Category Archives: Nature

Camping, Nature, Simple Living, Travel, Van Living

Long Snouts And Water Spouts

February 6, 2015 Keevan 6 Comments

We’ve been cruising south on highway 1 along the California coast, finding our travel mojo again.

Cement Ship – Seabright Beach, Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz to Monterrey to Big Sur…along the winding road, following along with the whales also heading south. We stop often to watch huge water spouts emerge from the ocean, then spot the enormous dark blobs barely visible, looking more like tiny specks in the gigantic Pacific Ocean.

So refreshing it’s been, beautiful blue skies and perfect temperature in the 60’s and 70’s. Monarch butterflies flitter about, and golden poppies are already brightening up the green hillsides in some localities.

It’s feeling a bit like spring.

The campgrounds are wonderfully sparse, our fellow campers we meet also energetically embrace this glorious opportunity to enjoy the outdoors without the summer crowds.

Morning bird songs wake us in the dawn, and orange sunsets announce the close of our days. So nice to be back in sync with nature’s rhythms again.

Piedras Blancas, a little north of charming Cambria, is home to thousands of Elephant Seals. These massive pinnipeds, once so close to extinction, there were only 50 known animals off of an isolated island, have made a whopping comeback, and now are able to entertain us humans with their bizarre shapes, very unromantic love lives, and ever so cute babies. From December through January, they haul their massive tonnage out of the ocean up onto shore, give birth, breed, and stay around only long enough to wean the pups, before swimming off into the depths of oceanic life again.

A real treat and amazement to watch…the males can weigh between two and five thousand pounds!! The dominant and beta males constantly challenge each other for lordship over their harems, and the babies constantly try to keep from getting trampled as these massive males (incredibly fast) maneuver along the shore alternately mating the girls, and fending off the boys.

To add interest to the show, the California coast has been having many “King tides”…excessively high tides, which reduce the beach front real estate to a slender thread of sand, crowding the seals, and mixing up the harems, so the big Bull Elephant Seals have even more work to do, to keep everything straight! We watched this one little pup try so hard to get across the hurdle of rock to reach his mother, we just wanted to go give him a little shove to help out. (We didn’t) Poor thing was so exhausted.

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Laying down our tired bodies from much exercise and outdoor vitamin D, we are lulled asleep by the crashing of the ocean waves. So grateful and fortunate for this past week.

❧

Nature, Travel

A Birding We Did Go

January 20, 2015 Keevan 2 Comments

While still waiting for some final parts for our Van, we decided to take a little bird watching expedition.

We drove over to Lodi, to the Isenberg Crane Reserve, in the central valley of California, in search of our friends the Sandhill Cranes.

We had encountered these beautiful birds across the northwest this past summer on our travels, then found them again in New Mexico in the fall as they began migrating south for the winter.

Sandhill Cranes are really fun to watch. They have a very happy almost laughing cry that echoes throughout the fields and skies. They are extremely vocal, making them easy to at least hear, if not see. They fly overhead in huge numbers at a time, in graceful flight, as they come and go to bodies of water.

At sunset they all come into a shallow body of water where they spend the night in large numbers – for safety away from the lands edge and predators.

At sunrise they all take off and scatter, spending their days in grasslands such as these or in farmers fields, while feeding and socializing.

Soon they will start their courtship rituals, which involve dancing, flapping, and jumping around to entice a mate for long lasting relationships.

Although we came for the Sandhills, we also saw many other wading birds, such as these beautiful Snowy Egrets.

And their shyer cousin, the Green Heron, caught with his crest raised! These herons are almost always hidden in the tangles they are so perfectly camouflaged for, so seeing him and his raised crest was a great treat!

There were diving birds, such as this common American Coot, who I learned is actually more closely related to the Sandhill Crane than it is to a duck.

A not too shy Northern Mockingbird with it’s ever cheerful personality spent the afternoon with us, while we ate our lunch.

And a few standbys such as this cute shot of an American Robin, always close at hand.

The thing with watching birds…is that you also find yourself getting to see some nice sunrises and sunsets too! A nice little bonus!

Unfortunately, Lodi, didn’t have much to offer in the camping department.

So back to Santa Cruz we headed, spending a day in Monterey in between. A nice respite, while waiting and waiting for parts.

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Beginnings, Campervan, Nature, Simple Living, Travel

Greetings From Santa Cruz

January 12, 2015 Keevan 4 Comments

Hello 2015.

We’re closing in on 300 days on the road. A little Unbelievable, but very True it is.

Holidays came and went. Lots of Fun and Happy times with Family and good Friends. Food, wine, and much beach time was enjoyed.

Four people looking across the bay. — Beach

The Rain that greeted us upon arrival home, turned into chilling Cold weather, which then turned into Summer like temperatures.

Young girl frolicking in the surf — Delight

In the midst of Happiness, some Grief was endured, more van problems were encountered, and then a hard drive that died a grizzly dark Death threw a loop into our visit.

Young girl walking quietly on beach — Moving On

Long walks along the ocean with Loved ones helped heal the wounds.

Marbled willet along the shore — Marbled Willet

Our Friends in Nature encouraged us to Look forward to new Adventures in the coming year. There are lots of Ideas for new Projects here on this blog and elsewhere.

Snowy egret with injured leg — Snowy Egret

We’re very Exited about all the new Energy generated in the blog world. Everyone seems so full of Enthusiasm.

Young seagull on the sand — Immature Gull

We’re quietly and Peacefully getting Miss Keevan fixed up pretty and Practical, before traveling onward.

kayaker heading out to sea — Heading Out

Into the Unknown we Journey.

Hope we all make time in life for Renewal, Abundance and Hope in this coming year.

Journey Onward.

Boondocking, Campervan, Camping, Nature, Travel

Alabama Hills Of The West

December 9, 2014 Keevan 6 Comments

Leaving the Big City Lights, we were looking forward to Death Valley National Park.

But really, it just didn’t do much for us after everywhere we’ve been. And the campgrounds there…well what can I say, they were pretty much dusty, graveled parking lots with wall to wall people.

I guess it’s a popular spot for this time of year.

We couldn’t bring ourselves to camp in this situation, so we just kept going.

We drove to Lone Pine, a little town above the pitiful remains of Owens Lake, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

We had heard about the Alabama Hills, where so many movies have been made, they named the road there, ingeniously “Movie Road.” According to local lore, over 400 hollywood movies have been filmed in these hills.

Were we ever wowed when we drove in, just hoping to find a place to sleep for the night! Boulders and mountains and lots of open spaces with views to die for.

Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the continental United States with a summit of 14, 505 feet, was what we saw from our van door here! This is actually the back side of Whitney, seen from the east. How majestic her grandeur.

We felt pretty humbled and privileged to be camped here. To think that the likes of John Wayne to Johnny Depp have left their footprints here in the dust, and may have camped in the exact spot we did. (Well – probably not this exact spot, but maybe close by.)

Not a bad spot for morning coffee and breakfast. My own “John/ny” cooking up some yummy grub.

I wonder how much you would have to pay for a kitchen window with this view??

I wish I could say this was us, jogging along the road, but we enjoyed the view just as much while casually walking along behind these lucky folks who obviously run here often.

Another time when it’s just really hard to pull away…

We’ll be back here again.

❧

PS…For those who care, I am now officially caught up and current on this blog!!!

Boondocking, Camping, Nature, Simple Living, Travel, Van Living

California

December 7, 2014 Keevan Leave a comment

We just can’t leave the desert behind.

Here we find ourselves in the Mohave National Preserve back in California. We always love the Mohave for it’s peacefulness and lack of crowds. This shot above was our camping spot for the night, nestled in among the Joshua trees, but ouch, the temperatures just keep getting colder and colder.

When we finally woke up to a couple of inches of ice in Pia’s dog dish, we decided it was time to make some serious miles. But it was Thanksgiving weekend, and we wanted to both enjoy a bit of indulgence and avoid the highways full of traffic.

So we headed over to Las Vegas, Nevada, where there was plenty of action and a nice big Whole Foods Market, with a delicious Thanksgiving buffet all set up in their hot food bar.

We spent our first ever night sleeping in a casino parking lot, which was actually pretty quiet and secure feeling.

We took a Thanksgiving Day Drive and Hike around Red Rock Canyon Wilderness Preserve just outside of Las Vegas.

Signs all over the place said to watch out for wild horses and burros. And to be cautious of tortoise crossing, but no luck today…we didn’t see any of the above. But the rocks and trails were awesome.

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all.

❧

Camping, Nature, Travel

Finishing Up New Mexico

December 1, 2014 Keevan Leave a comment

10/16/14 -10/31/14

We were too early for the Festival of the Cranes, but we did make it to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge outside of Socorro. This Refuge is the home to 17,000 wintering Sandhill cranes, along with numerous other waterfowl, birds, and mammals. Not bad scenery either!

We had been seeing Sandhills sporadically along our entire trip, so it was a real joy to finally see their most popular wintering area in the US.

We meandered through Truth or Consequences and Las Cruces, before finding ourselves in the Organ Mountains…more beautiful majestic rocky crags. They reminded me of the Grand Tetons on a smaller scale.

We camped there at Aguirre Springs and hiked up to incredible vistas and meadows filled with wildflowers.

Pulling ourselves away from this beauty, we stopped in for a visit to White Sands National Monument. Glad we didn’t pass this gem by. There was a storm on the horizon, and we just made it out before the the rain starting pounding down. The sand dunes are huge mountains of white gypsum sand. Growing up along the ocean, this sand was very surreal to me, it was so white and clean and dry. Very different from my ocean sand.

White Sands National Monument; New Mexico

Whenever we pass through a town where either of us have had ancestors living, we try to stop in and visit. This cute little town of Weed, New Mexico, once held the lofty name of Garden City. Always one to feel sorry for the underdog, I kind of like the name Weed. The population of 20 was stretching it a bit too. We met half the population, and they were all awesomely nice.

A stroll along another wildlife marsh. Can’t seem to pass these by. And amazingly they are great places to walk a dog. Leashed of course!

Hiking around a bend out in front of Fred and Pia a bit, I caught these two flickers doing a courtship dance. What a treat!

A quick jaunt through Roswell and a visit with some aliens from the Area 51 site, also know as the Roswell UFO incident. Actually it was at the Rosewell UFO museum where we visited these guys.

And finally to wrap up this truly enchanted land, another outrageous New Mexico Sunset, from our campsite at Rockhound State Park.

We’re on our way back home, slowly…to spend some holiday time with our families and friends. But first, we’ll tootle our way through the Arizona desert, and see what there is to see.

❧

Camping, Nature, Travel

River Crossings, Boulders, And Lava

November 26, 2014 Keevan 2 Comments

10/15 -10/16

After leaving Santa Fe, we drove down past the town of Grants to Blue Lake State Park. We got in early, found a nice site overlooking the lake, and hiked around a bit. It was a nice campground and a good place to unwind from our sojourn in the cities.

In the morning we all took a wonderful hike down to a creek in the bottom of another canyon…like a miniature Rio Grand Canyon. It was beautiful with cool rock walls, some beaver activity, and greenery along the creek. We even had to make a creek crossing, which Pia wasn’t crazy about…the water doesn’t bother her, but she’s not real keen on the boulders. Pia is a retired guide dog, and most of her life has been maneuvering around towns and cities, not bouldering up and down cliffs. But she is game to try most anything, such an amazing dog she is.

So glad we didn’t just settle for the lake views, because this little hidden trail was the real gem of the campground for us.

We were able to take quick showers before leaving the park, refreshed and ready to hit the road. We then spent some time driving around and checking out the countryside, before landing in a dispersed camping area off of hwy 53. There we found more awesome rocks to climb around on, and the most beautiful Spotted Towee sitting in a pine tree. (No camera with me)

Checking out El Malpaias National Monument and Wilderness Conservation area was fantastic. We hiked around on these incredible sandstone formations overlooking acres and acres of lava beds at the Sandstone Bluff overlook area.

Pia and Fred were tuckered out after all that boulder hiking, so Fred stayed behind with her at Lava Falls, where I hiked solo across a moonscape of lava beds, leaping over crevices, tiptoeing across lava bridges, and following the lava rock piles, which were the only trail markers on the trail. It was pretty rugged hiking, but an incredible landscape that I’m glad I was able to experience.

The lava fields are about 3000 years old, fairly young geologically speaking. What was amazing were the trees, bushes and cacti that were forcing their way up through all the hard lava. True pioneer species in a brand new world.

South onward to spend the night at Apache Creek Campground.

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Camping, Nature, Simple Living, Travel

The River Flows South

November 24, 2014 Keevan Leave a comment

One last peaceful day along the Rio Grande River before we head south for good this time.

The soft glow of the light in the evening…

Our feathered friends waking us in the mornings.

And those sunsets over the Taos Mountains in the Carson National Forest.

We’ll dearly miss this, but its off to different lands. There’s much more to explore.

❧

Campervan, Nature, Simple Living, Travel

Birds Of Las Vegas

November 17, 2014 Keevan Leave a comment

9/30/14 – 10/1/14

Back to Santa Fe…Another mechanic…More dollars.

What to do?

After testing all the A/C components, this mechanic finally decides to test out our new relay, which tests out as no good. Volkswagon will order another relay for us at no charge, but they aren’t interested in paying for all the diagnostics to figure out that the part was no good. Grrrr.

We squabble and debate a bit.

We defiantly wait for the new part to arrive.

We go on another overnight sightseeing excursion.

We discover that Las Vegas, New Mexico is very different from Las Vegas, Nevada. Neither of us are real gung ho on bright lights and gambling, so we find this historic old town of Las Vegas much more to our liking.

The Las Vegas Wildlife Refuge is fantastic.

These White Pelicans in flight definitely brightened up our days.

Mr. Hawk teaches us a lesson in patience.

We think it all over a bit.

And decide it’s still all about the journey. We’re waiting for our new part, and enjoying New Mexico.

❧

Boondocking, Campervan, Camping, Nature, Travel

Crisscrossing New Mexico

November 13, 2014 Keevan 2 Comments

9/24/14 – 9/28/14

Back into Taos, we tried re-charging the A/C. It did’t do the trick, so we had someone look at it, who spent quite a few hours on it and traced it back to the relay under the dash. The part we needed had to be ordered by a Volkswagon dealer and had to come from Dallas, Texas. It had to be paid for in person, before anyone would order it. We had to go to Albuerque or Santa Fe. No brainer. We headed to Santa Fe.

Not a bad town to wait for a part. We enjoyed the plaza and native artists selling their wares. We bought a few gifts, did some sightseeing, and delighted in some New Mexico fall colors.

When the part arrived, we picked it up, quickly installed it, and ta-da…had cold air blasting into the cab.

To try out our refreshing luxury, we moseyed over to Bandelier National Park. Mostly we needed a place to camp for the night, and the park was handy.

A peaceful setting to enjoy the evening and early morning.

Some interesting campers were also visiting. In fact a lot of these Western Bluebirds were camping along side of us.

This Northern Flicker and White-breasted Nuthatch didn’t mind sharing a site.

Pretty sure this was a Merlin watching over the entire loop.

We moved on after these visitors left and lots of the two legged type moved in. (It was a weekend.)

Found this place a little quieter and more to our liking up a forest service road. Room for Pia to run and play, and plenty of New Mexico sunshine for the solar panel.

Some of these Bluebirds thought so too, as they followed us to our new camping spot.

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We drove by and visited Valles Caldera National Preserve.

It was a beautiful valley, but there was no place to spend the night. We inched our way around the Jemez mountains.

A quiet walk in the Santa Fe National Forest.

Nature’s sculpture…

And yet another lovely peaceful camping spot, thanks to the forest service folks for maintaining their roads.

The countryside changes abruptly.

Emerging out of the forest and into Jemez Pueblo.

It was about here when our air conditioner quit working again…

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Keevan Soul