Hugging Friends and Other New Things

Friends Jamie and Angela came to visit from Humboldt County this week.

It has been more than a year since we could hug, or be in close proximity with others, but now that we are fully vaccinated we can hang out with others who are also vaccinated, and this week we had visits from three couples at Samuel P Taylor State Park. On Sunday Steve and Sue and their daughter Catherine were in the Bay Area to visit Sue's 92 year old mother who is just going into Hospice Care. Steve, Sue and Catherine live up in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties and it was good to see them and visit and eat hamburgers around the campfire - and get hugs. On Monday while doing campground check, Don and Tana, colleagues of mine from Nevada County years ago just happened to come camping here and we got to catch up with each other regarding how retirement is going. Tana was my parents' pastor in Grass Valley at the time of their deaths and she and husband Don have now moved from their Grass Valley home to Vallejo. As we approached each other we started to put on masks, but after each disclosing that we were at least two weeks out from our last COVID shot, the masks came off and hugs were exchanged. (Forgot to get pictures of Sue, Steve, Catherine, Don and Tana). Jamie and Angela, active leaders and musicians from Eureka First United Methodist Church were coming down to the REI store in Santa Rosa to get some supplies for their upcoming long distance bike ride from Portland, Oregon to Jackson Hole Wyoming this summer so they decided to camp with us. We enjoyed walking and talking with them, and I even rode my bicycle for a few miles with them on their way to Point Reyes Station for lunch. It felt new and wonderful to be able to visit normally with friends!

Hugs from old friends isn't all that is new. The John Deere Gator we've been using stopped starting. A new battery was procured but that didn't solve the problem so we exchanged the small Gator for one a little bigger, complete with roof - it would have been nice in the rain. We really have not used the Gator much at all until the wood arrived, but now Rob uses it to go get more wood each day so we have it to sell at our camp site and each evening we drive around the campground delivering wood.

Don and Tana took this picture of us in the new to us Gator.

Diane, Molly, Bailey Cooper and Rich

We also have new friends, Diane and Rich and their dogs Molly and Bailey Cooper. They arrived the first of April to be the Park Hosts near the entrance to the campground - wish we were going to have more time to spend with them before we leave April 30, but maybe we'll overlap here again next year. We've also gotten to know some of the regular visitors to the park who walk here past our campsite regularly. Before this time as Camp Hosts I knew we'd meet lots of nice people, just like we had when we were traveling, but I didn't think about lasting friendships that might form with regular park visitors, other camp hosts and staff. That has been a wonderful serendipity.

There are lots of other "new" things. We are hoping to join our daughter Sheila in Europe in September for an Inn to Inn hike and for that I want to be sure I don't drag too far behind her so I've started a hiking "training" program. I also want to be able to hike at the higher elevations around Lake Tahoe this summer and to go backpacking some. For years I've regularly walked 5 miles or more a day - keeping track with a FitBit watch - and tried to set a goal of 50 miles per week. My "new" plan is to keep the 5 mile minimum, but to increase the weekly goal by 2 more miles each week. My goal for the past week, ending today, is 61 miles, but the day isn't over and I'm already up to 64 miles. To accomplish the extra miles I hike what I call three "training" hikes each week - two between 3 and 5 miles and one longer hike - so far the longer hikes have been 7 and 9 miles, and I plan to hike an 11 mile loop that Rob and I have done before, but we took most of the day to do it. I hope to do it in less than 4 hours first thing in the morning and be back in time for campground check at noon. My "training" also involves daily walking with my new lighter weight backpack. Currently it weighs between 20 and 25 pounds and is loaded with books. We head to Colfax on Monday and then I'll pick up my backpack gear and load it with what I'll actually be carrying on the trail. Ever since hiking the 170 miles of the Tahoe Rim Trail in 2016 I have talked about getting a lighter weight backpack, but have not done it, thinking maybe I won't really use it enough. Finally I decided since I'm not getting any younger I needed to either put backpacking out of my mind or invest in some more light weight gear. I already have a light weight tent, sleeping bag, stove and cook gear. I'm keeping the distance right now to 1 1/4 miles a day with the pack on, but will start increasing that after I get the "real" stuff in it. Wish me luck!

My new Osprey backpack.

Something new that is not so pleasant is that due to the severely low rainfall this year the wells that supply the campground's water are not producing enough to provide all the water needed in the park and the necessary reserves in case of fire. The first mitigation was to stop campers from taking showers, but that wasn't enough, so now the bathrooms are locked and portable toilets have been brought in. Hopefully this will make enough difference to keep the campground open through the summer. The water is still turned on and folks can get good potable water out of the stand pipes for drinking and cooking, and of course we still have our water hook up to the RV.

It was sad to see these porta potties arrive several days ago.

Of course something else that is ever changing and new is the vegetation with blossoms coming and going, leaves appearing and increasing in size on trees and shrubs and even new plants popping out of the ground. I don't think I could possibly keep track of what they all are, but it's fun to notice new things pretty much daily, and I wonder, what will they all look like when we return in November!

Angela named this shrub, but I can't remember what she called it.

This I think is some form of lily bulb - not sure we'll be here long enough to see blossoms.

My INaturalist app couldn't identify these leaves that look something like the Redwood Violets,

but are different.

These are "baby" Big Leaf Maple Leaves.

I love seeing the leaves appear small on lots of things, and then grow bigger.

Here is a formerly "naked" tree with leaves showing it is a Buckeye tree.

This is a blossom I saw for the first time this morning - I think it might be "False Solomon's Seal."

See the Bobcat on the log?

This critter surprised be about 6:00 PM on the South Creek Trail several days ago.

It was in front of me walking the same way I was, but when it became aware of me it hopped on the log to turn and look at me. I decided it best not to walk on by, and took a side trail away.

Another view of the bobcat

My first long "training" hike was on Saturday, April 3 when I hiked along the North Creek Trail to where it ends and then scrambled up the bank to Sir Francis Drake Blvd. and headed to the entrance of Devil's Gulch a tenth of a mile away and then crossed the first of 8 bridges as I headed up Bill's Trail. We had hiked down this wooded trail in November after climbing the very steep fire trail to Barnabe Peak. It is a much longer route to the ridge than the fire road, but with a much easier incline. We'd wanted to go up it, but it was closed for the winter beginning in late November and just recently reopened. It was amazing how much easier it was to walk 3.7 miles gradually up than to walk less than 2 miles steeply up. I only paused once on the ascent to take a picture. The first of the 8 bridges occur in the first 3/4 of a mile, but then it's over a mile and a half to the 4th one - I kept wondering if I'd ever get to it, but of course I did. At the top of Bill's trail the view opens up into the open grass lands and on the way down I could see all the way out to Tomales Bay. The lookout at Barnabe Peak is about a half mile further up the ridge from the junction of Bill's Trail and the Fire Trail, but I wasn't interested in going all the way that day.

Bridge 8 near the top of Bill's Trail

Sign at the top of Bill's Trail

Our campsite is another mile and a half further.

The view to the west after I emerged from the top of Bill's Trail

Another view looking west as I descended the Fire Trail - total hike about 7 miles

It was strange to spend Easter Sunday not leading or even attending a sunrise service. Rob and I watched the prerecorded Easter service for Eureka First United Methodist Church actually on Easter Eve, but Easter morning at sunrise I sat outside by my campfire and watched the live sunrise service at Eureka First Baptist Church. The past several years Cassie Wyland, the Baptist pastor, Steve Berti, the Nazarene pastor, and I have lead the community Easter sunrise services in Eureka at the Adorni Center by Humboldt Bay, but this year due to COVID, of course, everything is different.

It's not possible to see the sun rise from our campsite, but this is what the early morning sun light coming through the redwood trees by my campfire looks like.

Our son Shawn who lives in Richmond with his family has a monohull sailboat that he bought a year or so ago. Until last week we had never been on it so Monday, April 5 we headed over to the Marina in Richmond and joined Shawn and his daughters Sophia and Naomi for a three hour sail out of the Marina, around Red Rock near the Richmond San Rafael Bridge, and back to the harbor. The three of them were going to spend the next 5 days on the boat, sailing up into the Delta. It was our first time sailing on a monohull - our son Scott has a catamaran and it's quite a different sailing experience. I really loved the tipping of Shawn's boat once I was convinced it wouldn't tip all the way over, and all in all I enjoyed the adventure. Rob is not really fond of water sports of just about any kind, so he was a good sport to go along.

Sophia and Naomi transporting some of their supplies for the week in a cart.

The girls, with life jackets and harnesses secured to the boat were ready for their adventure.

There is a camera on an Osprey nest on a crane near the Richmond harbor.

This is a screen shot as we past below the nest on the way out without the sails up.

Here is the picture of us on the way back in under sail.

Shawn, Naomi and Sophia, waving good bye to us after helping us off Wind Horse after our three hour cruise. They stayed with her through Friday, covering 145 Nautical Miles on their sailing expedition!

The day after sailing on Wind Horse Rob and I headed to a new to us State Park - Trione-Annadel State Park near Santa Rosa. It is strictly a day use park for hikers, bicyclists and equestrians, beautifully situated just east of Santa Rosa. There are over 40 miles of trails - we only hiked a little over 4 miles - with lots of variation in vegetation and terrain. We even encountered redwoods there, but also lots of wildflowers we haven't seen at Samuel P Tayor State Park.

Heading up Steve's S Trail at the beginning of our hike

Notice the black rocks on our path?

We thought they looked like obsidian, but it wasn't until later when we saw the camp brochure that we confirmed these black rocks on Steve's S Trail were indeed obsidian. Indigenous People in the region traded this valuable rock found here.

One of several deer we saw along the trails

I didn't realize until later that my picture included two lizards, not just the one on top of the rock.

One of several wild turkeys we heard and/or saw.

A pair of ducks on the shore and another bird walking in the water.

A Turkey Vulture soaring above us.

A lovely fern at Trione-Annadel State Park

Henderson's Shooting Star

A wild Iris

Blue-eyed Grass (I think)

A flower and rock garden

Blue Dicks

Canyon Delphinium (according to another hiker)

Pretty white flowers

Rob waiting for me as I straggled behind taking pictures.

A beautiful gnarly old tree

Lake Ilsanjo - the water level is pretty low!

Sunday, April 11, was my second long "training" hike. I hiked up Ridge Trail to Barnabe Peak, a route we have taken before, but this time I came down the long, but easier way, on Bill's Trail, making a total round trip of about 9 miles. I saw new wildflowers along the way, and still found the hike up the steep Ridge Trail challenging, but obviously doable. It's about a 1200 foot elevation gain in 2.4 miles.

Monkey Flower - at least I think that's what this is. It was the first time I've seen it at Samuel P Taylor - it was far up on the Ridge Trail, but it is very common on the Steven's Trail in Colfax, a route into the American River Canyon we have hiked many times in the past.

Some Hog Weed starting to bloom.

There is lots of Hog Weed in the park, but this was the first time I had seen what it looks like just before it blooms. Notice the bump? The flower seems to unfold from that lump.

An "unfolding" Hog Weed blossom

A fully opened Hog Weed Blossom

A group of Hog Weed Blossoms

A hazy view looking east across Lagunitas from the the Ridge Trail

Approaching the Lookout, still close to a half mile away on the trail

Can you tell that I still have to go down and then up again steep to reach the top?

Heading down Bill's Trail

Looking down at one of the bridges before I cross it.

A wild Iris along Bill's Trail

And look! A trillium blooming beside Bill's Trail

Bridge 1 - the end, or beginning, of Bill's Trail, depending on which way you're going.

I promised that as long as there are Trilliums continuing to bloom in the park that I will post pictures of them. When Angela was here I learned something new about the Trilliums. I already knew that it took several years for them to produce their first blossom, but what I didn't know was that when they first sprout from their seeds there is only one leaf, not the the three they will eventually have before blooming. Angela pointed out some of these one leafed Trilliums and now I have seen lots of them. There seem to be just two varieties of Trilliums at Samuel P Taylor State Park out of the 39 native to North America. The smaller white ones may be the Pacific Trillium and then there are the larger Wakerobins, so named according to one source I read because they bloom about the same time the Robins appear in the spring.

A young Trillium plant with just one leaf.

This is the only example of what appears to be a two leafed Trillium plant that I have seen.

Three leafed Trillium without a flower

A blooming Trillium, looking fresh and new this week.

A group of blooming trilliums

A burgundy colored Giant Wakerobin Trillium - I've seen only 3 or 4 this color.

Most of the Wakerobins I have seen are this champagne color.

Of course Trilliums are not the only things blooming in the redwoods. There are beautiful carpets of Redwood Sorrel here, and more and more yellow Redwood Violets now blooming.

Blooming Redwood Sorrell

Notice how flat the Redwood Sorrel leaves are?

When hit by direct sunlight the leaves fold down until the shade returns

Some Redwood Violets

Some beautiful Redwood trees

Even poison oak, growing as a vine on this Redwood tree is beautiful, just don't touch!

Not everything in the park is native. There are many remnants of the orchards planted in the 19th century by Stephen P Taylor's family. The apple tree that was still holding apples on its limbs in early December has yet to produce blossoms, though there are leaves appearing now.

Orchard tree blossoms. Cherry?

The orchard remnants, though not native, are protected as part of the cultural heritage of the park, but there are also unwanted invasive species like Vinca and Forget Me Nots. Though they are pretty, they choke out the native plants and there have been some efforts to eliminate them.