WILDFLOWER GOODBYE

2014-4-9-RoadsideWildflowers

My friend Jan and I went to see wild flowers when we veered to Jackson. Here they are in an album along with those from Tuolumne County. Hope you enjoy them. Click on the picture, then click on slideshow. This will probably be my last blog until I return from Turkey. Much to do. Can’t wait to share my photos from Istanbul and the countryside.  Hope we have good weather.

BICYCLES AND PEDESTRIANS ONLY

We left Wilsonville to continue scenic Historic Highway 30 with Jim complaining about poor signage. We kept seeing highway 84 East. We finally found the way, only to drive a couple miles and discover that Highway 30 is closed for four and one-half  miles to everything but pedestrians and bicyclers.  The roadway is a state park. The ranger informed us that the tunnel entrance and overpasses were made for Model A’s and modern vehicles can’t get through them.

Here is a picture from the visitors center showing a section of the old road we didn’t get to see.

And, an old photo of the building of this almost insurmountable task. It’s quite a show.

What we did see was pretty spectacular.  The switch-backs  take your  breath away.

The scenery does too.

No water falls on this section, but the hills were abloom. We stopped at several overlooks but the wind was so fierce we didn’t hike very far though there are many trails available.
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We covered a short nine miles yesterday and dropped into the visitor’s center. We ate lunch in the parking lot and spent two plus hours viewing the history and learning about the geology of the gorge.  A very worthwhile stop for all travelers.

Unique to this center is an educational showing of several raptors they keep. All have been injured in some way and cannot be released to the wild. The kestral, above, is the smallest raptor from the area.

A female red tail hawk has an injured wing.

A male great horned owl is nearly blind and can’t feed itself.
Yesterday, we visited the Bonneville Dam and fish hatchery near the end of the day. It, too is worth a visit. I had never seen a fish ladder and always wondered how they count the fish.

The ladder was built after the dam. No one knew if it would actually work, but the spawning fish took to it right away. Ladders are easier than some of the falls and rapids they have to navigate.  They are provided a resting area that funnels them by windows where counters view them and press a button for every fish they see moving  upstream.

The viewing windows for the public were pretty murky. Various breeds spawn at different times of year. The Chinook spawn is just about over. We didn’t see many fish, but it was fascinating even so. We are parked at the Dalles.

SPRING SHOW

As you cross into Amador County across the Mokelumne River bridge from Calaveras County, this fantastic show of California poppies makes a trip to Jackson a must each spring on Highway 49. It never fails to amaze. Take the time because the pictures cannot do it justice.

HERITAGE OAK AND BABY BLUE EYES

This sentinel oak is an old friend that grows near the road where I walk and drive by each day. I'll never forget the first time I saw the baby blue eyes that beautify a spot beneath that oak. I was still half flatlander, and with permission of the owner of the property, I dug a plug from that spot to spread those baby blue eyes onto my own property. Un huh! It doesn't work that way. The master gardeners and naturalists that tell you: 'don't try to transplant wildflowers because they fail,' were right, of course. I tried several different wildflowers over those first few years. None took. I'm an avid environmentalist now, and recognize it as a transgression to move wild plants.
But then...as though to punish me for my transgression, the baby blue eyes didn't bloom the following spring, and another. Over the 31 years I've watched that spot, they continue to bloom, off and on, always glorious and welcoming when they do.
When they didn't show for several years in a row, my daughter Virginia, then 10 years old, lamented their passing. She worried about the baby blues and shooting stars in our pasture that also fail to bloom prolifically every year. Nature has its own plan. Enjoy what you can. Come up for a wildflower day in the motherlode and you won't regret it. Poppies, popcorn flowers, lupines, mustard, fruit trees, and more. The blooms this year are spectacular. Don't miss them.