Big Trees California Winterim 3/23

The penultimate day was spent exploring the hills and peaks of the Three Rivers area.  Katie, from the Sequoia Parks Conservancy, took us on a hike along Salt Creek to better understand the complex relationships between land, organics, and weather.  Three Rivers is not unfamiliar with floods as it is a pinch in the watershed but this year's event was a major one having done significant damage to infrastructure within the town area and far out into the agricultural fields of Tulare County and the Central Valley.

 

 The sun came out and we took advantage of the time to complete another session on nature journaling — this time reflecting on a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience".  An appropriate quote as we understand the micro and macro systems that are at work shaping this valley and region now and far outside of our time frames.

 

The evening was clear enough that we were able to do some star gazing and learn about the "geography" of the stars.  With Mars, Venus, and the major constellations peaking between the shifting clouds, it gave us a final moment to appreciate the space we have been lucky enough to travel in.