Horseshoe Lakes is made up of ten named lakes and several smaller un-named lakes. We've hiked around those nearest to us and decided to see the rest of the area. A couple boaters were out fishing in the morning and some kids were fishing from the bank. Other than that, there is not much activity on these nice little lakes.
This is Four Island Lake, which describes it perfectly and is the biggest lake in the cluster. We completely walked around it our second day here.
Turkey Toe has several inlets that resemble fijords. You can stand on the bank and see water on either side of you.
One end of North Lake
Goose Foot. The names are typically descriptive of their shape.
On the way back to the motor home we passed this invitation to come on in and have a margarita. I think everyone is familiar with the figure of Maxine. People never lack for a sense of humor when they set up their space. Jim called it a day, but I decided to take the forest hike as well.
Butterflies were plentiful here and I found a milkweed pod which is great butterfly food.
Horseshoe Lakes Preserve also grows several tracts of soybeans and ethanol corn on the outer perimeter of the property.
Choke cherries, wild grape and another white berry that I don't recognize grow around the lakes.
This pretty blue butterfly closed its wings just as I snapped.
This darker butterfly may be the same species as the one above. I don't know my butterflies that well.
I saw several others species that I couldn't get pictures of. This one seemed to hover near fallen berries on the ground.
Several butterflies thought this plant was pretty yummy as well. I don't recognize the plant since Indiana forest is unfamiliar to me.
The forest hike ended back near the ranger station at Miners Lake.
This pretty spot was breezy and cool and a pleasant place to stay as we gear up for a straight shot back to California.
We sat outside and read until the sun went down on Horseshoe Lake.
Four plus years ago, I opted to have solar panels put on my roof. I've been very happy with that decision, in fact, soooo happy I wanted to have solar on my cabin in Oregon. However, Oregon's Pacific Power would not offer net metering in 2005. I'm pleased to say that Pacific Power of Oregon now offers net metering. And, Oregon's Independence Station is planning to be the greenest building in the world with solar, ethanol, water catchment and reuse, plus other green features. Right now, in California, the Alameda County Jail has the biggest solar installation in the state. Green is beautiful. Its catching on and it is so profitable. Here is a list of my electrical bills for a two story 3000 sq. foot home in Murphys. 2005-$178.45, 2006-$210.18, 2007-$222.44, 2008-$72.83. That's per year folks. In all fairness, on top of that you have to pay the meter reading fee each month which comes to a little over $60 per year. Even so, solar pays and the price of electricity is going up. My next investment is to buy smart power strips which automatically sense when computer monitors, televisions and other electronic equipment is idle and automatically cuts the power. Electronic power "leakage" uses over $2 billion a year that could be saved. Do yourself and the planet a favor and go green.
