Baby Ravi and mommy Hope

My good friend, Hope, has a fairly new horse on her hands...baby Ravi! Ravi was born to a pregnant mare that ended up at Joe's place (http://www.tbfriends.com/) and Hope was kind enough to take in the mom. And, here's little Ravi! She is now about 3 months old and she is a cute little bugger! And, friendly, too! I got to touch her and talk to her and feel her little muzzle and mane. She is so soft! And, boy, does she have LONG legs!!! Hope is the lady who has a sister (or half-sister) to my mare Gigondas. Both Pippin and Lala (her two mares) were on the same feedlot at the same time as Gigo and my Beauty. We believe that Gigo and Pippin are related because they have the same body build, coloring, and temperment. Hope lives in northern California and since we get up there about once a year, we always try to stop and see her horses! I enjoy seeing them and Hope and I enjoy catching up on "horse gossip"! Here are some pics of our visit today. Thank you, Hope, for a WONDERFUL, hot meal tonight! We all had dinner at LoCoco's, in Santa Rosa, and the food there, as always, was delicious! We will return to northern California in mid-August and I'll get to see Hope's horses again! Maybe "Auntie Cheryl" will bring some carrots next time!

Quivira winery

Yesterday afternoon hubby and I just drove around and visited wineries near Santa Rosa, in Dry Creek valley. We stopped at Simi Winery, Sausal, Pedroncelli, and Quivira and stopped at Bella Winery. I wandered around Quivira while hubby tasted the wine and found these chickens resting in the shade during the afternoon! They have nicely planted gardens at Quivira and rotate their flowers during the year. Hmmm...something for me to think about, especially in the desert. Here are some pics from yesterday afternoon. And, tonight we had a delicious dinner here in Santa Rosa, at LoCoco's, with my friend Hope, who has a sister (we think) to Gigondas! Her mare's name is Pippin and Pippin is now roaming in a huge pasture. I got to see the foal that another one of her mares had 3 months ago and this little one is just so darn CUTE! Thank you, Hope, for a delicious meal and for a chance for us to get caught up on our horses! Tomorrow we begin our long trip home, but we'll spend the night in San Luis Obispo before heading back to the desert.

Dry Creek Valley, CA

Dry Creek Valley is home to the best old vine zinfandels in California. The zinfandel vines here in the valley range from 120-150 years old. They are just north of the Russian River as it flows across the Alexander Valley into Sonoma. Of course, hubby and I had to stop and taste a BUNCH of wine today! And, we bought about 8 bottles, two of which we had for dinner tonight, along with olives and sandwiches from a French bakery in Healdsburg. Yum, yum!!! Here are some pics from today's activities. I'm already homesick for my horses and can't WAIT to get back and smell them and touch them and interact with them!!! The dates on the side of the barn show when the Russian River flooded and how high it got and this barn is ACROSS the highway from the river! Absolutely incredible! And, I made some new friends today! These guys (gals) were in a barn where we stopped so that I could take some pics. We heard them inside the barn and they came out to investigate us! What a day!

Railroad Lodge

Today, outside of Redding, CA, we came across a railroad lodge and, of course, we had to go investigate it. Turns out, there are railroad cars that are used as overnight lodging. We were fortunate to be able to peek inside one. It was nicely panelled and you could climb up a ladder to look out the windows! Hmmm...since hubby's father and grandfather both worked for the railroad, he was overjoyed to see all the cars. There was even one from the Erie Railway! And, it has a beautiful view of the Castle Crags nearby.

cheeky fellow~Mt. Lassen

So, yesterday afternoon we drove out to Mt. Lassen. Oh, wait. Let me back up. Yesterday morning hubby decided that since we were this far north, why not drive to Mt. Shasta? HUH? Now, remember, we've been in our car, driving HARD for 6 days already. And, HE wanted to drive to Redding, stay overnight, then drive to Medford, Oregon!!!??? EXCUSE ME? I just wanted to take a day yesterday and rest! So, off we went (of course...I have no say in these matters...) We pulled into Redding and it was HOT. Windy and hot. Might as well have stayed in Sacramento...So, that afternoon, we drove out to Mt. Lassen National Park. Neither one of us had been there and I got lots of good barn pics along the way (for my barn blog!). And, I DID learn some things about the mountain! It last erupted in 1915 and there were photos taken of the eruption. And, like Mt. St. Helens, it was a side blast. We drove right by the debris flow on the road and stopped to take photos. This cheeky little fellow let us know that he did NOT appreciate us stopping by HIS territory! Isn't he cute? You can immediately spot the newer growth of trees in this area and if you look around, you can see all the new growth (since 1915). On the back of the mountain are the tall, mature trees. We got back to our hotel and watched the fireworks of Redding from our hotel window! Today, we head up to Mt. Shasta. More adventures!

Framing a photo~Mosquito Lake~Sunday Stills Challenge 070410

We stopped by Mosquito Lake this afternoon on our way back from Markleyville, which is just south of Lake Tahoe, CA. We took the Kit Carson trail, now a road, from Folsom to Markleyville, and Route 4 back. This beautiful lake had snow still in spots all around it and I stopped to frame this shot using two pine trees on either side. Sunday Stills Challenge for July 4, 2010. For other participants' pictures, please visit: http://sundaystills.wordpress.com

Our misadventures, day 2!!!!

Let's see...where shall I begin? Yesterday it was I who did the DUH thing...I went scrambling to take photos of the old Bayley house (yesterday's post) and discovered that I was standing in the middle of a bunch of POISON OAK! ACK! Today's misadventure was that hubby hopped out of the car to take a photo of an awesome waterfall (photos to be uploaded shortly) and when he grabbed his camera to take a photo, his sunglasses went flying somewhere. We checked and they were NOT on the road, so we assume they went flying down the waterfall! ACK!!!! So, our misadventures continue!