Quick Hike

We did a quick 3 mile hike to finish off a few of the geocaches we missed the other day along the Big Ben Regional Trail in Oakley, California.  The weather was in the low 60's and the sunshine made it a perfect day to go geocaching.  Our walk started among the houses along the trail but soon gave way to open fields, a canal and serenading Red-winged Blackbirds.

We spotted Mallard ducks swimming in the canals, White Egrets, Gold Finches, Purple Finches, which my Dad commonly called Red-poles and a couple of Northern Harriers, but they didn't want to pose for a picture.

We learned that our newly-found friends, Bruce and Loretta will be heading back to Carson City, Nevada.  We were lucky enough to have dinner with them tonight and share a bit more of our lives and hope to have the pleasure of our paths crossing again on our travels, where ever they may lead.

Thanks for popping in.

Jo

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... 
It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival. - C. S. Lewis

Sunshine and Geocaching

The sun finally has come out and the warmer weather took us out geocaching.  We started out with a multi geocache named "American Pie"  It was based around a dry levee intended to hold back water only if the nearby levees of Dutch and/or Sandmound sloughs fail. This one is designed to "100 year flood" standards ... I'll get back to you in a century or so and let you know if they worked. The homes are actually below the flood plain as are many Delta communities. This 5 part multi took us around the levee top, making for about a 4 mile loop.  It was a great cache and a fabulous walk.  We were greeted at the beginning of our journey by a hawk screeching overhead.  I tried to snap a picture of the hawk, but didn't have any luck getting a clear one.  We spotted hundreds of ground squirrels that would scurry out of sight as we approached their territory, some sand dunes, interesting mushrooms and cows ... doing what cows do ... eating grass, watching us and laying around the fields that surround this area. 

After completing the American Pie cache we stopped for lunch at a local restaurant, named "Buzz Inn".  The food was good old fashioned cooking and we sat for a bit discussing what our next cache should be.  

We did a couple of caches located on the streets of Oakley and then headed out to a section of the Big Break Regional Trail. Big Break was once an upland farm, now submerged. It is a small bay or estuary at the edge of the San Joaquin River, and lies in the zone where salty seawater meets snowmelt and runoff from the Sierra Nevada mountains.  The mixing of salty and fresh water produces an “edge effect” for increased habitat and species diversity. It makes Big Break a fine home or stopover spot for a wide variety of species, particularly birds and fish.  Big Break is home to 70 species of birds and several species of mammals. We were serenaded by thousands of  different species of birds as part of this trail took us alongside a water reclamation plant.  

Pussy-willows, blackberry bushes and open fields all within the town limits delighted us on this warmer winter day.
 

We found several caches but, as the setting sun brought cooler temperatures and our shadows danced in front of us, we had to turn around from our additional 2 mile hike with a promise to ourselves to come back here and finish the rest of the caches.

All in all it was a great day. 


Thanks for sharing our journey.
Jo


Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.  ~Albert Einstein

Discoveries after a frosty day

 We had heavy fog and frost the other morning.  It wasn't really that cold but cold enough for me!  Seeing the rest of the country getting hit by snow and unseasonably cold weather, I think I can handle a little frost and fog.



The next day brought warmer temperatures and sunshine.  We washed the rig and truck.  Afterward I decided to walk around the island and take some photos of the many animals that live here.

Goats

A little kid

Billy Goat

Ostrich

Buffalo

More goats

Rooster and chickens

I also encountered this fellow below.  He seemed to be concentrating more on foraging for food than me.
I gave him a wide berth!

That's it for now. 
Thanks for stopping by.
Jo

Quote for today:

Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it. - Margaret Thatcher

Celebrated the Christmas holiday with my daughter Coren.  We had a wonderful dinner that included some traditional family dishes, played XBox3 and watched "It's a Wonderful Life".  Charlie sat under the Christmas tree and enjoyed the festivities with us.  He also made a couple of new friends, Kizzie and Cole! 

Charlie - Under the Christmas tree

Kizzie and Charlie



Cole giving Charlie a Christmas kiss

The weather here has been ever changing.  We have gone from beautiful sunny days and mild nights to heavy fog, bone chilling temperatures and wind so strong it even provided us with white-caps on the river.



White-caps on the Delta



On a clear day you can see for miles

And then there was FOG!

With the colder weather it has provided me with a lot of inside time to finish my sewing.  Five baby sac gowns, a pair of pants with matching jacket and hat and even completed the crocheted crib afghan.

The new grandbaby is due in five weeks and I'm so excited to welcome this new life into our family. 
We've had neighbors over for dinner, a fun night of good food and conversation.  We have met some of the most wonderful people in our travels and look forward to meeting more!

Jo



Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them.  -  David Hume

Merry Christmas

Christmas Past

1956 - Jo's First Christmas

Christmas - 1984

Christmas - 1994

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas - 2009

Christmas - 2009

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Sugar Barge Christmas Party and a Full moon

We had a wonderful Christmas here at the Sugar Barge RV Resort.  Tracy and her brother Dave gave the workampers a wonderful Prime Rib dinner with all the trimmings.  Salad, roasted potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, two different types of tortellini, fresh rolls with butter and a double chocolate cake and strawberry cheesecake for dessert!  Wow, talk about a beautiful and scrumptious spread!  We ate, drank and had a great time visiting with the other folks who are staying here for the winter.

Dave, carving the Prime Rib Roast

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree...

The celebration included a gift swap.  It was a blast.  You had the choice of choosing a gift from under the tree or taking someone's opened gift and they would have to choose a new gift from under the tree. 

Bruce and Loretta.  Our workamping neighbors.

We had planned on going to bed early Sunday night, as we knew we had to work Monday morning, but "Santa Claus 3" came on so of course we had to watch it!  I really enjoy Tim Allen in the "Santa Claus" movies and had never seen this one before.  Our reward for being up so late ... a halo moon beaming overhead.  It took several shots to get one that actually showed the halo around the moon.  It was a stunning sight!

Halo moon - December 19, 2010

 This morning we were greeted by the sound of hundreds of geese flying overhead as we headed out to work.  Had to go back and get my camera to get a few pictures of them.

 

 


Happy Christmas to all!
Jo

"God bless us, every one!," 
Tiny Tim  "Timothy Cratchit"

The weather here has been gray and gloomy with more rain coming for the next week.  I guess it's better then the snow that is hammering the Midwest and the bitter cold that is freezing the oranges off their trees in the Southern parts of our wonderful Nation.

This past week has been a busy one.  With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas right around the corner.  My older daughter came for a visit and brought Christmas presents!   As we unwrapped the gifts I was shocked to find a Digital Photo Frame.  Wow, I've been wanting one of those for a long time.  Now I can load all my pictures and not have to worry about not having enough "wall space" and Paul and I can enjoy looking at our family and friends all day long. She included a digital key-chain so that I can carry my most precious pictures with me and share them with others.  Who would have thought that a "Grandma's Brag Book" could be converted to a key-chain!  Wow, we have come so far in our technology that it's scary.   I also received the most beautiful traveling mug to take along on our journeys and this really neat Olive Oil jar that stores and measures your cooking oil.  I had spotted hers last year and made the comment that I thought it was one of the greatest inventions since sliced bread!  I use a lot of Olive Oil for cooking, so it was the perfect additionn for my kitchen.

We spent a couple of days with my youngest daughter nearer the coast.  The weather there was a bit better with the sun popping it's beautiful warmth through the clouds.  Made her dinner and spent some time sewing.  It was a wonderful feeling to spend the time doing something that I also enjoyed doing with my Mom.  In our family, there is a love for creating!  Whether it's baking cakes and decorating them for a special celebration, making unique clothing for holidays, finding just the right material to decorate our homes, crocheting for family and friends,  creating our own recipes as we dabble in our kitchens, sewing baby clothes and my Mom's favorite, creating Christening gowns for many generations that became known in the family as "Ann's Angels". This past week I was blessed to help my youngest daughter create lined drapes out of a piece of fabric that was perfect for her guest bedroom and start a duvet cover for her new bed ensemble. 

Paul hung, or I should say, rehung the Christmas lights on her front windows.  She had hung the small white lights on her three windows, only to have the center strand of lights not work.  After an hour of trying to find the problem, Paul decided to start from scratch and rehang the lights in a different configuration!  Just in time for her to have a few friends over for a holiday get together.

While driving down to the Bay area, passing through the city of Freemont, California, Paul spotted what he thought was a long lost relative of the French General and Statesman, Charles de Gaulle.
What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by and sharing a small piece of our journey.

Jo

"I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians." Charles de Gaulle

Moving Day

Not moving far.  We are still at Sugar Barge RV Resort and Marina, just moving to a "Workamper site".  One of the other workampers moved out so we will be taking their spot.  Most of the sites here are 30 amp, but the workamper sites are 50 amp.  Not sure we'll need 50 amps for the winter months, but you never know.  Once we get settled in, I can pull out the sewing machines and start my "baby" projects. Picked up some cute fabric to make a few sleepers and other things. I have a new grandchild on the way, due mid- February.

A sewing project from 2009

The weather has been cool, but from what I reading and seeing on the television, the whole nation is cold!  This morning watched the fog rolling off the delta but the warm winter sun quickly burned it away and they are calling for rain the rest of the week.  At least it's not a foot of snow!

Learning many new things that will benefit us for future workamping positions, nothing we aren't capable of doing, just new!  Register, boat and site rentals, RV site reservation program, driving a tractor, filling propane tanks are just a few of the new things we've learned. We are looking forward to exploring the area, fishing and enjoying all that life has to offer.

Thanks for stopping by.  If you're in the neighborhood, let us know, we always enjoy company!

Jo

Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.
James Dean

Learning new things.

Well, we are slowly getting settled in at Sugar Barge RV Resort and Marina.  We've had a couple of days of training.  Paul is doing outside work: lawn maintenance, filling propane tanks, moving boats and trailers with a tractor, using the garbage compactor and whatever else comes up.  I'm doing RV site and boat rental  reservations, answering phones,  greeting customers, sales in the store and paperwork! So far so good!  Our work schedule will be working Sunday and Monday for eight hours and the rest of the week off to explore the area, visit with family and enjoy the camaraderie of the other campers.

Sugar Barge Resort offers RV camping, horseshoe pits, a playground, a small convenience store,  a swimming pool in the summer months, RV Trailer rentals, boat rentals, jet ski rentals, tent camping, fishing, a restaurant during the summer months and a beautiful banquet hall that overlooks the delta.

Sugar Barge Post Card

We've stocked the refrigerator and freezer with food for the next two weeks, got a P.O. Box as there is no mail delivery here on the Island and did a small trip to the nearest town to see what is there.  A grocery store, a few gas stations, a couple of restaurants, cinema and places to shop.  Who knows, maybe we'll take in a few movies while we're here!

I know that there is a resident ostrich and buffalo up the road, but haven't been able to get pictures as it has been raining for the last two days.  Also been told there are a couple of burros who will come eat carrots from your hand.  I need to put carrots on the next shopping list! There are also chickens, goats, and feral cats. We  hear coyote, an occasional owl hooting in the evening, turkeys, and Paul has seen pheasants, egrets and ducks. It's duck hunting season so, we are woken by the muffled sounds of gunfire from the blinds out on the lake.

This morning's overcast and foggy view of the lake. 

All in all this looks like it will be a good place for us to settle for the next six months.