Category: TRAVEL REVIEWS

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

Wild Iris & Lily~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, Flowers, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS208 Comments

We all need images of peaceful natural beauty these violent and cruel days.

Native California White Iris grow along The Rhododendron Trail in Redwood National Park in Northern California.

Douglas Iris bloom in profusion here as well.

The trail is named for the wild rhododendron that are everywhere.

Asiatic Lilies thrive in abundance.

Since these are wild flowers growing in the forest, there are lots of bugs. These are the eggs of spittlebugs, which seem quite accurately named!

Icelandic poppies are not native,

but were planted by our Innkeeper, north of Klamath California.

Do you see the face on the ancient redwood tree, of the old man in the forest, telling us peace is the only way?

“Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow.” John Lennon

Cheers to you from the wise and peaceful forest~

For info on the Rhododendron Trail See: http://www.redwoodhikes.com/PrairieCreek/Foothill.html

Squiggly Ice~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Tech Marvels, TRAVEL REVIEWS171 Comments

on Convict Lake,

in the Sierra Nevada Mountains,

in California. (Tap to enlarge).

These fascinating patterns of both straight lines/angles,

and wiggly-squiggles, are created by ice layers melting, moving, cracking and refreezing, over and over again.

They remind me of the patterns on Scribbly Gum trees in Australia.

Tap to enlarge and see if you can spot the distant skaters.

These learners were closer.

Cheers to you from the Sierras in winter~

Tufas~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS225 Comments

These strange formations called tufas (click to enlarge),

are in Mono Lake at the eastern edge,

of The Sierrra Nevada Mountain Range in California.

They are made of calcium carbonate and formed by the interaction of fresh water with the saline/alkaline lake.

Mono Lake is 2-3 times more salty than the ocean.

It is one of the oldest lakes in North America.

Trillions of brine shrimp live in the lake,

supporting 1-2 million migratory birds annually.

On this winter day, the lake was mirror still and silent.

Cheers to you from Mono Lake ~

For more on Tufas see: https://www.monolake.org/learn/aboutmonolake/naturalhistory/tufa/

Wild Mustangs of Mono Lake~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS, Wild Life225 Comments

Officially named The Montgomery Pass Wild Horses, (click to enlarge)

these mustangs have a range of 50,185 acres,

spanning the borders of California and Nevada.

Photos were taken on the south shore of Mono Lake in California.

There has been no aerial round ups, or baiting population control efforts, with this herd for the past thirty years.

They are the only feral herd in the US whose population is managed entirely by natural apex predator (mountain lion) predation.

These guys are clearly advising me not to come much closer!

There were only two other people here, in the winter, and you can see the horses seemed more interested in the people, than visa versa.

These are shy and elusive creatures, I was fortunate to spend time with them.

I didn’t have my zoom lens and was pleased they allowed me in shooting distance.

The herd is estimated to have a population of over a hundred. We saw at least that many.

Cheers to you from The Mono Lake Mustangs~

For more info on these stunning creatures see:

https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/media/herds-across-west-montgomery-pass-mustangs

My next post will focus on Mono Lake and the strange formations you see in the photos.

Snowy Sierra~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Sunsets, TRAVEL REVIEWS241 Comments

We have decided not to stay home anymore. We are going to resume our regular vagabonding, as safely as we can. We left sunny Southern California,

for some cold Sierra snow.

Sunset on the peaks are lovely.

But is quite nippy.

Winds on the peaks are 55-75 mph, with temps approaching 0 F,

gets your attention skiing!

View towards The White Mountains from The Sierras.

We’ve come 6 weeks after an epic storm.

It has been sunny, but cold since.

Maybe these folks are gonna wait till spring to dig out? I don’t blame them.

Cheers to you from the chilly Sierra~

Storm~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Sunsets, TRAVEL REVIEWS, Wild Life192 Comments

Moves in,

on the desert.

Wolf Moon & Rain!

Cheers to you from the happy desert~

Click to enlarge photos 1 & 2 and see if you can spot contrails 1 & 2!

Feathered Pairs~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, TRAVEL REVIEWS, Uncategorized, Wild Life249 Comments

Big Gulp Gull,

swallows his catch, Coeur d’Alene Idaho.

Bald Eagle,

and juvenile, catch grizzly salmon scraps, British Columbia Canada.

Saddle Bill Stork catches a cat,

Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Red Tailed Hawk,

loves rare water, Southern California.

A pair of Yellow Legs multiply in reflection, Salton Sea, California.

Greater Flamingos tango, Tagus Estuary Portugal.

Mated White Storks greet on their nest, Alsace France.

Cheers to you from your feathered friends~

What a Load Of Bull~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS, Uncategorized, Wild Life200 Comments

Is it just me? Or does he look irritable to you?

Would you cross his pasture?

The timid California Quail,

seemed to like hanging around him.

Maybe she thinks no one will mess with her, when he’s around.

But the roadrunner stayed clearly on the other side of the fence.

He’d rather deal with a confusing human like me,

than a bunch of bull like him!

Cheers to you from California’s clever critters~

Climbing Joshua~

On By cindy knokeIn MY PHOTOGRAPHS, Psychological Self Care, REVERIES, Tech Marvels, TRAVEL REVIEWS, Wild Life168 Comments

Look and spot the climber.

Here he is close up.

Spot this climber,

resting on the top.

Here she is, getting ready to come down.

This guy at the top is waiting for his climbing friends (do you see them),

to come up.

He climbs barefoot.

Here are all three without zoom. There is a fourth person at the bottom that you many be able to spot.

(Click to enlarge)

Cheers to you from the Joshua Tree National Park climbers~

Joshua~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS203 Comments

fit the battle of Jericho,

and the walls,

came tumbling down.

These tumbled boulders,

are in Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California.

Despite Southern California’s endless severe drought,

the Joshua Tree’s are still surviving, although under threat.

The desert desperately needs water.

Only the rocks are unperturbed.

Cheers to you from elegantly jumbled Joshua Tree National Park~