Category Archives: travel

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water doors

For Norm2.0’s Thursday Doors.

We walked on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Park while we were visiting Maryland and Virginia. It is 184.5 miles. I’ve biked it twice, starting at the West Virginia end and ending in Georgetown.

The locks that we went by were not functioning, but you can still see where the gates were. Those are doors to hold water back, aren’t they?

brick work at a lock on the C & O Canal
walls of a lock entry

Chesapeake & Ohio Canal
parts of the canal have water

The stones are worn where tow ropes ran.
lock with part of a gate in place
worn stone where tow ropes ran

Parts of locks are still present and some still are functioning.


This bridge building was used for flood control.

stone work with slot for flood control
bridge building

When the river was flooding into the canal, boards were lowered into the slots that diverted high water away from the canal and back to the river.


It was a beautiful day. We all enjoyed the sun.

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Next

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: segue.

My daughter and I hiked at Deception Pass yesterday. We went up Goose Rock. Neither of us had hiked it before and the views were fabulous. I only had my cell phone.

My van is dead, cracked head block, so now I want to move the tow to my scion. Then I can tow the little Panda Minimum trailer. It is becoming clear that we all need to reduce airplane travel as part of our carbon footprint, so I will explore my Washington State Parks.

Have a very happy New Year’s Eve: and be careful out there.

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ski trip

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: dirt.

What worries a skier about the opening photograph?

Yesterday the introverted thinker and I went water skiing. On Mount Baker. It rained the whole time. Cold! And the introverted thinker’s knee hurt. We bagged it once I had ice puddles in my ski boots and could squeeze a stream out of my ski gloves.

On the very first lift ride, I realized that my wrist pocket was unzipped. Cash was still in there but the car key wasn’t. We skied down and I checked each place I’d been. No key. We got back on the lift and watched. There were a lot of small black specks. We discussed how much fun it would be to wait for AAA on the top of the mountain.

We skied down, going very slowly right under the lift.

FOUND IT!

Whew. After that neither of us whined. We skied until we were soaked. Her knee was being uncooperative and she was skiing warily. I couldn’t wear goggles because then my glasses fogged too much. Neither of us could see much through the rain. We went up a higher lift and then it was heavy wet slushy snowing. Then we really couldn’t see. Both nearly crashed skiing by proprioception, when a dip was invisible. I stopped at a sign and then fell backwards, visual cues just weren’t working for balance. Unhurt.

And what does this have to do with dirt? I started skiing at age 9 on the east coast, in upstate New York. We would go from Johnson City and meet my uncle and cousins at the small Labrador Mountain ski area. It was a family area. The snow was often awful. We skiied on ice, slush and dirt. Patches of dirt would show through and we learned to avoid them and avoid the rocks. The first time I skiied powder in Colorado I was mystified: I didn’t know how to ski it. But slush on top of hardpacked moguls? No problem.

So skiing Baker put me back to my tweens. The conditions were so familiar. My body was so comfortable with really crappy snow. The ungroomed parts had so much water on top that skis practically stopped. If I had been dressed in foul weather gear I could have skied most of the day.

But soaking wet is another matter. We turned in the skis and ate a late lunch. Happily used the car key to get dry clothes. Changed and drove back to Bellingham. We had a fabulous dinner looking out over the bay with a wonderful sunset.

Bellingham Bay with yellow, orange, pink and blue sunset over islands.
dinner and a sunset

Blessings all.

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grateful

With both my parents dead, I am so grateful to my aunts and uncle for stepping in. My aunts told me “We are your mothers now.” With my son and his girlfriend living in Maryland, both aunts and my uncle are in Virginia.

The beautiful gifts are from my uncle. He makes them in the shop at the retirement community. We got a tour. He’s currently making a cherry headboard for them.

When I took his picture he said, “Watch out, you’ll break your camera!” But I don’t think so. Thank you, uncle.

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closed doors

For Norm2.0’s Thursday doors. However, I missed it last week, so the linking is already closed. He looked back at the doors through the year. I did not have time last week and I would rather wait this week. Doors can open and close and we are not quite at the end of the year.

Blessings on everyone.

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more blue

For Wordless Wednesday: I am not wordless today, but the herons are so stealthy!

Hiking with my daughter and friend B on the C and O canal, ah! Here is an east coast great blue heron. Standing very still across the canal, just the colors of the rocks and winter trees and leaves. I look for birds or I could have walked right by without seeing this one.

Great blue heron standing on one leg, with surrounding rocks of the same color.

I love the one legged stance. I will need to do a lot more Tai Chi before I can stand on one leg that comfortably. The heron only moved enough to keep an eye on me.

Great blue heron, standing on the shore of the C & O Canal on one leg, observing the photographer.
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Mundane Monday #190: nature’s patterns

For Mundane Monday #190, my theme is: nature’s patterns.

Today is not mundane for many people. Thanks to all the people who keep working through the holidays: to fly people home, to help them in hospitals, police and fire people and the government workers who are working even if their paycheck is seriously delayed.

Even though we went to a mall yesterday, as we went in to one store we stopped and took pictures of the sky! The clouds were in undulating waves, all lined up. I want to be outside every day, where my heart expands and is filled with joy. May you have that feeling as well today.

Which of nature’s patterns makes you reach for a camera and what are your trying to capture? Link or message and I will list them next week.

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For Mundane Monday #189, the theme was branches.

klallendorfer makes a move with wordpress editing and galleries. She is so brave trying all the new things!