Category: TRAVEL REVIEWS

Description of trips we have taken, intineraries, hotel reviews, travel trips & photos.

The Scot’s Cali III~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS246 Comments

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I am reading John Muir’s, “My First Summer in the Sierras,” published in 1911.

Note the horse hoof tracks in the sand, these are the wild mustangs of Mono Lake:

https://cindyknoke.com/tag/mono-lake-wild-horse-photography

Muir’s diary is replete with his illustrations.

As I walked where he walked, I was struck,

by how he views nature as a sacrament.

He finds not just solace here,

but spiritual joy.

Of Mono Lake, he wrote, “I never beheld a place where beauty was written in plainer characters or where the tender fostering hand of the Great Gardener was more directly visible.”

He went all over the world,

but his name and imprint are all over California forests and trails, and the university I attended.

He called Mono Lake “a marvel,” and knew the brine shrimp were the only permanent residents of “the ancient lake.”

He wrote this in 1869 and he couldn’t be more correct today. He traveled on foot in The Sierras with pencil and paper. I wonder how he knew all this?

Thousands of migrating birds rely on the lake’s brine shrimp for sustenance as they migrate every year.

Los Angeles continues to siphon water from the lake and the lake continues to dry and shrink.

My Scottish immigrant grandmother who arrived in the US in the early 1900’s never read John Muir, but she loved Scotland, and so did he.

Cheers to you from The Scotsman of The Sierras~

See: https://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/writings/my_first_summer_in_the_sierra/

The Other Cali II~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS248 Comments

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Mono Lake in California,

is a pristine,

paradise,

in winter.

There is no one here,

but the lake,

the tufas,

and you!

Tufas are delicate limestone structures formed over thousands of years,

by the interaction of fresh and alkaline water.

Cheers to you from Mono Lake in the winter~

The Other Cali: Part I~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, Psychological Self Care, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS178 Comments

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California isn’t all ocean,

sun and surf.

It is also mountains,

snow and ski.

Mammoth Mountain in Mammoth Lakes California averages 400 inches of snow each year.

We have been coming here to ski annually for almost 55 years.

Another storm is arriving this weekend!

Gearing up.

You can see Mono Lake in the distance where we are going tomorrow.

Cheers to you from Mammoth Lakes in February~

Birds of The Sea of Cortez~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS259 Comments

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Jacques Cousteau referred to The Sea of Cortez as the world’s aquarium,

which it clearly is,

empty, stunning, and full of wildlife.

The region is also,

home to a huge variety of birds,

including the formidable Harris Hawk,

comical,

peli- cans,

curious grackles,

and stunning,

frigate birds.

Cheers to you from all the birdies in The Sea of Cortez~

Heading Home for the Holidays~

On By cindy knokeIn MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS, Uncategorized251 Comments

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San Diego Harbor.

Sea of Cortez.

Gingerbread Village from unknown creator.

Wishing you Health and Happiness this Holiday Season & Beyond!

Cheers to you from The Holler~

Tropical Kingbird & Great Kisskadee~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS211 Comments

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Two new birds for me! The first five photos are Tropical King Birds.

The Tropical Kingbird identification is a late edition correction provided for me by Teresa Robeson, a brilliant blogging friend @ teresarobeson.wordpress.com

Thank you Teresa! Thrilled you, and your family member, helped identify another new species for me.

She clairified this bird was either a Couch or Tropical Kingbird.

It’s location points to it being a Tropical Kingbird,

a member of the tyrant flycatcher family.

The final three photos are Great Kissdadees also in the tyrant flycatcher family.

Kisskadees are not only beautiful, but bold and will chase away monkeys, raptors and snakes.

Tropical Kingbirds and Kiskadees can be found in Southern Texas, Mexico and Central/South America. Tropical Kingbirds have a similar range but can also be seen in Southern Arizona.

Like most birdies, both species are avid people watchers.

Cheers to you from Mexico and her beauteous birdies~

(Hopefully the identifications are now correct!)

Magdalena Bay~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS, Wild Life243 Comments

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Meet Mr. Red Rock Crab. He is quite large! We have been traveling out of wifi and satellite range on the Pacific side of the Baja California Penninsula in Mexico and into The Sea of Cortez through the narrows where the two oceans meet.

This view between the rocks is where The Pacific Ocean meets The Sea of Cortez.

This is a pristine, unpopulated desert ecosystem extending for hundreds of miles, surrounded by oceans that are teeming with wildlife.

This bull sea lion is suspicious and watches me with one eye,

before he relaxes and resumes his nap.

Rare, rarely seen, huge, up to 5000 pounds, and endangered, this Sunfish basks on the surface of the ocean sideways to absorb heat from the sun before he dives deep into the cold ocean to forage. For more click on following link:

https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/ocean-sunfish#:~:text=The%20ocean%20sunfish%20(Mola%20mola)%20looks%20like%20the%20invention%20of,the%20world’s%20heaviest%20bony%20fish.

Dolphin abound and can be seen alone,

or hunting in huge superpods,

that can consist,

of thousands.

This pod surrounded our boat and swam around it for close to an hour.

They were noisy,

slamming their bodies and tails on the surface of the ocean,

to stun the fish,

whom they herd into,

balls and consume.

This spotted box fish is left at peace because he is poisonous.

Even the always ravenous Snowy Egret won’t touch him!

Cheers to you from The Sea of Cortez~

Jets Over The Sonoran~

On By cindy knokeIn EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS200 Comments

Make a,

butterfly,

fly.

Practice maneuvers,

making art,

in the sky.

Cheers to you from The Sonoran Desert~

Mendocino~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, Flowers, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS236 Comments

(click/tap to enlarge and be sure to look at mystery plant at the end)

in Northern California,

is a blooming,

splendor.

Rhododendron grow riotously,

and water lillies,

abound.

Mendocino is less traveled,

allowing nature and people,

room to breathe.

Note: This last plant puzzled me. Do you know what it is without peeking? The flowers suggest foxglove, but the stalk was a mystery. I did lots of internet sleuthing to no avail, until I finally searched for mutant foxglove and found one example from Clemson University. Here is the citation:

What is it Wednesday?

Did you guess correctly? I certainly could not.

Cheers to you from blooming Mendocino~

WAYMO Better~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Tech Marvels, TRAVEL REVIEWS226 Comments

(click/tap to enlarge to see the happy passenger!)

We are on the road again.

A Jaguar driverless taxi,

is a great way to roll!

No need to keep up conversation with your taxi driver.

There isn’t one!

Optimal for cruising over-crowded San Francisco.

You can fully enjoy the scenery without bickering about directions.

Back seat drivers are pointless because the car doesn’t care!

There are lots of these taxis ferrying people around Presidio National Park in San Francisco.

The Presidio,

is a blooming beauty this time of year.

Cheers to you from Presidio National Park in San Francisco~

(Note- WAYMO is a fleet of fully autonomous electric vehicles owned by Alphabet the parent company of Google. It has taxis available throughout San Francisco, and in designated areas of Los Angeles, Austin and Phoenix).