perfect conditions ~ part two

It was too irresistible to ignore.

The sparkly white stuff was shyly calling to us,

we felt drawn, so in search we went...

...here is a view of The Carpinteria Valley, far down below. Beyond that is, the Pacific Ocean and in the misty distance,

the Channel Islands National Park....but no snow yet...

...ok...here we go! we are at only 2000ft. here and HELLO!
I am hiking a little quicker now, I wonder how much will be at the top?


...still not too much,but we're almost there now, I can just make out the Los Padres National Forest in the background, I think we'll find what we're looking for just over that ridge...

S N O W !!! see? i knew it! i am thrilled. See me in the snow? i was so happy to stand and take it all in. But i could hear my husband calling "Come see this!" so following his footsteps...

...in the snow :)....

THIS is what I saw next. Two million acres of California's most rugged wilderness. The Los Padres Mountains are home to the California Condor, Big Horn Sheep, Bears, Mt. Lion, Rattlesnakes and elaborate,

Chumash Rock Art. If you would like to see photos of some of these you can go to http://www.chuckgrahamphoto.com/ , go to the Gallery, then North American Wildlife and California Condors.

...you can see for miles...we stood and breathed in the cool fresh air...took photos, congratulated ourselves on our good fortune, feeling blessed and humbled......and then my husband said "Come on". So I did. Now do you see those footprints in the snow? They are his, leading into the bushes. Poky, scratchy, sharp bushes. We bushwhacked for awhile until I said "umm, sweetheart, what may i ask are we doing?" he replied, "following Deer tracks". Oh good. I remembered that deer are nimble and can cling to sides of mountains and don't have to worry about twigs getting stuck in their hair or their camera getting broken...
just then he was satisfied, maybe because i was turning back anyway ;)...

I had other ideas...

...i wanted to have a closer look now...

...and have a go at snow man building...do you see mine here? it is most definitely a she, with her crown of dried blooms on her snowy head...

...after playing in the snow, my husband wondered if I'd brought any snacks? he was hungry, like a bear he said, so we started our decent, you don't want to be around a hungry bear! the hike took around 2 hours to get here, so we were that far away from any breakfast...at least. That's not counting any detours...

...like stream crossings...

...and leaf gazing...

...another stream crossing on the way down. We sometimes bring a picnic and sit alone on the rocks, we've brought champagne here, it's easy in a backpack...

...but this morning Summerland Beach Cafe was our destination.(remember Lindy?) It is a lovely restaurant in an old wooden house, with a deck for outdoor seating and an ocean view. Everyone else was all dressed up since it was Valentines Day. There we were all grubby, fresh from the trail (and snow). But so happy. Cheers Darling.

...."objects in mirror are closer than they appear".

yes, they are. hi mountains.

...trails done. time to knit! here is a little project i am working on..

"when i stitch i stitch with bliss, and with every stitch there went a kiss"

~ granma rose ~

(phone pics) ...and finally in the evening we drove to Santa Ynez to the Mavericks for a Valentines wedding...yes it was a wedding in a saloon and it was fabulous...we listened to country music, danced with cowboys and toasted a new union...

....it was a very good day.




xxx lori