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Sign at Zoo

This afternoon my daughter/grandkids and I went to the Cisco Zoo for an outing.  The weather was beautiful (maybe a little warm).  The Zoo was in operation between 1920-1930 so now there's just walking trails and the remains of animal enclosures along with several abandoned cabins that were rented to people wanting to stay on the grounds of the zoo property.  

We spent time walking the trails on the property at the opposite end from where the animal enclosures are.  Obviously, there's a Balancing Rock nearby.  I got a laugh out of the sign.

The kiddos had a great time and they were very sad when we said it was time to leave.

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Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech

Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,

O You who save these who trust in You

From those who rise up against them

       Psalm 17:6-7

Manoa Falls is on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.  The hike is 1.6 miles RT uphill but not terrible and it ends at a waterfall/pool.   Some steps along the way.  The trail was pretty wet near the top but otherwise pretty well groomed.  We did the trail on a Sat morning so it was very crowded.

We started out at a Tea House, then made our way 

 to the trail which was a short drive from the Tea House.

Off to the left of the trail to the waterfall is another trail leading to an arboretum which

I hope to get to some time this winter.  

There usually aren't very many flowers blooming in the arboretums in 

Hawaii during the winter, but they're pretty interesting

anyway.

Britt & Betty.  

Britt recovering from rotator cuff surgery and 

Betty being her usual self.

Chase Lake

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It rained all week.  The forecast for today was partly sunny in the morning with chance of rainstorms in the afternoon.  We knew we'd have time to hike and get back to the car before the rain began.

It turned out to be a great day.  Just cool enough to enjoy the long walk with

an accompanying breeze.  And no rain!  

Our destination was Chase Lake lean-to.  2.7 miles one-way.

Hikers seem to be a breed unto themselves.  There's an etiquette among those who hike.  One of the  sayings of the Adirondacks is "Leave only footsteps, take only pictures".  

Wherever there's a lean-to along a trail, you'll find items left for the use of any hikers who frequent the location.  Hanging on the outside of this lean-to was a hoe, a shovel, a fish net and a hand saw.  

Inside was a coffee pot, a can of baked beans, a zip loc bag of plastic spoons, a bag of tea light candles, a couple of canisters of propane fuel and a plastic bag of newspapers to start fires with.  

Oh.  And one item you're sure to find at any lean-to even if there's nothing else, is a composition book and pencil (safely and dryly stored in a zip loc bag)

Leave a message, share a though, report on trail conditions, write a poem, make a complaint, encourage those who follow, whatever.  It's great reading.

One of the comments in this book was written by a visitor from England.  He was so impressed with the lean-to and the items left there.  He said that if such a thing were done in England, the items would be gone within hours and the lean-to probably burned to the ground by the next day.

High-five to the Adirondack hikers!

Another fun thing.  One of my hiking buddies brought pedometers for each of us to use today.  It only counted "steps taken".  

10,000 steps = 5 miles.

We took 13,434 steps on the trail.  Makes me tired just thinking about it.