Back To Normal After A Holiday Weekend

                               

                                Just one of the things that the Rangers do.

During one of my rounds around the CGs, I was stopped by one of the campers wanting to know if I could rescue an Acorn Woodpecker that was stuck in the gate post (picture on left).  I couldn’t even see the bottom of the 6 or 8 inch pipe.  I went on the rescue mission to find something that it could climb out on, but by the time I got back one of the campers rigged up his own rescue device and scooped it out.  I flew up into a tree, rested and flew off before I got back.  Sorry, I didn’t get a picture, here’s one off the internet.

                               

The 4th of July weekend was busy. 

The girls below came over to pet Angel while the boys in the family played soccer in the street.  After they left Angel sat watching them play and “talked” to their dog from the deck.

                            

As they were leaving, they found this baby,  They thought it was a baby squirrel, but I think that it is a vole.  After they left I released it near where the found it.  I hope that it found it’s way home. 

 

On that Saturday evening Ranger Theresa had a “Campfire” presentation of Predators and Prey where she brought out animal skulls and pelts and then finished just in time for the attendees to see the bats come out of the Bat Houses.  That’s what is on those poles.

                             

There is usually a mass exodus on Sunday and when I was cleaning the campsites, I was treated to this chalk artwork.  It’s still there.  Those that take that site also enjoy it.

 

One my day off I decided to find out about the leaking transmission fluid.  In addition to replacing the gasket  for that pan, they discovered this.  They replaced my left front axel.  I sure am glad they found that, especially with me going up and down Quimby Hill Road.

                        

Last Saturday, many of the campers were awakened by this.  about 7:30 there was a very loud craaaaaakk.  That large branch fell and took out the smaller tree. It fell in the driveway of two campsites. My little cart is parked in the site next to it.  They may have to call in a tree service, because the bigger tree is cracked farther down into the trunk.

 

That evening, Ranger Lisa led campers on a Full Moon Hike to see what animals come out at night.  There were about 120 people that showed up for the presentation.  She brought out the animal skulls and pelts along with models of paw prints and scat.  I helped her by taking some of the pelts around so more people could feel them.  That’s a Mountain Lion around my shoulders and a Bobcat on my left arm.  Angel didn’t know what to make of them.

 

                            

Full Moon rising in the East taken from my site.  I didn’t go on the hike.  I needed to get up early to clean restrooms.

The weather has been great up on the mountain, usually several degrees cooler than down in the Santa Clara Valley.  Once in a while there will be fog in the morning, but it burns off within a couple of hours.  We’re enjoying this gig.  Yes, Angel gets excited every time she sees me get ready to go to work.  She can’t wait to get into her harness, so that she can ride with me in her own seatbelt.

If you’re ever in the area stop by to see this park.  It’s a hidden Gem.

Thanks for visiting

Just resting until Mom goes out again.

Susan and Angel

Run For A Cure

                              

It begins with preparation, a lot of preparation.  It was about a week before the event that these fellows set up their camp near the staging area down in the Day Use Area.  and of course there are no showers in those restrooms so they had to come up into the regular CG for that.  I got to know a little about them and the event.  There would be 2700 participants expected for the event on Saturday.  The entrance fees go towards “Talk About Curing Autism”.  Those fees could be anywhere from $40.00 (registering early up to a year in advance) to $100.00 for later entries (even to the day before the event).

 

There were 17 obstacles  over the entire course ( a 6K race).

One of these is a Mud Pit.  Oh what fun! (not for me)

Of course there was a looong line of Port a Potties.It was a large staging area.  I had to get away across the Day Use Area get most of it in a picture.

They had Live Music throughout the day.  One of my campers wasn’t happy being  awaken by the loud music.  Oh well, people were advised on the website when they made reservations.

Below are some of the obstacles.  

  This is the Polar Bear Plunge.  It was near the end of the race and must have been refreshing as they had to go under a bar in the middle.  A little farther along was the Dead Man’s Carry.  Where the flags are one racer would carry his/her partner and half way, they would switch.  The one on the left shows them doing it, viewed from one of the campsites.

There were a lot more along the course.  Most of the pictures were taken before or after the actual race.  I had to stay up in the CG to control the restrooms as they were LOCKED during the race.  That was 6 hours and there were quite a few unhappy campers, so I got the OK to monitor the RRs.  I let everyone know that they had to remain locked, however if they needed to use them, I would come and unlock them as needed.  That worked out very well.  I only had to walk down the hill to the RRs about 11 or 12 times.  I definitely got my exercise that day.

This is why the RRs were locked.  Some of the participants were campers and we couldn’t have all that mud blocking the plumbing.

 

A couple more obstacles.  I think the first one has something to do with the mud pit.and the other, I have no idea what that one is.

We are all glad that it is over.  I’m rather glad that I wasn’t down there in and among the INSANITY.  It was a good event and benefited a good cause.  They will probably be back next year again.  The crew was here cleaning up until Monday.  Here it is a week later and there is still a bit of equipment that hasn’t been picked up yet, but I’m sure that will be gone soon. 

So that is the story of one of the events that take place here in a county park.  I’m sure there will be others,   Weddings are popular.  We will just wait for the next one.

Thanks for visiting

Just watching Mom going down and back up that hill to the restrooms.

Susan and Angel

HAPPY BIRTHDAY USA

                                        

              I want to wish each and every one of you a very Happy 4th of July.

Where have all these days gone? 

Here’s a few more pictures of what happens in this County Park.

 

Here’s one of our Bobcats walking across one of the Day Use areas with all the ground squirrels alerted and every one of them focused on the cat as he moved across the meadow.

There are lots of turkeys and their babies.  Those babies are now almost half the size of the parents.  The deer are also growing.  This is a young buck.

 

I finally got a decent picture of one of the feral pigs, however I still haven’t got any of the little piglets.  They are in the grass behind her.  This next one is of a resting hummingbird.  It’s hard to see them because they look just like the leaves that they rest among.

This young coyote just ran along side of me for a while and then disappeared into the  grass.  The California Quail usually get out of the way as quickly as possible, however this one just sat on the curb posing.

Below is one of the reasons that it has been so long for me to post.  We were host to  Gladiator Rock n Run.  It is a race where the participants pay to get muddy.  Their entry fees benefit “Talking About Curing Autism”.  More in a future post.

Now it is a Holiday weekend and I will be busy.

I hope that you all have a great and safe holiday.

Thanks for visiting

Hi, Mom gave me a new title, Angle, Baby PPR (Puppy, Public Relations)

Susan and Angel