SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ADVENTURES: Pal Joey's CAR RALLY - OCTOBER 26

The neighborhood Bar, Pal Joey’s, has sponsored a car rally for the past four years,  We came across the first one which was in 2010 purely by accident with our friend Tom Hawk. This year we saw ads for it the week before and decided to revisit the experience. It is always fun to capture lines, and designs of car manufacturers. The owners of the cars also have favorite angles which they will tell you about as well.

The owners of these cars spend hours polishing them and making them very pristine. Do not even think of touching a car. The owner will be on you quickly to remind you of your transgression. Many of the cars date back to the 1950’s and ‘60s with a few going back longer than that. All of the cars have been restored with rebuilt engines, reupholstered interiors, and occasional props. As you will see they are all immaculate.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the show --

Red, White, and Blue

Tribute to "The King"

Thanks for coming along on the ride.

GRAND CANYON VOLUNTEER - 11 OCTOBER, WEEK 19

 We enjoyed the quiet time at North Rim. It gave us time to catch up on a couple of projects, AND enjoy some pleasant hiking of the neighboring trails.

One thing I accomplished was updating my FLORA OF THE NORTH RIM albums. I added 15 plants to the books. There are still a few more waiting for confirmation, but due to the Sequestering/Furlough, I have been unable to access some websites and people. It was good though to get the 15 plant pictures and info cards completed and placed in the albums. As I completed the task of updating, I counted that there are now 126 plants identified and photographed in the two albums. These albums are located in the Visitor Center for reference material for both rangers and visitors.

Every morning and afternoon during our furloughed time we went for a good walk. There was a marked increase in sightings of deer and kaibab squirrels. They definitely appreciated the quieter park. As we packed up to leave the ravens had taken over the housing area and were out looking for things to eat or play with.

On Monday, October 7 we made the decision to call it a season. It appeared to us that the members of congress were not going to come to an early settlement. As the North Rim season ends on October 15^th, we decided that we wanted to head for San Diego. Another motivator was the weather forecast for Wednesday evening was a very good chance of snow. (It turns out that the forecast was correct in that they had about 4 inches of snow that night.)

I had started the packing process a little on Sunday, and got more into it on Monday. One of the other volunteers came by and organized a farewell for us to be on Tuesday evening at Ranger Gaelyn’s trailer. We succeeded in getting a great deal done on Tuesday and looked forward to moving out on Wednesday morning.

We had no idea who was around or who would attend the potluck, and we were very surprised by the turnout and testimonies. (This was the conclusion of ten summers of volunteering at the North Rim.) We were sent on our way with wonderful mementos from Park Service personnel, Wranglers, and Forever Resorts personnel. George got a royal thank you from the Law Enforcement staff, and we received lovely mementos from various coworkers, etc.

The North Rim Wall in the family room will soon have a new picture drawn by Vickie Loveless titled “Through the Mule’s Ears”, as well a carved NPS wooden arrowhead by John McFarland with written notes from staff on the back. (John works in Maintenance is an accomplished flint knapper, knife maker, and wood carver.) One of the rangers gave us condor coffee mugs, and our department boss made earrings for me, and an arrowhead pendant

for George. We also got memento t-shirts from Forever Resorts. 

On Wednesday morning we did one final walk to the Lodge to take in the view before breakfast. This has been a tradition of ours every week on one of our days off. All was very quiet with not a car in the visitor parking lots, and only a few people working at cleaning and painting around the Lodge. We did not see any deer on this walk, but did see a kaibab squirrel, and a few birds including the ravens keeping watch. Finally we got the trailer completely empty and cleaned out and we were ready to head for St. George.

The weather was threatening, but we did not get rained on. Once in St. George we settled into the Super 8 Motel and headed off for an afternoon walk. We walked to Smith’s Grocery where we picked up some bananas and started

to think about getting a deli sandwich for dinner. Suddenly we were greeted by Hiran who is the owner of the Motel. We have made his acquaintance over the years. He was tasting some fresh sushi and suggested we get some

for our dinner. After visiting with him and his oldest son, we acted on the suggestion. It was a nice treat and different.

The drive home on Thursday started with rain which lasted about an hour when we outran the storm. We made it

through Las Vegas early enough to beat the morning rush hour traffic. The remainder of the drive home went smoothly, and we were home by 1400 after a quick stop at a grocery store for milk and half-n-half for coffee.

We started the unpacking process and got quite a bit done before calling it a day about 1800. We both thoroughly enjoyed our hot showers before having vegetarian pizza delivered.

The next few days were spent unpacking, cleaning, and then storing gear, clothes, and memorabilia. As with any moving, it made us do a little cleaning out of stuff in our house. We now have to call AMVETS to come pick up discarded books, cooking gear, clothing, etc. There is still research to be done with regard to flora, photographs to sort through, and letters to write. We should be back in the San Diego mode in another day or two.

This will mean getting back into volunteering at our regional park, Mission Trails where we do trail patrols, nature walks, and occasional Visitor Center Duty. We also need to get out and do some exploring of our back country this time of year for wildlife and scenics.  I will be joining friends for hikes, as well as photo adventures right here in San Diego County.

We had a busy and fulfilling summer at the North Rim. We met and worked with wonderful people, and look forward to keeping in contact. Happy and safe trails to all. Thanks for the memories.

Canyon Detail

Fall Color along Widforss Plateau

Trail Closed

Ozo Butte

Early Morning Stroll

Quiet Walk

Posing

What?

 

Sun Dog

Chipmunk Looking

Parking Lot for No. Kaibab Trail

Red Squirrel

Grand Canyon Lodge

The RavenMaven flies on to new adventures.

Thanks for visiting.

GRAND CANYON VOLUNTEER - 4 October, WEEK 18

We came back from our road trip ready to take on the duties and chores associated with the end of the season. As soon as we started the week there were already questions and directives about the possible closing of the National Parks, and furloughing the staff. We tried to be patient with the visitors as we knew no more than they did. As Tuesday approached we were given a little more direction but it was mostly procedures.

On Friday, September 27^th, I had the opening shift at the V. C. and then I was off to Pt. Imperial for roving, the Archaeology Program, and some more roving. I really enjoyed my time out there though it was cold and quite windy. The program went well, and I enjoyed walking South on the Ken Patrick Trail for about a mile. There are a number of places to photograph Mt. Hayden from a less well known perspective.

The next day I had the Condor Talk and my roving assignment was on the Transept Trail which is right in the village area but runs a good length of the Transept Canyon. The fall color has started and made the trip even more enjoyable. The windy conditions continued throughout the day. Regrettably my condor talk was not one of my best presentations, but it still was well received. This morning they had released three new condors into the Grand Canyon area.

Sunday I once again opened the V.C. which means being on duty by 0630. An advantage to that is the early morning walk to Bright Angel Point around the time of sunrise. Today I also roved the Uncle Jim Trail which starts near the start of the North Kaibab Trail, and when you get to the overlook area you look down on the Kaibab Trail and a number of the switchbacks descending into the Canyon. The cool weather has continued and a long sleeve shirt was most comfortable even in the middle of the day.

Monday was our last day of work to date. This time I got to rove a very favorite trail, The Widforss. This came after having 7 visitors on the Nature Walk, and a good crowd at the Flashback presentation in the Lodge. My Flashback program consists telling about the various people who first came to develop this area for homesteading, ranching, a game preserve, and finally a National Park. There were many questions about what would happen if the Park would close.

Well, all National Parks are now closed to the public, and all but essential staff, Law Enforcement and a few Maintenance Staff, have been furloughed with no pay coming forward at the present time. Almost all of the Interpretation Staff are seasonal which means that they are currently sitting on their hands and have no idea as to when they will get paid. They live on the edge with regard to financing. One has said he had planned that the last pay period would pay for his returning to his home in Pennsylvania. Another is going to school, and with little hope of work after the 15^th has dropped out of her classes for this semester. The last visitors checked out of the Lodge yesterday, and the staff is now sitting and waiting to see if it will reopen before the end of the season. Some go on to other seasonal work in other Parks so they do not know what will happen next either. (This is just a little insight of how this political situation is playing out here.)

As we are retired, and volunteers, we are hanging around to help if we are needed. We are enjoying the quiet and slower pace at the present time. It has also given us time to catch up on various projects, and go out and explore some.

Tuesday we took off for a day trip to an area in the Vermillion Cliffs of Northern Arizona called “White Pocket”. We went with a photographer from Kanab who had the right vehicle for wilderness roads which can be good or bad depending on the weather. There were a number of spots on our way to White Pocket where the sand is quite soft, and if you are not careful you can get bogged down in it.  As a matter of fact we had to give assistance to a German

couple who had come out in a Chevy Equinox and were bogged down to the axles. They were trying to drive in soft sand with a tire pressure of 40psi!! In this situation you need to deflate your tires to about 20psi.

White Pocket is a beautiful area and yet not very large. No matter the time of day there are many photo opportunities – formations, swirls, etc. We were only there about 4 hours, but we had a grand time. It would be ideal to go into the area and camp overnight so that you could get the better quality of light. The walk to the area is maybe a quarter mile before you start exploring the nooks and crannies of the area.

We will continue to stay here and speculate as to when and if the North Rim will reopen.

HAPPY TRAILS TO ALL.

POINT IMPERIAL:

Aspen Carpet

Fuller Canyon

Canyon Detail

Mt. Hayden

Mt. Hayden Close up

A Fungus Among Us

  

WHITE POCKET, A photographer's playground

Sunset at North Rim: