CALAVERAS BIG TREES STATE PARK - DAY TRIP - 8/6/2011

On the spur of the moment we decided to drive to
Calaveras Big Trees State Park
Packed the car with chairs, towels,
drinks and food and off we went

I was glad it was considered an easy trail
as it was 1 1/2 miles long and pretty flat.

There were so many beautiful spots
to stop and take photos

What a gorgeous place to spend time

Some of the trees are enormous

Not all of the trail was wood
but most of it was

The color of some of the trees
was so beautiful

So many trees were so tall
that it was impossible to get a photo
of an entire tree

What an awesome mix of plants among the trees

The dirt trails were a bit rocky
but nice to walk on
though next time we will wear old shoes
as our shoes got pretty dirty

I did not know whether to photograph
the bottom or aim for the top

You can tell how large these trees are

with each one of us standing in front of the base
of the trunk

Some trees have fallen over the years

Check out the inside of this tree
You can see all the way through it

This fallen tree is cut in 1/2
The path changed here and in many other places
from wood to dirt

This has got to be my favorite color tree

This was called Father-of-the-past
see all about it below
BEAUTIFUL!!

You could walk inside of it

I took a photo of a couple passing by
and they returned the favor

We both had so much fun

Dan really enjoyed himself

WINDOW ON THE PAST
PIONEER CABIN TREE
see info about it below
Breathtaking!!

Near the end of our walk
was this beautiful place to take photos

I took a photo of a young family with their camera
and they returned the favor

Our last stop along the trail
and now to mark this off on
our Bucket List

Our trip home, peaceful and desolate as we went home
a different way and bypassed the towns we went through
on our way there. What a great day.

Pineapple Sage, Succulent and my sneaky cat, Oscar

Came outside to water
and
photograph my plants.
This is my 2 year old Pineapple Sage.
Put a leaf between two fingers
and smell fresh Pineapple, YUM!!
You can also bake with the flowers, once
they arrive later in the year
and the red flowers bring hummingbirds.
Cannot wait to get flowers.

My large succulent that my Mom's neighbor
gave to me in February 2010
is doing really well. I love it.

Suddenly appeared Oscar.
I guess I will have to close our sliding screen door
better the next time.

Oscar loves to check out everything from the table
and loves to be outside

Though it was warming up quickly
and very sunny in our backyard
so I grabbed him up and we came back inside.
Nice beginning to a nice day.

VISITING DEBBIE AT THE HOSPITAL - SUNDAY 7/24/2011

I cannot say enough about Debbie,
such a strong, sweet and caring friend,
battling terminal Cancer.
I was so lucky to see her on Sunday 7/24/2011
as we were in the Bay Area.
I finally got to give her a big hug multiple times,
a kiss on the cheek,
I brought stretch lei's to wear on our heads for photos,
told her I love her,
and held her hand.
Love you girlfriend and thinking about you every day.
Debbie's favorite place to visit is Disneyland:
"Happiness is being with my magical friends
where there is no chemo and everything is beautiful!"

VACATION - JULY 2011

Our first stop on our first day trip was at
Folsom Lake

It is pretty there and tons of huge homes
already built and more being built

Just a quick stop, then on our way.
Left the tripod in the car.

This was out of the norm for me,
but the restroom in the restaurant
that we ate at had the most beautiful decor

Lunch was fantastic at
Sir Vesa's
Mexican Grill in El Dorado Hills

What a beautiful drive up Hwy 50

A young couple was taking photos and
I offered to take photos of them with
their camera and they returned the favor.
BRIDAL FALLS

Bridal Falls
Highway 50, El Dorado County

Snow on the mountains and clouds in the sky
People actually went skiing on July 4

What a beautiful drive

We tried to get to Bassi Falls in El Dorado County
but our car would not make it over the
last huge hump in the road
so we stopped on our way out
and enjoyed Big Silver Lake

Big Silver Creek

Big Silver Creek

American River Creek

happened to catch this creek as we started heading home

What a beautiful drive home

The end of our first day trip - 7/6/2011

The following day we headed out once again.
We drove into Grass Valley to get directions
to where we were headed in Colfax
to find the waterfall we were looking for
and saw this interesting painting
on this building

We drove to Colfax and asked
and searched for the waterfall,
but we could only find Bear Creek
which was not to much to see,
but a nice end to our waterfall ventures
for this vacation.

MY HUBBY MAKES THE BEST DINNERS - CHICKEN SHISH KABOB'S-6/2011

Soak 4 skewers for a couple of hours if using wood
Melt 1/3-1/2 cube butter, saute 8 mushrooms,
1 peeled fuji apple cored and cut into 8 pieces,
4 pieces of red onion (optional),
sprinkle over all with garlic powder
and saute for about 5 minutes,
then add
4 raw chicken tenders cut in 1/3's just to white on the outside
(not shown in this photo)

Prepping the Shish kabob's
chicken, mushroom, red onion (optional), fuji apple,
chicken, chunk pineapple from a can, fuji apple,
chicken, mushroom

Grill about 2 minutes each side
Medium/Off/Medium on a gas grill (place on the off burner)
indirect heat on a charcoal BBQ

Oscar loves to have my food
He gets to have a plain BBQ chicken tender on his diet
Yummy, dinner with some couscous