Here, There, Everywhere to June 1st

 

This was our third bike ride in May, which is not really a big deal, a bit less than 50 miles all total.  However, we have to hook the bikes to our car and go away from home (because our mountainous narrow twisty-turny roads are not safe for us to ride on, except for riding to the airport), so it's actually a bit of work and it takes time to get somewhere else.  But, with the ideal weather this month, how could we resist being Out and About?  (Well, the weather turned cold and rainy (!!) the last week in May, which is great for this dry climate but obviously no bueno for biking.)  BTW, fire season begins today .... 

On the 20th, we drove to Beal's Point and parked at Folsom Dam to ride the American River Parkway trail.  What a gorgeous sunshiny day!  Folsom Lake (no photo, sorry) was full as a tick from winter rains, thank goodness, and the river itself was fast and cold.  You see a lone kayaker in the above pic, but we saw lots of watercraft along the way.

Mom 'n Fluffy on the paddleboard.

We like to stop along the way to "see what's going on," and these next photos are from a stop we made to eat granola bars and polish off a Gatorade.  Hey, buddy, where's the rest of your tail?

Two kayakers quietly paddle up a slough or American River estuary.  I took their picture while standing on a bridge, turned around and on the other side, I spied the handsome duo below.

Loved seeing both the Blue Heron and the White Swan.

Parking the bikes at our turn around point, Jimmy checks the water temp.  He pronounced it, "cold." (No surprise) Behind him, rapids are beginning to show.  And we always ogle the fancy homes on the hills overlooking the river, picking the one we think is best.  "Oh, I like that one," kinda thing.

Riding past and below Nimbus Dam, we took an extra spur trail today, and came upon fishermen, both on the riverbank and in the water.  See the dot in the center of the pic?  Fly fisherman.  They may be hopeful, but we didn't see anyone hauling in a fish.

We always enjoy riding the parkway trail, no matter which section we do, always fun.

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On Friday, we wanted to do something different and about burned up our brains trying to decide on something other than the same old-same old.  We settled on hiking beside the Newtown Canal, aka Deer Creek Tribute Trail.  Like our Cascade Canal, this canal is a former hydraulic mining ditch which now delivers water for the Nevada Irrigation District (NID).  The canal is roughly 6"-12" deep, zips along like gangbusters, and we even spotted fish!

While not a new trail for us, we haven't been here in a long time, maybe close to a year? And it leads 150' down a zig-zag path to the Chinese Bridge and Deer Creek.  A sunny day, we appreciated the shade that the trees provided.

 

L-R, top: Sweet pea, California (pink) Honeysuckle, middle:  Indian Pink, Golden Poppy, bottom: Seep Monkeyflower, and Twining Snakelily.  I won't say we saw an abundance of wildflowers, but, yes, flowers were still around and are always a delight to see.

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard floating merrily along the canal.

What a stellar day!

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If you can believe this -- our granddaughter, nine-year-old Evie, graduated from third grade this week!  Above and below, she's standing with her teacher.  Not the best quality pics because it's a picture of a photo, but she sure looks happy!  She's a natural beauty!  Good show, Evie, congratulations!  On to fourth grade in August.

That's about it from Nevada City.  Almost, that is.  Tomorrow morning I'll board a Southwest jet bound for Maryland and a week's visit with my sister, Nannie!  Oh boy!  Maybe I'll post some of our shenanigans.