Some people think Kansas is nothing but flat, flyover country. And while it’s true that it doesn’t have the mountains of neighboring Colorado, there are plenty of trails for hikers, cyclists, and equestrians. And my brother and I are going to write the book on the best ones!
To be published in early 2015 with University Press of Kansas, it will highlight about 80-90 hikes throughout Kansas. We’re tracking our progress and telling tales of our recommendations for how to best get out and enjoy Kansas at: kansastrailguide.com
About 30 minutes south of Santa Cruz along Highway 1 is the small fishing town of Moss Landing. Along with a power plant, it has one of California’s largest estuaries and the highest concentration of sea otters on the central coast and quite possibly in the state.
Along with sea otters, harbor seals, pelicans, sea lions, cormorants, snowy egrets, great blue herons and more all live or spend time here. I was able to capture just a glimpse of the amazing wildlife that you can see everywhere you look every time you visit this magical place.
I’ve spent time kayaking there, but I’d never really gone out just to take photos. So I rented a telephoto lens (50-500) and a tripod from lensrentals.com, and I headed out for 3 days. I’m tempted to do it again, since 2 of those 3 days had cloudy mornings, but I think I did OK for my first time out. Which one do you like best?
Sea otter raft
Kayakers checking out the otters
Keeping clean
Morning at Elkhorn Slough
At night, sometimes the otters haul out onto the beach.
a. at night and needing a place to stay, and you want oceanfront views, go to #2. b. at night and needing a place to stay and you’d rather avoid the crush of Cannery Row, go to #3. c. in the morning, and you’re starving, go to #4.
2. You’re bummed out by the cost of parking anywhere downtown, but drop your bag and give the squeal of a five-year-old girl when you see the stuffed sea otter holding its baby that’s nestled between the pillows of your bed. Continue reading →
So it’s possible that in my quest to not do “actual” work, I headed to Home Depot to get supplies to make a succulent table as inspired by Pinterest. Turns out that when Home Depot puts up the notice that they don’t do precision cuts, they’re not kidding – each board that was to be 20 inches was about 1/4 inch different. But after 2 days of work, 2 trips to Home Depot, and a lot of gratitude to whoever made the automatic screwdriver, I managed to put it together. And so far, nothing’s died. Hoping that everything will keep growing and the space will fill in.
Anyone else been tricked by Pinterest into making/doing something they’d never thought of before?
The current promotional tagline for the Bahamas is: “It’s better in the Bahamas.”
Take a look at some of my photos from my visit to Nassau and Exuma, and you tell me if you think they got it right!
Posing with the Junkanoo costume at Festival Place in Nassau.
You’d hate to get your hair down by an uncertified hair braider.
The Queen’s Staircase on the side of Fort Fincastle – it was handmade and built as an escape route.
At the Fish Fry. It is definitely good to be home.
Rolling cigars at Graycliff Hotel.
Pensive, walking away from the camera shot on Tropic of Cancer beach
Excited to be at the Tropic of Cancer beach.
Exuma is so pretty.
This shell is now sitting on my coffee table. If only I could have brought along the view as well…
A sandbar in the middle of nowhere with sand so soft I sank into it up to my ankles.
Treading water with pigs. Never done that before.
Yup, those are swimming pigs. Apparently one person in a boat fed them once, and they now associate boats with food. We, of course, fed them.
I’ve also never waded into shark-infested waters before. Nurse sharks don’t have teeth per se, but they are still pretty big. They feel a bit like soft sandpaper.
Eating lobster tail at Santana’s – the same place where the Pirates of the Caribbean crew ate. Which means I could have eaten my lunch where Johnny Depp or Orlando Bloom ate theirs. Love it.
Sea turtle. Didn’t stay at the surface long – shortly after this he/she dove and disappeared from view.
That black shape? That would be a sting ray.
It’s said that there are five colors of water in the Exuma Cays.
It was a year ago on July 11 in Paris that I bought a blue shirt with satin ribbon at the neck. Odd perhaps to have such a strong memory of a shirt, but it wasn’t long after that purchase that I made the decision to go a year without buying any new clothes.
I figured it would probably be a good way to save money, and I kind of just wanted to see if I could. Underwear, socks, and scarves were my exceptions, and, as of yesterday, I had met my goal. I’d gone 365 days without buying myself any new clothes. Now, it’s 366 days.
I didn’t mean for it to be 366 days; I was going to buy something new for myself in honor of my accomplishment. Continue reading →
Spring break. The time for heading to warm climates and relaxing. Since I have the dubious honor of still “celebrating” spring break, I decided to take my own vacation. I got up at 5:00am everyday, stood in the cold for up to 2.5 hours without talking, and got to see one of nature’s most amazing migrations – the sandhill cranes staging along the Platte River between Kearney and Grand Island, Nebraska.
The cranes are coming from the south and headed as far north as Siberia. They stop in this area to feed for about a month; they put on 2-3 pounds of weight before they wait for a warm, southerly wind and take off. The waste corn in the fields seems to be a favorite treat. The cranes roost in the river at night, gathering in huge groups at sunset and then taking off in the morning near/after sunrise. They trill and warble loudly – they talk to each other. All in all it’s a pretty amazing sight (and sound).
Here are some of the photos from the blind at Rowe Sanctuary. At the bottom is a short clip. The production of the video isn’t great, but the sound is there.
The crane pointing his head forward is signaling to those around him that he wants to take off in that direction.
Roosting Cranes
Think of it as a mini flipbook and you can see the cranes perk up and then take off.
Everyone is awake now.
And they’re out!
The cranes in flight. The flocks seemed to be never-ending. It was pretty spectacular.
Since there are three of them together, it’s likely a family group – mother, father, and child.
Dancing in the fields. Dancing can be a way to reinforce or create pair bonds – they mate for life. It can also mean they’re anxious or nervous and trying to burn off excess energy. Or they could just be joyful and excited to be alive.
The cranes gathered on the sandbars in the river. The water was higher this year, and the water was too deep for them to roost is as much of the river as they wanted. Some groups had to roost along the banks, and, as one volunteer at the Sanctuary said, “They won’t be happy about it.”
If you want to watch the cranes, check out the Crane Cam. Keep in mind, the cranes are in the area from mid-February to early April, so it’s a limited window.
