Virginia and Washington DC

Over Christmas, I flew out to Alexandria, Virginia to spend time with my family! Here is the crew: David and Lindsay, Eva and Leven on the left, with Ashley, Dylan and Isaac on the right. It was way too much fun!

Before Isaac's crew arrived, we took a walk in the woods behind David and Lindsay's home. Crisp cold air, numerous trees, and fallen leaves everywhere. 3 year old Leven kept warning me not to walk in the mucky-mook, and then as soon as we reached the mud puddle, she wanted to jump right in! 

One afternoon we drove down to DC to the Botanical Gardens. What a treat to wander through the gardens and see so many gorgeous plants. They even had a road show replicating famous attractions that were all built out of natural materials.

Me with Eva and Leven. I miss them terribly.

After the gardens we walked down to the Capitol building and saw the most giant Christmas Tree! It was so pretty running around on the grass with the lighted tree in the background.

So much light and color and shape and form. Made me so happy.

One day I walked down to Mt. Vernon and took this picture in the gift shop. 

Another day we drove down to DC and walked around the art museums. It is so amazing as all the museums are free in DC! A dream of a lifetime that makes me want to move there. That is David with his darling girls. 

This painting reminds me of an assignment I had in my drawing and painting class in high school. My painting was done in orange and didn't turn out quite as nice and this one!

At the museum, I saw the most amazing pieces of art. The painting of Marilyn is an original Warhol. I also saw several original Georgia O'Keefe paintings and was so excited I forgot to take pictures. That is me on the roof next to Big Blue. The legs are an original piece of art I saw at the Torpedo Factory Art Center, a naval munitions factory that was converted into a very cool art center on the banks of the Potomac River in Old Town Alexandria. 

It was so thrilling for this southern California girl to wake up one morning to snow. Thank you God for the little things that always make me so happy!

My grandkids and kids always make me happy, and I felt so fortunate to spend time with everyone over the holidays. Dylan on the left is around 18 months, and loves to point and wave at everyone. Eva is so resourceful and has the biggest imagination of any child I know! 

First snow on the changing leaves. So pretty.

That would be me, with my coffee, outside in the yard, loving life.

This is my little sweetheart, Leven, a 3-year old young lady, who has enough fun for all of us. Nothing can stop this little girl. She is not afraid to sled down the hill or shoot across on David's zip-line. Since she did it, I figured I would have to do it as well. I survived!

The one thing I refused to do was get out on a pair of ice-skates. Lindsay is a trooper and is not afraid of anything that I can see. She got both girls out on the ice and they all loved it. 

We spent a wonderful day at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia. It was totally amazing to say the least.

The Curtiss P-40 E Warhawk was a very successful fighter in the first half of WWII.  This particular airplane was delivered to Canada in 1941 and served until 1946. An awesome sight hung from the ceiling as if it were going to fly again.

Gemini VII was a spaceship manned by James Lovell Jr and Frank Borman in 1965, with a total of 206 orbits in 14 days. The purpose of that particular flight was to prove that humans could live in weightlessness for that amount of time; a successful mission that took us one step closer to the moon.

I loved looking down on the planes and grasp the size of things by looking at the size of the people milling about.

Me and my family standing in front of the Space Shuttle Discovery!

The Space Shuttle Discovery flew a total of 39 times from 1984 to 2011, spending a total of 365 days in space. Discovery flew on every type of mission, from satellite delivery to International Space Station assembly. Very amazing to stand beside it and feel a bit of outer space lingering in the air.

This model of the original Tracking and Data Relay Satellite was the one piece that really caught my eye. The TDRS is actually a constellation of three spacecraft placed into geosynchronous orbit beginning in 1983. Pretty impressive stuff. Farewell to one and all, and may the Force be with you.

White Tank Mountain Regional Park, Waterfall Trail in Maricopa County, Arizona

The White Tank Mountain Regional Park is nearly 30,000 acres of desert and mountain landscape, with the majority of the White Tank Mountains within the parks boundaries. When I visited Cara and my grandsons in December of last year, she took us all on a hike through the rugged park.

The Waterfall Trail actually has a pool of water towards the end of the established trail,  and at certain times of the year when rain is abundant, and if you are lucky, you will find a waterfall which is fed by two higher up waterfalls.

That would be me and my beautiful daughter-in-law, Cara, who is the mother of my two grandsons, Ethan and Wyatt. Cara works in aviation as a dispatcher, and never ceases to amaze me with her extensive knowledge.

Wyatt found this bug and of course I had to take a picture.

Ethan on the left and Wyatt on the right, two handsome young men who are very talented, intelligent and rambunctious! Definitely their daddy's sons. 

Very old, interesting petroglyphs are found throughout the park. Most of them are from the Hohokam civilization, but some may be from the Meso-Indians nearly 10,000 years ago.

Petroglyphs are etchings in the rock, whereas pictographs are paintings on the rock.

View over the desert; so awesome. Wish I was there right now.

That would be me on the rocks, happy as can be before climbing up into the waterhole area.

After I climbed up into the waterhole area, I did find the pool of water, but was too scared to climb back down.  Cara, Ethan and Wyatt climbed down like a group of mountain goats, but not me. I was stuck and had visions of crashing down into the rocks like a rag doll. This handsome young man just happened to be there and helped me down the rocks! Thank you!

Wyatt, a wonderful athlete who is extremely strong and friendly.

The boys with their mama.

Me and my grandsons. When did they grow so tall and strong? I remember when they were born. Now I really sound old.......

Bustin' open the bank! Each year Uncle Isaac saves up money in the silver pig, and the boys crack  it open at Christmas and split the pot between the two of them. Cara teased them about getting a counter's fee, as she helped with the counting and making sure it was even. They did not agree with her! Good night to one and all. May God grant you joy and blessing this coming year!

Lake Tahoe, California

Over Thanksgiving I drove up to Lake Tahoe in Northern California and spent the week at a cabin in South Lake Tahoe with my sisters clan, the Passafiume family. Fog covered the lake as we drove up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

The dramatic scenery in the Sierra Nevada Mountains always captures my heart.

Rugged mountains, deep blue sky, wispy white clouds and pine trees all make me love the Sierras.

We stayed at a cabin in South Lake Tahoe and kept a lookout for bears. No we didn't see any!

But we did see lots of trees and lots of water and lots of clouds!

The Passafiume kids and grandkids; a fun, lively bunch that always make me laugh. Our Thanksgiving dinner was a combined effort with everybody pitching in to make some very delicious food. I am very thankful to God to be able to share such a special day with family.

That would be me sitting down on the right next to my brother-in-law Tom and Michele's husband Nick. Michele is holding the littlest Passafiume, Jade Rose, and Jesse, Olivia, Carson and Mikah are all standing up with my sister Judy and Jared.

Our cabin was right on a creek that flowed into Lake Tahoe. I spent many a happy moment down at the water, collecting rocks and sticks, something my grandson Dylan loves to do!

I love creeks and rivers even more than lakes and couldn't have been any happier! Thank you Tom and Judy for a wonderful trip!

Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, California

 On my way up to Bishop Creek last week, I stopped to watch the sun rise over the weird lava formations. In the background you can see smoke from the major wildfires burning in California.

 It was cold that morning as the sun came up, but quickly turned warm with the sunshine.

 As I passed through Lone Pine I stopped to take this picture of Mt. Whitney. At 14,505 feet, it is the highest peak in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, as well as in the contiguous United States.

 One of my favorite places in California, Bishop Creek, just outside of Bishop. My happy place, to be more exact!

 It was super cold up at my campsite which was situated at 8,000 feet. I spent a lot of time gathering wood for campfires in both the morning and evening. When I woke up that first morning it was so cold that I could barely crawl out of my sleeping bag. I checked the temperature and it was 27 degrees. When I went to heat up some water for coffee, I found my water bottle had frozen into ice.

 The place attracts fishermen of all ages, as well as fisherwomen and fisherchildren. Fishing season closes on November 15 in the Sierras, and wont reopen til the last Saturday in April. Better get up there quick if you want to get some fall fishing in!

 As I was collecting wood, it was high noon and yet I found ice sculptures down at the creek.

 Golden autumn leaves lined the road on my way up to Lake Sabrina.

 A slight detour brought me to North Lake, such a beautiful place to stop and have a snack.

 That would be me up at Lake Sabrina! The lake was created in 1907 by damming the middle fork of Bishop Creek in the Inyo National Forest. I have seen Lake Sabrina in the Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. Each season has its own special beauty.

 While on the trail leading to Blue Lake, I stopped and took this photo of Lake Sabrina. The water was clear and varied in color from emerald green to midnight blue. The reflection of the mountains in the deepest blue water was spectacular.

 Fall color sprouting from the crevice of a boulder.

 The Bishop Creek campground I was staying in closed for the season, so I drove up to Convict Lake, just off Hwy 395 near Mammoth. I was able to get the same campground on the creek that I had camped in the previous year, with the same wonderful view of the trees, water and mountains.

 Camping at Convict Lake was even colder than camping at Bishop Creek, but again I collected a bunch of wood and had wonderful campfires.

 I was at my campsite doing some work at the table, when I turned around and found this doe staring at me. She did not even flinch, but just looked me straight in the eye like she expected something. I figured it was food, so I opened the bear box, which did not frighten her in the least, and grabbed an apple. She was still there staring at me as I cut up the apple and gave her half. Fearful that she would bite me, I laid the apple on the bench and she grabbed that thing and started chewing. It took her the longest time to chew up the small piece I gave her, but I wasn't about to give her any more. That deer would not leave so I just went about my business and she finally sauntered off.

 At Convict Lake there is a 3-mile trail around the lake that I love to walk. I had never seen the lake so blue before, and looking down through the golden trees made it seem even more blue.

 Towards the back of the lake, I left the trail and walked up the stream that poured into the lake. So completely beautiful. This little waterfall was a great place to stop and eat my sandwich.

 Water, wood and rocks. Three of my favorite things!

While camping at Convict Lake a dear friend of mine, Mark Downey, passed away quite unexpectedly. As soon as I found out I lost my camping joy and decided to head home. God please bless Mark's wife and son, and all those who knew and loved Mark. I know Mark is with you, Lord, but we will miss him so very much. "But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, 'You are my God.' My times are in Your hand."

 It is hard for me to drive long distances as I get bored behind the wheel. Therefore I stop a million and one times and end up taking three times as long as a regular person would. My friend Jim told me about this cool little town that was almost a ghost town. Curious and tired,  I pulled off the highway and found it but everything was closed. That made it seem even more like a ghost town. I took a bunch of photos and then got back to the serious business of driving home. 

 This particular house had so much rustic charm!

 One of the newer buildings in town that really caught my eye with this display.

 Most of the buildings looked like this one, and I so wished some of these old antique stores had been open! I love to wander around and look at old things. Don't buy much, just like looking. Good night  to one and all. May you be filled with peace knowing that God is alive and well, and always willing to listen to the heart of His children. Susan Little