Black Necked Stilt

I’ve been waiting for this moment a long time. The condition was perfect and the weather was pretty comfortable. It was a bit cloudy and cool, the river at this section was covered with tall weeds which turned it into a wetland and it was a perfect breeding and nesting place for the various birds that frequent this area.

I was looking for the Black Necked Stilt which usually found in wetlands and coastlines. This bird is referred to as shorebird of American wetlands and coastline, and I saw her in this area last year at about this time. So I took my time and came to that section of the Los Angeles River to visit with that bird.

Of course patience was essential and I needed some time to let the birds there get use to my presence. I never complained, after all I knew the birds doesn’t sitting there waiting for me to show up. So I took my time, enjoyed the scene of the river and waited for them to gain trust in me and show their feathers.

It didn’t take long before I saw what I was looking for – Black Necked Stilt yipping loudly, sounding like a sharp yipping coming from every direction. It took me some time and long observation to find where this high sharp yipping is coming from and there she was,  a striking black and white bird with very long, thin pinkish legs running back and forth in the water.

At first I didn’t understand all that chirping and running but than I saw a glimpse of what I was suspecting was going on. One little chick came out of the toll grass, gazing around like he don’t know where he suppose to be. He wore light grayish fluffy features, standing on his tiny feet and watching mom as asking “What’s now, mom?” 

He was pretty well camouflaged in the toll grass and it took a few long minutes for him to gain some courage to pick out the grass, and he did. He stood very close to mom, and watched her as she looks for food, when she got away for a second he ran back into the tall grass and disappeared from the scene, it made it extremely difficult for me to snap the picture of him with mom.

It was time well spent and I was very happy with the opportunity to see the Black Necked Stilt again.

Sepulveda Dam

I drive frequently on Burbank Boulevard and every time I approach the section west of Woodley Avenue I see the Sepulveda dam in the distance south side of the road.

So many times I wanted to explore that area of the river because the seen is gorgeous and finally I did it. I parked my car on Woodley Avenue and walked south toward the Burbank Boulevard Bridge which spans above the river

 This section of the river is cover with lash vegetation that attracts many birds of all kind and at that morning which was a little overcast I saw among them the black necked stilt running back and forth looking for food in the water. But it wasn’t the Stilt I was after; I came to explore the dam.

 This dam was built in 1941, it is owned by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, and was one of their central achievements. The mission of this dam is to control the course and flow of the Los Angeles River by collecting flood runoff from the city, stores it temporarily and releases it back to the river.

Tuolumne Meadows - Soda Springs and Parson's Lodge

Our next stop in Tuolumne Meadows was Soda Springs and Parson’s Lodge which situated in close proximity.


We parked our car and walked a short distance to the trail head, and started our short half a mile hike on a dirt road toward the Soda Springs. The road wind itself around beautiful green meadows with lots of trees. 

 we saw squirrels and Ground Hog running near the trail. 

 We crossed a nice stone bridge that span over the creek and arrived at the Soda Springs which is bubbling cold carbonated water out of the ground.

This springs percolating carbonated water up from nowhere and the bulk of them have been corralled inside the log enclosure.

We made our way to the log enclosure and watched bubbles appear before our unbelieving eyes! We even saw a woman filling up a foam cup with that carbonated water and drink it. We weren’t sure we can drink this water, but she told us it’s safe to drink and very healthy too (Later on we found out she was right.)

This carbonated water is very rich in iron, and it made the stone and puddles look red which turn the whole area to an artistic beauty.

 Just a few feet above those springs sit Parson’s Memorial Lodge, an interesting structure.The walls are rubble masonry with a concrete core, using local pink feldspar and gray granite, bedded with deeply raked mortar joints, and tapering from three feet at their base to two feet at the top. The door is arched with heavy stonework. The low-pitched roof is

framed with peeled log rafters, about 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter with interior and exterior log braces resting on low buttresses projecting from the walls on the east and west sides. The rafters are similar to the vigas found in American Southwestern architecture. Smaller peeled logs analogous to latias rest on top of the rafter logs, running perpendicular, topped by roofing paper and a galvanized metal top surface. The interior features a massive fireplace on the north wall opposite the entrance. There are two windows with benches below them inn the east, west and south walls.(References:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsons_Memorial_Lodge#cite_note-harrisonnhl1-3)

It was built in 1915 by the Sierra Club as a memorial to Edward Taylor Parson who was a member and later on the club’s director from 1905 to 1914 when he died.

This lodge was built originally as a meeting place and reading room. It was also used as a refuge from afternoon thunderstorms and a center for exhibits and special programs.

Bubbles the Mallard

It was a cool morning around Lake Balboa and as I sat with Steve at his usual spot he pointed to a mallard that had a very odd shape beak looking like a nasty tumor.

“Bubble Beak or Bubbles for short, barely eats on dry land unlike other mallards because of this tumor. It prevents him from eating normally and he has to labor hard to get something in his mouth” said Steve “but he eats well in the water”.

I also heard that a biologist there stated that nothing can be done to save the poor creature and it looks like he might not going to survive long. Lets hope he will, he looks so happy.  

Watching this Mallard suffering made us all a bit sad, but this mallard is a survivor and he is seen swimming around the lake happily like any other mallard there. Such a survivor.

Tuolumne Meadows - Dana and Lyell Forks

From Soda Springs and Parson’s Lodge we continued on Tioga Road to Tuolumne River. We parked at Dog Lake parking lot and walked a short distance to the John Muir Trail head.

We were hiking along the Tuolumne River on our way to Dana Fork. It was a beautifully scenic trail that offered dramatic and expensive views of glacially carved mountains, alpine and sub-alpine meadows, and lots of stunning rock formation both in and out the water.

At about .3 mile we reached the Dana Bridge, a small wooden foot bridge over the Tuolumne River, when you at it from the side it looks like this bridge was built in an angle. It is surrounded by toll pine trees and interesting boulders nicely shaped by wind and water completes the scenes.

At about a little bit more than .5 miles we reached the Lyell Bridge which span over the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River. Actually it is two wooden bridges span over the fork.

 

The views from Lyell Bridge are dramatic and postcard likes, and the colors were astonishing. Glacially carved mountains and ridge lines, alpine and sub-alpine meadows, toll pine trees, green lush meadows and of course Lembert Dome in the background was views that made us feel like we want to stay there longer.

Yosemite National Park - The Tunnel View

Knowing that the Tunnel View is a must see spot in the Yosemite Valley we made it our top of the list places to visit. We drove on Wawona Road and soon as we got out of the tunnel we made a left turn and parked in the designated parking lot.

This was really the place to take our “money shot” pictures since it is one of the most picturesque spot in Yosemite, with El Capitan, Half Dome, and Bridalveil Fall in the background.

We were speechless looking at the scene and felt like John Muir knew what he was doing when he fought to preserve Yosemite as a National Park, we are so lucky to have such an incredible place to visit here in California.

It doesn’t matter how many times we will visit Yosemite National Park, we always going to be thrilled and awed by this view coming through the tunnel.

Yosemite National Park - Riding Stables

I love to watch horses and mules, but not to ride them. I personally think that if you are not trained to ride them and don’t have enough experience to go with your training it will be dangerous to try. I came to Yosemite to have lots of fun without taking too much of a dangerous risks, especially when I'm not trained to take it.

I decided to visit the Yosemite Valley Stables out of curiosity. I wanted to observe the way riders as well as animals are been prepared for the ride and how many animals usually included in a typical mule train.

The animals were assigned based on the rider’s age, riding ability and the degree of difficulty of the trail the rider chooses. Also each rider got a helmet for protection and all the necessary information and riding instruction as well.

Each animal had a different saddle, and they were roped together, literally tied nose to tail; one behind another with the guide packer leads the pack mules to the trail.

I spent there almost two hours and learned how the mules and horses are being prepared for each trip, what kind of equipment they wear and how they are being matched with the riders.

While I was watching the show it got even better, a pair of mule deer bucks showed up and without any hesitation strolled back and fourth undisturbed. I got pretty close to them and snap a few pictures, than they just continued on their journey, and disappeared in the near forest.