Well, the China blog is finished and I am back to the usual hiking, wildlife, and plants stuff. Time for our annual camping trip with our friends, for a total of four families including us. Always fun, it is good to hang with our friends and live in the woods for four days. ("Live in the woods" being defined as
car-camping, actually).
Henry Cowell is a nice park near Santa Cruz, CA. It is known for its hiking trails and its giant redwoods. The Redwood Grove Self-Guided Trail is a popular one. Lisa served as our guide, doing a great job reading points of local info at the various numbered spots.
"Hey, Glen and Kayla, go stand by the giant redwood. I'll get your picture! I'll bet no one thought of getting this shot!"
This tree is my favorite. Like the beehive-behind-glass at Knotts Berry Farm that so fascinated me as a kid, this does the same. Seeing the ring that grew during such events as the birth of Jesus, the voyage of Columbus, the signing of the Magna Carta, and the various wars gives me the chills. Just like seeing an entire beehive two inches away safely behind a half inch of glass.
Henry Cowell State Park is a cool place, though a little crowded for me. The redwoods are huge, as expected, but I goofed up and got one of those tree-growing-out-of-the-subject's-head shots.
Lots to do at the park. We like hanging out with our friends Hippo, cooking a great meal, Ellen looking happily retired, Winnie pensive, and angelic Kayla.
There was an impromptu wood-chopping contest. Lisa kicked butt and had the hardest piece of wood. I had a hard time chopping the carrots.
The main part of camping is the tent. It is fun to set up if you like jamming poles through plastic sleeves in the sun, bugs, and dirt. Tents always look cool from a distance.
The second key part of camping is that you have lots of free time, something that I am not unaccustomed to. Other than cooking and hiking, there is not a lot to do, so in my free time, I consider a new career.
Everyone is happy when camping. Lisa and me, Ryan and Win, Kayla and Liz, and the famous painting, the MonaLisa.
Pallas likely laughing at one of my jokes. OK, probably not.
Win decides to cook us up some grubs, beetles, and tree bark. We are, after all, camping. He pours in some moldy pond water just for flavoring.
Fortunately, we all survive Win's stew by sharing a box of this.
Being a police officer, Win is entitled to wear special socks. If a criminal tries to run, Win whips off his shoe and sings the COPS tune. Stops the bad guys cold every time. Actually, Win is the coolest cop I know. He didn't even get mad when I accidentally tossed his club into the fire.
Ellen, Mona, and Lisa decide that they are going to put up the shade tarp.
I decide to help by doing what I do best. Actually, work fascinates me; I could watch it for hours.
In truth, we ate pretty well thanks to everyone's great cooking.
We took several hikes through the park, including an edible plants hike, led by a local naturalist. Here, we picked
Huckleberries.
We learn the proper way to eat a
Hazelnut.
And a crowd favorite,
Wild Ginger.
We wander around the giant redwoods enjoying the big trees.
OK, time for a hiking group photo. Check out this "before" picture. Everyone looks nice and normal.
Then, everyone ate a handful of Poison Oak.
We wander around the trees and see this cutie who seemed mesmerized by the Redwood Grove sights.
We had a great time as usual and spent a lot of time telling everyone about the China trip.
One last group photo with the whole gang, Liz, Kayla,Win, Hippo, Nick, Ryan, Glen, Mona, Ellen, Pallas, Lisa, and me.
Time to leave Henry Cowell and begin planning next year's location.
Well, the China blog is finished and I am back to the usual hiking, wildlife, and plants stuff. Time for our annual camping trip with our friends, for a total of four families including us. Always fun, it is good to hang with our friends and live in the woods for four days. ("Live in the woods" being defined as car-camping, actually).
Henry Cowell is a nice park near Santa Cruz, CA. It is known for its hiking trails and its giant redwoods. The Redwood Grove Self-Guided Trail is a popular one. Lisa served as our guide, doing a great job reading points of local info at the various numbered spots.
"Hey, Glen and Kayla, go stand by the giant redwood. I'll get your picture! I'll bet no one thought of getting this shot!"
This tree is my favorite. Like the beehive-behind-glass at Knotts Berry Farm that so fascinated me as a kid, this does the same. Seeing the ring that grew during such events as the birth of Jesus, the voyage of Columbus, the signing of the Magna Carta, and the various wars gives me the chills. Just like seeing an entire beehive two inches away safely behind a half inch of glass.
Henry Cowell State Park is a cool place, though a little crowded for me. The redwoods are huge, as expected, but I goofed up and got one of those tree-growing-out-of-the-subject's-head shots.
Lots to do at the park. We like hanging out with our friends Hippo, cooking a great meal, Ellen looking happily retired, Winnie pensive, and angelic Kayla.
There was an impromptu wood-chopping contest. Lisa kicked butt and had the hardest piece of wood. I had a hard time chopping the carrots.
The main part of camping is the tent. It is fun to set up if you like jamming poles through plastic sleeves in the sun, bugs, and dirt. Tents always look cool from a distance.
The second key part of camping is that you have lots of free time, something that I am not unaccustomed to. Other than cooking and hiking, there is not a lot to do, so in my free time, I consider a new career.
Everyone is happy when camping. Lisa and me, Ryan and Win, Kayla and Liz, and the famous painting, the MonaLisa.
Pallas likely laughing at one of my jokes. OK, probably not.
Win decides to cook us up some grubs, beetles, and tree bark. We are, after all, camping. He pours in some moldy pond water just for flavoring.
Fortunately, we all survive Win's stew by sharing a box of this.
Being a police officer, Win is entitled to wear special socks. If a criminal tries to run, Win whips off his shoe and sings the COPS tune. Stops the bad guys cold every time. Actually, Win is the coolest cop I know. He didn't even get mad when I accidentally tossed his club into the fire.
Ellen, Mona, and Lisa decide that they are going to put up the shade tarp.
I decide to help by doing what I do best. Actually, work fascinates me; I could watch it for hours.
In truth, we ate pretty well thanks to everyone's great cooking.
We took several hikes through the park, including an edible plants hike, led by a local naturalist. Here, we picked Huckleberries.
We learn the proper way to eat a Hazelnut.
And a crowd favorite, Wild Ginger.
We wander around the giant redwoods enjoying the big trees.
OK, time for a hiking group photo. Check out this "before" picture. Everyone looks nice and normal.
Then, everyone ate a handful of Poison Oak.
We wander around the trees and see this cutie who seemed mesmerized by the Redwood Grove sights.
We had a great time as usual and spent a lot of time telling everyone about the China trip.
One last group photo with the whole gang, Liz, Kayla,Win, Hippo, Nick, Ryan, Glen, Mona, Ellen, Pallas, Lisa, and me.
Time to leave Henry Cowell and begin planning next year's location.
