Hello, Buttermilk Bend! Thurs, 4/30/20

I've seen others post online that Buttermilk Bend trail at the South Yuba River is IN BLOOM!  You know I couldn't resist that!  So today when it came time to pick somewhere to hike, aside from the usual neighborhood loop we frequent, this was THE choice.  We packed granola bars and waters and took off in Smartie.  It's a 20-mile drive from home -- not a big deal.  The parking lot is closed due to the coronavirus, but plenty of cars were already parked roadside when we arrived around 11ish.  We joined them.  

Jimmy and I are cognizant of social distancing (or physical distancing) and some parts of this trail are narrow, as in, not even room for two abreast.  We took our masks.  None of the folks we saw had on a mask, but he and I always stepped far off the trail when foot traffic neared; we didn't use our masks.

The day was warm; I wore shorts, baring those white legs of mine again.  Hope I didn't scare anyone, haha!  And yes, the wildflowers were blooming, though not what I expected.  Lupines were the star today ... the hillsides were covered with Lupines' blue-purple flowers, with more purples -- spring vetch and Wally Baskets -- mixed in.  

We've seen the Yuba's water levels breathtakingly high, as well as sadly low.  Today's level is on the low side and NorCal is already gasping for rain.  But the Yuba's waters roar below the trail, a sound we love to hear as we amble along.  The boulders, both above and below the river, are beautiful.  Can you see the heavy dark striping on the rocks in the above pic?

Rushing water is mesmerizing!

While it looks green, the water is quite clear.

We spied many showy Bush Monkey Flower plants.  I planted one of these native shrubs last year in our backyard.  It made it through the winter and I'm hoping to see blooms this year.

We're high above the river in this section.

The trail can be seen as a light/ish line to your right.

River water temperatures this week might be up to 60 (very chilly) degrees.  Every year young people try their luck diving into and swimming in the fast-moving current.  Though they're warned about cold water dangers, every year we lose a few.  We watched these kids repeatedly jump in from this fairly high rock.  Better them than us, we agreed.

Northern Checkerspot butterfly.  Lots of flowers means lots of insects!

Ooooh, I love these colorful blossoms!  Clockwise, top left:  Tufted Poppy, Lupine with friend, Pretty Face, and Twining Snake Lily.  Below is another photo of the Twining Snake Lily, and there you can see why its called twining!

Benches facing the river are spaced every now and then.
Nice touch.

Just a teeny corner of the trail is visible top left.
The hills are alive with the sight of flowers
(not the sound of music)!

Blue sky all the way, baby!

We clambered down to the river twice.  The second time, above, we ate our bars and rested, listening to the river's song.  A family group was downstream, but they were close enough that we could watch their black lab paw the shallow water to fetch up a rock that it could carry in its mouth.  Dogs are strange!  I like this picture.

Ooh-la-la, more flowers?  You betcha.  Again, clockwise from top left:  Canyon Dudleya, Foothill Penstamon, a clump of poppies, and Checkerbloom.  I was surprised that California Poppies weren't prevalent today, but we were either too early or too late for that spectacle.

And now for the famous Bridgeport Covered Bridge update.  Above you see it as it was today (not covered!).  Below is a photo from two years ago.  The bridge was built in 1862.  It was closed before we moved here in 2012 because it was considered unsafe (pedestrians only).  A few years ago, money was set aside to restore it.  Money ran out.  Money came in.  You know how it goes.  This is as far as they've gone on the bridge repair, above.  The good news is that construction continues even now with COVID-19 ruling the world.  When the bridge will be finished and once again usable are unknown.

And so I leave you with the Lupines.  It was good to get Out and About, and we always love being on this trail.  It's short (2.5 R/T) and if you don't venture down to the river, it's relatively flat.  On our way home, we stopped at Bitney Springs and refilled our empty water bottles with fresh, cold spring water.  Not sure when the stay-in-place order will be lifted in this state, but we're hoping the curve has been flattened here and new cases will dry up.  It's all so mind-boggling.  Stay safe everyone.