As the staff begins to return to the branch, Don and I decided to take off on a paddling trip across the bay and decided to camp at a new location. The weather is unsettled and we are treated to some great vistas.
With all the rain that has happened this fall, the desert is quite lush.
Most of the shrubs that loose their leaves in the drought periods are fully leafed out.
One of our goals for this trip was to hike across the top of the peninsula to the other side. The map we use has a trail marked, but in reality it is following a large arroyo with no signs of the trail. That is until we almost get to the other side when we find an obvious road for about 100 feet. The trail leads to an abandoned mine on the Sea of Cortez. Many old foundations are scattered near the beach. At one time over 1000 people were employed here. It has taken us about 4 hours to do the hike as there is a lot of meandering of the arroyo.
We make it to the beach as the clouds start coming in.
Fortunately we make it back before the rains start falling
Along the way we find the remains of a large deer antler.
This year has been good for the wildlife.
With the clouds moving in we are treated to a magnificent sun set.
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Scene 3 No words needed
A couple of walking sticks prevented us from getting into our zip bag until they were finished.
The female is quite a bit larger than the male.
Back to the branch we meet our students for the second course of the season.
Great weather to start the course.
The weather started out great, but when the wind picked up we headed to shore and taught classes.
First paddling day.
Cooking classes always hold everyones attention.