Posted by Karen on 04-Jan-2009
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Tersha, Vic, Brianna and I headed out early in the morning and drove over to Natural Bridges State Beach to see the monarch butterflies that winter there. According to the website,
The park’s Monarch Grove provides a temporary home for over 100,000 Monarchs each winter. From mid-October through the end of February, the Monarchs form a “city in the trees.”
and I’ve seen pictures of the butterflies clustered in trees, and was hoping to see that that sight. Unfortunately, we didnt’ see any clusters, but we did see Monarch butterflies holding perfectly still while it was too cold still for them to fly. On the path, we met a researcher that was doing a count of the butterflies and he explained how the death of the pine trees in the refuge were affecting the eucalyptus trees that the butterflies nest in, so the butterflies weren’t coming there in droves anymore *sad*. Next we walked over to the beach and checked out the remaining natural arch that gives the beach its name. Herons, seagulls and cormorants were also hanging out on the beach. After lunch, we drove north to the Año Nuevo State Natural Reserve for our elephant seal tour at 1pm. This is my third time here and I have yet to see the bull fighting that I’d like to see in action… oh well, maybe next time. There were a few seal pups on the beach, but they weren’t in full force yet. It was a nice sunny day, so the seals weren’t too terrible active today. On the way out, we decided to walk along the beach instead of the trail and we did get to see a couple of elephant seals close up on the beach. Everyone kept a respectful distance and didn’t disturb them. After watching the surfers for a bit, we started home, but we just had to pull over to enjoy the gorgeous sunset in Half Moon Bay.
Posted by Karen on 23-Sep-2007
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This morning started out with birds strutting in the parking lot, and a clear sky with no rain. Tersha and I spent part of the morning walking around Camp Curry searching out the history markers that the map showed. We found most of them and it was interesting to see other parts of the tent village that I’d not seen before. We then headed up to Glacier Point, which is at the top of the mountain right behind our tent cabins. The drive up is easy and the views along the way and at the top are fantastic. From the top, you can see the entire Yosemite Valley below you. On our way out, we stopped at LeConte Memorial Lodge before heading home. LeConte was one of the first directors of the Sierra Club and the Sierra Club has been associated with the Yosemite Valley for over 100 years, promoting conservation and providing education.
Posted by Karen on 01-Jun-2007
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I flew to Tennessee to spend the weekend camping with my friend Tammy and her family at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. They picked me up at the McGhee Tyson Airport and we headed to our campsite at Cades Cove and set up camp. I’m instantly fascinated by the differences from California; like these birds with a bright red crown all over the campground. The campground is in a wooded area, so it’s all nice and shady. We set up camp and then take a drive along the Cades Cove Loop Road. The park used to be settled before it became a park and there are numerous preserved homestead cabins from the early 1800s and the loop road takes you on a tour of some of them. We had fun touring the loop and were on constant bear watch. Barbie saw one near one of the churches we’d stopped at. But nobody else saw it run across the road and scamper away (will I ever see a bear!). Back to camp for a nice relaxing evening around the campfire. On Saturday, we hiked along the Trillium Gap Trail to the Grotto Falls. A nice leisurely hike along a river under the cover of trees. As we continued down the trail, we came around a corner and people ahead were shushing us to be quiet. Above the trail was a mama bear and her twin cubs foraging for food. This time we all got to see bears (yay!). The bears showed no interest in the hikers standing around gawking at them, but we all kept on our toes just in case. It was very cool to get to see them and eventually the bears came down the hill, crossed the trail, and continued on down away from the crowd. No more excitement on the trail until I slip and fall into the river–not the recommended way to cool off. One slippery rock and 6 inches of water sure does get you wet.. LOL! The waterfall is very pretty, maybe 30 feet high with a nice large pool below it. Back at camp, we’re lazing around when a torrential downpour comes out of nowhere. Not a big worry, we have a tarp covering the table, so we’re just hanging out until we decide to check and make sure the tents are waterproof–they’re not!! We make a mad dash and grab the sleeping bags out from them before they become totally soaked. The rain just would not let up, so we piled into the truck and headed to town to get dinner since we couldn’t make a fire. We found a laundromat next to a burger joint and killed two birds with one stone, drying out sleeping bags while having dinner. Apparently downpours like that are quite common out there; now we know why everyone had tarps over their tents and their dining areas. Sunday morning, we packed up camp and headed out. As we’re leaving the camp area, cars are just stopped in the middle of the road–a bear pile-up! We jump out with everyone else to catch a glimpse of the bear and cubs up on the hill. More coolness. We go to another area of the park and drive along the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail and view more historic homesteads. As we meander our way back to town via the scenic route, I introduce my friends to the game of geocaching. They have fun finding their first cache, I find my first one outside of California and I find a historical marker that I’ll log in the Historical Marker Database (yes, I know I’m a geek). I leave in the morning, so my wonderful friends dropped me off at my hotel and then headed home themselves. I stayed at the Country Inn & Suites across from the airport and I have to recommend them as a friendly, nice, clean and reasonably priced option in Knoxvlle.
It was a great weekend and I can’t wait to visit again next year.
Posted by Karen on 28-May-2007
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The last few days I’ve been camping at Patrick’s Point State Park while I’ve been running around the area. Today I took some time before I headed home to check out the park and see what there was to see. My first stop was a spot called “Mussel Rocks”, where you walk down a couple hundred steep steps to reach the ocean and then climb back up those steps. The California north coast tends to mostly be rocky cliffs with a beach here and there; this was just one of many treks up and down the cliffs this weekend. Next was a stop at “Wedding Rock”, a large rock that hangs out in the ocean; I can see how cool it would be to have a service out there. Next, I headed over to the “Sumêg Village”, a recreated Yurok Indian village that is in the park. One more stop in pretty little Trinidad and a side trip to Ferndale to see where the Kinetic Sculpture Race finishes… so I’ll know for next year — and away to home I go.
