A week ago, I joined a friend for a snowshoe adventure. I am not fond of snowshoeing but living in a place with a long winter, a person needs lots of ways to get out and enjoy the snow. I managed to trip myself up more than once and I was quite tired when we were done but still, it was so lovely and a great day to be out. Now the highway is closed and we won’t see this area again til next May or June.
The girls and I and our friends enjoyed hiking in the high mountains of the eastern Sierra. I was challenged to breathe at 10,000 feet but all the effort was worth it. The scenery was outstanding and the skies so blue. We learned that is some places, lodgepole pine is a distinguished open-grown tree that can reach great heights, unlike here in the Cascades or the Rockies. The girls were grateful for lakes and streams. Willow ran ahead with her sister Juniper while Sky stuck right behind me, never asking to go any faster. Gus enjoyed all of it except the youthful exuberance of Willow and Juniper.
The girls and I recently returned from a two week road trip to the eastern Sierras. We met up with Willow’s sister, Juniper and her buddy Gus along with Mary and we all had a grand time. Willow and Juniper ran and played til they nearly exhausted themselves. Gus and Sky were relieved that they had each other. Mary and I enjoyed photographing morning and night skies along with lots of trees! Here is sunrise at our first campground in the Sierras.
The girls and I recently returned from a nearly three-week road trip to California, Nevada and Oregon. Our main destinations can be designated by the types of rock that dominated the landscape – granite, sandstone and basalt. This is the first part of the granite region.
We camped for a week on the edge of the eastern Sierra’s in the midst of all shapes of rocks with the snow-capped mountains as our constant backdrop. The views were never ending and always amazing. We met our friends from Montana there, including Willow’s half sister, Juniper (Junie). They were dubbed the botanical sisters and we soon learned that they were two peas in a pod, constantly playing and always looking for each other. They proved the old saying, a tired dog is a good dog. There will be pictures of them in a later post, although not too many. They were too fast.
There’s going to be an overload of posts coming from this area. It was my favorite and I look forward to seeing it again.
What a day! We’ve had many gray days and even rainy days, it seems like for the last two weeks or more. Around here, we are used to blue skies and bright sunshine reflecting off the cold, deep snow. Today was that day! The sunrise produced beautiful alpenglow on the mountains inviting us to explore on foot.
After agility practice (Willow watched), we headed for the hills above town and walked on a well-trodden path through the pines and out in the open. I looked at the road above us and saw movement. My brain went from what’s that, to is it a horse, no wait, that’s a moose! How cool! Moose occur nearly anywhere in the valley but are only occasionally seen. It’s always a treat. We crossed its trail and then followed its tracks back til we found the spot where it got on the path. There were also tracks of tiny creatures who had been out since yesterday’s fluffy snowfall.
Willow likes to lead the way but, so far, she doesn’t get out too far ahead. She is always turning back to see me and/or Sky. And today, she posed nicely with her big sister for portraits in front of the mountains. She is five months old and learning so much. Maybe she is a Good Girl, after all.
My Everyday Photos 