nature – HurricaneMaine

Family

I usually only come home once a year and then spend time traveling between family members. Here in PA there were some hikes, bike rides, and fun runs (walks for me).

Most of the time it is Sunni and I trying to stay out of trouble…

Stop at Brady’s bend after lunch with Mom

I spent one day with my friend Michele Belak which started with a morning race and ended with an evening race on the trails here in PA. In between we drove back and forth and stopped to see her horse. It was good to catch up with her. In the past, we used to meet at several races over the summer. It was great to catch up with her and hear about the people we worked with at Citizens Ambulance when we were in college.

One night Ryan and I rode bikes in an event called critical mass. Over 100 people participated in a 24 mile ride through the streets of Pittsburgh. The point is to take back the roads from cars and bring awareness that bikes have rights also. Here we are headed to the start of the ride.

Ryan and I also hiked some trails near Kittanning. They are small trails but very quiet and peaceful.

Afterwards we biked through the city of Pittsburgh from the north side to the south side along the trails and the rivers.

Another road trip was to take my dad’s ashes to Buffalo and Erie. We visited the graves of my grandparents and stopped to see Duann, a friend from childhood.

An event in Pittsburgh called picklesburgh also took place. Fun having some pickle egg rolls, pickle fudge, and other things.

And of course I played with everyone’s cats. This is the baby of Sunni’s and is a Maine coon.

Some random pictures from Western Pennsylvania.

Montana

It has been a year since I saw Becca and her husband Ryan. I had gone through some of my things that have been packed for years and had asked her which things she as they just bought a house. I came to Montana laden with bags.

That night after unpacking we hiked a hill that had the letter M on it for the University of Montana (it overlooks the University). We hiked to the bottom of the M to see the sunset.

The next day, we went to a trail that overlooked the bitter roots. These are plants that grow in a valley between those mountains. These are roots that were used by indigenous peoples and still used today in food and medicine. It is also the state flower of Montana.

A few friends thought we brought snacks for them.

Afterwards we stopped at a Bitterroot brewing to have huckleberry beer. Yummy as well as the food we ordered.

We also rented a bike to go bike riding. Unfortunately I am not over the fear of wrecking and being injured and prefer trails that do not have gravel. Instead we found a paved area that leads to a beach along the river. Beautiful and relaxing.

We also drove through the bison preserve that is a protected area and had amazing information about the indigenous people and the almost extinction of the bison.

We had not traveled very far into the refuge when this big boy was seen walking down the road. We let him have as much of the road as he wanted.

This actually is a grizzly bear cub at the top of a tree. Can you see him?

Beautiful wildflowers and a black butterfly.

The garden of 1000 buddhas

On the way back from the bison range, we stopped in Arlee. This spiritual site was beautiful. There are one thousand statues of Buddha arranged in a circle. There are spaces and carved sayings on rocks to inspire for meditation, reflection, and peace.

Prayer flags releasing intentions
into the wind

It was a really short visit and next year there will be more days in Montana. I miss my family and will be spending more time each year with her

Mindo

I’ve been to mindo once but did not do the bird watching tours. Since Ryan was visiting I thought an overnight trip to mindo would let him see a different view of Ecuador. It is literally over the mountain that we were on the day before but takes a few hours to get there. Lower in elevation, it is warmer and more sub tropical. This was also the first time I drove a car in Ecuador. It was a beautiful drive reminding me of western pa country roads but a lot steeper hills.

Food

I have been so excited to share some great Ecuadorian foods with my son.

Bird watching

I have a list of the birds that I saw but have yet to match the names to the pictures. These are just some of the pictures.

Can you see the green toucan? He camouflages well

Mindo is not jungle but called the cloud forest. The release of water vapor from the leaves of trees condenses into clouds along the tree line.

The 88 butterfly. I know, it looks like 89.

The central American Agouti. A small mammal.

Coffee and chocolate tour

The birds we saw:

Mindo–Vía a las cascadas (Waterfall trail)
dic 20, 2023
6:07 a. m.
Con Desplazamiento
10.81 km
220 minutos
¿Reportaste todas las especies? No
Comentarios:

2 White-necked Jacobin
1 White-whiskered Hermit
1 Violet-tailed Sylph
2 Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
1 Andean Emerald
5 Western Cattle Egret
3 Black Vulture
4 Turkey Vulture
2 Barred Hawk
2 Collared Trogon
3 Rufous Motmot
3 Broad-billed Motmot
3 Red-headed Barbet
7 Crimson-rumped Toucanet
3 Yellow-throated Toucan (Chestnut-mandibled)
3 Choco Toucan
2 Golden-olive Woodpecker
1 Plain-brown Woodcreeper
1 Spotted Woodcreeper
2 Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner
3 Lineated Foliage-gleaner
4 Buff-fronted Foliage-gleaner
2 Scaled Fruiteater
2 Cinnamon Becard
1 White-winged Becard
1 One-colored Becard
1 Tawny-breasted Flycatcher
3 Slaty-capped Flycatcher
1 Ornate Flycatcher
2 Yellow Tyrannulet
1 Ashy-headed Tyrannulet
1 Lesser Greenlet
2 Brown-capped Vireo
1 Chivi Vireo
2 Blackburnian Warbler
3 Three-striped Warbler
3 Three-striped Warbler (daedalus)
1 Canada Warbler
3 Slate-throated Redstart
2 White-winged Tanager
3 White-shouldered Tanager
4 Flame-rumped Tanager (Lemon-rumped)
3 Blue-gray Tanager
2 Palm Tanager
2 Flame-faced Tanager
2 Swallow Tanager
2 Guira Tanager