Pt. Buchon Trail

One of my favorite local places is Montana De Oro State Park. It seems like we've been there so many times yet we've only scratched the surface of everything there is to see. Most of these places I do not even know exist. There was one trail that we were aware of and have always wanted to explore. It has been closed since before I moved to the area. It is finally open again and we were excited to spend a beautiful Sunday taking a walk.

After passing the guard station (the land is controlled by PG&E and is right next to a nuclear power plant), the first view is amazing.



Next we came to a great cove beach complete with cool sea caves.



The most amazing thing was the wildflowers.



Notice those funny white poles in the ground. They hold up the electric fence... yikes!! There are so many more flowers here than along the bluff trail just north in the state park. I wonder if the electric fence keeps animals (especially two-legged ones) from trampling them. Whatever the reason, I was in flower-photography heaven.





The only downside to the walk was the length. The whole loop is 5 miles and after 3 the girls were ready to stop, by 4 miles we were nearly dragging them back. Ah well, it was worth it.

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Last day as three

Back in late March I took some pictures of a friend of mine and her husband and son (and a couple with a friend's daughter). They were some last chance pictures of them before their new baby was to arrive. I had been meaning to come over and take pictures for a couple of weeks. She went in to labor the next day so I am glad I was able to make it that day. I was pretty happy with how it came out.

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An afternoon playing in flowers

Wow, it has been a long time since I have posted a blog entry. I have been taking so many pictures since Spring returned but my evenings have been too busy to get to putting them online.

Rewinding back to March, the girls and I spent the afternoon romping in a field of mustard flowers. All of us except Mae had a camera to take pictures (and I am sure Mae would have loved to have one too).

It was the perfect afternoon for pictures. The clouds were fluffy and with just a hint of moody springtime grey, the sky was deep blue, and the yellow flowers were everywhere.





Laura had so much fun just running though the field and doing a sort of "drive-by photography"... I guess it would be more like "run-by photography".



Autumn was taking a little more time to compose her shots.



Mae was happy just to sit in the flowers and watch them wiggle in the wind. Her paci matched the flowers too.



We had a great time and everyone got at least one picture they liked.

Here is one of Autumn's:



One of my favorites:

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Carrizo Plains

On Monday we took a drive on Hwy 58 out to the Carizzo Plains National Monument. I heard the wildflowers were in bloom so we went to take pictures. We had a great day.

We were barely out of Santa Margarita when we had to stop and take pictures. The rolling hills were bright green and the flowers were everywhere.





Carizzo is an amazing place. The center of the plains is an ancient lakebed called Soda Lake. The hills around were covered in yellow, orange, and purple patches.





Even the highway was beautiful.



See the whole set here.

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Driving home from TJs

I happened to have my camera with me one Friday when Mae and I drove to SLO to go shopping at Trader Joe's. On the way home we stopped along Los Osos Valley Road a few times to take some pictures.

The cows were enjoying the green grass.



The side of the road is lined yellow mustard flowers and poppies.





There were also several fields full of the yellow flowers.

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Jellys

We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Friday. It had been a couple of years since we were there last. I was mesmerized by their new Jellyfish exhibit. I had to try to take a few pictures. Despite curved glass, reflections everywhere, and some fast moving jellies, I did get a few pictures of these amazing creatures.









See the whole set on my Flickr page.

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Ahh... Spring

It's not like we really have "winter" here but I am so excited when the warmer weather returns and the plants start blooming again. We decided to get out and enjoy the day and, of course, that meant taking some pictures for me.

We thought a nice walk down the Bob Jones Trail in Avila beach would be a great start to the day. Right away I spotted a solitary tree on a cliff that I had to capture.



Not too far down the trail you encounter a strange looking forest of metal. A local hot springs resort started a building here years ago and never got any further than this.



The trees were all in bloom in Avila.



After our walk we headed home and enjoyed time in our own garden. All of our trees and flowers are in bloom too so I took a few pictures.







I'll have many more flower pictures as the season continues. :)

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Five year olds' birthday party

Laura's best friend turned five just 4 days after Laura. We decided it would be fun to have a birthday party together. Living in California you get used to assuming any weekend will be sunny, even in February. So, of course we planned a party at the park. Thankfully, we planned ahead and also reserved the old schoolhouse at the park, because a big storm came just in time for the party. The night before the party we put together the party favors by candlelight since the storm had knocked the power out.

Just as we had worked out what we'd do with 36 kids + parents in a one-room schoolhouse for two hours, the weather decided to take pity on us and the rain stopped for the party. The girls had a great time. Here are some pictures from the party.

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Last day of snow

Ok, yes, I am perpetually behind with my pictures these last few months.

Our last day in the snow began when we woke up to find 18 inches of snow had fallen since we went to sleep that night.



It was still snowing in the morning and the girls took their umbrellas for the walk to breakfast to keep the snow from falling on their faces.





We did one more walk around the Grant Tree loop after breakfast.



Then it was time for the drive home. I am always sad when we leave since I know it will be a year before we see snow again. Even the roads looked beautiful covered in snow.

General's Hwy:



Hwy 180:



The clouds were covering the valley as we drove down the mountain.



As if to welcome us home and remind us how beautiful the central coast is, we were treated to a stunning sunset as we drove in to Paso Robles on Hwy 46.

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5 Years

That is how long it has been since Laura came in to our lives. Things certainly have not been the same since! Five years sure flew by. As I was putting these pictures together it seemed like it was all so recently. I know the next five years will go by just as fast.

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Playing in the snow

I am so behind in getting these pictures online! I can't believe this was nearly a month ago.

We had a great day playing in the snow our first full day in Kings Canyon. Mae was amazed at the snow as it fell. She kept eating it.



Danny was having too much fun sitting in the snow in his snowsuit.



Laura kept asking when we could go sledding.



And the photographers were busy busy...



My favorite is my picture of my dad taking a video of my sister taking a picture. :)

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Snowy Meadow

Another Thursday, another post. I seem to find myself posting a lot on Thursday nights. I am not sure why.

The last weekend in January we took our annual winter trip to Kings Canyon to play in the snow. As with every year before, it was breathtaking. I could take pictures of the snow all day. I suppose when you live in the snow, you get over it. I have never lived where it snows, so it has always been this magical experience to me.

We took a drive down Generals Highway towards Cedar Grove but found the road was closed at Hume Lake this year. I was not surprised since it had been raining for us for the last week straight. They do not plow that road and there had been enough snow that it was not safe anymore. I was a bit disappointed since 198 was also closed so there was no overlook in to the canyon that we could access without snowshoes or skis.

I was quickly over my disappointment when we stopped at the meadow next to the turn off for Hume Lake. It was such a peaceful sight (despite the geniuses trying to drive quads through the snow nearby).



As pretty as the trees were from a distance, I could see that close-up was even more interesting. So, I decided to brave a walk across the meadow and hoped I would not find the stream that runs through it under the snow. The snow on the pine trees was so beautiful. The pictures do not do it justice.





Near the trees the snow was much deeper and I was not wearing snow pants. I decided I had gotten my jeans wet and cold enough and walked back to the edge of the meadow.



Oh, the guys with the quads, they got the first one stuck and then got the other one stuck trying to go rescue the first one. We had an entertaining time watching them get out and wondering how long before one of them ran over another one. They also ended up getting tickets for riding off-road, which is not allowed in the park. Too bad... well not really.

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