First birthdays, baby chicks, and geocaching ... oh my!

February was a month of celebrations, family and fun.

Hugs for my Grannie!

Yes, there was the old stand-by Valentine's Day, Presidents Day, and of course Groundhog Day, but more importantly, we gathered together to celebrate my grandson Gage's First Birthday.  First birthday's in our family have always been a milestone not to be taken lightly.  I think it has to do with the fact that my grandparents came from Poland in the early 1900's and a child reaching their first birthday meant that they made it through the the hardest point of survival.  I can only imagine the hardships that newborns faced in the late 1800's.   Having reached their first birthday probably bought relief to a mother's heart in knowing that their child would survive for years to come.  We celebrated Gage's birthday with an old tradition of placing six objects in front of him to see what his future would bring.  This tradition has been part of my family for as long as I can remember.  This traditions includes the following items and represents many different things: A Shot Glass: Outgoing (Great socializer, people-oriented), Money: Prosperous (Ambitious and drives, business-oriented), Rosary: Religious (Spiritual, awareness-oriented), Book: Intelligent (Actively pursues knowledge, wisdom-oriented), and Bread: Healthful (Sound in body and mind, nourishment-oriented). We added a Pen; Expression of self  (Great communicator, self expression).  Gage had picked the Rosary and the Pen which foretells that he may become a Philosophizer! Now, mind you, the only Rosary I have is a crystal one which I'm sure caught his eye as the light reflected off it and made it very alluring.  He is already a great communicator using sign-language for the word "milk" to let us know when he is hungry or thirsty.  It was a wonderful visit with the family.

If I peel back a little bit, I can sneak a peek!

Gage with his Mom and Dad

My daughter Coren has taken delivery of four beautiful baby chicks.  She is living her mother's dream of raising chickens for fresh eggs.  She lives in Menlo Park, California which is a very up scale suburb of San Francisco and I was very surprised that they would even allow chickens.  Roosters are not allowed but it seems chickens are less noisy.  Upon receiving her shipment of chicks she became aware of all the noise coming from  the box. Imagine her surprise when opening the package there were not four, six or even eight baby chicks, but twenty-five!  Now, how was she going  to explain this to her skeptical husband who was worried about the noise level of four chickens much less twenty-five.  In her state of astonishment she called the company only to find that they could not ship four lonely baby chicks this early in  the season so they shipped twenty-five to generate enough heat among themselves to survive the trip!  After her shock wore off, she called the area feed stores and located a wonderful home for twenty-one adorable, soft, fluffy yellow chicks.  We are wishing her luck on her new endeavor and looking forward to fresh eggs for breakfast on our next visit!

Coren and the unsuspecting Ajim

The "Cheeps" on their first day out!

We attended the 1st Annual Hi Desert Cache Bash.  This took place at the Yucca Valley Boys and Girls Club. It was great to meet some local cachers and some cachers who are visiting the warm desert area for the winter.  We walked a couple of miles and picked up nine caches, logged a few Travel Bugs, some big, some small and some that have traveled for hundred of miles.

Try fitting this one in a cache!

Geocaching in Yucca Valley we made a discovery that shocked and fascinated us.  You know how all the movies about Superman show his fortress out in the bitter arctic cold, far from all civilization?  Well, while walking long a desert road, this is what we found.  Look at the picture and tell me, isn't this more likely the place Superman would be?  Behind these Fortress walls, I'm sure Superman was sitting, waiting and listening with his super hearing, for our call to him that we were stumped and could not find the cache so that he could come with his x-ray vision to make the find!

With the end of February around the corner we are looking forward to the warmer temperatures of Spring.  Not that we are complaining.  Who could complain with winter temperatures in the 60's and 70's?  While we may not be looking forward to the summer heat of 100's, it still beats the snow and ice of the Northern tundra.  While driving to the high desert, the landscape becomes filled with Joshua Trees.  The Joshua Tree got it's name form the Mormon pioneers who thought the tree reminded them of Joshua, from the Old Testament of the Bible, a prophet who was waving them on to the Promised land.  The unusual Joshua Tree  is a member of the lily family and can grow for 200 years. It grows in arid desert with elevations from 2,000 to 6,000 feet.  The Joshua Tree is only pollinated by the Pronuda Moth.  The moth is commonly called the Yucca Moth.  This moth evolved special organs so that it is possible to pollinate the Joshua flower.  Both depend on each other for their existence.  Both people and animals have relied on the Joshua Tree for survival.  The Indians would remove the rope-like centers form the limbs to use for as canisters for nuts and berries.  They also used the lightweight bark for dishes and bowls.  A far back as 1883 the pulp of the Joshua Tree was used to make paper for the London Daily Telegraph.  During WWI, the U.S. government used the strong wood as splints for injured soldiers.  The pioneers used the Joshua Tree as fence posts, and roasted parts of the tree and gave it to children for a sugary treat.

I've always loved the way a Joshua Tree looks.

As always, thanks for stopping by and sharing our journey.
Jo

Motorcycles stories

My Mom, the first female rider in the family.
Steven Point, Wisconsin.

My son Kevin Moore started a website about motorcycles, friends and the open road. It is mostly funny stories about people and bikes.  Here is the Blog:  http://www.bikesandbuddies.com

Kevin, heading out for the open road!
Heading out from California

If you  would be so kind as to subscribe to the email updates, that would be a help. Why? Kevin has a book written and an agent. The roadblock to getting publishing houses to take it on as an on-line audience. They  see this as a “built in audience.” that will buy the book. The book is done and he needs the support of a website with considerable followers and it will be published.  There will only be one simple update every 3-4 weeks when a new story is posted, so you wont’ get a bunch of garbage.

Me, a long time ago in the Arizona desert.

My daughter Elizabeth, riding in Hawaii

The riding continues to a new generation
My Grandson Gage on his first Harley!
Where will his travels take him?

Thank you,
Jo

Whitewater Preserve

Where are we going?

The Whitewater Preserve is 2,826 acres surrounded by the Bureau of Land Management San Gorgonio Wilderness and includes the year-round Whitewater River ... in the desert!  The canyon is an important wildlife corridor between the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Mountains. It's on the Pacific Crest Trail that runs all the way from Canada to Mexico.

Friday was a beautiful sunny morning beckoning us to hike, explore and maybe pick up a few geocaches along the way.  Last week we drove to the Whitewater Preserve and tried to find the Canyon Loop Trail which is described as a 3.5 mile moderate hike.  One problem ... we could not find the Northbound trail to the Pacific Crest Trail from the Ranger station.  We followed the trail-head only to be stumped at the two places it led us to cross the Whitewater river. All our searching found nothing more then a few stones in the river and none of them big enough to get across.  A foot bridge was mentioned in the trail guide but, not specifically marked, and to us was impossible to find!  This time we decided to outsmart the trail and start off the South road where we had spotted a trail marker.  With sufficient water, a snack lunch, windbreakers and GPS's in hand, we headed up the trail to do some much needed hiking and maybe, with luck, find a few geocaches.

Heading up the trail

The trail was more of a foot path, not wide enough to walk side by side, and in some places, nothing more than a worn away marking from those who had gone before us.  There weren't many markers along the trail, but it was easy enough to follow as long as you didn't venture too far of the trodden path.  The geocaches were in close proximity to the trail so, there was no fear of becoming lost or losing sight of the trail.

A furry little guy

We stopped often to marvel at the beauty of the hills and mountains that surrounded us, enjoying the wind that kept us cool in the warm sunshine.  Knowing that the dryness of the desert air can dehydrate a person quickly, we drank our water frequently.  Even though we didn't spot any bears or Big Horned Sheep, we did spot a tarantula, and were greeted by hawks flying low overhead.  The tarantula was a small one, measuring approximately 2 inches in length.  I wasn't about to poke him to see if he would move, but I did manage to get a picture of him.

We made it to the top!

At the top, 2750 feet, we rested before making our way down the other side which was filled with switchbacks and even narrower paths. We met other hikers and laughed at the "traffic jam" along the narrow trail.  As we side-stepped for one couple to pass, they informed us we were going the wrong way.  We didn't mention that we couldn't find the trail-head last week and thus started in the middle of the loop! Based upon the terrain that they started with, we decided we were going the RIGHT way :) We had an easy way up, and an easy way down the switchbacks.

On the way down

We ended up finding thirteen geocaches, some tougher then others but no DNF's (Did Not Find).  It's amazing how many rocks you can overturn before finding the right one.  We did eventually find the wooden foot bridge to cross the river, but would never have seen it from where we were last week.  As we sat in the car enjoying our lunch of cheeses, turkey slices and dill pickles, we talked about the adventure of the day. The trail is two and a half hours long, but it took us four hours. You know why? 1) because we geocached along the way, 2) we just kept on stopping to admire the views, not because of tiredness, and 3) we also just stopped to admire Nature at our feet ... the myriad of different plants and insects, the variety of stones and rocks, the diversity of the plants we saw, especially as we climbed higher and higher. Different ecosystems, even within a few thousand feet.

We have missed our hiking and geocaching more then we realized.  We've missed the quiet sound of nature which seems to clear the mind and feeds the soul with a pleasant feeling of completeness, escaping from the hustle and bustle of everyday living. Time to sit and really look at the world around us.

It was a great day, thanks for stopping by and sharing our journey. We certainly had a lot of fun, exercise, and a better awareness of the wonderful world we live in.

Jo