Spam Museum, Austin, Minnesota

We were staying just a few miles away in Blooming Prairie and, of course, were going into Austin to a couple of breweries....how could we not go to the Spam Museum??? No, we are not spam eaters but that is beside the point, a spam museum....really?? It was one of those quirky fun things one just has to do!

Buddy Holly Crash Site

 Hi all,  I know it has been a while and I have been a bit of a slacker.  We are seeing some points of interest that I want to share.  We are currently in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota.  It has been unseasonably hot, don't you know, but we have managed to get out and see a few things.  One of those things is the Buddy Holly ( and Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper and the pilot) crash site.   For those of us who are of the right age, I need say nothing further.  It is about an hours drive from from where we are right now just outside the city of Clear Lake, Iowa.  As we have taken up geocaching in the past year, the site was not only a place of interest to visit but had a couple of geocaches and that is a new fun interest for us.

A hot, muggy day!

The farmer who owns this land keeps the path clear to the crash site for visitors.  Very nice of him!

Crash site

Buddy Holly and friends had played here in Clear Water before the fatal crash.  There is a small museum inside, unfortunately we were unable to see it as the ballroom was closed for a wedding that day.

A very nice brewery in Clear Lake

Awwwwwwwwwww

Just had to take a pic of this young man who had just received his beer!  Way to go!

Sipsey River Trail, Bankhead National Forest

Two days ago, before the rains came, we drove about an hour to the Sipsey Wilderness to walk some of the Sipsey River Trail which we were told was well worth seeing.  We only walked about 4 miles roundtrip because I had to take a few pictures;)  When we got back to the trailhead we found out that, had we headed the opposite direction on the river we would have seen bigger falls!  What we did see was just lovely.  We will have to go back!

 

The river is pretty clear and the color amazing!

rock shelves with hanging gardens everywhere!

walking toward a waterfall at the end of this wall

waterfall through the trees

Tishomingo State Park, Mississippi

Before this nasty winter storm set in to Red Bay, Alabama, along with a good portion of the normally warmer south, Mike and I managed to get in a couple of good hikes at nearby parks.  We are just a half mile from the Mississippi border so Tishomingo State Park is only about 20 miles from here.  High 40's with sun is great hiking weather (what we are having now, not so much;) and we really enjoyed the walk partially around a lake and through the forest up along and in between  boulders on a rock shelf. The hike ended up at a pretty stream.  Very nice!

 

Elk Action in Elk Country RV Park near Trinidad, CA

 Mike and I spent 6 weeks at this park this past spring and it was amazing to have elk around so much of the time.  We were privileged to see a few of the new babies born to the herd before we left in June.  

Now we are back for another 6 weeks and already are  seeing elk regularly.  There were 21 babies born to this herd this year which is amazing and make the herd about 70 strong!  The males have full racks and mating season is here!  It is awesome to be a part of this!

                               This bull seems to have about half the herd to himself......so far;)

                                                        Same bull....in profile

                                     Half a dozen of this years babies and one mom

                                                a young one who still needs his mom

                     about 25 of the 35 or so that were here today.  The herd is about 70 strong

Shore Acres State Park, OR

 Just a few more pictures of the coast in the Coos Bay area.  These were taken mostly in Shore Acres State Park.  There was definitely some fog but also, unfortunately, smoke from many fires now occurring in this part of the country.  

The water shapes the rocky shoreline in some beautiful ways:

Enlarged area of photo above showing cormorants on rock ledges

A lone, and very large, white seal trying to nap with the waves crashing  behind

                                 Hmmmm, is this seal laughing at us?  Probably yawning;)

                                            Love these formations!!

                                                     Yep, it's all beautiful here!!