Excursions and sky stuff

My daughter, Rachel, and the elephant coming through the wall. More later in this post...


Fires in recent years decimated much of the landscape in this area not far from my home. A replanting effort to add growth to the forest area, trees are spaced neatly near and around around the U.S. Forest Service station.



Yes folks, this is February in a mountain region of Southern California! Not far away, at a higher elevation (not in the photo), is snow which is actually quite deep! This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago, early in the month.



Yet another of my daughters, Michelle (above, left), has now turned 21!



Dad (me), celebrates Michelle's day with Bass Ale.


The grandboy thinks we celebrate for him! He is only 2. My wife (his Grandma, Cruz), is holding him.



My meal...I could not finish it! It was great!



Scene of the dinner/birthday party, this is a restaurant, not a bar, but named a bar anyway.



And now, this was today, Saturday, the 23rd...

Two Navy F-18 Hornets, two Air Force F-16 Falcons (smaller planes) circled the house for nearly an hour today (in the evening) for an apparent appearance at a local NASCAR racing event. The skies were very storm threatening by this time, and raining.



Just a few hours earlier, the sky was brilliant blue, as these WWII era fighters passed by. There is a P-38 Lockheed Lightning (large plane out in front of the others), a P-40 Warhawk (painted as a "Flying Tiger" plane from the early WWII effort in China campaign), and a P-51 Mustang (the bottom plane). WOW! What a day in my neighborhood!


"Click" on the pictures, they get larger to view! The first photo with the elephant is lower resolution, thus less clear.

A clip of my car at a mountain stream and the surrounding area in January or February, 2008.

--Dan

46 years ago she entered eternal life

My mother, 1925-1962.

It is now 46 years ago that she left this life. I am glad to believe I won't likely be waiting 46 more to see her again.

That is me, below, walking with her...she is at far left.

OK, to "Happy" this post up a bit...On a much brighter note...and bright it truly is, this is a photo of my house, Allen's house (he is my neighbor)...(with the white Prius), and the nearly 9,000 ft. peak that graces our skyline...fresh with snow from the storms of late January/early February. Click on this picture...it is cool! Ah, Southern California...we are so close to the beach, so close to the mountains, so close to the desert...AND so close to all that is Hollywood, Disney, The old west, etc...

--Dan

Some travels and a story

Yes, that says nothing is happening for 100 miles. Several years ago, Our whole household of six (at that time) was headed this way on our journey to camp at the Grand canyon in Arizona. We were only 100 or so miles from home (still well inside California), and it was night time. As we approached this sign, my 3/4 ton 1979 4 wheel-drive Suburban "Urban Assault Vehicle" stopped engaing the transmission gears. It simply would go no further. I tried, and I tried. It would go in reverse, but NOT forward. I was caravaning with a friend of mine (an Arizona Sheriff ), and he had to get home, so he went onward...but we could not! I truned around, drove back into town and stayed at a hotel, wondering how to get all these girls home. Well, that next day, I drove all the way home, no problem, but for a stuttering about a mile from my house. I drove that vehicle many miles after that event, but never again tried to take it to Arizona. We eventually went to Grand Canyon a few years later in a new van, but sadly missed that one vaction that was not to be. You explain it...what was going on?

I took these photos in January, 2008. Click 'em to see them better. They were all taken near 29 palms, Calif.





Looking back to my car and the folks inside.


Oasis seen at left, background to Rachel, Marion and Cruz.

--Dan