#TBT Rancho Seco Park 2/2016

I had this really great goal to get all of my previous year adventures posted before January ended.  Yeah, right.  lol  Didn't happen.  So I am going to try to do a "Throw Back Thursday" #TBT post each Thursday.

I chose this one because it's from February of last year and it really serves to illustrate what a difference a year makes!  It was very  dry and practically balmy last February when Adrienne and I took this little walk. 

We parked by the little lake and then walked over to the PAWS facility, which was closed.  I guess you have to make an appointment to see inside the visitor center. But we did get to see this cute ground squirrel sitting outside the house as if he owned it.  

I'm fascinated with cooling towers at old nuclear power plants.  They make for some great photos.

These two are Scimitar-horned Oryx.  They are extinct in the wild, so it's quite a treat to see them.

Black Phoebe in a treebe.

Yellowlegs

Bridge over dry creek bed.  I'm sure this is currently filled with water.  You probably can't even walk around a lot of this trail right now due to water and mud.  It's supposed to be full of vernal pools, but there was only one pool that I saw last year.

Of course, there was water in the man-made lake.

You can see the damn in the background, but I like this photo of the duel fishing docks.

Ruddy duck in reeds.

Wet Ruddy duck on blue waves. 

Not the best photo of the duck, but I liked how the water looks like corrugated metal.

xoxo

Nikon D3000

California State Capital & Capital Park ~~ May 2015

One of my favorite places in Sacramento is Capital Park downtown.  Now I realize that it is certainly not even close to the amazing parks and botanical gardens found in bigger cities, but there is a lot of diversity and beauty if you like to wander outdoors.  

Today I'm going to focus on a small art installation and the rose garden.  

Across 15th Street are several buildings that house my fellow State workers.  I used to work in this "East End Complex" and loved it because every break and lunch, we were out in the park.  Walking, reading, or even sunbathing...the park is perfect for it.  

It's been a good 10+ years since this art was placed with it's lovely view of the rose garden and capital building.  It has definitely suffered at the hands of inconsiderate humans (what/who hasn't??). 

There are many who consider this art a failure.  And I get that argument.  This is a really good article for that point of view.

But I still find it interesting and beautiful.  Or maybe I just see it still through the good memories I had of when we first moved to the complex as it's brand-new, first-time occupants.  But then again, I still try to see the beauty in everything so it may be that.  And that's not a bad thing. 

One thing I won't argue with is the uselessness of the path that was created when the project managers figured out that this uneven hill in the middle of the street was not easy to negotiate for anyone. 

And don't even try to read the ones with writing.  You can't.  I don't think you ever really could.  But I do like their interesting way of telling the story of some of Sacramento's history.  You just have to be inspired to do a little research. :-)

This pathway of broken art leads to the "Zone of Transformation" which is a slightly futuristic-looking corridor with a golden sphere at the end.   If you look closely, you can see that there is what looks like an old newspaper photo within the color of the walls and floor.  The above article says it is scientist Edwin Hubble. 

After the art funnels you out onto 15th Street, you can cross straightaway into the Capital Rose Garden.  

Where you will find any different varieties of lovely roses.  However, this rose garden does not seem to bloom year around.  Although that could have changed; since I don't work downtown any more, I can't be sure. 

Look at the flowers Lizzie. 

This was always my mom's favorite color.  She had a coral lipstick that she just loved to wear and she grew roses of this color in our front yard. 

This is just a very small corner of the park.  There are many, many kinds of trees since Sacramento is known as the City of Trees.  And there are war memorials, a firefighter memorial, and a bazillion squirrels.  And if you're into walking for exercise, the block around the Capital is exactly 1 mile!

Enjoy!

xoxo