Whitewater Preserve visit

I got hubby out of his chair yesterday and over to the Whitewater Preserve.  First we stopped by the Whitewater Rock & Supply Company because the grandson is doing a rock collection for 2nd grade.  I wanted to pick up some obsidian there for him.  They had some in stock (sometimes they don't...) and picked out 2 nice, big chunks of it, and a nice, big pumice rock.  I found a rock from Baja, CA too and some smaller, broken samples.  My purchases came to $10 and I was pleased about that.  I even got to ride in their golf cart because their limestone supplies were all the way furthest from their gate!

Then, on to the Preserve.  That entire area is now C-L-O-S-E-D to ALL hiking, due to the fire danger.  Only the Preserve is open.  It's at the end of the road and one can hike either to the Whitewater River or up to the Pacific Crest Trail, but I'm not even sure if that is open right now.  Everything is very dry.

It was calm and peaceful when we arrived.  In fact, there were only 2 other cars in the parking lot!  What a difference from the Labor Day weekend, eh?  I've never been there when it was so quiet, but I've never been there during the week!  HA!

We both wandered around with our cameras and I let hubby do his own exploring.  He has a much better eye than I have...sigh...

We ended up talking to one of the rangers inside the ranger cabin before we left and he provided us with some useful information.  We, in turn, gave him some tips on the Mammoth area! I think he was exhausted from the Labor Day crowds.

It was a good day to get out.  Hurricane Newton's first clouds (and HUMIDITY) are approaching the valley today.  I can see a whole line of clouds to the east.  Ugh. Apparently it is heading toward Arizona and New Mexico.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/weather/sns-bc-tropical-weather-newton-20160907-story.html

 It was peaceful and quiet at the Preserve.

 No crowds!

 Empty tables

 Even the ponds were quiet!

One of my new friends!

Ducks on the move

Hubby and I drove to Temecula Saturday night to spend that afternoon and Sunday with the son and his family.  It was a nice day there, about 75 degrees.  By early morning, it was in the 60's!  It was cloudy, too.  Not foggy, but overcast with clouds.  I went for a walk around his house and I heard ducks calling.  Fortunately, I had my camera with me and I was able to snap a few shots.  They kept coming and coming in waves, but were heading west.  Maybe they are flying ahead of the approaching hurricane in Mexico?  I don't know...

Sorry they are so dark, but it was a gloomy day.

Cabin fences~Good Fences~090216

Our cabin up in Idyllwild had some interesting fences around it and I wasted no time taking photos of them.  The fence outside our front door was made of red shank.  It was all twisty and curvy.  I LOVED it!  The fence out back was high enough for the blue jays, woodpeckers, and squirrels to eat their peanuts without the dog bothering them!  It was great!

 Fence out in front of the cabin.

 Nice fence around the back patio.

 Looking through the fence to the neighbor's yard behind the cabin.

 Another view of the red shank fence out front.

Back patio fence.

Good Fences for Friday, September 2, 2016.   To visit Good Fences, please go to:   http://run-a-roundranch.blogspot.com/

Settling into retirement mode

So, hubby put in his paperwork last Friday to retire.  It's been a week now and he is FINALLY relaxing.  He slept most of the day for a couple of days.  Now he spends his days pretty much on his laptop or watching TV.  Honestly, it has been TOO DANG HOT to go outside.  It was 110 yesterday and more of that for today, then temps inch down to 99 by Sunday and Monday.  Then back up to about 106 by the middle of next week, then down again.  It has been a LONG summer and I'm glad it is now September!

I'm hoping we can do more of this:  (from February, 2014, I think...)  That was up in our local mountains, 5 minutes from our home after a February snow storm.

 My vet is coming tomorrow afternoon to give all the horses their shots and she will also check their teeth.  Sometimes horses need to have their teeth filed down.  Two of them needed it last year, so I'll see.  Then, Labor Day weekend.  We aren't going anywhere...we are staying home.

~Cheers~
Cheryl Ann

Idyllwild pics

 This is a view of the cabin we rented.  It is part of a village of cabins in Idyllwild.

 This is the back patio...huge!

 More of the back patio.  I liked the deck in the morning.

 Front view

Swing area. There is a BBQ opposite this.

Hubby and I really had a good time this weekend.  We originally had planned to stay just Friday night, but the cabin was still available Saturday night, as well, so we decided to stay another night.  Our dog, Ripley, reallyloves it up in the mountains, in the cool air!  We are planning to return mid-September.  We like our once-a-month outings!

I'm not the only retired one here now!

Well, it's official!  Hubby has now retired, too.  He spent 18 years with the Marriott Corp, but officially retired last Friday.

And, off to Idyllwild we went for 2 nights!

He wanted to get out of town and avoid phone calls, so we packed up our stuff and the dog and took off for the mountains.  Our son and grandson drove up Friday night and spent the night with us.

I'll be uploading photos later (after I've had my coffee!).

I found a few I'd posted on Facebook:

 This cabin has a nice, big porch and doggie area!  Lots of trees with blue jays and woodpeckers!

 Grandson feeding the koi down at the pond.  The manager gave him the fish food.

 Grandson and our dog on the cabin floor together.

Ripley waiting to go home..."Don't forget me!"

Mountain fences~Good Fences~082616

I took a drive one morning while we were up in Idyllwild last week.  Hubby was lounging around, watching his morning TV shows.  That seems to last ALL morning with him!

I was getting bored, so off I went.  I drove to Pine Cove, where there is a side road with houses and lots of nice fencing!  It is a very quiet area and the houses back up to a meadow where we heard coyotes one evening while staying in Pine Cove.

Good Fences for Friday, August 26, 2016.  To visit Good Fences, please go to this link: 

http://run-a-roundranch.blogspot.com/