pinnacles national monument

my annual wildflower trip to the pinnacles national monument occurred a couple of months later than it usually does, but the wildflowers were still a sight to behold! the fields of bright orange california poppies and pink shooting stars that are common in early april when i usually visit were replaced by elegant clarkia and butterfly mariposa lilies. 

 venus thistle (the native thistle!)

 larkspur

 lance-leaved dudlea

 elegant clarkia

 butterfly mariposa lily

puffball

i was also treated to a number of non-botanical sights - one coyote, a california condor, a swimming snake, lizards, a skink, and many checkerspot and swallowtail butterflies. 

 western fence lizard (i LOVE the blue belly)

checkerspot butterfly

and of course, all this beauty amid the fabulous geological formations that gave pinnacles its name. 

 western pinnacles

high peaks trail

our first official long distance ride

pete and i (and five of his co-workers from the marine facilities division of the USGS - hence the MARFAC on their jerseys) rode the strawberry fields forever on sunday. pete and i settled for the 65 mile route while some of his co-workers took on the 100 mile route. the weather, company, and rest areas were lovely, which somewhat made up for my really, really sore butt.


to train for the ride, we've been riding all over the county and back for the last three or so months. somewhere in that time we decided that an exciting ending location (other than our house - think winery!) would make the riding more exciting...destination biking here we come!

Gerry, Peter, Pete, Rob, Jenny, Jackson, and me before the ride

(whenever i see this photo the sesame street song "one of these
things is not like the other" starts running through my head)