Catherine Ryan Hyde Catherine Ryan Hyde is the author of more than 25 published and forthcoming books, including the bestselling When I found You, Pay It Forward, Don't Let Me Go, and Take Me With You.
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For those of you who followed the reports of my trip, you may know that the cog railway trip up to Pike's peak summit was the centerpiece of the whole outing. It had been a bit of a bucket list item for my mom, who is 89. The timing was not ideal. Her back had been giving her some trouble. But she got the blessing of her chiropractor to go. Probably because he knew the same thing we both knew. If not the September, then maybe not for a full year. And then...who knows?
Got home from my trip yesterday afternoon. It's unusual for me to already have one blog post about the trip, with photos. But that's what comes of an RV park with free WiFi.
Still, I want to back up and chronicle some of the other amazing places I saw. And, of course, get the photos up online.
Pike's Peak summit from Lightning PointHere are a few photos from my hike up the Barr Trail to Barr Camp, which is 6.5 miles and 3,800 vertical feet, or a little better than half the way to Pike's Peak summit. I just got back to the motor home about an hour ago.
I'd had the night's reservation for Barr Camp for a long time. The better part of a year. I spent that time wrestling with myself about the summit. I had two choices. I could hike up to Barr Camp, spend a night in the fall aspens, and hike back down the next day. Then the day after that I could take my mother up to the summit on the cog railway. (That's really the purpose of the trip. It's something of a bucket list item for her.) Second
Those who follow this blog know I've been doing an occasional More Puppy or More Kitty feature. Highlighting first my own dog (and my dearl departed late dog), then the dogs and cats of my reader-friends. I even did a More Bunny blog post as a foray into slightly more unusual pets.
In the past, I've had some rather unusual pets myself. I stumbled across their photos while looking for something different, and decided to do an "Unusual Pets" post.
I've probably hiked Valencia Peak in Montana de Oro State Park four dozen times since I started hiking seriously in 1993. But until a few weeks ago, I had never seen a fogbow. In fact, I had no idea there was any such thing as a fogbow. But I saw a fogbow a few weeks ago, the first of three times I hiked Valencia Peak after a break of a year or so. And I had my camera. So that's this first photo. I thought I was being tongue-in-cheek by making up that name, until I Googled fogbow. Here's
A couple of months ago, back when I was doing my More Puppy meme pretty regularly, my friend and faithful reader Lucy Llewellyn Byard from Sri Lanka sent me this photo of her "100-pound baby," Toby.
When I asked for more information about him, she was nice enough to send me the following text and photos. The photos were taken
For those of you who remember my blog post entitled MY BOOTS ARE DISCO, I was a little embarrassed by the newness and lack of character of my new hiking boots after nine years and probably three thousand miles on the old ones. I photographed them side-by-side as a comment on character, and how it's (in my opinion) attained.
Most of you know my novel Second Hand Heart has just been released here in the U.S., in both ebook and paperback. And I'd like to make an offer to my U.S. readers, particularly those who have e-readers (such as the Nook or Kindle). I'd like to give you an electronic copy of the book in return for your word of mouth. If, and only if, you enjoy the book, I hope you'll return the favor by spreading the word. Tell a few of your friends who read, review it on your blog, mention it to your book group...or...you tell me.
Just leave a comment, telling me how you'll spread the word if you enjoy the book. Make sure you enter your email address as you fill out the comment form. It won't show publicly. And I'll
Those who follow my various social networks may know that I went kayaking with my friend Doug last Sunday morning. And did not bring my camera. Because...well, you know. It's a boat. Things get wet out there. And, of course, I saw the most amazing things. A waddle parade of white pelicans on the sand spit. A bat ray gliding under the boats in a foot of very clear water.
Of course, when I got back, I had to Facebook and tweet about all the things I wished I
Or, if you'd rather have it as an ebook, check out the right-hand column of my Second Hand Heart page for buying buttons that should satisfy any and every ereader format.
This morning I left the house about 7:30 and hiked up to the tip of San Simeon Point and back. It's not hugely different from the hike I like to do up to Ragged Point. It's not nearly as far up the coast, but I don't arrange a ride, so it ends up being in the same ballpark. Close to 17 miles instead of 21.
The other difference is that I feel more inspired to walk out onto the bluff trails, which make the trip a lot longer. The 21-mile Ragged Point hike pushes so close to what is achievable (for me) in one day that I'm often loathe to add even another mile.
My friend Mary Jo Smith-Obolensky and her daughter Joanna Celeste sent me these photos of their buddy Jasper. Now, this guy is a cutie. Not that they're not all. But this little guy is a scene-stealer, in my opinion.
Mary Jo says, "Well here is a little bit on Jasper--I hope it is OK... it is hard to write just a little about him!
I would hate to tool all the way up the coast to Trinidad and not get in at least one world-class hike. But the timing was tight. After all, I had to get home and get back to work on that novel. So an all-day hike didn't seem to fit.
I had hiked at Point Reyes National Seashore once before, but never out to Tomales Point. And that's where the tule elk
Trinidad BaySome of you may know (okay, anybody who gets anywhere near my social media presence on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, or Google+ will know) that I just got back from a motor home trip to Trinidad. Not the island of Trinidad (which I doubt I would choose for a driving trip) but the tiny town of Trinidad, California. It's up in the redwoods
For those of you who don't know what an ARC is, it's an advance reader's copy, or what's sometimes called a bound galley. A few months ago I was organizing the big built-in bookcase up in my studio, and I realized that I have about ten Pay It Forward ARCs. I guess I thought I should hang onto them. That they'd be collector's items someday. (They are eleven years old and were never meant to be sold--the publisher sends them out to reviewers and bookstores).
I decided that at least a few of them belong in the hands of my readers. And I still feel the same way now.
Today I got to do, for the fourth or fifth time, what I consider to be the world's best hike. This is a highly subjective rating system. Granted, the Big Sur coastline is world-class scenic. But I'm giving this hike big points for ease of getting to the trailhead, and comfort of accommodations at the trailhead.
Some of you may remember Oliver and Boo. They had their own More Kitty feature in May. Their owner and/or staff member (I've heard from a reliable source that dogs have owners and cats have staff) is Patty Ann W., a faithful reader, fan, librarian, and friend, who you may have seen in my first reader slideshow.
Patty Ann sent me a few more adorable kittty pics, which I wanted to share here.
More importantly, Patty Ann is having some not-quite-diagnosed health issues, and I wanted to
Two kitty stories for you today, courtesy of Jackie Ward and Mathew and Kimberly March.
First, Cleocatra and Mouse. Jackie Ward writes, "Cleocatra and Mouse came to us in 1999 from a friend of a friend who had adopted them but had to find new homes for them because she was getting married to someone who was allergic to cats. I had recently lost my previous best feline friend, Annie, and was ready to accept new family members.
But first, a special message to those of you who had every intention of getting in on this one, but it just didn't pan out. Wait, don't tell me. Let me guess. You have a life. I get that. Here's what you can do. Send the darn thing anyway. Anytime. The fact that I've closed the second slideshow means I just opened to photo submissions for the third. Jump in early, and I promise you won't miss the deadline, which will be months down the road. It's something like the Never-Ending Story. You send them, they will get used.
Mouser's fangs explain his name. No rodent survives an encounter with Mouser.
When I began this More Puppy/More Kitty meme, I never expected to feature not one, but two, heroes--pets who may well have saved their people's lives.
This one, Mouser, comes courtesy of Charmaine Coimbra, who writes, "When first-time visitors witness our cat's bold behavior I simply say, 'Mouser is spoiled and we don't care.' There's a reason this 12-year old furball buddy is spoiled
For those of you who followed the reports of my trip, you may know that the cog railway trip up to Pike's peak summit was the centerpiece of the whole outing. It had been a bit of a bucket list item for my mom, who is 89. The timing was not ideal. Her back had been giving her some trouble. But she got the blessing of her chiropractor to go. Probably because he knew the same thing we both knew. If not the September, then maybe not for a full year. And then...who knows?
