This, That, and Other Things

I have been waiting to post a picture of the balloon that we keep trying to go up in with the hopes that we would make it. We will try again this Thur. eve but I've decided to just show this picture from when we were first there. It was B's idea.

Do you remember that giant asparagus plant that B was standing next to? (It was in the "Hiking" blog.) I went on the net and found out that it is a yucca whipplei plant. It lasts for one year. We were hiking last week, I'll tell more about that next, when we found one in bloom. This is what the top turns into. I know you can eat the root of some yucca but I think that is the one that is more of a tree. From what the site said, you can eat the pods that form from the blooms. I'm not sure that I would want to as it takes a moth to pollinate the blooms. She stuffs pollen down on top of the eggs that she has laid so that the seed will provide food when they hatch. They are in the pods.
Last week B and I decided to do some exploring by truck. We had seen a paved road that went S off of the main highway just W of the top before dropping down to Lake Elsinore.

For some of the way, it winds along the top of the ridge, sometimes on the west side and sometimes on the east side looking at Lake Elsinore, and then drops off into a canyon. At one point we could see a housing development but no road over to it. We also came across an area for four wheel vehicles to ride on. You can see some of those trails and the housing below.
Shortly after turning off the main highway we saw a sign, at a trail head, showing another trail head for going into Tenaja Falls, a hike of about 7/10 of a mile. We had seen the falls marked on the map at the trail head we take here at the park but it is some seven plus miles in to it on this side. This sounded like a much better way to get to it. So we drove about twelve miles on one lane, very twisty, however paved, road and finally got to the trail head. The whole time we were driving, we were wondering why they ever built this road as they went to some work to do it. I guess there are some ranches someplace up there and that it is good for getting to fires. (When we told W about this, he said that he had taken this road on his motorbike all the way to Interstate 15.) After hiking to the falls we back tracked.

The hike wasn't that steep although, since it was the mid afternoon, it was a little warm. At times the falls must be really something to see, but there wasn't much water going over now. This was the first view we had of it. We did hike around to the top of it. There is not water flowing, at this time, into it from the draw above it. There is some coming in to the left above the shaded area.
This drops down into a small pool.
This is on the trail just before you break out at the top of the falls. I thought the water flowing through here was pretty. That is a concrete slap that it is flowing across. Don't ask me how or who put it there.The trail head is just at the left end of the road that you can see. The trail is the darker line that circles around the hill just above the rocks in the foreground.In all, it was a nice hike and sure beat going in the other way.

While driving into Dana Point we had been seeing signs advertising a bike race. Last Sunday was it.

Since it is only about seven blocks from W's place, B and I walked down to it. We caught the last six laps of the Cat 2 race. W was back grading some papers but, after we called him, decided to join us to see the Cat 1 race. He had never gone to it. This drew some big names as the money was $15,ooo.
Check out the legs! B did.
Yes, the riders are blurry. I was hoping for even more as I was trying to show their speed.W was watching up at one of the corners with the riders coming towards him. He said that after the racers were around the corner, the wind from them just kept coming straight.

Now for the other thing.

There is a tree, or bush, that started blooming a few days ago here at the park. I decided I needed to send on a picture of it as the blooms are interesting.

The next picture shows some of the blossoms just starting to open. This is better if you double click it.
The light color on the ends of the red are pollen.
Further up the stem, you can see some of the seed pods from last year. The base of the red fibers also has this shape.
Apparently humming birds like this bloom also as when I was taking these pictures I heard a whirring sound and looked up to see a pair of them. I didn't have time to change the setting on my camera from micro, but here is what I got. They were gone in a flash. He is in the center of the picture.