Lassen Volcanic National Park

We left Mendocino on a Tuesday and drove straight through to Lassen Park, selcting campsite B50 which was very quiet and private.  The location was a good test for Lauira's new bug tent, which worked wonderfully, and also served as a warming tent as it has wind block sides that can be lowered to make it warmer inside.  We floated in Manzanita Lake, but only Laura had any bites.  Ity is a beautiful lake, surrounded by forest, with ducks, coots, geese, and an osprey.

The trails around the lakes and nearby area are good, even for one like me with a wonky knee.

 The pine squirrels are a hoot as they scurry around pushing pine cones to their "spot" then scaling them, then burying the scaled cone.  

The camping spot was quiet even over the busy weekend, but on Monday smoke had moved in--so much smoke settled on the lake Monday morning while Laura fished that we decided to head north to avoid it, heading to Goose lake.  This as a record breaker--tying up aroiund seven, but still getting two great campsites.

The deer are very plentiful in the park, and it has been a great year for quail apparently.  A hawk dropped down by Laura's tent,swooping up a vole or mouse, and carrying to a stump.

We decided to check out Lily Lake, as Goose lake is so low--but the lake is as serene as always.  Laura watched several fish rise, so we will be returning for her to fish.

The drive in allowed us to see several more deer, including a beautiful stag.

The trees are turning color:

We also stopped at a little pond with no name, and did not see any fish, but it was a pretty spot with lots of tules, and Laura found a little friend, aggravating it with a piece of grass.  The waterbug is about the size of a half thumb.

A storm is moving in, so we will see what develops...

Note:  What developed was a water line malfunction last night in kitchen, so we have had to turn off water to the trailer,  but are still making things work for us.  More later...

Turtles in our Condo Bay

Today is our last full day in the condo on the Kona side--we were going to drive north again, but decided instead to go down to the little beach by us and wade in the sea.  Helen wandered up the up the beach to look at tidepools while I waded out into the shallow waters and stood in the soft surf.   As I stood there, i caught a head popping up our of the water about 25 feet away from me, and guessed it was a swimming turtle since I could see a dark shape moving under the water too.

I got out of the water to leave the turtle in peace and joined Helen for tidepool exploration.  She had seen several small fish as well as some small water snakes. The water is crystal clear (below), and you can see deep into the pools.

Here are a few of the fish pictures I captured looking down from above on the rocks into the pools, spotting many of the same species of fish:

We returned to the sandy portion of the little beach, and once again say a turtle swimming.  he never came completely out of the water, but he came in close to shore allowing me to capture "parts" of him--a flipper, a back, etc.:

Pearls & Rays by the Bay

We wanted to dine again at Don the Beachcomber, but found out they were only open Th-Fri-Sat, so we are glad we had the opportunity when we did last Friday night with Holly, Lary, and Shane.  It will be a special memory.  So, we still went north to Hilo Hattie's, but Helen and I decided to try Rays by the Bay at the nearby Sheraton later.

At Hilo Hattie's I decided to do the Pick-a-Pearl stand, which I had passed by for several years.  I chose the ugliest oyster I could find, and the lovely sales lady opened the oyster and out popped two beautiful pinkish pearls.  Well, I couldn't stop myself--I had them set into some sterling plumeria leaves (above).  She gave me a free oyster pick and this time my oyster had only one, but larger.  I didn't have that one set and am bringing it home.  Helen also chose and oyster, and she too got a pearl, but didn't have it set.

We then headed south, and had a lovely dinner at Rays by the Bay of a shared Pupu tray plus dessert. The waves were high, although not as high is the last two days. The ocean is very close, nearly as close as at Don the Beachcombers, so here is a view from our table of the crashing surf:

Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Gardens

The Amy Greenwell Botanical Gardens is south of our condo near Captain Cook, and is a unique ethnobotanical garden which contains only plants that were indigenous or endemic to the Hawaiian Islands prior to the arrival of Captain Cook.  Many of these plants are endangered (some indigenous plants unique to Hawaii have already gone extinct due to development activities).  These gardens preserve and help re-establish the native flora in the islands.  While the blossoms are not as exotic as the tropical garden we visited earlier in the trip, they are just as lovely:

Not only was there lovely flora, be we also encountered a few fauna, including this one about the size of a silver dollar:

Flowers around the Condo

This golden chain tree is right by our stairwell, and welcomes back each time we return from a trip.  It is a lovely tree.  Of course, all of the hibiscus are blooming in all of their varied colors:

Non-hibiscus flowers are everywhere as well:

Amid the flowers, are beautiful birds, like the saffron finch and the little zebra dove (8 inches):