Canoeing on the Owens River

Saturday John and I spent the day canoeing with friends. We started with breakfast at the Ranch House Cafe in Olancha then made a pit stop/bread run (we also sampled the gelato) at Schat's in Bishop before we got on the water.


That's the Owens River with the Sierra Mountains in the background. We paddled about 3 miles in about 2 hours. Very fun. I'm already looking forward to doing it again.

It's Called Desert Calico

John and I went back to that canyon to rock climb some more. This time I took a picture of that flower I mentioned that looks like a miniature orchid. I found out at the fair's wildflower exhibit on Thursday night it's called Desert Calico (Loeseliastrum mattewsii).

Isn't it sooo cute?!

California Poppy Reserve

We took a trip on Saturday to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. The Poppy Festival in Lancaster was this weekend so I thought it a good idea to go see the poppies. We did not go to the festival. After visiting the Reserve we instead went to see the new Jackie Chan movie, Forbidden Kingdom, starring Jackie Chan AND Jet Li. It's the first movie ever featuring both martial artists and yes they do combat each other. It was a fun movie. I love Jackie Chan.

Thousands and thousands of poppies.

Can you tell it's windy and cold? Brent and Kevin went too, but they took a separate car with some friends so most of the time we spent with them was after to movie at Trader Joe's.

Speaking of Orchids

Mom gave me this orchid a couple of years ago during one of her visits. It was blooming when she gave it to me and look, it's blooming again. I didn't think it would bloom again, but I got a surprise. Thanks Mom.

It's Springtime in the High Desert

I love the desert. It's so pretty this time of year with the wildflowers blooming all over place. The diversity of the plants is imense. The plants range from crazy big sunflower type plants with matching yellow blooms to scraggly shrubs with deep indigo blooms to little itty-bitty barely there plants with pink spotted blooms that look like mini miniature orchids. It seems every color in the rainbow is represented in wildflowers; yellow, orange, blue, purple, pink, hot pink, white, red . . . I love the desert.


John and I revisited Indian Wells Canyon. The last time we were here it was snowing, I said I was going to climb those rocks. Remember? Well we've started rock climbing. Last weekend we went to Bishop, got some climbing shoes and started climbing rocks over there. And then on Monday we visited Wagon Wheel and climbed some rocks there. This morning we just climbed some easy stuff here in Indian Wells Canyon, nothing major. We're still breaking in our shoes and developing climbing feet. We want to climb the more difficult rocks, but we really should have ropes to do that. We don't have ropes yet.


I get so excited when I see this cactus flower bloom; it smells just like watermelon and the color is so vibrant.


Hi!

Calvary Chapel Ridgecrest Biker Blessing 2008

This little Honda Rebel belongs to a friend of John. He borrowed it so we could participate in the 3rd Annual Calvary Chapel Ridgecrest Biker Blessing. Each year we invite bikers from all over to participate in a short ride, BBQ, fellowship and concert. This year Darrell Mansfield was the entertainment. Nearly 300 bikes and their riders showed up for the event of which John and I were two. The volunteer police department stopped all the traffic as we breezed through Ridgecrest, down Highway 178 to Inyokern and back via Brown Road and Highway 395. Riding with that many bikes was like being in a parade; one long continuous stream of bikes for as far as the eye could see. I understand now why bikers like to ride together. People were spotted on the streets to behold the curious site cheering and waving. It was a beautiful day.

Just Like Mom Used to Make ~ Surprise!

Muffins that is. Remember when Mom used to make surprise muffins? I don't know why I haven't made these before until now. Yummy! There weren't any leftover.

Spaghetti Squash Bake

In the fall I bought a spaghetti squash because I never had had one before and it was inexpensive. It sat around the kitchen for awhile until I decided to cook it and store it in the freezer. I just wasn't feeling inspired. Earlier this week I decided I was going to make something of it; I was tired of it taking up room in my freezer. So,this is what that squash became ~ Spaghetti Squash Bake. I shopped around online for a recipe and found this one. Put the cooked squash in the bottom of a baking dish, cover it with a jar of spaghetti sauce and cheese (in this case I used fontina because I had some left over from the butternut squash lasagne and Parmesan; same thing) then bake it at 350 for about thirty minutes (covered then uncovered) until it is bubbly and the cheese is melted and a little browned on the top if you like that sort of thing. Oh, and I sprinkled the top with fresh parsley to make it look nice and because I had some left over from the salad. I wasn't expecting much, but WOW it was really surprisingly good. Kevin even ate some and Mom had seconds. It tastes like lasagne and so easy.

It Must Be Poetry Season

Natalie brought this poem home from school today. I thought it was appropriate to post because of my last entry and because Robin just posted some of her son's poetry. I especially like the cat with the bunny tail. It even has Ginger's nose. So cute!