Okay, Now I'm Really Far Behind...

After my time in Apache Junction, I moved to Yuma, the sunniest city in the US. I first stayed at Paradise Casino, within walking distance of the Colorado River.

There are some nice trails there, and you can walk under the "Ocean to Ocean Highway," where the first bridge over the Colorado River is located. It's still there and in operating condition.

But the main reason I love Yuma is because of their great ukulele group. We get together twice a week, and have performances almost every week. Here we are performing at Yuma Venture RV Park in early December.

In mid-December, I moved over to the BLM land behind the VFW where the WINs gather for Christmas and New Years. We get lots of "Trains, Planes and Automobile" noise there, but it's convenient.

One day, I went to the Tamale Festival in Somerton. It was packed!

Before Christmas, I went over to San Diego to see my Grandkids and their parents. Mara and Jonathan are here with their adorable cousins. Mara is on the left and Jonathan is in the black sweatshirt.

We went over to the other grandparents' house where they each decorated a gingerbread house.

Wow! These kids are really good at this!

One night we drove over to Starlight Circle to see the fancy neighborhood decorations.

Jonathan and Mara made some intricate beaded Christmas ornaments. They had to copy some that I made a long time ago, because I couldn't find the instructions...

But they did great!

I went back to Yuma for Christmas, where I had a delicious dinner with Sally, Marlene, and Tom.

Merry Christmas, just a tad late!

Yes, I'm Still Alive!

I know it's been a long time since I posted, but I hadn't been doing much. But after I got back to Apache Junction, AZ, my life picked up.

I Found a Cowboy!

I next moved to Tuttle Creek Campground just outside of Lone Pine, CA. What a gorgeous view of the Sierras!

The first thing I did was hike the Arches Loop. The big attraction is Mobius Arch -

Where you can sometimes get a view of Mt. Whitney, although it was a little smokey the day I went.

There are a few other arches on the loop - here -

And here.

I was in Lone Pine while the annual Film Festival was going on. They used to put placards all over the Alabama Hills, showing spots where various movies were filmed. This year they only put out a few. Here's John Wayne in 1934 -

And the same spot today.

Downtown, it looks like they were getting ready for Halloween.

On Sunday, they had the Film Festival Parade. There were lots of cowboys in it, and Zorro!

Even the Preschoolers were in the parade.

Across from us were a suspicious group of cowboys.

And sure enough, a big gun fight erupted between them and the cowboys in the parade. Look out!

But here's the best part - after the parade I got to meet one of the cowboys! Actually, this one is an actor. He plays Willy in the current movie "Catch the Bullet." Did I mention I like cowboys? He and his horse also do stunts in movies. The horse is extremely well trained, and will fall down when told to. Then as they were leaving, he told the horse "Turn left," and he did!

Hanging Out in Bishop, CA

My next stop headed south on Highway 395 was Horton Creek Campground, outside of Bishop, CA. These BLM campgrounds are really nice, and very inexpensive.

One day, I went out to see Lake Sabrina. I started out at the dam-

Then walked south along the Eastern side of the lake.

The water level was considerable lower than I'm used to seeing.

Across the lake was what appeared to be a heart in the making. I wanted to go over and finish it off...

The fall colors were just beautiful!

WOW!

Driving out I went by even more colorful trees.

Heading Down Highway 395

My very favorite way to head south for the winter is down Highway 395 in California. My first stop is Crowley Lake Campground near Mammoth Lakes. There are lots of nice hikes in the area. This one starts out at Lake George.

The fall colors are just gorgeous!

The trail continues on to Lake Barrett, and then TJ Lake.

But my very favorite hike is Little Lakes Valley. I've done it many times. It doesn't look like much here -

But it goes by lake after lake after lake. This is Mack Lake.

And this is my favorite, Marsh Lake. It would be a lot prettier if not for the smoke from the wildfires.

I found a new trail back this time, which follows Rock Creek back to Mack Lake.

And also near Crowley Lake are a lot of natural hot springs. Just turn at the green church. This is my favorite, Pulky Pool. Can it get any better than this? Stay tuned!