjoyed the view for a few minutes and then resumed our drive. A few minutes later the skies were filled in with thick clouds again. It was a treat to get that brief moment of star gazing.
A successful road trip, but it’s always nice to get back home.
Big year.
It’s hard to predict because of the seemingly endless droughts and freezes, but the Texas bluebonnets are blooming early and it looks like it will be a big wildflower year.
Monte has been grooming our front yard bluebonnet patch for years. Looking good! More photos to follow.
Quick trip.
I had an opportunity to visit two more National Parks this week. Lori and Mike are driving to Arizona to visit her sister, and planned to visit two parks I’d yet to see. So, I stowed away in their backseat on Wednesday morning. We drove all day, staying in Van Horn, Texas for the night.
Thursday we took a short detour north to see Carlsbad Caverns National Park. We crossed into New Mexico to see it, and the underground caverns are stunning.
After the caverns we turned around and headed back south. We hiked the Devil’s Hall trail at Guadalupe Mountains National Park on our way back up I-10.
We stayed in El Paso for the night, my first time visiting this border town. Our hotel had an amazing rooftop bar with great views.
This morning I flew back home. Lori and Mike are continuing on west. That was a whirlwind 48 hour trip. And two more Parks in the bag!
Sheila365 