A Little of This, A Little of That

The cradle project is just about at the stage where all the pieces have been fabricated.
(Click on any photo to see a larger version.)

The plan

Sides and rocker pieces

End pieces before finishing

Bottom boards on left and right

Erick working on the last couple of pieces

Friends of Montclair RR Trail had a booth at the village Farmers Market on Sunday, September 11.  I helped staff the booth and made a poster celebrating our volunteers and encouraging people to become members.

Me and fellow board member Lin at the booth

Close up of the poster

The weekend of September 17 & 18 was a busy one for us.  On Saturday, we participated in Creek to Bay Clean-up Day with Friends of Montclair RR Trail. 

Erick hauling trash from an out-of-sight area above the main trail

Me scraping the last of some graffiti off one of the trail trash cans

Many of the day's volunteers with the pile of trash we collected
from seldom-seen areas off the main trail

On Sunday, we helped set up for the annual Manzanita Madness block party, worked the sign-in table and stuffed ourselves at the potluck table.

Erick sitting in for me at the sign-in table

Grilling area 

Magic show for kids

Potluck table

Neighbors still chatting - almost time to end the party

As always, the hills provided interesting photo opportunities.

Zoomed in on a quail in a neighbors yard -
well camouflaged 

Venus in sky at sunset

Lake of clouds in the canyon

Moon rise on the ridge 

Full moon at dusk

Waning moon with lights from the town of Moraga below

Late September sunset

Clear day on the bay (used zoom for this one)

Sunset with streaky clouds 

Plant life:

Teaspoon with Finger Lime "caviar"
The first fruit from our 2 year old plant

Finger Lime bush in its second bloom
The bees have been busy-  look for the tiny finger limes. 

Morning Glories in full bloom

Blooming time for these cacti (Schlumbergera)
I guess we'll have to call them Equinox Cactus since
Thanksgiving and Christmas are still a few months away.

High Points Adventures

Every adventurous niece should have an uncle like Erick.  Our niece, Lorrie who lives in Texas, came to visit us here in California. Months ago she had asked Erick to accompany her on hikes to the highest points in California and nearby Nevada, and he agreed.

They returned yesterday from a week during which they hiked up Mt. Whitney, the 2nd highest point in the US at 14,508 ft above sea level, and Boundary Peak, the 9th highest at 13,147 ft.  (More on US high points here:
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_elevation)

They were lucky in many ways: On the way to Mt. Whitney, there was space at Yosemite's Tuolumne Meadows for an overnight stay in a large tent with cots, and they had dinner at the lodge with other hikers. They were able to get a permit for Mt. Whitney that allowed them to make the hike over 3 days (Tuesday - Thursday) with overnight camping. After staying in Bishop, CA for a day of rest, they found a bed & breakfast in Dyer, NV whose owner made room for them even though the place was fully booked for the weekend. Last, but not least, they survived the one-day Boundary Peak hike which was more challenging than Mt. Whitney even though it's at a lower altitude.

Most of the photos here were taken with Lorrie's iPhone; some with Erick's Android. Click on a photo to see a larger version.

Mt. Whitney in California:

At the start

This area in the lowest of 3 climate zones is sometimes very wet

Resting by a small lake

Overnight camping spot

Trail Crest at 13,000+ ft
Checked the weather and decided to go for the summit.

Views on the way to the summit

Summit and shelter building in sight
Note the hiker at the summit, up and to the left of Erick

The summit selfie

Erick and Lorrie standing at the highest point

Signing the register

View from the summit

On the way down

Overnight camp site on the return hike

Heading down in the morning

Back at the tree line

Boundary Peak in Nevada:

In Nevada - hot and dry

On the way to check out car access to the trail the day before the hike

The roads in were dry and dusty

They'll definitely need a car wash for their rental car (left)

View from the road 

14 miles of rough road 

Burgers at The Boonies - the only place in town

Getting an early start on Boundary Peak day 

Approaching Boundary Peak in the car

Beginning the hike

Visitors' register

About to start the climb

They took Route B

Up through the sagebrush

At about an hour into the hike

About 4 hours in
Yes, those rocks, even the big ones can slide out from under you.

About 5 hours in

Almost there - looking up

Looking down where they've been

After 6 hours of hiking - selfie at the summit of Boundary Peak 

Signing the register

Lorrie at the summit

Survey triangulation marker
Information about these can be found here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survey_marker

Views from the top 

Erick took this one

Just a few photos on the return trip. They were focused on getting back.

Erick took these two photos

About 3 hours from the summit - back through the sagebrush

Spotted some wild horses

10 hours start to finish
Erick and Lorrie looking happy to have made it without incident

Scenes from home at about one tenth the altitude of Mt. Whitney:

Sunset over the bay - cloud layers

Looking north from the living room balcony

Afternoon clouds over the ridge

Sunset over the ridge

Late afternoon - Round Top, Sibley Regional Park

Late afternoon - trees seen from our balcony

Mt. Diablo at sunset

Its altitude is 3848 ft above sea level

With a cloud layer

Morning Glories starting to bloom 

Carnations and geraniums in the late afternoon sun

From down the road a bit, Naked Lady lilies - so named
because of the absence of leaves when they bloom