Today was my last (full) day in America for a while. My family and I (including my sister, who drove up last night), went up to Reecer Creek Canyon area in the mountains to see the wildflowers and butterflies.
It was beautiful up there, and I’ll let some of the photos speak more than my descriptions.
This friendly German Pointer, Lexi, found us, and was pointing at every chipmunk and bird she heard! We didn’t see her owners anywhere, and after waiting a while we tried calling the number on her tag. No answer, and finally we had to go, thinking there was a GPS tag on her second collar. Not long after we got a call back saying they found her, which we were very happy about, especially as we were told it wasn’t a GPS tracker but a shock collar. 😛
There was a fire in the area last year, and we saw vast stretches of charred trees. However, the grasses and wildflowers were cheerily poking up amidst the devastation, happy for the rejuvenated soil.
This is Table Mountain (aptly named!), where there is usually a regional star party every August, about the time of the Perseid meteor shower. This year they decided not to have it though, due to some concerns about fire damage in the area and not wanting to disturb the fresh growth.
Mountain Arnica, bright cheery yellow flowers defying a black and white world.
For the complete album from the day, check out my Flickr Reecer Creek set.
These last few days have been about as busy as the first few, finishing packing and repacking, getting all my affairs in order, and visiting. Last night we had some family friends (including former college mentors) over for a wonderful dinner, and I’m so glad they were able to come as it was great to spend some time with them again.
In the morning I’ll be off to New Zealand. My family will take me to the Yakima airport, where I’ll be glad to drop off my THREE checked bags, and ’twill be a very bittersweet parting.
But after the tears dry, the excitement of travel will kick in again, and I’ll hope to temper my excitement long enough to get some sleep on the long journey. Hopefully I’ll be able to update from the airports.
So long for now, the much anticipated adventure to the Southern Hemisphere is about to begin!!