Posted on by Anne Sandler

Trinity weekend: Our last morning was for the birds!

Oh, did I sleep soundly the second night in the house by the river. I was woken up at 7 a.m. by my husband’s phone call. And, yes, I was the first up again!

I really didn’t feel like going down the stairs, so I put my telephoto lens on the camera and went out onto the back deck. I proceeded to shoot the river and the many birds that were on the lawn and in the trees. What fun! I continued until others started waking up. Then my chore began.

I was the cook for this morning’s breakfast which was simply eggs, bagels, cream cheese and fruit. I made the eggs to order, and everyone seemed to like it. After breakfast, we all pitched in and cleaned up the house for the next guests. But, our day didn’t end there. We women did go to an outlet center near Redding California to shop. We invited Ron, but he politely declined. Well, it was more like a “heck no.”

We didn’t shop til we dropped, but none of us went home empty handed. And, Julie and I shared lunch. You know which two of the four of us spent more cash!

By the time I arrived home, it was about 7 p.m. I unpacked the car, ate some dinner and went to bed. It was a long day and I slept soundly again this time in my home. Here are some of that morning’s images.

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Trinity weekend: Geocaching

It doesn’t pay to way up early even though you catch wonderful images. I know this because by the time we went geocaching, my early morning rise was beginning to show on my body. In spite of this, I did have a good time.

Geocaching is like going on a scavenger hunt–an organized scavenger hunt. First you check out the geocaching website to find hints to where small treasures are hidden. Anyone can hide a cache and register it on the website along with hints to find the treasure.  Karen checked the website and printed out the hints at her Sacramento home (She doesn’t have a printer in Trinity.). She’s very organized and into this hobby and even has a geocaching GPS.

We followed the instructions and hints and found all the caches we were out to get. Caches are hidden in small containers (Easier for hiding.) and are small items. If you want to take something, you have to replace it with another item before you put the container back. Karen travels around with a small box of cute items just in case she wants to take something. You might find paperclips, well used pencils, and other not so useful stuff. You’ll also find a small pad of paper to sign when you find the cache. The paper, treasures and/or your replacement treasure go back into the container. The fun it in the hunt.

When you get back to your computer, you list where you went, whether you could find it and what shape the container of treasures is in. We did have one cache that the website posted as being elusive. We didn’t bother with that one because it may have been removed or moved to another location.

Sue proved to be the best hunter of all of us. I did manage to find one on my own and one with Karen’s help. The afternoon adventure also included lunch, some photo opportunities and a tube trip down Trinity River.  I declined the tubing opportunity and took a couple of power naps. Julie stayed back also and read her book by the shoreline. How peaceful it is there. When I woke, I waded in the River and took more pictures.

Dinner was a delicious taco salad, and afterward we walked down the street. The deer were out and I shot some–with the camera of course! I slept well that night and didn’t wake up at 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning!

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Trinity weekend: Good morning!

Darn an aging body. I woke up about 5:20 a.m. to use the bathroom (Yes I do check the time.), but couldn’t go back to sleep. So, I rolled out of bed at about 5:40 a.m. Put my sweats and jackets on, grabbed my camera and went outside to experience the river.

Right here I need to back track. Yesterday I said this was to be an all women’s weekend, but we did have a guy along. Karen’s husband Ron had work to do on the property and rode his motorcycle up. I knew Ron was getting up at 6 a.m. to do a controlled burn of excess brush and green waste. But, here I was the early bird, wishing I could have slept in.

However, the river didn’t disappoint me. It was beautiful at daybreak. The sun hadn’t come up yet and all was still. I walked the property, taking pictures and continued to come back to the river to catch the waking colors as the sun rose and hit the tree lined shore.

And, when Ron came down to start the controlled burn, he gave me an additional opportunity of capturing images. I’ve always enjoyed a campfire. We always had one when we camped with the kids; but now, we seldom leave the trailer and television in the evening when we travel.

The morning moved on, and I went in to put Julie’s breakfast casserole in  the oven to bake. By the time it was done, only Sue was still asleep. She woke up just in time to eat and leave for the geocaching adventure. Tomorrow would be another day for trying to sleep in.

Enjoy the early morning at Trinity River images. Geocaching will be the subject of tomorrow’s post.

Posted on by Anne Sandler

Trinity weekend: The hike!

It started out as a women’s weekend coordinated with a group of six I belong to. Karen had offered to host the weekend at her vacation home in Trinity County–on the Trinity River. Three of us couldn’t go at the end for various reasons, so Karen’s friend Sue was a welcome addition. It ended up being exercise in a 3 1/2 mile hike that went straight up for the most part, an education in geocaching, a deliberate missing of an opportunity to go tubing down the river and experiencing the solitude and beauty of the Trinity River.

Today’s post is about the hike. When Karen said she planned for a hiking stop before we got to her house, she admitted that it would be about 3 miles round trip up to a water fall. She also admitted that it was up hill most of the way, and that when she went on that hike, she stopped to catch her breath. None of that rang warning bells inside my head probably because we are a multi-generational group of women who have become very close.

The hike was definitely up hill most of the way until we reached the water fall, and at age 71, I almost didn’t make it to the main top area. But, I pushed my body along. When I did get to the falls, Karen and Sue told me there were steps to the other two levels. I just looked at them and said, “No way!” Julie stopped midway because her bad knee couldn’t handle the incline. It was a beautiful hike, and I’m so glad I pushed myself to make it as far as I did.

Here are some of the pictures from the hike.