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Tonight Walter graduated from Riverside City College. It was a great occasion for the family. Walter’s mother, sisters and family friends were at the graduation.
The ceremony was good and soon it was over. Someone, (looks like Walter) caught a picture of Walter, Emily and Elizabeth.
There is nothing like a small young lady admiring the beauty in nature. It could be a flower that attracts her attention and draws her interest.
Then again, it may be the adventure of climbing a mountain and sitting on giant granite boulders.
Or it may be just the opportunity to watch the sun set for a day and look at the evening moon in the sky.
Whatever it is, it is just another wonderful day on planet earth to learn, to grow of of course to have fun. This afternoon Elizabeth and i set out to go to the park. We has a specific plan, go to the park and walk to the top of Mt. Rubidoux. As it turned out, we did not feel up to doing the extra walking. There were swings to swing on.
There were slides to be slid down.
There was even a fire truck to get your picture taken with. There is also this Camera Charlie person, place or thing. As it was, Elizabeth was not to happy with the diesel motor of the fire truck purring behind her. She would not stand next to Camera Charlie on her own.
All be told, it seems Camera Charlie must have been in the helicopter as it flew by.
Yes, somewhere down there on the ground is Elizabeth and myself. This afternoon a few of us took off for the mountains to hike in cooler weather. Out choice for the simple six plus mile hike was going to be the San Bernardino Trail in the Mt. San Gorgonio Wilderness. We arrived at the trailhead about 4:30 in the afternoon. As we started up the trail and noticed all the flowers that were beginning to bloom. A few we walked past without getting pictures. We wanted to get as far out on the trail as we could. I saw a plant that I have not yet identified, but it was a splash or yellow, orange an red against the grey soil.
Further up the trail was some Scarlet Paintbrush in a rather large group.
On our way we also saw some Lupine.
We made it to a trail junction just over four miles our. My GPS said it was 4.8 and the map said 4.2 miles. Looking at the clock it was time to turn around and head back. I did break out the small tripod and Velcro it to the limb a fell tree for a group shot.
As we headed back to the trailhead the sun was setting. The evening air was cool and it was a great afternoon into evening hike. Next time we will have to start in the morning and work our way to San Bernardino Peak.
Tonight was the Graduation for Beaumont High School in Southern California. Jacob, our youngest in now officially graduated from high school. The school sits in an area between Mt San Gorgonio as seen as a grey rocky peak in the left side of the photo with an elevation of 11,503 feet.  Mt. San Gorgonio And Mt San Jacinto which sits between the goalposts in this photo with an elevation of 10,833 feet.  Mt. San Jacinto As I sat waiting for things to begin, I thought, I climbed to the top of Mt San Jacinto twice last month. I also thought about the climb to the top of Mt San Gorgonio planned for July. Not everything is easy in life. I wondered if the graduates sitting on the field had thoughts of what mountains the may be climbing in the future as they worked their way through more school and life.
Without anymore to say, lets just say most all of them had big smiles and were glad to be done with high school. What lies ahead of them is a life of wonder, amazement and the occasional trek up the mountains of life.
We will have to see how this one does in his trek called life. Eric, the older brother who has a job says, “You graduate then there is taxes.” Yes, life is taxing. but there is no reason not to smile and do your best.
Two weeks ago I hiked to the top of Mt. San Jacinto. I thought I would do it again today. The last trip was 16 miles with an elevation gain of 4,400 feet. Today’s trip was 19 miles and an elevation gain of 5,500 feet. It reminds me of a parable I was told years ago as a young teenager. Mr. Pace told me, “There are two roads to Beaumont.” What did he mean? He was trying to tell me that there are often two different ways to get to the same point. One may not be any better than the other. There are just two ways. As I have got a little older and driven to Beaumont, there are two good ways to Beaumont from Riverside. Additionally, there are three other ways to get into Beaumont via a longer or more circuitous route. That leads me to believe that if I really understood what Mr. Pace was telling me as a young teenager, he could have continued, there are other roads as well. They may get you where you want. However, there is a greater risk of getting lost or never making it. You may get caught in a swirl of pine cones and never come out.  Pine Cone Swirl So why take a different route? You can get to the top of Mt. San Jacinto from the east or the west. Two weeks ago we made our final ascent from the east. Today it was from the west. Sometimes to the casual observer, things look the same. Then again, they may not. Additionally, every trail leads to a slightly different adventure. For example, I am familiar with snow plant or snow flower, less commonly called Sarcodes sanguinea. The Sarcodes is a monotypic genus of a single springtime flowering plant in the heath family containing the single species.  Snow Plant On this trip I was told that there are two different snow flowers. However, with research there is only one species of snow flower. So what was the plant that looked like a snow flower? How about Pine Drops or pinedrops. The less common name is Pterospora, commonly known as pinedrops, Albany beechdrops, or giant bird’s nest is a monotypic genus in the subfamily Monotropoidiae of the blueberry family, the Ericaceae, and includes only the species Pterospora andromedea. (Thank goodness for Calflora and Wikepedia)  Pine Drop Of course there was other things to see like a fern that looks like all the other ferns on the trip. However, it may be one of three so I will need to take better pictures to really know which one it is.
Then there is the reddish paintbrush plant. More specifically, Wavy Leaved Paintbrush, pine Indian paintbrush, wavy leaf paintbrush also know as Castilleja applegatei.
Then there were these beautiful groups of Lupine. There are a lot of different Lupine plants and I believe this one is Lupine, summer lupine, western lupine or less commonly known as Lupinus formosus.  Lupine It only took 5 hours for me to reach the top. It was worth it as I have never attempted that many miles or elevation gain at one time. What do I have to show for it? A couple of pictures.
There is more than pictures. There is the thrill I felt as I climbed my way to the top to sit on a rock and have lunch with the others. It was not easy. It was just a different way of getting to the top of Mt. San Jacinto. I have been up the tram and then hiked to the top, up the Devils Slide Trail and to the top and now up the Deer Springs Trail and to the top. What is left? The Marion Mountain Trail, Seven Pines Trail, and even the Cactus to Clouds Trail. The Cactus to Clouds Trail from Palm Springs to San Jacinto Peak is a hiking trail with the greatest elevation gain of any trail in the United States. Also known as the Skyline Trail, it climbs 8,000 feet from the desert to Long Valley where it joins with the main trail to gain another 2,600 feet to the summit. That is 10,600 feet of elevation gain over 15 miles. From the top you hike back 5 miles to the tram for a total of 20 miles and then ride the tram down to the bottom. This all reminds me of Robert Frost and The Road Not Taken. I guess the real question is will it get you to where you want to go? At least it could get you to Beaumont. Tonight Scott, my oldest son and I went hiking up the familiar Two Trees trail. We continued up the spring trail and while taking a quick break, Scott climbed out on some rocks. It looked like a good opportunity for a picture so I took one.
While out hiking back down the Two Trees trail, Scoot was in front. He was moving fairly quickly jumping from rock to rock in certain areas. Then he came to an abrupt stop. Count them, two, two reptiles in one frame. It is Mr. Snake and Mr. Lizard.  Lizard and Snake Overall it was a fun hike and was good that we got to spent a little time together. Today was onion harvest day. Last year I put the onions in a place to cure that did not work well as the were hit by the hot sun for part of the day. This year I have built a small cloth tent over the table that they are curing. Then I will have a storage problem as there is not very many cold places to store onions as we are headed into July very soon.
Some evenings I am quicker up and down the trail. Others I am moving a little slower and get to enjoy the sunset. Tonight was one of those nights. There was a cool breeze out and the beautifully painted sky was a nice break from the concrete jungle.
This evening I stopped by to pick up Elizabeth for a Grandpa Granddaughter date. I walked over to her house and then we walked downtown. We went to Antonious Pizza and purchased a couple of slices of pizza. After pizza we walked the downtown plaza. I thought I would get a shot of Elizabeth on the statue of Eliza Lovell Tibbets. Her and her husband are know for growing the first Washington navel orange trees and founding the citrus industry and cultural landscape of orange groves in California. Hence a picture of the statue and an orange tree.
However, Elizabeth was more interested in the horse drawn carriage 25 yards away. She was pointing and saying wow-wows. Her term for four legged furry animal, dog or horse. We proceeded to go look at the horses. The carriage driver said that I could get a picture of her in the carriage. My thought about this picture is, Where is the Prince? or, Why are the horses not moving?  Where is the Prince? or, Why are the horses not moving? We had a great evening. It is always fun to get out and take a walk with such a fun and smiling young lady. This evening started in the garden doing a little weeding, picking some zucchini and kale. Elizabeth pointed out the zucchini that was ready to be picked, as one of my plants has yellow zucchini and they are easy to see. When it was time to wash the kale, Elizabeth was there for the water as opposed to the kale.
After getting the kale washed and into the refrigerator we decided a walk was in order. We headed for Mt. Rubidoux. We hiked up the dirt trails to the top where we stopped for a snack.
From there we looked around and got ready to walk down. We did take a few pictures before our decent.
Elizabeth walked for about half a mile before I put her back in the backpack. She was not happy and she still wanted to be walking. However, I know that if we were to make it back the two and a half miles, we would need to travel faster than the pace of a 21 month old. Overall, it was a great adventure. One that will happen again soon. Today I had the opportunity to go on a hike to the top of Mt. San Jacinto. I have only been there one, using the tram and the ground was covered with snow. This time the hike would be further and have a lot more elevation gain as we would be hiking from Idyllwild rather than taking the tram. We met near the trailhead at about eight in the morning. We then started up the Devils Slide trail, a section that is 2.5 miles long and has an elevation gain of 1,700 feet. From there we catch the Pacific Crest Trail heading north. Then onto the Springs Trail headed towards the peak at an elevation of 10,834 feet. What did we see along the way, Tahquitz peak from a couple of different angles.
A couple of small springs that provided moisture for the upcomming skunk cabbage and soon to be emerging ferns.
There was also other vegetation along the way (Sierra currant and mountain pink currant).
Some time to play in the snow and try to make a snow angel.
Then there was the shelter near the peak that offered an opportunity to have a little fun.
Of course, if you make it to the top, carry the sign to the top and get your picture taken.  On top of Mt. San Jacint We had a great time. The hike was a long 16 miles with 4,400 foot elevation gain. However, it was worth it. Tonight was another evening hike in the Box Springs Mountain Park. The weather has been warm so I try to start a little later in the evening. Of course the sun goes down while I am out. However, tonight I received a little help from the moon. The evening air cooled down and there was a nice breeze. It was a perfect evening for a hike in the Box Spring Mountain Park.
Tonight we started with one of our practice hikes for Philmont this summer. We all had backpacks on with some weight in them. We all moved uphill fairly quickly and made our return trip as the sun was setting.
Elizabeth like the wow-wow’s. Or should I say small furry animals called by the name of dog. She had an opportunity to interact with Scott’ new dog, Pom Pom, a male Pomeranian. I do not know that Scott would get an award for the most original name for a dog. However, it is a name that Elizabeth can easily soon say.
The amazing thing is that I captured a picture with both of them smiling. They must have been having fun. |
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