Valley of Fire

Just north of Las Vegas is a wonderful state park called Valley of Fire. I had heard my sister talk about it a few times but we never got around to going there until our last trip to visit them. I am kicking myself that we never went sooner, and hoping we will go again.

To say it was amazing would not come close to capturing the feeling as you first are able to see the pink-orange landscape. If I ever wondered what it might be like to stand on Mars, I think I have a good idea now.






The girls had fun climbing around the rocks and inside the caves and holes.







The day ended with a spectacular sunset.

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While they look at Geocache treasure...

... I take pictures. It makes a good cover too. I just do not get that excited over the actual cache part of geocaching. I love that it gets us out to new places we have not been before. Here are some pictures I took of the girls while geocaching in Sacramento.

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Fun with leaves

One thing I have missed since we moved here is Fall leaves. Most of the trees here are pines, firs, and Eucalyptus. Even the trees that do lose their leaves, like our fruit trees, can't really tell what season it is and when to drop their leaves since the weather is so mild. Our poor plum tree still has half of its leaves and January is nearly over.

So, it came as no surprise to me that the girls though raking the leaves at Grandma's house was great fun.









Even playing in the green-waste bin was fun.





You may notice that Autumn is missing from these pictures. She's gotten too that age where she won't let me take her picture. So, no pictures of Autumn in Autumn this year.

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Islay Hill

If I am going to the beach, I love a clear blue sky. Not when I am taking pictures. We took a hike up Islay Hill one rainy day and I was in photographer heaven. The views were amazing and the sky was a wavy ocean of grey.



Just down the other side of the hill we came upon this cross.



The railroad tracks curving through Edna Valley.

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Zebras, elephant seals, and windsurfing

Not windsurfing zebra or elephant seal though, too bad. I am once again months behind in my pictures. I am mot sure how I keep letting that happen but it seems to be the norm rather than the exception for my 2008 pictures.

Back in October we spent some time up in San Simeon. Here are some pictures from our day.









Laura wanted to take pictures too.





Did you know we have zebra here... I mean ones that are not in a zoo? We do. It was a trip the first time I saw them. W. R. Hearst brought them here when he had is private zoo at Hearst Castle. Now they live on the hills next to Hwy 1 along with the cows (and eat from their troughs).

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Toilets

I am always looking for fun and unique picture opportunities. I really enjoy taking time to appreciate things that we overlook every day. So, to say I was excited when my friend, Henry, told me about a big pile of old toilets walking distance from my house is an understatement.

There is a group that takes out older, water-wasting toilets and puts in low flow toilets. At least some of the removed toilets are all out in front of their office near my house. Laura and I went over to take pictures and had a great time.

This one was Laura's favorite because it had butterflies on it:



My little photographer:



I noticed they have different toilets out there now and I am going to go back and take some more pictures soon.

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