Archive for August 2006
You are browsing the archives of 2006 August.
Grouse Ridge Fire Lookout QTVR
Left-click and hold your mouse to scroll around the photo in a 360 degree loop.
The Apple QuickTime Viewer is required to view the QuickTime Virtual Reality (QTVR) panorama 360 degree images on this page. If needed, the free software plugin can be downloaded from: http://www.quicktime.com
* If the QTVR doesn’t load properly, click the refresh button to have it load again.
Grouse Ridge QTVR
Left-click and hold your mouse to scroll around the photo in a 360 degree loop.
The Apple QuickTime Viewer is required to view the QuickTime Virtual Reality (QTVR) panorama 360 degree images on this page. If needed, the free software plugin can be downloaded from: http://www.quicktime.com
* If the QTVR doesn’t load properly, click the refresh button to have it load again.
Annual Girls Backpack to Island Lake
(Click photo for all 51 photos)
I joined Theresa, Tanya, Maria, Michelle, Cindy, Rebecca for the NorCal Hiking Group’s annual girl’s backpack trip to Island Lake in the Tahoe National Forest. Francis, Maria’s son, and Gavin, Cindy’s dog, were the only guys allowed! ;D
I had planned on hiking on Friday night after work, but I got a late start and didn’t arrive til after dark, so I chose to just go in first thing in the morning and apparently my choice gave me a much warmer night sleeping in the truck then they had out by the lake. As the dayhikers hadn’t arrived yet and the campers were just rolling out of the sleeping bags, I enjoyed a peaceful early morning hike to the lake without really seeing anyone. I bushwhacked my way in the last bit the campground and found the gang enjoying breakfast. Most of us decided to hike up to Grouse Ridge and look for some of the solar system geocaches; a neat set of hidden caches all in perfect scale to our solar system and they use the Grouse Ridge Fire Lookout Tower as the center of the universe. We headed out while Maria and Francis decided to stay in camp and do extended water testing of their flotation vests. Following what we thought was the trail, we found an elaborate campfire site–someone had paved the ground and pulled logs around to make benches all the way around the fire ring. Which was also about the spot where we realized we were on the wrong trail and needed to backtrack a bit to get back on trail. The slowpokes in our group (me first and foremost) reached Grouse Ridge campground and decided to have lunch. Theresa and Rebecca had already gone on ahead and were finding the hidden geocaches. After they returned and we had lunch, we headed back to camp to swim, chat and just generally kick back and enjoy the afternoon and the sunset.
Distance: approx. 6.85 miles
Road Trip — Redwood National and State Parks
(Click photo for all 77 photos)
We leave Crescent City and start meandering south down the Redwood Highway towards home. The giant statue of Paul Bunyan beckoned us to stop and check out the Trees of Mystery. This is a very interesting place, there are giant tree carvings throughout the area and a gondola ride up above the trees. We enjoy the view from the top and then continue the tour, which tells Paul Bunyan’s story through large wood carvings. Continuing on, we took the Avenue of Giants scenic byway and traveled through the giant redwoods. We stopped and walked around the little Founders Grove Nature Trail, seeing some of the larger redwood trees in the area. And that’s the end of our wonderful road trip, up through the volcanic side of California and Oregon and down through the primordial redwoods by the ocean. Two very diverse environments, yet very nearby each other.
Road Trip — Crescent City and Ocean World Aquarium
(Click photo for all 72 photos)
We cross back over the stateline and Crescent City is the first town of size you find on the north coast. The town is smaller than I expected, but it’s very quaint. We decide to head straight to the beach and check it out before finding a motel to stay for the night. We just keep driving west and at the end of the road is the ocean! We climb down a rickety old metal staircase to reach the beach and just take it in for a bit. Battery Point Lighthouse is to our left and since it’s dusk the lighthouse lamp is flashing slowly and adds to the atmosphere. We watch some harbor seals playing out on the rocks in the distance. We follow the “scenic route” signs and check out the pier, which is just past the sea monster on top of a garage! We see the sign for Ocean World and say, yeah, we gutta check this out. We pay our entrance fee and enjoy a delightful sea lion show, touch the star fish and anemones in the tidepool touch tank, ohh and aha at the many fish, sharks and batrays and finally get to pet a small tiger shark, which feels very weird. A fun little stop, but now it’s time to find dinner and a place to sleep.
