Jan's Jaunts and Jabberings
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Follow along with me, Jan, aka BeeKeeper, as I travel around finding the best Cherry Pickin' spots. I'm proud to be a Cherry Picker :) I love Disneyland hikes, minus the people. I tend to adventure off season in the popular places. I'm happy to follow the path less traveled. And that folks is what you'll find on my blog.
Jan's Jaunts and Jabberings
5d ago
With Crater Lake National Park and my time as a Volunteer Ranger in the rearview mirror, it was time to find spring. Far NorCal experienced a wet winter and with more clouds and cooler temperatures, spring was a bit more delayed than some years. I was happy to get out on the warmer days and ..read more
Jan's Jaunts and Jabberings
3w ago
While sorting through my photos taken during the 9.5 weeks I spent this winter living at Crater Lake National Park, I found a few worthy of highlighting. Finding viewpoints for a variety of images was my personal challenge, especially for optimal sunrise, sunset and full moon photography. That was one of the benefits of spending ..read more
Jan's Jaunts and Jabberings
3w ago
This was my first volunteer gig with the National Park Service, and also my first time spending extended time living in snow. I didn’t know what to expect, relying mostly on the position posting, conversations with the volunteer supervisor and a previous volunteer. Hopefully this post will help future volunteers, or those considering this unique ..read more
Jan's Jaunts and Jabberings
1M ago
With an average of 500″ of snowfall annually, this is indeed one of the snowiest places in the lower 48. My fortress. By mid February the walls hid most of the balcony. When I arrived on December 14th, there was 24″ of snow on the ground at the Visitor Center which is about 600′ below ..read more
Jan's Jaunts and Jabberings
2M ago
In December I posted about accepting a volunteer park ranger position at Crater Lake National Park, including my excitement and anxieties (blog link). I can now say, it’s been a wonderful opportunity, with some challenges but mostly plentiful rewards. Let’s talk about rewards first, like getting paid in sunrises, sunsets, rainbows, first powder and more ..read more
Jan's Jaunts and Jabberings
2M ago
As we close out another year I want to say thank you to the readers of my blog. You are part of my community! I appreciate your views, likes and comments. Sharing gives me purpose while out adventuring. I’m more present and thoughtful when considering what I want to photograph and write, those stories worthy ..read more
Jan's Jaunts and Jabberings
3M ago
On this my 9th year in full-time adventure mode, my season started in late February with a dash to Arizona, followed by a couple of months in Canada. Then I was off to Montana, Washington, Wyoming and Idaho. It was a verbose year with nearly 100 posts. WOW! Joshua Tree National Park: Arizona Trail: Canada ..read more
Jan's Jaunts and Jabberings
3M ago
I’d been looking for a good-fit volunteer position since retiring. I started to apply for this position in 2016 but something got in the way and it didn’t happen. With federal budget uncertainties it didn’t look like this would be the year either but things changed and it was opportunity time! I applied, was interviewed ..read more
Jan's Jaunts and Jabberings
3M ago
My 2008 CRV is chugging along, awaiting it’s next birthday the big 200,000 miles, which will happen in 2024. She’s been exceptionally well behaved, and I’m not in any hurry to find a replacement so I hope we can continue our adventures well into the future. It was the year of the tire, no surprise ..read more
Jan's Jaunts and Jabberings
3M ago
“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” -Albert Camus Here in far Northern California we don’t get the flashy colors of aspen or larch. The jeweled autumn tones of oaks in our foothills, combined with reds of dogwoods, and the always catchy Indian Rhubarb, make for more subtle color distribution, which ..read more