A New Hobby: MUSHROOMS!

Following our introduction to Mushrooms at the Telluride Mushroom Festival, Gerry and I decided to do some mushroom hunting on our own back home.  We've had a fair amount of rain this season, by Los Angeles standards, so we were optimistic we would find some mushrooms.

We're fairly new at this, so it may take us some time to figure out the species we are seeing.  Gerry is more into the identification than I am - probably due to his background in biology and avid interest in science and nature.  However, I share his passion for nature and being in the great outdoors.

Here are some pictures.

 

Our good friend Kiki joined us.  Here she is with us in the Royce Canyon area of Griffith Park.

May 2013 be a year that you find whatever you are seeking!

GET OUT AND VOTE!!!

Please, Please, Please.  Democracy only works if us citizens participate!

Go Vote!   For the first time, I voted by mail.  I didn't want to do so...I like the feeling of going to my polling place, casting my ballot, and then wearing the sticker, (I VOTED).  This year I cannot do so because I signed up to be a  Voting Clerk.  I'm going to be one of those people who crosses off your name and makes sure you understand how "to vote."  I volunteered to participate in this democratic process.  I committed to being at the polling place at 6:00 am to set stuff up so all should be in place by 7:00am when the polls open.  I'll be there until 8:00 pm when the polls close.  We then break down and I should be out of there by 9:00 pm. 

We'll see how this goes.  I am looking forward to it.  I think Election Day should be a HOLIDAY!  To me, it is more significant than Columbus Day and other BS holidays we observe.  Oh well.

Final Message -  GET OUT AND VOTE  

Signing off,
Mary

An Ocean Swim in October!

A fall heat wave hit Los Angeles.  Sunday (Oct 14) Gerry & I escaped the heat and headed to Seal Beach. 

Seal Beach is one of our favorite beach cities.  Very clean, quaint and non-touristy. 

I like the "non crowds."

We arrived at the beach and were pleasantly surprised to observe a kite flying festival.

It was probably 80 degrees at the beach, which was a welcome relief from the mid-90 temps we were experiencing at home, near Hollywood.   The ocean water temp was a bit cold, but I decided to go for it, and went into the water for a quick few minute dip.  How often can you go swimming in October?  Not sure if this will happen in November!  But, who knows....   

The Endeavor - Captured!

We drove up the block near the entrance to Griffith Park from Green Oak Drive. We parked the car and then hiked a mile or so to a very advantageous viewing location to witness this historic event. Click Here to See Link.  Then select "slideshow".

The Four Corners & Telluride!

Gerry and I recently returned from a fabulous road trip.  We left Los Angeles last Monday and drove to Flagstaff, AZ.  Tuesday we drove to Mexican Hat, UT. 

Mexican Hat

We explored the area, and did some hiking in Monument Valley.  We stayed overnight at the Mexican Hat Lodge, one of only 3 places to stay in town.  The Trip Advisor web-site warned us to "be brave."  Actually, the place was fine.  We didn't spend much time in the lodge, so it didn't really matter. 

Natural Bridges National Monument was a blast!  We hiked the 8.6 mile loop trail which led us beneath all 3 of the natural bridges.  It was a very scenic hike along the canyon  floor.  The temperature was HOT and we only saw a few other hikers. 

Owachomo Bridge

Thursday was our Mesa Verde National Park day.   It is definitely a Park worth visiting.  I highly recommend taking the one-hour tours of the cliff dwellings.  The ancient Pueblo indians lived here in the 1200s, and then disappeared from the region in the year 1300 or so. 

Mesa Verde - Cliff Palace Tour w Ranger Bill
 

Mesa Verde -The Cliff Palace;  a view from the distance.

Thursday evening we arrived in Telluride!  We highly anticipated participating in the 32nd annual Telluride Mushroom Festival.  Anne's family founded the event over 30 years ago.  It is quite the convention of mycologists and avid mushroom people!  It was my first visit to Telluride and I was impressed with the spectacular scenery - not to mention the mushroom forays and spending time with my sister and her family.  We were in Telluride until Sunday morning.  The three days in Telluride flew by!  


Jason leads us on a 6:00 am mushroom foray Friday morning.

Amanita Muscaria!  What a find!

Pretty to view...but don't eat these!



Eat these instead:  Lactarious Deliciousus!  We did so on Friday night.

We went on a few forays Friday and also on Saturday.  Saturday evening we participated in the Mushroom Parade.  The Mushroom Parade is definitely one of the highlights of the festival weekend.  Creative costumes galore!  Our "Family-ta Muscaria" won the best costume award.  I admit we did look pretty darn cute.   


Before the Mushroom Parade
 

Check out the fancy headwear, or should I say mushroom caps?



Doing the muscaria tango!

 We can't wait until next August when we hope to return to Telluride for the 33rd annual Mushroom Festival.  It's a beautiful setting for a fantastic festival! 

More pictures of our road trip can be found here. 



Olympic Viewing

I do admit - every 4 years I become a TV / Olympic-Viewing Junkie.  Yes, there are more important and urgent things I need, and should do.   But the Olympics happen only every 4 years!   I plan to live to be a hundred years old, so with simple math I will only be able to see te Olympics 25  times.  Of course the actual  number is much lower, since I can't watch and appreciate the Olympics at age 4 nor at age 96.

I admire the athletes.  I was a somewhat competitive athlete myself so I do appreciate the dedication and determination these athletes have experienced.  They are going for the Gold.  They provide the Inspiration for future generations.   Let the games begin!   Let us all learn that the world would be a better place if we compete on the playing field, instead of the bombing field.  

Every Olympian is a winner in my opinion.   It hsd taken tremendous time, effort and sacrifices to get them to where they are NOW...participating in the Olympics!   Let's support them ALL!

In the meantime I will relax and watch the games unfold, not feeling guilty for  being lazy, but enjoying the time viewing the games.  I love the Olympics!

The SNOWY RANGE and COLORADO!

We were in Colorado & Wyoming for 6 days,  July 11 - July 17.  We packed in a lot of FUN in a short period of time.  Weds evening we had dinner with my sister Anne and her family in Denver.   My neice Nell made dessert - raspberry cream puffs, with raspberries picked that afternoon from their highly prolific raspberry patch.  

The happy baker with her cream puffs

We headed up to Fort Collins and spent Weds evening with my parents, and then took off for the Snowy Range in WY on Thursday morning.  We stayed at the Historic Mountain View Hotel in Centennial WY on Thurs and Fri nights.  What a fantastic place!

Built in 1907, this has been significantly restored, and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, as of 2007.

We were in the Snowy Range for hiking, and boy did we get our full of wonderful scenic hiking trails!

We did a 4 mile hike Thursday afternoon, then an 8 mile hike Friday morning and early afternoon, followed by a 4 1/2 mile hike later Friday afternoon.  Fields of columbine & lupine were abundant, plus we saw some beautiful butterflies, and gorgeous vistas as we traversed by several mountain lakes.

A clump of Columbine mingling adjacent to some Asters

Beautiful bouquets everywhere!

Sugarloaf Mountain backdrops a plethora of lakes

We spent Saturday, Sunday & Monday nights with my parents in Fort Collins and had a very nice visit with them.  Sunday evening we went to Boulder to attend the 80th birthday celebration of John Hanson.  John was Gerry's boss and mentor when Gerry worked for Abbott Labs 1975 - 1980 as one of Abbott's All Star sales reps.  (This was pre-Mary days, since I didn't meet Gerry until 1985.)  It was a fine celebration and Gerry visited with friends from the good old days!

I think the world would be a better place if there were more 80th Birthday Celebrations!  

Celebrating Gerry's 61st Birthday!

We celebrated Gerry's 61st Birthday this weekend with a hiking and camping  trip to Pinnacles National Monument, wine tasting in Paso Robles,  and then hiking and camping in Montana de Oro State Park.

A sweaty 61 year old young Gerry

We departed Los Angeles on June 7th, the birthday morning, a bit later than we had hoped.  Still, we got out of town by 10:00 am and arrived in Pinnacles Campground by 4:00 pm.

What is Pinnacles?, you might wonder.  Here is my answer:  it is an amazing place to hike, camp, and explore.  It is off the radar of most people, which is good, for those of us who thrive on a hiking experience on paths less travelled.

Wow....what a hike!   And then, we did another hike  the following day on Saturday.  We hiked a different route, which took us up to a cave.

I'm glad there wasn't an earthquake as we ducked our heads, passing below this narrow squeeze.

After 2 days of hiking, it was time to "clean up."  On Saturday afternoon we left Pinnacles and drove to Paso Robles (an hour drive I think)  and checked into the Adelaide Inn.  The Adelaide Inn is fabulous.  The staff is friendly and accomodating.   We were in the mood for Mexican food, so we went to Senor Sanchez,a local restaurant  for dinner Saturday night.  

We did visit a few wineries on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.  Our favorites were the Adelaida Winery and Castoro Cellars. 

Sunday, after we checked out of the Adelaide, we drove an hour to Montana de Oro State Park.    We camped here and hiked on Monday morning, before we hit the road back to L.A.

What a Trip!!!  It was so much FUN  !

 

Weekend in Big Bear

A few weeks ago, the weekend of April 21-22, Gerry and I visited Big Bear.  The main reason for our getaway was to attend the memorial service of our dear friend, Herb Drury.  Herb died on Christmas day, 2011 at the age of 82 years.  The Memorial Service was held Saturday April 21st.  It was a lovely service.


June 2005 with Herb & Sherry in Big Bear, (Herb's back yard)

I have known Herb for 26 years.  Gerry knew him for even longer.  Herb was a person who lived life to the fullest.  He graduated with honors from Dartmouth College, with a degree in Biology.  He was also on the ski-jump team at Dartmouth.  Herb enjoyed skiing and was an avid skiier up until the year he died.  In the 1950s, as a young man, Herb was part of a crew that captured musk ox in the Arctic. Their adventure was featured in an article in Life Magazine. 

Herb loved life and certainly lived his life to its fullest.  He was a true nature lover, he fly-fished way back when, before it became the yuppie thing to do.  He also was a hiker and hunter.  Herb never missed the opportunity of an outdoor adventure. 

I have many fond memories of Herb.   Over the years we hiked and camped together on several occasions.  We shared many exciting adventures together.  Herb was with us on a memorable river raft trip on the Gunnison Gorge, in western Colorado, near Olathe.  Olathe is the town know for its sweet corn.  We stocked up on groceries in Olathe before we got on the river. The 8 of us on the raft trip tried to decide how much corn to purchase.  Most of us said we would be good for 2 ears of corn; realizing you can work up quite an appetite on a rafting trip!  Herb asked to be allotted 6 ears of corn.  I'll never forget our campside dinner.  Everyone else was long done eating and Herb was contentedly  munching away on his half a dozen ears of corn!  He certainly had a hearty appetite - both for food and for an exciting life.   He will be sorely missed by all who knew him.  R.I.P. dear friend.

April 22, 2012-  In Big Bear, thinking of Herb

A beautiful day for a Hike!

Gerry and I went on a lovely hike the day after the Memorial Service.  We don't visit Big Bear very often; and I know whenever I am in Big Bear I will think of Herb.

Happy Spring!

Gerry and I enjoyed a wonderful Easter weekend in the mid-West, visiting with his family.  We celebrated Ann Hans (Gerry's mother) 85th birthday! 

It was a fiasco getting there (1 1/4 hours after our flight departed the pilot made an announcement we would be returning to LAX because of a problem with the rudder.)  Anyway, we did arrive on Saturday evening in Decatur - 5 hours late. 

Our family is growing.  I have several grand nieces and nephews.  Hard to believe how fast time flies.

PICTURES of PATAGONIA

Las Glaciers Natl Park - ARGENTINA

We've been home for a few months and I admit to being lame regarding this blog.

Magellanic Woodpecker

For all those who want to view many more photos, here is the link.

https://picasaweb.google.com/106363320371868844244/MaryGerrySPatagoniaTrip#

A belated "Happy New Year" wish to all.

From the Happy Hikers!  (Mary & her better-half, Gerry)

PATAGONIA!

We were very fortunate this past holiday season to spend time in Patagonia!  We visited the southern area of Patagonia, both Chile & Argentina.   We booked a trip with Andes Adventures, an active vacation touriing company which I highly recommend, if you want to experience South America with the experts!

A week before we departed I had a conversation with my friend Julie, who did this trek with Andes Adventures in 2003.  She predicted, "You will absolultely love it!  But, be sure to bring the warmest clothes you own becasue it will most likely be cold & windy."

"Hmm", I thought, suddenly regretting my decision to give my ski jacket to Goodwill several months ago.  Julie is perceptive, and perhaps my facial expression might have tuned her in to to my thoughts.  In any case, she said "I have a wonderful warm down parka jacket you can borrrow.  Please do so, because you will need it."  Two days later I arrived at her doorstep to take her up on her kind offer.

We arrived in sunny Santiago on Tuesday Dec 20th in the early morning hours. Our next flight was late in the afternoon to Punta Arenas, which is in Southern Chile, and would be our introduction to Patagonia! (My trick to remembering the name of this town, Punta Arenas,  was "kick butt" or "punt your anus."  If you pronounced "punt-uh--your-anus", most of the locals would interpret it as Punta Arenas, so all would be good!)   "Savor the heat," was my mantra during the day in sunny Santiago, since I knew it wouldn't last for long.  Patagonia is well-known for it's windy, chilly temperatures.

We did arrive in the kick-butt town and were ready to embark on the trekking adventure!  Our first five days of hiking would be in the National Park of Torres del Paine, in Chile.  We stayed in refugios the 5 different nights, in 3 separate locations, which were very basic but perfectly adequate.  No complaints, after all, we were here for the hiking!

The weather was warm.  We hiked 4 days in Torres del Paine - covering a total of 46 miles.  It was gorgeous!  Short sleeve weather, and light weight pants all of the days.  I never did use Julie's down parka; which proves my theory: If you pack it you won't need it - but if you DON'T pack it you DO need it!

Our guide, Armando, was friendly and knowledgable.  The scenery was truly spectacular.

Our favorite refugio in Torres del Paine was our own private cabana where we stayed in Refugio Cuernos.

This was so much fun!   We enjoyed Patagonia (Chile), but also looked forward to the second half of our trip in Patagonia.  (Argentina -  to follow!)