The Water Is Wide

...and I cannot cross over... and neither have I wings to fly...

The West Walker River in the Eastern Sierra is running high this season. In past years when Dad and I have camped here we've been able to dip our toes in the water. Not now. That current is swift and ice cold. In fact there's still so much snow in the high country that the road over Tioga Pass is still closed. That's unusual for mid-June.

I heard that the mountain rescue people are training intensively right now to save folks who do foolish things around rivers. They won't have to worry about me. I'm no dummy. Have adventures but by all means safety first!

Carrizo Plain National Monument

Memorial Day weekend and  Dad and I took a little trip south. This place is quiet and peaceful, but also windy and rainy.

Not very many people know about this place in eastern San Luis Obispo county. It's sometimes called the "Serengetti of California" because a lot of wildlife pass through here. We saw a hawk up really close which was way cool.

Come here but don't tell too many of your friends.

Darwin Falls

A waterfall in the desert? Impossible, you say?

I have a suggestion. Check out the Darwin Falls Trail in Death Valley National Park. It starts by following a dry riverbed which soon has water and trees. If you go all the way to the falls, it's pretty cool. It's important to keep this area clean because the creek supplies water to the Panamint Springs Resort (where we ate lunch).

Death Valley Days

It's a beautiful morning in the desert, and I sure do love sand dunes.

Death Valley National Park

Scary name, but a beautiful place...

Dad, Pam and I are spending a long weekend camping here. We're planning to hit all the cool spots. I'm looking forward to catching up with my old buddies, the Salt Creek pupfish (Cyprinodon salinus). The species is currently listed as "endangered" because it has such a small habitat (basically just one very salty creek, although it has some cousins elsewhere in the desert). If I was a member of an endangered species, I sure would like to live in a protected area where I would have plenty of visitors to value me and keep me company.

Someday All This Will Be Mine

Actually, it already is (although I share it with the rest of the American people). I'm at the Mono Lake overlook on U.S. 395. Most of the land in the background is managed either by the U.S. Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management. It's our collective heritage, I'm proud to say. I believe that each generation has a duty to make it lasts.

This roadside stop is famous for its epic collection of stickers that travellers have placed on the guard rail. It a favorite of mine.

Go Green

Today is St. Patrick's Day, and I'm dressed the part. It was a beautiful sunny Spring day, great for a hike at the UC Davis Arboretum. Later wecwent plant shopping at Green Acres in Sacramento.