September Swan Song, 9/30/26

With October waiting in the wings, our busy September fades into dust ... dust being the correct noun for our dry NorCal landscape.  While we enjoyed a wondrous rainy day (surprise!) early in the month, the ground in these parts needs a lot more rain to truly "settle the dust!"

Outside projects kept us occupied many days this month.  Finishing summer's work.  Preparing -- winter is comng. El Nino has been forecast.  Except for some needed branch trimming (last on the list) I think we're as ready as we'll ever be.

Of course, Jimmy and I are not all work and no play!  When we weren't tied to house projects, we managed to get Out and About on the local trails, as well as on our E-bikes, plus we "fit in" some frolicking with the young'uns ... always a good time!

My camera has been mostly parked on a shelf this month, but I've taken a few pics, some with my phone.  I'll let them do the talking.

On the 11th, we put in 25 miles on the Truckee River trail, a mild day, albeit a tad smoky from a fire in Yosemite.  We always enjoy riding this trail next to the river ...

... which leads to blue-blue-blue Lake Tahoe.

I stopped several times to look at flowers and captured buzzy bee on the sulfur (or nude) buckwheat and on a chicory flower.  At 6,000', most of summer's flowers have dried up by this time of year.

Common tansy was showy!

This water is soooo clear!

A photo from two weeks ago of my one "pineapple" tomato plant, with a few ripe ones ready to pick.  The thing is now twice as big, with roughly 50 green tomatoes on the vine, and it'll be a miracle if many ripen, as less sun reaches the plant now.  They're pretty good tasting 'maters. I canned lotsa pints of tomatoes and made/canned marinara sauce from farmers market tomatoes.  All set for winter.

A lone sunflower grew up in a barren parking lot next to the fence at IFM (Interfaith Food Ministry) where Jimmy and I volunteer/work for 3-4 hours every Tuesday morning.  Durn thing was tall and gorgeous!  Got bees!

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Last Sunday we spent a fine day in Fair Oaks with son, Matt, and wife, Jen, and nine-year-old Evie.  We would have a crawfish boil, à la Cajun Louisiana (where we used to live)!  Evie loves to be a hostess, and today she got out her ceramic tea set and made Gramma a present:  Green tea, with a choice of sweetener, tastefully displayed!  And then she made one for Pop-pop!  Very sweet.

Discussing the HIGH price of gas with Bob.

(which is over six bucks a gallon, BTW 😮)

Still wiggling, here's one of the river crawfish, aka mud bug.  Matt knows how to boil them, with shrimp and small potatoes and fresh corn and a spice pouch.  Plus, some kind of sausage (which I don't eat).  Everything was delish, not too spicy.  He boiled a second batch with more spice which would've had me gasping, but they like food that way.

A cooler full of crawfish.  You only eat the tails.

Lucy, the dog, went bonkers.  Not sure if she wanted to eat it or kill it.  She did neither.  Just chased it around and barked her head off.  Click on YouTube and you get a bigger screen.

Yes, yes, I know, we aren't supposed to get on ladders at our age.  Well, repairs are necessary and we were careful.  Scraping, sanding, primer coat and final coat, here off the back deck where the sun damaged the existing paint.  Same in the front (no ladder needed there) and we also added wood filler to large cracks in the wood.  All done and both areas look great!

Jimmy rests a minute overlooking the beautiful tall trees on the 1.3-mile Orene Wetherall loop, a section of the Cascade Canal trail -- this is the one with the 430' elevation gain which gives us an aerobic workout!  We don't add this segment all the time, tho it is both peaceful and glorious.  Lucky us, we can access the Cascade Canal trail from our house (and we do, frequently), for a roughly three-mile hike.

Next Monday/Tuesday will be packing days.  Wednesday we'll take our Subaru to Matt's for an O/N (and leave the car there), and on Thursday morning, an EARLY Uber ride to Sacramento airport.  At least that's the plan at this moment.  From Sac we'll fly to Miami via Atlanta, and then in the evening we'll board a Latham flight for Buenos Aires.  Thus, will begin our 22-day Overseas Adventure Travel program, "Chile and Argentina:  The Andes to Patagonia!"  Getting excited!  (fingers crossed)

With any luck and good Wi-Fi, I'll be able to post from South America, where spring will be commencing instead of autumn.

Dog Days, to Aug 11, 2026

It's hot.  Dog Daze Hot.  This is to be expected in summer.  But that doesn't mean I have to like it!  Thank goodness the Dog Days end today ... sigh, just not the broiling heat.  Anything that needs doing outside should be done early, the earlier the better.  This month we've seen the weather service post heat advisories many days in a row.  Stay hydrated, they say, which we do.  Especially since we can't seem to "observe" the early morning caution, and I'm not sure why since we're up early.  Go figure.

Here you see Kane Springs Rest Area near Hole 'N the Rock, Utah (south of Moab).  I had quite a few unseen gorgeous red rock country photos from our New Mexico trip home a month ago, but too late to post 'em; we've moved on.  So, I picked just this one because I think it looks like it could be a movie set.

I can show you one more.  On the left is Flatbud Prickly Poppy along Hwy 50 in Nevada, and Desert Willow from the above rest area, at right.  New posies for me.

We've been busy since our return.  Yard work takes lots of time.  NorCal hasn't had measurable rainfall in a long time (two months?), so everything is dry dry dry.  Spring flower stalks had to be trimmed, a small Pacific Dogwood lost its life and had to be cut down, weed-eating, etc.  You know, yard stuff.

In between, we've trod our dusty Cascade Canal trail as often as possible (usually early) and we've been on our bikes locally several times.  Fun days with cards, dinners out with friends, a band concert in Pioneer Park, The Odyssey at our Onyx Theater (have you seen it?) Plus, the usual dentist and medical appointments.  

Meanwhile, on Sunday, July 19th, Matt and Evie, and Jimmy and I, attended the California State Fair at Sacramento's Cal Expo.  Sure, it was HOT, but the four of us had a grand time.  We rode a few rides (yeehaw!), visited a couple of exhibit halls, ate some gnarly fair food, walked our little feets off, and plain ol' sweat buckets.  Jimmy is standing on his tiptoes in the above pic, trying to gain height, but not enough to catch the three behind us on stilts! (How DO they do that?)

We took very few pictures and only these two survived.  Look at Evie!  She's at the age where smiling at the camera is boring, making faces is cool. 😉

All of us have the Nevada County Fair to look forward to this week, from Wednesday to Sunday!  We'll be there!  (Trust me, it'll be hot, sizzling hot, it always is for Fair week.)

Wishing for a change of pace, one (late!) morning Jimmy and I hiked the Independence Trail East, high above the Yuba River.  We put in four-and-a-half/five miles and one of us overheated (oops, me).  We won't do this trail again till winter!  Hard to see in the pic, but people are on the rocks and in the river.

Here we go again!  On the trail, my strongman, Jimmy,

holding up this huge boulder!  Good job!

First time I've seen this one -- California Sweetshrub in bloom.

Also along the trail.

Well, now, a bunch of time was spent on this -- it's a crappy subject, but Imma tell it anyway.  After 14 years of living in our house, we decided it might be time to pump out our septic tank.  "Everybody" said we should do it.  We scheduled Navo and Sons.  They arrived with their big (sh*t wagon) truck, below, top left.  They poked around the dirt, dug down and found the lid, top right pic (red x in the hole).  THEN it was determined the other lid was beneath the sidewalk! (red ? on sidewalk, same pic).

Jimmy and his friend, Cliff, tried to figure out a way to cut the cement themselves, but in the end (sorry), they said to call in a professional.  Days later (above), you see Mr Cement Man cutting the sidewalk, and in the picture next to that is a red x where we're guessing the second lid is.

We moved into our house in 2012 and in 2018 we had sidewalks poured all the way around the house.  Who knew the sidewalk was poured right over the septic tank lid?  Septic tanks have two compartments with two lids.  Both have to be pumped.  Don't poo-poo all this valuable information.

So, Navo and Sons returned, the guys aghast at having to lift two VERY HEAVY slabs of cement before searching for the second lid.  They were troupers, though.  Got 'er done.  Pumped the crap outa it, so to speak!  It took three fellas to replace the sidewalk slabs, and we'll eventually have to tweak them to get them set properly.  All done!  The three red x's show the sidewalk cuts in the last pic.  Whew.  We don't plan to ever do this again!

In between times, remember it's summer and that means picking and canning! Marlene and I canned 18 pints of peaches one morning and I canned 9 pints of plum jam/sauce on a different day (Jimmy helped). First time making fig jam today! (Figs from our friend, Laurie's, tree.) And, of course, tomato season is around the corner.

We're hoping ongoing road construction on Hwy 20 -- our gateway to the freeway -- and on I-80 itself is finished, as we'd love to take the bikes to the high country without major delays. We haven't been up to Truckee or Lake Tahoe in a long time!

Last week we received a brochure in the mail from OAT.  They'd really reduced prices on 2026 trips and one of them sang the siren song:  Chile & Argentina | Land Adventure | Overseas Adventure Travel.  We booked it for Oct 8th-26th and then threw in the (optional) Iguassu Falls post trip.  Our return home is Oct 30th.  Want to join us?

Chaco Culture NHP, Monday 7/6/26

 

Chaco Canyon has to be a destination, in my opinion.  It's located in a remote area of Northwest New Mexico, and it isn't easy to get there.  But it's worth it:  This gem contains the most sweeping collection of ancient ruins north of Mexico; Chaco Canyon was a major cultural center.  Neither of us had any idea of its size, which isn't a surprise -- we thought Petra in Jordan was one building.  Learning all the time!

The very beginning and ending of the 21-mile road (off the main highway) to the park were paved, but the rest of it -- 16 miles -- was slow and excruciating for Smartie (and us!), above.  We were staying in Bloomfield NM and the entire distance to Chaco Canyon was 60-miles, +/-. 

The reason we'd stopped (photo above this one) was so I could pay a personal call to Bossie here.  I told her I admired her red and yellow earrings.

We kept our eyes on this huge stand-alone landmark, which we could see for miles, believing it would mark the entrance to the canyon.  And it did.

In 1966 Chao Culture was designated a National Historic Park, and in 1987 it joined the select list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  We were grateful to be here.

The first step in a place like this is to stop in the Visitor Center, as there's always a wealth of extra information and the rangers can share their insights as to what to see and where to go.  Above, is the layout of Pueblo Bonito, and how it looked at different stages. 

Nowadays people wonder why a site was abandoned, why a population just disappeared.  Perhaps they left to find a better home elsewhere.

We set out on the 9-mile Canyon Loop drive.  Awe was our first impression.

Please read this.  Enlarge it if you need to.

One hundred thousand tons ...

We got an early start, we really did, but the trip took more time than we thought, so the day was already on slow broil by the time we started touring the pueblos (on our own). Truly, these ruins took our breath away. I'll share a few photos, but you have to see this area to believe it.

In all the pueblos we've visited, this kiva is the largest we've seen.

On a pathway, with ruins to my left and my right.

It's difficult to convey how much has been uncovered and restored, the scope of Chaco Culture.  

I can tell you that Pueblo Bonita was the core of Chaco and the largest great house.  It was built in stages between the mid-800's and early 1100's.  Pueblo Bonita reached at least four stories (!) with over 600 rooms and 40 kivas.  That in itself is amazing.

On January 22, 1941, the collapse of a massive sandstone slab called Threatening Rock rained large boulders on Pueblo Bonito. This 30,000‑ton block, about 100 feet high, had been leaning precariously over the pueblo for centuries.  It crushed 30-60 rooms, filling rooms with debris.  Jimmy stands beside one of those HUGE boulders.  Read more here:

 

The round holes held stabilization logs.  Some remnants are visible.  We marveled at all the work, of collecting and shaping and piling one stone atop another to make buildings.

Sitting at a picnic table in the shade of a ramada, we were entertained by these two -- an Antelope Squirrel (Harris'?) and a Canyon Towhee.  Four pics of the same two critters begging for a handout.  Jimmy couldn't resist the temptation.  Lunch was yummy with fresh farmers market peaches and our usual PB&J, plus Gatorade.  It was a nice break from the scorching sun.

A short distance away, Pueblo del Arroyo was planned and constructed in two short stages and, still, it was big.

Impressive!

We climbed several short steep rises.

Looking down into the kivas, etc.

I copied this map from the park service brochure.  Perhaps this will give you a better idea of the canyon.  The red line is the paved loop.  Enlarge to read it better.

No one really knows why the ancients picked Chaco Canyon as a hub of regional cultures.  Maybe the weather was kinder 1,100-1,200 years ago, but the winters here are long with a short growing season, the summers are brutal, and rainfall is "marginal."  Nevertheless, the native people made this high desert valley the "center of their world."

From the brochure:  They created monumental architecture and developed far-reaching commerce and a complex social organization.

We reluctantly left, as the heat had become overwhelming, yet there was so much we didn't see today.  Someday we'd like to return for more exploration, with lots of trails to hike, petroglyphs to study, and many more pueblos to look into.  But not in summer.

I took the above two pics on our way back to the main road.  The horses weren't fenced in and looked wild and healthy.  They weren't afraid of me, even with two foals in their midst.

So, that was our day at Chaco Canyon.  Another long day for us, but a good way to spend a day!  This was the last adventure on our nonexistent bucket list.  We've done all we wanted to do this week-plus in New Mexico.  Tomorrow we'll pull out and point Tergel's nose toward the west.  California, here we come.

Ghost Ranch, etc. Saturday, 7/4/26

 

Happy 250th Birthday, America! 

Look at ol' Tergel, happily squeezed in beside a Juniper in the Ghost Ranch campground.  We were somewhat surprised that the campground wasn't full, but - then, again - most of the sites don't have electricity, though we made sure ours did.  With the daytime temps in the 80's, having A/C is much appreciated.  At least by us!

I trudged up a hillside path to capture this pic of Tergel after the sun dipped below the mountain.  Think everything inside and outside might be covered in reddish dust?  Yup.  That's the bathhouse behind Tergel.  This is a pretty site/sight in every way.

Two nights in a row we were privileged to see skies like this.  Rain was falling, but sorry to say, not much landed on the ground.  We got maybe 16 drops on the windshield.

This old log cabin is the first thing you see upon entering the Ghost Ranch property.  Wait ... it appears old, but it was made expressly for the movie "City Slickers!"  See below.  The "road" into Ghost Ranch from the highway was one of the worst ever -- total washboard -- and it was looooong.

Some basic info: Ghost Ranch is a 21,000-acre retreat and education center.  A dining hall, library, tours, trail rides, two museums, swimming pool, lodging, camping, group meeting and celebration facilities are available. It's owned by the Presbyterian Church.  And its elevation is 6,500 ft.  We spent six days/nights at the campground, going out daily in Smartie on excursions of our own.  We really enjoyed our stay here.

In 1975 Ghost Ranch was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.

Of course, Georgia O'Keeffe figures largely in the area.  She had a villa/studio at Ghost Ranch (off limits), as well as a home in Abiquiu, roughly 15 miles south.  She fell in love with the geography and much of her work was inspired by what she saw here.  We stopped by the Welcome Center in Abiquiu and watched a short film on her life.

Wowzers!

The ranch is also known for its concentration of fossils, most notably that of the dinosaur, Coelophysis, of which it's been estimated that nearly a thousand specimens have been preserved in a quarry at Ghost Ranch. So, on one of our days we visited the anthropology and paleontology museums, both well worth going into. Just so much to see!

Coelophysis -- but maybe it wasn't green and white striped!

On Friday, the 3rd, we drove south to Los Alamos to do the downtown historic sites walking tour, stopping first at the Manhattan Project VC. I was expecting more than just a small room, and the volunteers there simply steered us to the walking tour.   Okay.  BTW, Los Alamos is situated at 7,200 ft on the Pajarito Plateau, and its location was chosen for its relative inaccessibility to help protect the Manhattan Project's secrecy.  (think:  up high, middle of nowhere)

Most of the Manhattan Project (atomic bomb) era buildings are gone.  Fini.  Replaced by new and modern buildings, so if you're looking for historical evidence from the 1940's, you won't find much.  Nevertheless, we walked to all the sites and were glad we came.

Creased and in a pocket or purse at one time or another during the day, this gives you a hint as to the walking tour.  The pond at the bottom of the picture from the WW II era looks a whole lot different than the pond today, photo below.

Our first stop was the museum (above) named for Norris E. Bradbury, the second director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and not Ray Bradbury, the author!  And talk about overwhelm!  The best part for us were the two 16-minute movies -- Racing Toward Dawn tells the story of the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s beginnings and the challenges/successes of the Manhattan Project, and Mission: Stockpile Stewardship covers the work the Lab does today to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the U.S. nuclear deterrent.

A ton o' info to take in!  Several rooms' worth!

I bees standing next to a replica of "Little Boy,"

the bomb that decimated Hiroshima.

"In 1943, the government built a secret laboratory at Los Alamos for a single military purpose -- to develop the world's first atomic weapons."

We also walked past this ancestral pueblo site.

The Oppenheimer house wasn't open,

it was being renovated.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, so to speak ...

Look who stopped by!

I believe this is an Ash-throated Flycatcher.