Friday, June 3, 2016

Calavera Preserve

Lauren Marquardt (who is quite witty) wrote "Who decided what the “American Dream” is? The preconceived belief that one way of living fits all is no longer the case for many of us. Once you start living in the mindset that there is no right way of doing something, you become capable of doing anything and can create your version of the American Dream." I guess that is what we and many other people are trying live in many different ways.
 

Lake Calavera Preserve has wetlands, a lake, coastal sage-scrub, and extinct volcanic Mt. Calavera with an easy 3.5 mile hiking trail. One of the guys at the hospital told me about the mountain biking here and we had to check it out. It turns out that there are many miles of trails throughout the preserve.

 



The lake is pretty low but improved with the moisture this spring.

You can see where the volcano was above.
I was a bit leery about some of the trail that narrowed and was covered with dried brush. There have been several people bitten by rattle snakes in the foothills. We stayed on the trails with wider paths. 

Mike has been "getting things ready to go" with new brakes and windshield on the truck. The Ford garage in Colorado Springs had changed the brakes because they would vibrate sometimes but didn't improve with the change. It felt unsafe. Rather have a problem going over mountain passes, he took it into Gary's brake service in Oceanside. They were cut too much and overheating. He replaced them for $360 and now they work great.
 
Every person we meet and every place we experience holds a lesson that changes us.

Cuenca, Ecuador

An Expat Destination The morning after returning to Quito we boarded an hour-long flight to Cuenca. Driving up the winding roads would have ...