camping with foxes

we've been away, first on a camping trip, then home, but feeling kind of isolated without any internet service here for the last few days! luckily the problem was resolved this morning. chuck will be glad to know when he returns, though, at the moment he is on a mountain climbing expedition to ecuador, so i am happy for both of us! thank you so much for the letters and messages regarding my daughter and son who live in nyc. they fared well, staying indoors, thank goodness. we wish everyone to be safe and recover soon from this huge storm.

we had arrived home from our trip (where cell phones and internet don't go) to learn of hurricane sandy bearing down on the east coast. i also came home to spam here. too much to be reasonable, even though google filters do a good job of catching it. i'm sorry to have had to turn on comment moderator. if anyone knows of a better way, please do let me know. 

feeling a bit guilt while writing this camping post, while a large part of the country was being battered by weather, we were doing this...

 we arrived on santa cruz island via island packers boat. santa cruz is part of the channel islands national park. this line you see here is called a 'bucket brigade'. at the captain's request, everyone queues up and then passes all camping gear down the line to the last person, who then deposits all the stuff on the island. i was not part of the b.b. because of a small shoulder injury

 we were welcomed to santa cruz by a very loudly cawing raven

thank you regal raven!

and an island scrub jay

these lovely birds are endemic to the islands

here we are! since this was a working holiday, we are staying in the guides camp, my husbands home away from home, he works out here as a kayak guide...

our friends stayed at the upper camp and teased us about staying in this semi permanent set up, complete with shower (shown above) and outdoor oven!

as soon as the tent was up and our gear put away we were on the water, and kayaking in the caves these islands are famous for

 chuck paddled me again, i love having my own personal guide, and i can take photos without too much fear of losing my camera in the water

 our friend danny came with us, can you see his kayak peeking through a cave?

the day was stunning. there was very little swell once the winds died down and the tides were just right to allow entry into all the nooks and crannies and caves

 very low tide... hi sea stars!

 i think these rocks looked a little spooky, do you see faces?

back on the beach

and the hike back to camp

at camp, i watched and waited for the island fox to appear. chuck told me they often do, poking around, bold and playful...

 the island fox! just like that, two showed up!

 however, they don't sit still for even one second, so photos were really hard to get! these two were scavenging for figs in a nearby tree. the island fox is so small, in some cases, smaller than a house cat. and are found only here, in the channel islands

 at night we had dinner and a movie (white fang) and popcorn

 adam, another guide in camp joined us

 one day while chuck was working, i took a hike. here is a kestral

it was a couple miles to potato harbor

 and cavern point

  i waited to see

 my husband.... spending another day at the office.

 on the way back i saw

 another cute fox

 a type of tree fungus

a sweet black phoebe, love their song

 there was time for knitting and reading. i finished a project i've been working on for nearly two months and made another hat for chuck, to match his work shirt (i forgot to take a photo of!)

 the shirt is charcoal with an orange and blue stripe and green kelp, like in this sticker. maybe i could embroider the leaves?

with a twisted rib

he gave me gifts too

 it feels like we've been celebrating one day (our anniversary) all month long!

 our last morning, waking to blue skies, balmy breezes and wily foxes

 while waiting for the boat to come and carry us back to the mainland, there was time again to think and wonder and marvel

andy pulling a kayak train to the boat

 and there was time to

give thanks

 to be able to spend time

 in such an incredibly special place. thank you husband for taking us, and thank you for coming along, it is always a pleasure to share. now that internet is restored i'll be by to visit soon! xxx lori

p.s. kids, we missed you and wished you were there!