American Holiday 2007

[Maggi Young]

Cliff, this is the best holiday I've "had" in ages! I would give lots to see a sea otter in the wild...and I didn't know about sea squirrels! I thought it was just Cyril on his hols!

[ranunculus]

Many thanks Maggi...so glad that you are feeling a little better and able to travel (if only in my rather heavy footsteps at present).  Perhaps you might enjoy a few moments in Zion National Park....preferable to watching these interminable rain clouds dash across the sky?  By the way, I don't think the squirrels actually  swim or surf but I might be wrong (again)?

[ranunculus]

More from this WONDERFUL National Park at Zion...

[Lesley Cox]

What an amazing collection Cliff. Who needs alpines with all that lot to see? Oh those stunning Castillejas!

[ranunculus]

Thanks Lesley....there are plenty more images to post, but none as vibrant or as beautiful as those Indian Paintbrushes.....

[ranunculus]

A couple more images from Zion, then we will head off into the White Mountains of California, the home of the oldest living things on earth (no NOT me!!!  ), the beautiful but ancient bristlecone pines. A selection of images captured up on the Methuselah Trail, a truly magical hike that we undertook in intense heat, brilliant sunshine and with drought conditions underfoot. Hope some of you might enjoy looking at bark and timber patterns as much as I do?  Apologies once again that these images do not follow the chronological pattern of our trip but I would like to post them as they appear on my screen rather than mess about later.

[ranunculus]

Batch two from the White Mountains.....

[ranunculus]

Batch three from the White Mountains....

[annew]

Fantastic photos, Cliff. Beautiful bark 2 especially would make a wonderful print enlarged to, say, 80 x 50cm.

[Maggi Young]

Wow! This is fantastic!  I think the beautiful timber 2 shot is like a close-up of a fabulous tiger ! And there are those that could be feathers... wonderful!
 Wouldn't mind if the Petrophytums we have wanted to get that big!
Ian called the waterfall shot, a "Freefall", which I thought a quite natty title!

Loving this, Cliff, couldn't care less what order they come in!

[Maggi Young]

By the way, I don't think the squirrels actually  swim or surf but I might be wrong (again)? says Cliff

Don't be daft, Cliff, it's a well known fact that everyone surfs in California !

[ranunculus]

Okay....so we don't mind too much about the chronological order of the postings?....Well can we now travel into the High Sierras of California with our base being the beautiful town of Bishop (we can thoroughly recommend the gorgeous Best Western Creekside Inn in this quiet resort and the dining at Sizzlers). The town is a great access point for high mountain trails on either side of Owens Valley and quite convenient for Mammoth Lakes, Mono Lake, Bodie and Yosemite to the north and Big Pine, Independence and even Death Valley to the south. It is possible to visit both the trailhead for Mount Whitney (the highest mountain in the contiguous United States) AND the lowest point in the USA in Death Valley on the same day (well it is when Sue is driving)!!
Just outside Bishop one can access the incredible Buttermilk boulder area (one of the few homes of the wonderful Ranunculus andersonii) and it was a pleasure to scramble among these amazing boulders in search of any sign of one my favourite buttercups. Though the arid, scorched earth yielded little return for such effort under a blazing sun, we think we MAY have discovered remnants of foliage of one small patch of Ranunculus in the deepest shade under the largest of boulders, but we must await the authoritative advice of my good friend Larry Blakely to even claim this small victory. California is desperate for rainfall and the High Sierras are no exception. The earth is turning quickly to dust and even hardy desert species are dying of thirst in many areas....but the pool at the Creekside Inn still proved a tremendous attraction after a day in the mountains...

[ranunculus]

Bishop, our base for five nights.....

[annew]

Kerrripes! I didn't realise the boulders were that big. They look only a metre or so. Did you try giving the balanced one a push?

[mark smyth]

amazing photos. How did the rocks get there?

The blue bird is a Bluebird