buzzardnotes

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 Española is the southern-most island in the Galápagos and is the only breeding site in the world for the Waved Albatross.

Although I didn’t see any giant tortoises on Española, there are many. In the 1960s only 14 Española giant tortoises were living on the island. Thanks to breeding efforts at the Charles Darwin Station, more than 2,000 have been released and the species is once again thriving. I vaguely recollect that Super Diego might have had something to do with that.

Our first exploration of the day was at Suarez Point that involved a hike to see the Waved Albatross. I was excited to see them up close and personal! As we neared our landing spot, we were greeted by several sea lion pups playing in the water and LOUD barks from a big alpha sea lion. Erick told us the sea lion mamas were out fishing and the bull was a babysitter. He was making sure no one (animal or human) got out of line. Believe me, we didn’t want to mess with him.

Once we landed, we almost immediately saw a mess (term for a group) of marine iguanas. They were busy getting warmed up enough to go swimming to eat their lunch. It takes them several hours to get warm enough and then can only last about 15 minutes per swimming session.   The red on their hides is left over from the mating season. Some were redder than others. Note the lava lizard on the post.   To the right of the white post is our path to the albatross nests, thus forcing us to break the rule of staying several feet from each animal. We just watched our step and walked right by them. They didn’t flinch.

A mess o’ marine iguanas

An up close and personal of a marine iguana

A young sea lion with his buddy, the lava lizard.

As we walked farther into the trail, we continued to see many marine iguanas and lava lizards. We watch one lava lizard try to court a female. He would do his push ups (as we might have seen lizards in our area do). The female would kind of dance around as I remember and then he’d do some more advancing. But after a bit, the female walked away. He looked dejected but perhaps he because his tail was short. Perhaps he lost it in a fight or maybe a bird tried to get him.

A courting lava lizard

Speaking of birds, we saw the Española mockingbird with his curved beak. He, too, was as curious as the Galápagos mocker we had seen on other islands. He would walk right up to us trying to check out our gear.

Soon we left the easy sand and began to walk on a pretty rough path. We all had to watch our step…for more than one reason. A marine iguana and a seal lion were on the path each doing it’s own thing.

A rocky trail

Shirley and a marine iguana

I wish I had one of those new number mattresses

It didn’t take long before we were seeing birds all over the place.

Blue-footed booby

Nazca booby

This is the before picture.

Blowhole in action

This magnificent blowhole might be the tallest one I’ve ever seen. But, then, it was difficult to get a perspective of size because we were looking down on it. The red spots around the blowhole were Sally Lightfoot crabs. I wonder how often they crawl too far down the blowhole and get blown up in the sky.

I turned around from the blowhole and saw these Nazcas sunbathing in rays of light.

We walked a bit farther and saw albatross and their chick. What a great sight! The chicks aren’t very cute but they do grow up to be beautiful birds.

Erick thought the egg didn’t belong to this albatross, but it still makes a good shot.

Right in the midst of all the albatross was a marine iguana high on a bluff. I wondered why he was so high above the surf line. Shirley and I took advantage and had our portrait taken with him.

We were privileged to see two pairs of albatross do their mating dance and even though I felt like I was intruding, I took some photos of them. This dance is quite elaborate and these are just four steps to it. I was quite impressed to watch it but I don’t know the outcome. Did she or did she not accept?

A picture of an albatross doing his version of running fast enough to get enough lift to take off.

On the way back to our Zodiac, I took this picture of the “Creature from the Black Lagoon.” Note how sort of smushed its face is. This is an adaptation that allows the iguana to crop the algae even closer to the rock.

We left Suarez Point and sailed to Gardiner Bay, on the eastern side of the island. This was our last chance to snorkel and see some fun animals. Pato took us into a cove where we were greatly entertained by sea lion pups. They were learning how to fish were often successful. One guy would take his catch up on the rocks and proceed to whack the poor fish on the rocks. Then he would eat it. Perhaps he was tenderizing it. Who knows?

I’m forever blowing bubbles…

This guy has a fish in his mouth

The white stuff in the water is parts of fish.

Snorkelers in the cove

You might be wondering why we wore wetsuits when we were so near the equator the entire time. A good question. We learned that cold, strong currents from Antarctica were flowing into the area and meeting northern currents. This caused a welling of particles in the ocean that brings fish and birds. That is one reason why the Islands teem with birds and fish. Genovesa was relatively warm but Española was a lot colder. That blotchy white thing in the left side of the rocks is a pup beaching himself.

After our adventure with the sea lions, we had some time on Gardiner Bay beach and then we boarded the Galaven to head toward San Cristobal.

We discovered we had some hitchhikers on our voyage to San Crisotbal.

A female frigatebird on the radar mast. She fought off a male who wanted to roost there.

A pelican on the crane.

A frigatebird on the crane

Throughout the voyage, all of us who lived below the main deck would go up and down these steep stairs. If you went down straight, your calves soon became bruised from banging on the narrow steps. I ended up going down sideways quite often to avoid those bruises.

Shirley is at the bottom of the stairs to indicate their steepness.

A nice sunset, but we didn’t see the green flash.

We woke up the next morning in Puerto Basquerizo Moreno on the Island of San Cristobal. We ate our last breakfast aboard the Galaven and left our gear for the crew to take to the airport. We all went to the Interpretation Center where we enjoyed expositions on natural history, human history and conservation. We had been hearing about conservation the entire trip, as it is so important to protect the wildlife and natural environment on the Islands.

A great blue heron in the port.

That afternoon, we took off from San Cristobal and flew to Quito to spend the night. We rose again at the ungodly hour of 2:15 to get our bus back to the airport to get ready for the flight from Quito to Miami. It was a very long day that didn’t end until midnight at Shirley’s place in Grand Junction. But it was worth it! I loved the trip and would do it again.

I want to thank Julia, our mighty tour leader, who provided us with some great handouts and clues about the trip. I have shamelessly plagiarized from those notes to give some of the historical perspective. Julia organized a great trip and we all benefited from her research and preparation.

SOME OUTAKES

A puka (Hawaiian for hole) in the lava on Rábida

Cora’s wrong footed sandals at Darwin Bay

Nazca booby taking off

Pato at Post Office Bay when my lens cover didn’t open up all the way.

What happens when you don’t follow directions.

Where’s Mom?

Passing by a cloudy island. Wonder if it was raining.

Breakfast line

Please click on a photo to enlarge it.

I forgot that Dragon Hill and Bachas Beach were on the island of Santa Cruz or would have included this part in #3.

Dragon Hill is one of the newest visitor sites accessible to tourists in the Islands. One of our longest hikes took us along a beach and up a trail to the lagoon lookout where the view is wonderful. On the way, we saw some marine iguanas, black headed stilts, herons, native cotton plants (amazing to see tiny bolls) and land iguanas!

Landing on the beach

Beginning the trail

And for my next song…

Marine iguana tracks

Striated heron

I can see why land iguanas were sometimes mistaken for dragons. They have a long tail, scary looking face, spines on the back, and a scaly skin. They reach only a max length of 4 feet

We learned that they don’t have sweat glands and secrete salt from their eye socket. It accumulates around the eye and when there is enough, the iguana shakes his head and off it goes. I saw it happen once and thought that could add to the scary image of the iguana. We walked right by them and they just looked at us. They appeared to be very docile but perhaps they could move quickly when they wanted to. We didn’t want to find out.

Dragon Hill or Cerro Dragon.

Land iguanas are bred under captive protection at the Charles Darwin Research Station on the southern side of Santa Cruz. We saw a few of them in pens the previous day. Once the iguanas have safely reached a size to be able to fend off wild dogs or cats, they are released into the wild on the northwestern side of Santa Cruz, so that the species can again take up residence on Cerro Dragon.

Later that morning, we were able to snorkel in deep water near the Dragon Hill area. I took many underwater pictures, but my best shot was of this pelican coming right at me (not underwater) 🙂

Later that day we went to Bachas Beach. Some folks swam and saw some more penguins and sea turtles. BUT, I did get to see a flamingo landing in a muddy marshy area and that was pretty cool.

Flamingo landing in lagoon

I was so excited about this bird that I took more than 40 pictures of him landing and then walking around. He was quite a distance from me, so the pictures have been cropped a lot, but I think he shows up ok. This was another highlight of the adventure that made me very happy I went to the Galápagos.

Looking for vittles

Feeding in a small lagoon

Bachas Beach is noted for a nesting place for sea turtles and we could see tracks of mamas who were going up the sandy berm to find a perfect place to lay their clutch of 100 to 180 eggs. Their tracks reminded me somewhat of a Caterpillar tractor tread.

sea turtle tracks

Karen and Shirley relaxing at Bachas Beach

Floreana

A bit more background of the islands before I talk about our visit to Floreana.

They were discovered officially in 1535 by Fray Tomás de Berlanga (Bishop of Panama).

In the late 1500s to early 1700s, the islands were used by pirates as a refuge and base for their raids on Spanish colonial ports. The pirates would stock up on fresh water and tortoise meat, thus beginning the inroads on the tortoise population.

In the late 1700, whaling and hunting of fur seals began in the Galápagos and lasted well into the 1800s. Fur seals were nearly hunted to extinction, whale populations were heavily hit and whole races of tortoises were removed for meat. Some estimates indicate that ~100,000 tortoises were killed during this interval.

The Galápagos islands were officially annexed by Ecuador in 1832.

So why all this background? I wanted you to understand a bit of the history that led up to the first place we landed in Floreana, Post Office Bay. This was the first “post office” on the islands and was established in 1793 by whalers. They placed a barrel just a bit inland and then wrote letters to be placed in the barrel. When another crew came there, they checked the letters and took the ones where they would be going. Sometimes it would take years for the letters to arrive but they did and were delivered by hand.

The tradition still lives on and we were welcome to deposit letters in the barrel and take a letter back to the mainland.

All of us sorted through many post cards to try to find some close to where we live or ones that we thought we could eventually deliver in person. I mailed two and took three to be delivered in Reno and California. I wonder how long it will take to get my post cards to Megan and Dalan.

Flo sorting through the many cards to be mailed

On our way to Cormorant Point, we stopped at Devil’s Crown to do some deep water snorkeling. This is what Galápagos.com has to say about this place. One of the best snorkeling sites in the Galapagos, this volcanic crater has been eroded by the waves leaving the northern and southern sides poking out of the water. The coral reef in the middle is perfect for attracting marine life. Snorkelers enjoy the variety of marine life and exciting currents that rush through the crown, creating an exhilarating experience.

I think the profile of Devil’s Crown looks dangerous and intimidating. How about you?

Those “exciting” currents were VERY strong currents for the majority of our snorkelers. We got off the Zodiac to the right of the right hand peak and before we could get ourselves oriented to landmarks and such, we had drifted alongside the far (western?) side of the Crown. Those rocks didn’t look friendly. I didn’t see much marine life in that area and kept checking on Shirley to make sure she was ok. I was glad to see that she got back into the Zodiac before we drifted around the left end of the Crown, as I know she doesn’t care for rough water.  She was able to get back into the water when she had caught her breath.  She wasn’t the only one who got out of the water.

The current coming out of the Crown was quite strong but I was able to swim against it and get in the middle where it was a bit calmer and clearer. I didn’t see the advertised white tipped sharks hammerheads or sea lions, but did see some surgeonfish, coral and parrotfish.

Juvenile parrotfish

Razor Surgeonfish

Coral with a Guineafowl pufferfish

Just before we got into the Zodiac to go over to the Devil’s Crown, I espied a couple of sea turtles right beside the boat.

We had time to shower and get cleaned up a bit before we set off for Cormorant Point.   It’s noted for blue-footed booby nesting areas, some flamingos and a green beach. Despite its name, we never saw any cormorants.

This sleepy head is resting on the Green Beach, so called because olivine (a green mineral) is prominent in the sand.

This blue-footed booby family was nesting on a short bluff above the sea lion.

I loved the expression on the face of the mama booby in the background. “You just did what to those people in back of you?”

This saltwater lagoon is a flamingo area.

These tiny yellow warblers are all over the islands. This was the first time one was close enough to get a decent picture. He was hopping around on a dried portion of the flamingo lagoon.

I got such a kick out of Julia when she called this Ariel’s Bustier. Technically, it was a broken portion of a sea urchin, but it could have worked for Ariel

It was getting toward dusk when we made a move to return to the ship. There is a rule that all parties must be off the islands by 6 PM and I think we were pushing it a bit.

Our Zodiac jaunt took us by mama sea lion and her one-week old pup.

I would not be my father’s daughter if I didn’t take some sunset pictures.

Floreana has been the most altered by human inhabitants. Invasive and feral goats devastated much of the natural ecosystems and removal of these goats from the park was only completed in 2007.

I loved Floreana (as I did all the islands) and felt priveleged that we were able to visit it and appreciate what it has to offer.

Coming soon!  The ultimate installment of the Galapagos Adventure.

To enlarge a photo, please click on the image

Santa Cruz Island is the second largest of the islands and is a major hub for tourism (with Baltra just to the north). It is one of the only islands where visitors can access the interior and highlands.

I might add here that only 3% of the Galápagos Archipelago is public land (inhabited areas of Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal, Floreana and Isabela Islands. ) The Galápagos National Park protects the other 97% of the land in the islands (3,091sq. mi). The 234 landmasses of the park are distributed within the Galápagos Marine Preserve, which has a range of 40 nautical miles from the island archipelago. So we were going to see a fair amount (I think) of the 3% public land when we went into the interior and highlands of Santa Cruz. Whatever, it was a great day.

Our day ashore began at Puerto Ayora, a charming port town at the south end of Santa Cruz, where we boarded a bus to go to the Charles Darwin Research Station. Shirley and I had been looking forward to this place, as it’s the first place we would see the famed giant tortoises. The Station is home to tortoises ranging from new hatchlings to about 4 feet long.

Again, it was a photographer’s paradise. Everybody was clicking like mad, even at us.

The greeter

From what I understand, the Station does much research with tortoise DNA to try to get “pure” tortoises back to their home island. Erick told us a story about a particular specie that was dying out and the primary male was not able to do his duty. They put out a worldwide call to zoos asking them to test for a certain DNA strain in a Galapagos tortoise. The San Diego Zoo in California responded positively and shipped a male to the Darwin Station. He was named Diego and he immediately responded. Diego is now SUPER Diego because he’s fathered hundreds of hatchlings.

I felt really lucky as Super Diego was right up in front by the gate when I took his picture. Don’t you think he looks like a happy dude?

I’m tired.

You win by a nose!

A male Galápagos mockingbird

A male land iguana. We would see more of them in the wild the next day.

Cacti showing the adaptation of no lower leaves with sharp needles in areas where there are land iguanas.

A modern day Charles Darwin with a little girl checking out the situation.

Shirley and I walked from the Station back to downtown Puerto Ayora where we were free to do visit some of the many shops selling some cool souvenirs. We had been told that they would take credit cards but we soon found that most didn’t. That was disappointing.

Here is another aside. The currency of the Galápagos and Ecuador is the U.S. dollar. That is due to a depression that pretty much destroyed their economy. They asked the U.S. for help and somehow our currency became their currency. I don’t pretend to understand all of this but it worked for us on this trip.

Due to some miscommunication about tips and whatnot, Shirley and I needed to visit an ATM in hopes our cards would work. The first ATM we visited was scary because it said for $600, one would be charged $300. I hemmed and hawed about this and finally decided to go for it, in hope we misread the cues. The ATM didn’t have a decimal point and the charge was $3. In the end, it all worked out; we breathed a sigh of relief and got what we needed to tide us over. On with the shopping!

We boarded our bus once again for a trip in the highlands to Rancho Ortiz for lunch. It was a pretty trip as we passed many farms, pastures and a couple of small towns. The trip reminded me of going into the highlands of Maui. Trees, farms, and pastures and the air felt the same. The main difference was that on occasion, we could see a giant tortoise wandering around a pasture. Amazing!

We arrived at the Rancho Ortiz and found that Erick’s family lives there. They have a ranch and have fashioned a restaurant/bar area where they host luncheons and dinners. It was really fun and the food was tasty.

The view from the restaurant. There are 4 tortoises in this photo. Can you find them? Floreana is the island on the horizon.

We met Joaquin, Erick’s son, who loves trucks, cars and buses. He checked out our bus.

After lunch, we wandered the ranch a bit and here is what we saw.

I had to take a picture of these unique bar stools

Kinda pastoral, eh?

Rich was just sitting on the ground and this young tortoise walked within a couple of feet of him.

Shirley and her new friend.

One reason we’re not fooling around in these pictures is that we were warned many times not to get too close to the animals or make sudden motions. So we tried to abide by that and then forgot we could make silent expressions or gestures. Oh well.

Too soon, lunch time and our little tour was over and it was time to head on to El Chato Tortoise Reserve. It allows visitors to observe giant tortoises in the wild during the dry season and also learn even more about the animals.

What a great way to learn more about the giant tortoises!

Pato is demonstrating how the tortoise shell looks inside and some of us got to try on a shell.

Shirley

Cora

Julia, our tour leader

We walked around the Reserve and saw many tortoises doing what they do every day…walking, sleeping, eating and soaking in mud.

The mud’s fine!

I need a napkin.

Cora, Nancy, Shirley with a poser.

Tortoise drinking with a follower into the pond

One unexpected attraction at El Chato was the huge lava tunnel that was 80 meters long. It was long and perhaps 15 feet tall at its highest point. It was also very humid in the tunnel. Where the illuminating lights were, little plants were growing. I’ve never seen anything like that in the lava tunnels in Hawaii.

When one drinks a lot of water, certain things have to happen. Of course I had to visit the restroom and was well aware of the custom in the Galápagos to not toss the toilet paper into the toilet bowl. It’s not gross. It’s just the way it is. I was not prepared for the fact that in this particular restroom, the toilet paper was not in the stall. A big roll was hung on the wall by the sinks. Of course, I didn’t discover this fact until I had finished my business. Oops!!!

Too soon we had to leave El Chato and head back to Puerto Ayora. It was so interesting to me to see all those tortoises doing what tortoises do naturally, without any gates or fences.   I forgot to tell you that we did not see any hatchlings because they are kept in a special secure area where they are kept from people trying to steal them or predators like big birds eating the babies.

On our way back to the main road, we encountered this big guy strolling along the dirt road. Of course we had to stop for him until he moved enough to let us pass….a bit different than stopping for wild horses in the road in Virginia City, NV

We had a bit of time to stroll around Puerto Ayora upon before boarding our Zodiacs to return to the Galaven. We discovered that the area around the port is quite active around dusk. We watched teams of men play volleyball while many, many locals watched the competition. A lot of cheering and hooting was going on during the games while kids played on playground toys nearby. Vendors were hawking their wares and it seemed like everyone was having a good time. I enjoyed that short time watching the people.

This was the view of the little port as we wended our way back to the Galaven that was anchored in the bay.

Please click on an image if you wish to enlarge it

Spaniards mined salt from Santiago in the 12800s and by various companies in the 1920s and 1960s. But we went there to see huge pahoeoe and a’a lava flows as well as explore the beach and snorkel. Pahoehoe is basaltic lava that has a smooth, billowy, undulating or ropy surface. These surface features are due to the movement of very fluid lava under a congealing surface crust. A’a is basaltic lava characterized by a rough or rubbly surface composed of broken lava blocks called clinker. We didn’t see much a’a on Santiago, but did get to see some on Rábida. I was interested to find out that pahoehoe and a’a are of Hawaiian origin and are accepted geologic terms.

We landed on the gray pahoehoe band began to walk around checking out various designs in the lava. All of a sudden Erick pointed to a penguin that was on shore and moving toward the water. By the time I got my camera ready, he was in the water. This was my best shot…at least you can see the head. I think I do better with land shots.

A Galapagos penguin

Folks trying to see the penguin

There were so many patterns in the lava and I took many pictures.

This formation is called an oven or hornitos. You might call it a burst bubble

Shirley and I are standing in front of lava with different colored minerals showing.

You would think that nothing would be growing in this vast lava field. But, surprisingly, “pioneer” plants begin a precarious existence here and there.

We spent quite a while on the lava field learning about different types and seeing so many different patterns. Some of our ladies were trying to figure out how to incorporate those patterns into weaving or dying. Too complicated for me. I’ll leave that to the artistic folks.

BOB (Back on Board), we grabbed a snack provided by our faithful bartender/waiter, Fabián. Then several people changed into snorkeling gear and rode off to deep water snorkel alongside the lava field. I didn’t go because I didn’t think I’d see much wildlife due to an overcast sky. It’s usually better when there is a bright sky. Big mistake. They saw sea turtles, penguins and other good stuff. However, Shirley went and became so cold that she was shaking uncontrollably at the end. Luckily, there was hot water in the shower when she got back to the boat to help her warm up.  In contrast to that, it must have been the luck of the draw, but I never got a hot shower while on board.  Oh well, I was no worse for the wear.

Snorklers on their way

I chose to walk along the beach and enjoyed myself there. When our Zodiac neared the shore, a sea lion pup reared his head, just like a dog when his family comes home. The pup slipped into the water and came to meet the boat. When we disembarked and were standing on the shore, he swam back and forth in front of us, as if to say, “Come play with me!”

The greeter. He was so darned cute!

A view of Bartolome Island and The Pinnacle on the left from Sullivan Bay. Bartolome was just across a small strait

This is a Sally Lightfoot crab and the next picture is its tracks.

BOB (Back on Board), our boat drivers put the Zodiacs on board the big ship and we left to go to Rábida Island.

Rábida Island is one of the most colorful and volcanically varied islands in the archipelago. It’s noted for its maroon colored beach, sea lions and pelican nesting sites.

There are no tortoises or land iguanas on Rábida, so the cacti can grow their leaves (nopales) down to the ground. They also have soft needles that almost feel like hair. They don’t poke the skin. Islands with the iguanas and tortoises have cacti adapted to have sharp needles and no leaves close to the ground. An example of how critters and plants have adapted to the island conditions.

Erick and Pato went barefooted except on trails with boulders and sharp rocks. There was no way my tender feet could do that.

Plants appear to grow directly out of the rocks. It’s amazing to me how they can grow in their tiny niche and thrive.

A nursing sea lion pup

We were warned about Galápagos mockingbirds because of their curiosity and desire to get water from visitors’ water bottles. I didn’t hear them sing, but I would imagine they have their special tunes they sing to their mates.

A preening pelican in her nest.

I love the sun!

We were warned about Galápagos mockingbirds because of their curiosity and desire to get water from visitors’ water bottles. I didn’t hear them sing, but I would imagine they have their special tunes they sing to their mates.

Several frigate birds soared alongside the Galaven while we were sailing . A good thing to remember would be to not open your mouth while they were overhead.

We were told there would be whales to see while underway on this stretch of the ocean, but Shirley was the only person to sight one.

My memory is probably faulty on the exact day, but I believe our overnight journey from Rábida to Santa Cruz is when many of us became quite ill with the mal de mer, myself included. The seas were quite rough and the boat was really tossing to and fro. You know I had to be sick to skip a meal. Shirley was a real sailor and didn’t suffer any ill effects. The rest of us were ok the next morning for our terrific journey ashore on Santa Cruz Island. That was a real treat of a day and will be in the the next episode.

Don’t forget to click on a photo to enlarge it.

 Way back in December, Shirley (a long time friend since the beginning of teaching days in 1967) called to see if I would like to go with her to the Galápagos Islands. Museums of Western Colorado would be the sponsor with whom we took a great trip last year, so we knew it would be well done. I hemmed and hawed because transportation for those 8 days would be by boat and I have a proclivity toward mal de mer. It didn’t take me long to figure that I could use the “Sea Bands” (wrist bands with an acupressure button that helps with seasickness) and Dramamine. So we signed up and began the preparation of getting various vaccinations, sending deposits, figuring out what to take and then anticipating the departure date. The excitement began to build and then all of a sudden, the date arrived!

I flew to Grand Junction, CO to meet the group and we took off from there. Our route took us via Dallas/Ft. Worth and then to Quito, Ecuador. The bummer was that we arrived at our hotel about midnight and then had to leave at 3:45 AM! Yuck.

Needless to say, we were tired and crabby

Shirley was still lucid enough to laugh when her new toothbrush broke during the first brush in the hotel.

We finally arrived at the Baltra Island Airport in the Galápagos and were met by our two guides, Erick and Pato, who took us to our boat, the Galaven (Technically, it was a yacht).  We had time to get situated in our cabins, eat lunch and rest a bit before we took our first excursion.

This sea lion greeted us on the dock as we prepared to go to the boat. He sort of waved a flipper at us.

This was our cabin. It really didn’t look this messy after we finished stowing our gear.

I liked our little cabin as we had our own bathroom (“head” in ship lingo) and almost enough room to both be walking in it at the same time. The best part was that Shirley was smart enough to choose a lower cabin amid ship so as to lessen the rocking and rolling the people in the upper cabins experienced. I was grateful.

Before I get started on the adventure, I want to show you our route in the islands. We landed in Baltra and departed from San Cristobal, landing on 8 islands altogether. Baltra is a small island separated from Santa Cruz by only a narrow strait.

While we were getting settled in our cabins, our boat got underway and took us to Black Turtle Cove on Santa Cruz. Our first excursion was a Zodiac ride to the cove that is an inlet surrounded by mangroves. This was great! It gave us all a taste of what we were going to see in future adventures. Oh my! The birds, the terrain, the flora and fauna were superb! We all began taking a zillion pictures as each turn led us to more things to see.

Our group consisted of 18 passengers, two guides and two boatmen. Erick and Pato were so good in explaining the whys and wherefores of how the islands came to be, the animals, the ecology, adaptations and so many facets of all we saw. I learned a bunch and I’m sure the other folks did too.

Erick, one of our guides

Pato is in the swimming trunks on the Zodiac. He usually went in the water with us.

The Zodiac was our mode of transportation for any excursion from the Galaven. The trees in the background are mangroves

One of the first birds I saw was a blue-footed booby. I just about wore out my camera with those birds. I was so fascinated by their poses, antics and chicks.

Among other animals I saw from the Zodiac were sea turtles, a small hammerhead shark, brown pelicans, brown noddies (birds), small white tipped sharks and a couple of spotted rays.

A green sea turtle

My first Galápagos sunset was viewed from the Zodiac…different from those around the Sierra Nevadas, but it was beautiful.

Back on board, we had our first daily briefing that always let us know the history/background of the next day’s island/activities and how to prepare for them. We also learned that we were summoned to all meals and activities by what looked like a small school marm’s bell.  Perhaps most cruises use some sort of summoning devices. I don’t know about that because I’ve never been on a “regular” cruise. I thought the bell was fun.  We all learned to anticipate it and be ready to do whatever the activity was.

The Summoning Bell

The first two meals aboard the Galaven told Shirley and me that we were going to be very well fed. After a couple of days of filling up my plate and being uncomfortable afterward, I finally had to cut way back on the intake and I felt a lot better. The food was good and I enjoyed it but I just can’t eat large anymore for more than a few meals. Bummer.

After dinner, the Galaven began to move to Genovesa (Hen-o-vaysa), the northernmost island on our tour. While on Genovesa, we were in the northern hemisphere and then crossed the equator to return to the southern hemisphere again to go to Santiago, our next island. We were teasing each other about feeling a bump as we crossed. 🙂 Genovesa is where I spent my 72^nd birthday…and it was like no other birthday. We motored alongside a cliff and saw more new species. I heard a racket above me and saw two red-billed tropic birds in a fight. One was hanging on by a beak and then fell to the water. I think he was embarrassed as he took off in a huff from the water. It’s easy ID a tropic bird because of the long, skinny tail feather.

Hanging by a beak on a cliff.  Note the long tail.

The fight loser

A young sea lion and a swallow tailed sea gull

We landed at El Barranco (Spanish for precipice, cleft or great difficulty)

We clambered up Prince Phillip’s Steps (apparently Prince Phillip was there and the steps were built for him.

At this point, I should issue an apology because when I got to the top of those steps a whole new world opened up and my camera went crazy once again. There were birds everywhere! I took way too many pictures and each one seemed to be a better photo op than before. If you get bored with this type of stuff, you should quit reading now.

I should also tell you that even though it is winter during August in the southern hemisphere, it is breeding season for many of the birds. Consequently, we got to see birds in all stages of life. It was an amazing experience for me.

The first birds we saw at the top of the plateau were Nazca boobies. They have an elaborate dance during which they touch bills and the male offers the female a special twig or a rock. If she rejects him, she shakes her head vigorously. He might try again with another offering. They nest on bare ground and they are all over the place.

Nazca booby pair

Here is a mama and her chick in the middle of our path. She is feeding the chick

A Nazca chick

The same chick flexing its wings to gain strength. An adult’s wing span is about 5 feet.

Genovesa is home to red-footed boobies which nest in trees as opposed to the ground as do the Nazca boobies. It seems that everyone has their niche and it works for them.

You’ll note in this picture that their webbed feet can hang tightly to a tree branch, thus allowing them to perch.

I saw a bird almost upside down in a tree and thought it was dead or drunk on some food that it ate.. It turns out that red-footed boobies fall into a very deep sleep and sometimes look like this.

While we were walking over rocky path, one of our new friends, Lydia, had a flat tire… the sole of her shoe came undone and Erick helped her take the entire sole off the shoe. A few minutes later, the other one detached itself. I don’t know why this happened but it was cause for much laughter and teasing.

A tropic bird chick in a tiny cave.

The plateau offered us a view of the Pacific Ocean and a host of many birds flying around looking for lunch. Storm petrels were all over the place, darting in many different directions. They reminded me of the swallows that come home to Capistrano every year with their type of flying. In fact, the Spanish name for these birds is “Golondrina de Mar,” swallow of the sea. They were always too far away to get a good picture. Rats.

One species that often flew over us was Great Frigate bird. Their wingspan can be seven and a half feet!

Poo happens!

As we were beginning to descend Phillip’s Steps, Erick espied a wounded sea lion on some rocks right where we were to board the Zodiacs. The poor thing had been bitten by a shark. Erick was pretty sure it would die but there was nothing we could do to help it. It’s pure nature in the Galápagos.

The injured sea lion

But this story has a happy ending. About an hour later, many of us were snorkeling in the same area and that same sea lion swam by us as if nothing had happened! We were happy for that.

Shirley snorkeling.

I was snorkeling with our tour leader, Julia, and got a big thrill.   A large white tipped shark swam under us and was gone before I could get my camera ready to go. Rats.

Genovesa is a horseshoe-shaped island that is a collapsed volcano with Darwin Bay comprising the collapsed side. It has a white sand coral beach that heads a trail that winds through mangroves filled with many birds. This is where we went after lunch to hike and snorkel. We saw our first marine iguanas at Darwin Bay. I thought they would be a lot larger but the largest was about a yard long. They are kind of scary looking because of their dragon-like spikes on their back and sort of bashed in nasal feature. That feature is an adaptation to allow them to gnaw the algae off the rocks much closer. They spend hours each day getting warmed up enough to go swimming for food. Erick told me that in colder waters, they can only spend about 15 minutes per foraging session before they get too cold and can’t move well.

A group of marine iguanas on land is called a mess. Who knew?

Frigates nest at Darwin Bay. Here is a mama landing to feed her chick that the papa has been guarding.

A swallow-tailed gull

Sally Lightfoot crab

I decided to go snorkeling after our hike and discovered this family of white-tipped sharks in about 4’ of water. My heart beat a bit faster when I first saw them, but they didn’t seem to be hungry or interested in me, so I just swam around them taking pictures. It’s kinda cool to say you swam with sharks if you don’t tell people they were rather lethargic.

White tipped shark family

Darwin Bay was a pretty place and perhaps the warmest place we swam.

I enjoyed Genovesa and wished that I had snorkeled more in Darwin Bay. I think I might have seen more fish and perhaps some different species. It’s hard to tell.

We sailed from Genovesa after dinner toward Santiago during what I thought were rough seas. I was very thankful for the Sea Bands. They worked that night! Thus ended the first two days of our trip. The following days promised to be just as much fun.

Yesterday marked the end of an era in the Johnson household. For 22 plus years, BC had been an integral part of my life…through thick and thin. Yesterday, she crossed the threshold into the Great Beyond.

For sometime, she’s been slowing down, sleeping 23 hours a day (not unusual for an old cat) getting pickier with her choice of food, showing signs of dementia, losing weight (from a max of 11 pounds down to 4.6) and, basically shutting down. Her vet had been hydrating her once a week for a while, but BC got to the point that she was done with that. She let me know in no uncertain terms that she wanted no more “help.”  In just two days’ time, I knew what had to be done. It was time to let her go.

In her memory, I would like to share some favorite pictures of her while thinking about what a good, ornery, independent, finicky companion she was.

Computer cat

She loved being outside with flowers

After we moved to Minden, she took to drinking out of a glass or a Dixie cup…whatever the case.

Did you put booze in here?

Enjoying the spring sun

Tripping out on some early spring catnip.

After the catnip

Inspecting a new toy that her mother received…spewing crows. She wanted to drink from it but didn’t care for the intermittent water.

Every pet owner knows that this time will come sooner or later and it’s no fun to make a decision so the pet won’t suffer. BC was a strong willed cat with ideas of her own and I think she sort of made her own decision as to when this would happen and was able to let me know what to do.

I am grateful to have had her in my life. She gave unconditional love (in her own way) and didn’t ask for much in return (except to be fed several times a day and get skritched a lot).

Rest in peace, little girl.

Thanks to Dick Schmidt for some of the photos.  He had a knack for getting her to pose for him.

This issue of Buzzard Notes has a few tears mixed in with it because my good buddy, Gale Ritter, passed away this past May. Her family and many friends held a great celebration of life for Gale this past Saturday, June 25, 2016.  Profound words are difficult to voice right now, but I hope to somehow convey how much this celebration meant to me and how it helped me to begin to heal.

Gale and I met some 54 years ago at Chapman College where we were PE majors. We formed a fast friendship that continued for all these many years. Gale was an avid RVer and became a camp host at several national parks and I got to visit her at three of them. We had many adventures together in college and at these parks. I visited her at Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge this past March that I recounted in an previous Buzzard Notes. (Don’t forget to click on the photo if you wish to enlarge it)

This is my favorite photo of the two of us and was taken at Pahranagat last March. Gale always loved a campfire and always built a good one.

So it is that I flew to Columbia Falls, MT to join the celebration and finally get to meet Gale’s girls and her extended family. Gale talked about all of us so much that we sort of already knew each other. I had never been to Montana and now I would really like to go back now because it’s so beautiful and the people are so sweet.

These are some of the trees that line the road in front of the Ritter Homestead.

I loved being at the homestead. Gale’s daughters, Cindy and Teri, made me feel so welcome as did all of the folks I met. It was like being in another large family. The celebration was very well planned (but informal, my kind of affair) with canopies (in case of rain), lots of food, many memories and lots of hugs and love. It was a true neighborhood/friends gathering as many of the folks brought food. I tried to sample each of the dishes…and then a caterer supplied barbecued pork, coleslaw and beans! Oh my! Many of us ate too much, but it was soooooo good!

I would like to share some of the gathering pictures as all of them contributed to a grand celebration. Gale would have loved it!

Teri is telling Hank to get back with the other dogs to get back with the other dogs. Then, the other dogs are asking, why can’t we be out with Hank (because he was big enough to jump the fence.)

Checking out a family album.

Photos throughout Gale’s life

Gale was in Vietnam as a member of the Red Cross in the late 60s. She never talked about it much and consequently, I didn’t know she had received a medal for her service in ‘Nam.

The committee to get the kegs going properly.

The committee was successful!

Some of the crowd.

This party crasher just showed up and didn’t belong to anyone in the crowd. He tried to get tidbits from folks but it didn’t work.

Teri and Cindy began the story telling of memories of Gale and invited other to share some of their stories. It was good to laugh at some of Gale’s fast car stories. She did love fast rides. She also loved horses and there were some good horse stories…some of those were fast rides, too.

Jeff, one of Gale’s sons-in-law, wrote some poems for Gale.

Can you hear me now? Yes, I’m bringing home the beer!

Cindy, me, Teri and Gale’s brother, Rich

The extended family and Hank.

I am appropriating some of the Gale-isms that were sort of Gale’s philosophy because I really think they say a lot to all of us. (Thanks to Jeff for having these in Gale’s obituary)

*Always Live, Love, and Laugh

            (Also referred to as “L” to the 3^rd power – L³ )

*The faster you go, the less you feel the bumps

            (This still applies even if you’re not driving down dirt roads)

*Take time to appreciate your surroundings no matter where you’re at

            (The where isn’t as important as what you get out of it)

*Be sure to follow the 7 Ps of Life

            (Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance)

*Fly the American Flag proudly

            (And always thank a Vet for their service)

*Remember to blow with the whim

            (Enjoy the unexpected and discover the extraordinary)

I miss Gale and all that she had to offer life. I will miss having adventures with Gale but am very grateful for the ones I had.

I want to thank the Ritter family for having me at Gale’s celebration. Being there helped me find some closure to Gale’s passing and also aided me to think and act on L³ and appreciate my surroundings. I hope the celebration did so for her family also.

Photo by RDS

The first Carson Valley Day was June 11, 1910, 106 years to the day of today’s CV Parade. Formed to show off Carson Valley’s agricultural prowess and the new town of Minden, the event saw more than twice as many visitors in one as the entire county had residents. Most everyone in the Valley had a hand in organizing the even, feeding visitors and entertaining them. Special trains brought an estimated 3,000 visitors to Minden. (The Record-Courier, Friday, June 10, 2016)

The celebration has expanded to several days, but it continues some fun, small town traditions. Just a few of the activities that happened today after the parade were: Kids’ Balloon Toss, Kids’ Greased Pole contest, Horseshoe Tournament, Watermelon Eating Contest, Arm Wrestling, Life Music, Tricycle Races and carnival rides.  Sunday will feature a Craft Show, Food Vendors, a Rubber Duck Derby, a Volleyball Tournament and more live music. Fun to do and watch. (Don’t forget to click on the image if you wish to enlarge it to see more detail)

The Official CV Days Pin

Jerri and I like to go to the parade to see all the entries, holler at parade participants we know, enjoy the camaraderie of surrounding people and the parade entrants, gather in the candy that is tossed/handed out during the parade (for Jerri’s grandkids, of course) and just flat out enjoy the fun. So here is an account of the parade that lasted about an hour and a half. (in contrast to the October 31 Nevada Day Parade that has every politician as well as everybody and his uncle in it and last about 3-4 hours depending on which election is happening that year).  I should also add that the Carson Valley Parade is not the Rose Parade. Floats are usually decorated flatbed trailers and are pulled by pickups, trucks or tractors.   Usually there are no marching bands because school is out for the summer. But today, the Douglas High School Tiger Band marched. They sounded pretty good for having no seniors. Well, I’ll just show you what came down the street.

The parade began with a color guard. Jerri was very disappointed that we, and a couple of old geezers, were the only ones who stood as the flag passed. An interesting commentary about our majority of “patriotic” inhabitants. I forgot to get the camera out until the tractors came by. Douglas County has an antique engine and tractor show each year and owners love to show off their machines.

I love this picture of the grandpa with his grandson (or perhaps great-grandson?)

This couple is staying cool with their snazzy red and white umbrella.

This tractor was even pulling a stagecoach!

The theme was a Pirate’s Life this year and we saw many pirate hats, swords, eye patches and other swashbuckling accessories.

Jerri’s granddaughter Megan walked the route with her gymnastics group, Tumbleweeds. Their float won the youth division trophy.

All sorts of transportation are used during the parade.

Here is a kid going against the grain on his motorized skateboard. He operates it with a remote control.

Another type of transport is the little cars the Shriners use to entertain the audience. This guy was just about to go into a very tight doughnut. He looked like he was having a blast.

Of course there have to be some equestrians. The Sheriff’s Mounted Posse had already gone by and these riders were representing an endurance ride. Note the pirate hats on the lead horses.

Northern Nevadans support the UN Reno Wolfpack wholeheartedly and wear shirts, hats, jackets and even decorate their vehicles with the logos to show their pride.

Many local folks love to restore classic cars and trucks. There is even a group called the Firematics that restores fire engines.

A huge semi truck was towing a guy in a totally crazy sawed off Cadillac with amps in lieu of a hood and a keyboard where the dash should be. The car elevates and turns around in circles while he is playing the keyboard.

People love this totally bizarre dude!

A last chance type of transport is this entry of the Main Street, Gardnerville Coffin Races.

People really turn out to watch these tricked out coffins hurry to the FINISH line.

On Saturday, June 18, The Great Race will begin in San Rafael, CA and will traverse the Sierras in time for a lunch stop in Gardnerville the next day.  More than 60 pre-WWII cars will be racing all the way to Moline, IL for a grand prize of $250,000! So it’s a big honor to be selected as a stopping point for this race.

Do any of you remember the Desert Bag that people hung on the side of the car or the bumper?

I don’t think these cars will actually be in the race but they will certainly be in the classic car show in Gardnerville that day.

I’m not advocating the candidates touted on this vehicle, but it reminded me of a truck in the Disney movie, “Cars.” Check out the phone number on the door. Who remembers a number having only three digits?

Northern Nevada had many Basque sheepherders taking care of their herds (flocks?) and they lived in wagons similar to this. Mottsville was a little town with several big ranches a bit west of Minden/Gardnerville area. I don’t know if they are still used.

The Sierra Stompers are always a hit in the Carson Valley Days Parade. They bring their big tired ATVs (or whatever the proper term is for them) and perform some great simulations of going over difficult terrain.

Nonchalant dudes in the back of the vehicle to the left.

This looks like a multi-vehicle pile up but they are demonstrating their driving skills for the parade judges sitting under the canopy on the right. The nonchalant dudes still don’t care what’s happening around them.

Take me home, Dad. I’m dog tired!

Jerri and I really enjoy this parade. There is nothing fancy or very sophisticated about it, but it is so typical of northern Nevada.  some folks would say it’s hokey but it’s good fun and depicts who we are and what we do.  Kinda down home, I guess. I hope you noticed the sky and the mountains in the background in some of the pictures. It was such a beautiful morning and by later afternoon, it had clouded up and we had a bit of rain and thunder and lightening. There is never a dull moment here in the Carson Valley.

With the promise of fun and frolic, Diana and I headed over the Sierras to our beloved gathering of Orange High longtime friends at Pajaro Dunes on the Monterey Bay. On the way, we stopped at San Jose Airport to pick up Elizabeth and Dot who flew in from points afar.

Eizabeth arriving in San Jose

Dot has an eye for the camera

We lucked out with traffic and didn’t really slow down until we merged onto Highway 1. We finally arrived at Pelican 10 at Pajaro and it was just like old times. Feelings of comfort, security and friendship abounded. It wasn’t long before the food was unpacked and the wine was opened.   Lynda had brought the scrapbook with pictures from our many years of getting together. (As always, to enlarge the photos, click on the photos)

Sherry is here checking out the latest additions being as how she missed our last gathering. All of us check it out, as the captions on many of the photos are priceless. We always get a good chuckle in reading them, even if we’ve seen them before.

Dot and I prepared our first dinner (as per tradition…then, theoretically we don’t have to cook anymore. But Dot always does because she’s got lots of ideas of how to put together meals…as do the other ladies. I just sit back and help with cleanup). We toasted those who were not able to join us this year as we missed them all. We hope they will be able to join us next year.

There was a lot of serious talking that first evening; jobs, illnesses/death of friends, politics, getting older (notice, it’s not old just older), traveling, and a plethora of other topics. Some continued throughout our time together.

Trish hit us with a bombshell early on with the fact that she, Steve and their partners are going to sell Pelican 10. They hope to accomplish this sale by the end of the year. Of course this made us sad that this was our farewell gathering there but we immediately began discussing where to go next year. It will happen and it looks like we might meet at Dot’s place in Murrieta. We just don’t know when yet.

Diana also shared with us that she and her business partner will be closing their antique shop this year.   It isn’t as much fun as it has been in the past and she would like some more spare time to do Diana things.

We all had anticipated fair weather at the beach but the mornings dawned with fog and then there was wind. The weather and tides at the wrong times hampered our traditional long walks on the beach, much to our chagrin. However, a few of us ventured out during our first morning for a relatively short walk.  Thank you, Lynda, for sharing some of your photos.

Dot & Lynda

Cora & Sherry

Dot loves the seagulls

I wonder what that seagull had in mind when he was walking on the beach.

We indulged in some regular activities such as checking emails, trying to verify or look up answers to questions we had raised and looking at magazines. Last year we learned Dropwords, a game that Lynda introduced to us. This year, she hooked us on Classic Words Scrabble. We were all playing it at one time or another. These doggone games are addicting!

Relaxing in Pelican 10

Then there was the traditional lunch at The Whole Enchilada. The owner always comes to our table to check out the beautiful ladies, flirts with us a bit, and then goes away. He always returns with a Lotto ticket and tells us we need to split the winnings with him. True to form, we didn’t win,…again. Bummer. We all could have used a boost to the income. We always take a ton of pictures there, enjoying the camaraderie.

Posing at The Whole Enchilada

Checking photos

Elizabeth & Trish

Buds since Kindergarten

Sherry & Cora

Just across the street from the Enchilada is part of the marina for Moss Landing. We checked it out and there were three otters floating on their backs, taking a nap. They were/are so cute!

A small raft of otters sleeping in the marina

It’s been our custom for the past few years to have a craft or two, perhaps to stir our creativity. Mine is almost null and void, but I did enjoy the adult coloring books and making a drawing on a wine glass. (I won’t show you mine, but it wasn’t terrible).

Lynda’s coloring project was exemplary!

I really liked Diana’s and Lynda’s wine glass drawings.

This was Lynda’s sample for us and she did a beautiful mug with flying seagulls. I failed to get a picture of that one.

I’ve always admired the group’s ability to make a decision and then several will step up to make it happen.  (Sometimes it takes us a while to arrive at the decision and sometimes it’s a decision made by indecision). An example was that we decided to have French toast for breakfast. It wasn’t more than 10 minutes that we had a gourmet meal in front of us. Congrats to the cooks!

Preparing the fine repast

Congrats to the cooks! I would recommend you all to Emeril!

Another tradition is to have a taste or two of Bailey’s Irish Crème after dinner (or whenever). I had picked up a bottle of Costco’s version of Bailey’s and we ran a blind taste test. Interestingly, all except one chose the Costco version as the one we liked best.

We took our annual field trip to Carmel by the Sea this year. It seemed to take forever to find a parking spot, but Lynda managed to find one for or two cars to park together. We walked a bit, visited a few shops, made a few purchases, looked in some galleries (that was after lunch) and had lunch in a Hobbit house lookalike place called the Tuck Box.

The Tuck Box serves good food (we know all the good places) and is known for their tea and scones. I also recommend the coconut cream pie. YUM!

Thanks, Sherry, for the salute with the teacup. I note in this picture that Trish is talking with her hands again. She’s good at that and doesn’t knock things on the floor as I would with the hand motions.  🙂

All too soon our time together wound down. Then it was time to settle up what is owed to whom. Lynda and Dot have a spreadsheet where data is entered to figure out what is owed and to whom. It surely does beat the old system of trying to figure it out by hand. There was a glitch or two this time, but it was eventually worked out to everyone’s satisfaction.

Sherry is squaring things up with Dot

I don’t know that our theme was traditions this year but we certainly did do them all. We just fell into them naturally and felt comfortable with them. We will continue them, I’m sure, in future years, just in different locales.

US!

I also want to thank Trish for hosting us year after year. Pelican 10 has seemed a bit like a home away from home because we’ve been there so many times and we now it so well.

Thank you, Trish!!!

Looking at the Pelican Point complex from the south

Pelican 10 is on the second floor

Saying farewell

Last Christmas, Jerri gave Dalan 12 things they would do together throughout 2016. One of those things was to hike C Hill together. They decided to do that on May 10 and I was invited along. Such fun it was on a gorgeous day!

Here is a little explanation about C Hill for those of you who don’t know about it. C-Hill is a popular summit just northwest of downtown Carson City. It is so named for the “C” representing Carson City located on its east-facing slope. After 911, a group of folks built a giant all-weather flag above the C. People love it and it looks really cool above the C.  The route we took was about a mile long and had a gain of a bit of 1000.’ The summit of C Hill is 5775.’ It was pretty steep at some points and Jerri and I were panting. Dalan just trucked along like he was a gazelle. That’s what happens when you’re 13 and in terrific shape! (Don’t forget to click on the photos to enlarge them)

A photo as we began our hike. The “C” can barely be seen at the top, center of the hill. Note how blue the sky was that day.

This photo shows our goal as we neared it.

We saw several varieties of wild flowers and passed by some beds of white lupine that were so sweet that the odor was almost sickening.

The view from just above the “C” was a super panorama of Carson City and its valley.

Looking north, northwest. The white buildings in a row at the base of the mountain/hill in the center are the Carson Tahoe Hospital.

Looking northeast. You can see Hwy. 50 going east toward Dayton.

Looking east. You can still see Hwy. 50. The big white building in sort of center is the old Ormsby House (a hotel and casino) Between the Ormsby and 2 red -roofed buildings is the capitol. It’s pretty much hidden by trees.

Looking south east toward the south end of Carson City. Prison Hill is the hill between us and the mountains in back of it.

We finally arrived at the flag and took this silly picture. You can see the flag in back of us.

Then we turned around and took some more silly pictures. Between my hat brim and left thumb, you can barely see the cupola of the capitol building. It’s a silver round thing.

These are the painted rocks that form the “C.” You can get a perspective of the steep incline when you look at the buildings below. The building with a parking lot is a good sized church.

We’re starting back down the trail. Slide Mountain is the snow covered peak in the background. Its elevation is 9698.” That is short by Colorado standards but not bad for a Sierra “foothill.” 🙂

Jerri didn’t sit in anything. That pink thing on the back of her gym shirt says “Strong Bodies, Happy Minds, Healthy Lives.”   I think that’s an apt motto for a person going to the gym on a regular basis.

The lizard below is the only critter we saw (besides birds). He was a large one, maybe 12” long. His tail might have had a mishap as it looked like it was growing back and didn’t have the design that his body did. I’m thinking he might have been a type of alligator lizard.

It was a great day and a fun time that made me grateful that (A) Jerri and Dalan wanted me along and (B) I can still do it.  Yea!!!