Morning Walk up Salt Creek

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This morning I went for a walk up Salt Creek (Bureau of Land Management property). It was so beautiful that it warrants an extra blog post of photographs.

The first photo was taken at the Dinely bridge while waiting for my walking buddy to arrive. The rest are on the BLM property.

There is a new parking lot at the top of Salt Creek Road, but the gate prevents anyone from using it. We went that way because the 2 footbridges crossing Salt Creek got washed away.

 

This is the side trail to that pond, obliterated now.

This used to have a nice footbridge across it. Now there is no footbridge at all, nice or otherwise.

 

With a bit of warmth, the redbud will be popping out soon. (It already is in yards in Three Rivers.)

Morning Walk in Three Rivers

A mile above my house is a beautiful place which goes by many different names: Case Mountain, Salt Creek, Craig Ranch, and BLM. I call it the last one, which, if you are not a Westerner, you might not know means “Bureau of Land Management”, which is under the Department of the Interior. But enough blah, blah, blah – you probably came here for the pictures.

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Earl McKee keeps his horses here. In the morning before the sun hits, they have a little convention that looks like they are frozen in place. It was chilly!

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The other JB and I were headed into the sunshine.

 

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There are 2 seasonal waterfalls up there.

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Did you know “cataract” is another word for waterfall? The dictionary says it is “a large waterfall”; I wonder if “large” refers to volume or height.

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The variety of wildflowers was stunning, and I am rather proud of knowing the names of all these. I’m content with photos; JB wanted some to press and dry. Reminds me of my great Aunt Mary, who lived in Three Rivers when I was young. She made beautiful stationery with dried wildflowers and taught me their names.

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We walked for a little over 3 miles before having to turn around. The only consolation in cutting our walk short is that the Redbud aren’t yet in bloom and give us a reason to return soon.