The Dry Garden

Astonishing

The Falkirk Wheel

The Falkirk Wheel was built for the millenium. It is a truly astonishing sight and raises a boat from one canal to another, using only enough power to boil eight kettles of water.

Its Own Donkey

In December the Gardener and I took a trip to Morocco. Staying in the Ourika Valley was one of many highlights.

Our hotel had its own vegetable garden:

and its own donkey:

Denali in the Early Morning

The Early Morning Sun Reflects Red on Denali (Mount McKinley) on an August Morning

Perseverance Mine Trail, Juneau, Alaska

The Perseverance Mine Trail follows the course of Alaska's first road.

The Gardener and I ate a picnic lunch on this bridge.

We could see the Last Chance Mine from the trail

Ketchikan and Wrangell

Leaving Ketchikan

We disembarked at Ketchikan, visited the supermarket to pick up a few odds and ends, and then returned to the M/V Columbia to eat an excellent breakfast in the ship's restaurant.

Wrangell

The ferry also stopped at Wrangell

 

Sailing on to Juneau

Leaving Bellingham

Leaving the Dock at Bellingham

The Gardener and I decided to visit Alaska. We loaded the SUV onto  the M V Columbia, one of the ferries in the Alaska Marine Highway System, http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/pubs/ and sailed from Bellingham, Washington to Juneau, Alaska. 

An Outing

Yesterday, the Gardener and I picked up a picnic at the Village Bakery in Sebastapol, and headed for the beautiful Sonoma coast. We drove to Jenner and then took Highway One north for Salt Point State Park  http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=453

The ocean was fairly calm when we arrived but the waves grew in force as the afternoon went by:

At about 4:30 p m we drove down the coast with the sun setting over the ocean on our right. We stopped at the Inn at the Tides http://www.innatthetides.com/default.aspx?pg=tideswharf in Bodega Bay for dinner

 

 

 

Road Block

The Gardener and I came upon this Highland cow and calf on a road on Dartmoor in England.

They weren't particularly interested in moving to let the car through.

Highway 101 Strikes

The Gardener and I were stopped in traffic on Highway 101 yesterday. A Honda, so new it didn't even have licence plates, crashed into the back of us. The noise was so loud, so much like an explosion, that I wasn't even sure what had happened at first. We were propelled into the back of the Saab in front. 

The Gardener's off to body shop this morning to find out how much damage has been done.

Fire

I took this photograph of a huge fire burning south of Minden. I was in the car on the way from Genoa (California) to Highway 395.