It is a losing battle

Here is Penelope through the back door screen, she wants to come back in. She is happily wagging her tail. Here is a close-up of her back after she has had a good back scratch by rolling on her back and wiggling all over in the dry grass in the back yard. We have tried brushing it off with a wire dog brush and wiping it off with a towel, but she gets it so embedded that it is hopeless. We just have to wait for the grass to green up again and that will be awhile yet. It is hopeless, our floors and area rugs are always covered in little bits of brown grass. Oh the joys of being a pet owner. Just about every time she goes out she comes in covered again.

Lou

Doorways

There’s just something about the old doorways in the historic centers of places like Las Cruces and Santa Fe that are so interesting and appealing. The thickness of the adobe walls, the bright blue trim or bright painted colors and designs, the old Spanish churches, the ever present hanging chilies, and the tin fixtures and wrought iron gates that has a quaint charm all its own. These were all from the old Mesilla area in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Lou

The Cliffs of Zion

I have always wanted to visit Zion National Park and in January finally did. We were on our way from Orem Utah to Las Vegas for the night. We drove right by the Kolob Canyons portion of Zion so stopped to take photos before driving on south and then west a bit to the main portion of the park. In the winter you can drive cars on the scenic drive through Zion Canyon but most of the year only shuttle buses are allowed. The light was getting low in the late afternoon so the bright colors were fading into the shadows but it was still spectacular.

Rains falling on the high Colorado plateau flowing ever downward through the soft geological layers have created the beautiful canyons in the “grand staircase” that includes Bryce Canyon (which is further north and east, we still have to go there) Zion Canyons and lower still the Grand Canyon where the waters all flow into the great Colorado River.

People have been coming here for thousands of years and have left traces. The Southern Paiute people lived here after the Ancestral Puebloans. A storage jar of corn was found in the park dating back 1,000 years. The new settlers who came were the early Mormon pioneers in the 1860s.

In addition to Bryce Canyon National Park we’d also like to go back and see Arches National Park in Utah sometime on another trip.

The first photo is from Kolob Canyons and the next ones are from the scenic drive in Zion. We made it to Las Vegas well after dark that day.

Lou 

Monarch Viewing

On our last day on the Central Coast before seeing our daughter, son-in-law and grandson off to the airport in Santa Barbara we got to visit one of the locations where the Monarch butterflies spend the winter. They live in the eucalyptus trees within walking distance of C’s grandmother’s home. Following the trail you arrive where the butterflies are but if it is a cool day they will be hanging in masses that look like growths or clumps of dead leaves high up in the branches. As the day warms up thousands fly around apparently. We only got to see a few “awake ones” but it was really cool.

After mating in January and going through a couple of generations the butterflies migrate over the spring and summer all over the western US and ultimately the adults that survive end up back on the Central coast of California again to spend the winter and start the cycle all over again.

Here is a description from a website where there is more information.

http://gocalifornia.about.com/cs/californiamenu/a/monarchs.htm

“ From mid-October through February each year, Monarch butterflies sleep in California's coastal eucalyptus groves. In early morning, visitors watch the trees like a crowd of expectant theatre-goers. Basketball-sized clusters of what at first appear to be brown leaves rustle and stir. The air fills with orange and black wings, and a monarch butterfly parade begins.”

Look for the clusters in my photos. One butterfly was kind enough to pose for me on a post.
Lou

The ocean

I love the mountains and love living near enough to see some of them off in the distance and to drive up into them and hike around in the forests, but there is nothing like the ocean to satisfy something in the soul. We walked down to the ocean twice during our stay at Summerland and also visited the cliffs near Goleta courtesy of C’s Grammy who lives there. We also went to the pier in Santa Barbara which is a fun  place.  Our last time to the ocean on the trip was at San Clemente when we got there just in time to go to the beach park and watch a beautiful sunset.

The two days at Summerland beach were quite different, the first had a turbulent surf and the second was much calmer, both were sunny and being winter not many people were out and about. The sea birds are always fun to watch as they skitter along. The cares and concerns of life seem to melt away as one just drinks in the sights and smells and the rhythm of the sea. Baby M. loved it there.

The cliffs in Goleta had a stunning view from above. On our walk there through a preserve area we passed students from the nearby college out for their runs. Lucky students to have a setting like that!

At San Clemente we had planned to drive to a certain point marked on the map but realized the sun would set before we found our way there, so we just pulled in to watch from the beach park along with a few others. It was cool and breezy as we sat on a bench so we didn’t stay long. I love the shimmering of the last rays on the wet sand.

God’s nature is so impressive!

Lou

Mom this is your kind of place!

Now that we are back home I can put up some photos from our road trip. First up is Paradise cottage in Summerland, California that merges into Santa Barbara. It sits along the coast along the famous coastal highway 101 a few miles south of Santa Barbara. It is a small little vacation community with ocean views and easy walking access down a steep hill to the beach and community park. It has a main street with shops and popular cafes and one historic community Presbyterian church that we attended the week we were there.

It proved to be a great home base. We found it on the website for vacation rentals in Santa Barbara. Since we had four adults and a baby in our group the three bedrooms and two full bathrooms worked out perfectly. In addition it had a comfortable living room space (a great ocean view from the couch) and a dining room area and a small eat in area in the kitchen. It had two deck areas, the one in front out the French doors had a beautiful view of the ocean, the other was off the master bedroom and then there was a yard and patio with a grill as well.

Upon arrival there were fresh baked brownies and a bottle of champagne and beer in the frig. The owner’s note invites you to use the fresh oranges to make mimosas if you like. The pantry had all the cooking supplies and spices one needs to cook or bake and every appliance and pan needed. We never did find the central piece to the juicer though so had to hand squeezed the oranges for juice. We used the outdoor grill one night to make burgers. We used the outdoor washer and dryer a bunch keeping up with all our laundry. We spread beach towels out in the living room for the baby to play on. There were books to read and a flat screen TV and a high speed internet connection and a nice Bose audio system that we kept on the classical musical station most of the time.

Being old and remodeled and in a moist climate there was a musty smell that son-in-law C. didn’t appreciate. We kept scented candles (provided) burning for him. The only other detractor was that although you couldn’t see the highway you could hear it from outside the cottage. The neighborhood however was safe and quiet.

The thing I liked best was the cottage style decorating and the attention to detail. The owner Francesca used hooked rugs and antique furnishings and original art on the walls. Her colors were whites and pastels. There were fresh flowers in every room, orchids in the bathrooms and candies in candy dishes in the bedrooms. The gardens were full of blooming roses and geraniums with pots of succulents on the decks. The yard was made private by vine covered walls with other tropical plants including jasmine and trumpet flowers.

It was all very charming and we had a lovely stay there. We hated to leave. I hope the pictures will do it justice.

Lou