We're at the end of February now. Only 6 more months of catching up to do! Once again remember to start at the bottom and work your way to the top. Captions are under the picture. 
The sun setting on another busy, wonderful day!
A beautiful sunset on the beach at La Jolla.
A cruise ship in the San Diego harbour. It's almost as tall as some of the skyscrapers!
California sea lions trying to sun themselves on what turned out to be a cool and cloudy day.
Joyce and Ken hadn't been whale watching in a while so we took them on the Hornblower Whale Watching cruise. The whales were definitely not as plentiful as the day we went with Clayton and Melanie, but one whale mom and her baby cruised with us for a while before heading north to Alaska.
Out in the bay we saw this strange looking boat called the BMW Oracle. We later discovered that it is a 90-foot trimaran based out of the Golden Gate Yacht Club and will be representing the U.S. at the 2010 America's Cup Challenge in the United Arab Emirates. It is currently undergoing sea trials in the waters off San Diego.
We watched a lot of planes fly into the San Diego International Airport and were amazed none of them actually crashed into something. It looks awfully close to me!
The artist called this sculpture "Pele - Goddess of Fire". Very appropriate, I think.
We didn't get the name of this sculpture, but it moved with the wind and was one of our favourites.
This neat telescope was called the "Californiascope".
These sculptures are part of the San Diego Urban Trees Waterfront Art. This sculpture was called "A Tree for all Seasons".
We had lunch at Anthony's Sea Grotto on the harbour and enjoyed looking at one of the many art sculptures on the boardwalk. I think this octopus could use a little untangling!
"Homecoming" is a 7-foot sculpture depicting the happy reunion of a sailor, his wife and child upon his return from sea. There were dozens more of these sculptures saluting Bob Hope and various military personnel and next time we go to San Diego I'd like to spend more time here.
Tuesday, February 24 - We drove down to the harbour in San Diego and saw a few of the memorials and statues that make up the Greatest Generation Collection in Tuna Harbour Park. The Aircraft Carrier Memorial commemorates U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and all who have served on them.
There's a "Visit California" commercial starring Governor Arnold, his wife, Maria, Rob Lowe and a few other movie stars and athletes advertising the great things to see and do in California. I believe it's Vanessa Williams who states you "work with some real characters" in California. Well, I think we met one of them walking down the street!
Ted's nephew, Jon, told us about a wonderful campground at South Carlsbad State Beach so we decided to check it out. The campsites sit right on the edge of the cliff giving you an awesome ocean view. Staircases lead down to the ocean giving you beach access as well. We've decided we're going to head there for a few days next January or February. Can't wait!!
. . . and the wrong way!
After a great lunch at the Claim Jumper Restaurant in Carlsbad, our first stop was Tamarack Beach where we saw the right way to surf . . .
Monday, February 23 - On our way to San Diego with Joyce and Ken. I just can't get enough of these weird rock formations! Looks like the rocks on top were planted there, doesn't it?
I think this is an apricot mallow, a type of globe mallow, which is extremely drought-resistant.
We saw lots of beautiful desert wildflowers in bloom. I believe these are paperdaisies.
Towering over the tank was a rock formation that many of us thought looked like an eagle. What do you think? From here we continued on and ended up just west of Wellton. We travelled many miles over narrow trails and washes and had lots of new and exciting experiences - another great day in the desert.
Our final stop of the day was a watering hole (or tank) where animals come to drink the water that collects during rain storms.
You never know what you might find on an air force range. Looks like part of a rocket, but we decided not to check it out any further. It actually reminds me of Star Wars' R2D2 but it didn't emit any squealing noises (thank goodness)!
Some neat desert scenery. Something has been eating away at this saguaro. Woodpeckers, elf owls and other birds often take up residence in the dead parts of these cacti.
The remainder of the group on the ground. This is where we circled the wagons to eat our lunch. Not that it provided any protection from low-flying aircraft!!!
A few of us decided to climb up to the cavern to check it out. Cathy took this picture of us scooting down the hill on our butts. Only Ted managed to make it on two feet.
Joyce and Ken in front of the giant rocks.
Lots of neat rock formations in this area. We stopped here for a lunch break and as we were walking around stretching our legs, two planes flew directly overhead just about scraping the top of these hills. For a moment I thought Don & Cathy's warning about the red Tracker being the target of the day was actually true. I'm sure the pilots were laughing their heads off and had a great story to tell back at the base about how they scared the crap out of a bunch of snowbirds!!
As we drove on, the road got more and more treacherous in places. Don and Cathy took this picture of our Tracker with only 3 wheels on the ground. With roads like this, can you believe that my sister actually nodded off to sleep for a while? Her head was bouncing around like one of those bobblehead dolls. Then she couldn't understand why her neck was sore for several days after. Sorry, Joyce, I know we should have woke you up, but it was funny to watch!!
The entrance to one of the mine shafts.
Our next stop was the Fortuna mine shaft itself. Above the shaft a 40-50' structure made of iron and wood known as a "Gallow's Frame" was built. Men and equipment were raised and lowered on platforms using steam-driven pulleys. These platforms were also used to raise the rock and ore from the shafts below. Two shafts were located here; one was 800' deep, the other 1100'.
They had a great view of the valley and the road below.
Ted and Pete decided to climb to the top of the hill above the reservoir.
The inside of what was once the 30' x 45' water reservoir. It was said that it held up to 1,000,000 gallons of water, but that is believed to be a bit of an exaggeration.
The side walls of the water reservoir.
Our uphill climb led us to a water reservoir that was used to supply water to the stamp mill, the cyanide processing area and the Fortuna mining camp. To get to the reservoir, water was pumped through 14 miles of pressured 4-inch pipe.
To get to the next spot on our tour, we had to go uphill. There was a bit of room at the top for vehicles, but there were too many of us so some of us elected to walk.
This is all that remains of the stamp mill.
Our first stop of the day was the Fortuna Mine Stamp Mill. This was a 20-stamp quartz mill built into 4 terraces onto the side of the hill. A stamp crushes material by pounding rather than processing or extracting ores. That was news to me; the only stamps I was familiar with were the ones used on letters. Learn something new every day!!
Wednesday, February 18 - Time for another trek into the desert. This time a large group of us headed south and east of Yuma onto the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range. This is an active military range used for training practice for aerial bombing, gunnery and rocketry by U.S. Air Force pilots. Don & Cathy were kidding us that today's target was a red Tracker. I'm sure they were kidding . . . Only certain sections of the 1.9-million-acre Range are open to the public and before you go, each individual in your group must obtain a permit from the Air Force Base and you must phone to let them know when and where you are planning to go. As you can see, these roads were much more of a challenge than the ones we had been on previously.
The sun setting on another busy, wonderful day!
A beautiful sunset on the beach at La Jolla.
A cruise ship in the San Diego harbour. It's almost as tall as some of the skyscrapers!
California sea lions trying to sun themselves on what turned out to be a cool and cloudy day.
Joyce and Ken hadn't been whale watching in a while so we took them on the Hornblower Whale Watching cruise. The whales were definitely not as plentiful as the day we went with Clayton and Melanie, but one whale mom and her baby cruised with us for a while before heading north to Alaska.
Out in the bay we saw this strange looking boat called the BMW Oracle. We later discovered that it is a 90-foot trimaran based out of the Golden Gate Yacht Club and will be representing the U.S. at the 2010 America's Cup Challenge in the United Arab Emirates. It is currently undergoing sea trials in the waters off San Diego.
We watched a lot of planes fly into the San Diego International Airport and were amazed none of them actually crashed into something. It looks awfully close to me!
The artist called this sculpture "Pele - Goddess of Fire". Very appropriate, I think.
We didn't get the name of this sculpture, but it moved with the wind and was one of our favourites.
This neat telescope was called the "Californiascope".
These sculptures are part of the San Diego Urban Trees Waterfront Art. This sculpture was called "A Tree for all Seasons".
We had lunch at Anthony's Sea Grotto on the harbour and enjoyed looking at one of the many art sculptures on the boardwalk. I think this octopus could use a little untangling!
"Homecoming" is a 7-foot sculpture depicting the happy reunion of a sailor, his wife and child upon his return from sea. There were dozens more of these sculptures saluting Bob Hope and various military personnel and next time we go to San Diego I'd like to spend more time here.
Tuesday, February 24 - We drove down to the harbour in San Diego and saw a few of the memorials and statues that make up the Greatest Generation Collection in Tuna Harbour Park. The Aircraft Carrier Memorial commemorates U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and all who have served on them.
There's a "Visit California" commercial starring Governor Arnold, his wife, Maria, Rob Lowe and a few other movie stars and athletes advertising the great things to see and do in California. I believe it's Vanessa Williams who states you "work with some real characters" in California. Well, I think we met one of them walking down the street!
Ted's nephew, Jon, told us about a wonderful campground at South Carlsbad State Beach so we decided to check it out. The campsites sit right on the edge of the cliff giving you an awesome ocean view. Staircases lead down to the ocean giving you beach access as well. We've decided we're going to head there for a few days next January or February. Can't wait!!
. . . and the wrong way!
After a great lunch at the Claim Jumper Restaurant in Carlsbad, our first stop was Tamarack Beach where we saw the right way to surf . . .
Monday, February 23 - On our way to San Diego with Joyce and Ken. I just can't get enough of these weird rock formations! Looks like the rocks on top were planted there, doesn't it?
I think this is an apricot mallow, a type of globe mallow, which is extremely drought-resistant.
We saw lots of beautiful desert wildflowers in bloom. I believe these are paperdaisies.
Towering over the tank was a rock formation that many of us thought looked like an eagle. What do you think? From here we continued on and ended up just west of Wellton. We travelled many miles over narrow trails and washes and had lots of new and exciting experiences - another great day in the desert.
Our final stop of the day was a watering hole (or tank) where animals come to drink the water that collects during rain storms.
You never know what you might find on an air force range. Looks like part of a rocket, but we decided not to check it out any further. It actually reminds me of Star Wars' R2D2 but it didn't emit any squealing noises (thank goodness)!
Some neat desert scenery. Something has been eating away at this saguaro. Woodpeckers, elf owls and other birds often take up residence in the dead parts of these cacti.
The remainder of the group on the ground. This is where we circled the wagons to eat our lunch. Not that it provided any protection from low-flying aircraft!!!
A few of us decided to climb up to the cavern to check it out. Cathy took this picture of us scooting down the hill on our butts. Only Ted managed to make it on two feet.
Joyce and Ken in front of the giant rocks.
Lots of neat rock formations in this area. We stopped here for a lunch break and as we were walking around stretching our legs, two planes flew directly overhead just about scraping the top of these hills. For a moment I thought Don & Cathy's warning about the red Tracker being the target of the day was actually true. I'm sure the pilots were laughing their heads off and had a great story to tell back at the base about how they scared the crap out of a bunch of snowbirds!!
As we drove on, the road got more and more treacherous in places. Don and Cathy took this picture of our Tracker with only 3 wheels on the ground. With roads like this, can you believe that my sister actually nodded off to sleep for a while? Her head was bouncing around like one of those bobblehead dolls. Then she couldn't understand why her neck was sore for several days after. Sorry, Joyce, I know we should have woke you up, but it was funny to watch!!
The entrance to one of the mine shafts.
Our next stop was the Fortuna mine shaft itself. Above the shaft a 40-50' structure made of iron and wood known as a "Gallow's Frame" was built. Men and equipment were raised and lowered on platforms using steam-driven pulleys. These platforms were also used to raise the rock and ore from the shafts below. Two shafts were located here; one was 800' deep, the other 1100'.
They had a great view of the valley and the road below.
Ted and Pete decided to climb to the top of the hill above the reservoir.
The inside of what was once the 30' x 45' water reservoir. It was said that it held up to 1,000,000 gallons of water, but that is believed to be a bit of an exaggeration.
The side walls of the water reservoir.
Our uphill climb led us to a water reservoir that was used to supply water to the stamp mill, the cyanide processing area and the Fortuna mining camp. To get to the reservoir, water was pumped through 14 miles of pressured 4-inch pipe.
To get to the next spot on our tour, we had to go uphill. There was a bit of room at the top for vehicles, but there were too many of us so some of us elected to walk.
This is all that remains of the stamp mill.
Our first stop of the day was the Fortuna Mine Stamp Mill. This was a 20-stamp quartz mill built into 4 terraces onto the side of the hill. A stamp crushes material by pounding rather than processing or extracting ores. That was news to me; the only stamps I was familiar with were the ones used on letters. Learn something new every day!!
Wednesday, February 18 - Time for another trek into the desert. This time a large group of us headed south and east of Yuma onto the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range. This is an active military range used for training practice for aerial bombing, gunnery and rocketry by U.S. Air Force pilots. Don & Cathy were kidding us that today's target was a red Tracker. I'm sure they were kidding . . . Only certain sections of the 1.9-million-acre Range are open to the public and before you go, each individual in your group must obtain a permit from the Air Force Base and you must phone to let them know when and where you are planning to go. As you can see, these roads were much more of a challenge than the ones we had been on previously.
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