High Sierra and Associated Pretty

Hey, I recently went to the Pyramid Creek area off Highway 50, just west of Tahoe. The alpine environment was just perfect in early September and I found both wildflowers and fungus.

The view from the parking lot

A waterfall at the beginning of the trail

Base of the hike, looking up at the falls. Some hikers went to the top, where a small lake feeds the waterfall

You have to climb up the bare granite in many places

 

But the waterfall at the top is so worth the trip

And the views out of the valley were outrageous

The creek on the way down was more like a river, and more, smaller, falls

 

The aforementioned wildflowers

Mushrooms, in September?

Exotic Plants at the UC Davis Botanical Conservancy

A few months back I went to the UC Davis greenhouses to see a rare Corpse Flower bloom. It's the picture at the top of the blog. It is from Indonesia and is the largest single flower on earth, blooming for only 48 hours before going dormant. They bloom once every 2-7 years, producing a giant, tree-like leaf in the intervening time.

They had the place open most of the night, as it has a stench to attract flies at night to pollinate it. It was like dead mammal, that was warm and sitting out for a while. Quite a contrast to the beauty below, huh?

 This is the stalk of the tree-leaf:

This crimson just screams meat, no?

 The actual flower that is pollinated is down at the very bottom, see the yellow specks?

 I love that they call this thing the spadix. Fun word. It was the part emanating the heat and smell.

 The base:

I then checked out what else was hanging around the greenhouses:

Hibiscus:

 Chocolate flowers (tiny):

Turn into cocoa pods:

 These are Cycads, a family of plants most ancient. They formed the forests of the dinosaur period, and reproduce using weird cone things:

 Ferns:

 Orchids:

 Top of a pitcher plant:

 And I have no idea what these are, but they look super pretty:

South Yuba - Refreshingly Pretty

I went out to the South Yuba River State Park the other week, you should check it out before it closes next spring. Perfect spot for a hot summer day.

Most people go to the swimming area below the bridges of Highway 49 (one is from the 1920's, the further one is from the 1990's)

I went up-river a ways where there was more shade and a much larger swimming area.

There was this native american grinding rock on the way

The rocks ranged from pebbles and stones to boulders.

The water was just surreal, with a milky blue-green color that looked very refreshing.

And the big pool

Saw some wildflowers on the way out.

4th of July in the Wine Country

I went out to Sonoma with my best friend and another friend for the 4th, which has become something of a tradition for us. The area is so beautiful for a day outdoors and then the fireworks at night are outstanding. The fire department lobs them up a few at a time for 45 mins in Vallejo's field, with an extravagant finale for the last few. Quite low as well, so you really feel them going off.

We started at a winery that is associated with the Jacuzzi family!

They had a tasting room and lots of stuff to sell. I thought this oil/vinegar combo was cool.

There was a simply ancient grape vine, probably half a foot in diameter at the base.

We went up to Glen Ellen for a chocolate tasting room that wasn't open and found the Sonoma Development Center, one of California's oldest institutions for the mentally disabled. The state is phasing these places out, but it is a very sprawling complex, with architecture from an eclectic mix of California history.

From the 1880's main house

To mission revival

to 1960's modern

My camera didn't pick these up too well, but they were really pretty at the time