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For this blog:

This blog is from various activities and sights, over many years, from our many short mini-trips around California.  These include a trip to Monterey in 2007, a 2008 drive through Kern County, 2009 San Francisco Garden Show and some sights visited when my brother Dan and his wife, Theresa, visited in 2011.  There are also some pictures from around Moraga, our home town for many years and gardens of some of our friends.  

We saw a massive wildflower super bloom and have had short trips to family and friends around the state.  There really is a big variety of trips. 

Please do read through this blog for our narrative and the related photos.  

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2007 - Monterey

This seems to have been a relatively short tip to the Monterey Peninsula...one of our favorite locations in Northern California.  

As usual we spent a fair amount of time just sitting on a big rock and enjoying the bay,

the wave action,

and the birds.

We also spent some time in the aquarium...where we visited the jellyfish tanks. 

2008 Kern County

On our way back from Las Vegas we decided to take the long way, through the countryside of Kern County.  This is a mix of a 2008 trip and Mary's drive in 2011.

We drove through the Red Rock Canyon area...

and along the North Fork of the Kern River.

We also spent some time at the shore of Isabella Lake.

We stumbled across the South Creek Falls.  It was running very well

We had a stop in Kernville where we visited the Riverview Lodge.  There was a great wall covered with flowers.

We were relying on a GPS unit to get to Balance Rock.  It told us to turn right, into a locked gate that was across essentially a dirt set of ruts..  So we went round the hill and found the other end of the ruts - it would have been the shortest route, probably not the fastest, even with a jeep.

We drove searching for the balance rock, until we came to the community of Balance Rock.  We had gone too far.  So we turned around, and eventually spotted the Balance Rock.  It could not be seen going the other way, as it was hidden away well below the road. 

2009 San Francisco Garden Show

Some of the temporary gardens set up for the San Francisco Garden Show.

2010 August Sierra Photo Trip

We decided to head out for a weekend for a photography trip.  

We stopped in Colusa, CA (namesake for Mary's hometown of Colusa IL).  It is a farming community and we noticed a lot of humidity here.  They raise a lot of rice in the area.  The town was rather quaint and sleepy.

As we drove through Colusa county we saw many old dilapidated buildings...very photogenic.  

We also stopped to take pictures at a pretty reservoir. 

We stumbled across the Bridgeport Covered Bridge ...

over the South Yuba River.  There were a lot of people enjoying the river.

We also saw a couple of deer pretty close. 

We spent the night in Sierra City.  It is an old gold rush town and has some of the buildings to match.  

It is a weekend so we had a bit of a time finding a hotel to stay in.  Fortunately, the owners of the Red Moose Inn decided to give us their one private room.  They actually come up for gold panning but do open the back yard of the inn for hikers to pitch their tents.  

The room was pretty interesting with a stove in the middle of the room and a bathroom whose walls didn't go to the ceiling and the door was a swinging saloon type door. only little longer   

The mountains were pretty awesome this time of year and the streams and rivers were running.  

We also had interesting sights to see in the foothills and the valley floor