#quarry lake

[sitting-on-me-bum]

One morning while out in Canmore, I stopped by Quarry Lake for sunrise and it did not disappoint! Bright vivid colours filled the sky over the mountains lighting up the wintry park.

Taken By Lisa Bourgeault

[licornelilith]

[thesilicontribesman]

Cathedral Cave, Langdale Quarries, Lake District

[meriol-lehmann]

chemin saint-jacques, saint-pierre-de-joliette

[byler-alarmist]

Someone drowned in Sattler Quarry in 1976.

There is rumored to be time fuckery going on in S5.

Should I be worried????

[rinibayphoto]

[emmagail-brainrot]

selfie smooches😚

[wingedjewels]

Townsend's Warbler by bubble_boy Via Flickr: California Coyote Hills Regional Park Alameda Creek Quarry Lakes Fremont Bay Area San Francisco USA East Bay Nature Birds Wildlife Photography Travel Wild Trails ebparksok

[greenmansgrove]

I’m trying to get back into the habit of evening walks/hikes, and after much deliberation this afternoon, I decided it was time to visit Quarry Island, which is off trail from Big Rivers Regional Trail. I was told it was a good place to find rocks — I’m on the hunt for some nice, round basalt. I found no rocks, since the waters were so high, but the island was gorgeous. You can see it from the overlook (first picture). I had to cross a railroad and wasn’t sure I was allowed out that way, but there was no one to stop me and I’m trying to build confidence anyway. The trail was on the map, so… off I went.

This area is known as Bdote to Dakota people, which is where the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers meet and lakes have sprung up. It is where many of the Dakota peoples originated, according to their stories. There are many beautiful plaques featuring Dakota (hi)stories and artwork. It was wonderful to read them and hear decolonizing insights about the advancements of the Dakota peoples and their stewardship of the lands before settlers arrived.

[ID: In the past, the Dakota people had no medical facilities or universities. Yet they survived and contributed to the world’s advancement through their own resources and systems of laws, customs, educational systems, and storytelling. The messaging features share Oceti Sakowin (Seven Council Fires) stories, creation stories commom to all Dakota people, and Hitunkakan Stories, traditional teaching stories that are specific to this landscape, so visitors may learn about Dakota worldviews and experience a gift of cultural knowledge. This project engaged Dakota elders, who are known first language Dakota speakers, and Dakota community members. Stories and lessons were selected with the intention to be appropriate for sharing with a larger audience. However, Dakota people have many versions of these stories, and they are all correct. Hecetu: this is so. This is Dakota Land. End ID]

The first and last couple sentences of this plaque really struck me, not out of surprise, but because it is rhetoric that would immediately shake up common white misconceptions about Indigenous lives and histories. Even as minor and obvious as these insights are, I do think shaking white settlers from complacency with such directness is invaluable. This blog is fervently supportive of Indigenous Land Back efforts, and I remain grateful for the educational work of Dakota peoples in spaces such as these.

As I strode off into the marshlands, redwing blackbirds and bank swallows were flying all around (see video! — ignore the tornado sirens, it’s Weather Awareness Day). Ducks nested in the reeds. Quarry Island itself is covered in mature swamp oaks, with evidence of a healthy mast year in the scattered acorn caps. The rocks made a perfect trail to the highest point in the island, where a large, almost altar-like rock sat (photos 2-4). The top was eroded from rainwater, and I left a snail shell I’d found further down in its hollow, wondering if the snail had made it that high in life. I offered clean drinking water, too. The rain I’d prepared to meet (I brought an umbrella!) was making its way across the lake at me, but I had some time before it arrived.

On the other side of the island was evidence others had been through. There were many buckthorn stumps and piles of branches. Some past visitor had neglected the first rule of rock flipping: put the rock back where you found it. So, I did my best to replace them. I found evidence of fires, too, and they were fairly fresh, based on the smell. At least they were on the rocks and not in the wooded areas.

By the time I made it back to the center of the island that the path bisected, the rain was coming in and the sun was beginning to set, signaling my time to return. I reached the overlook again just in time for sunset and took the first image. The rain was blowing upwards at me from below the bluff, hence the specs in the image. As I turned back towards my car, I saw this rainbow!

This was probably among my top five (if not top three) favorite hikes I’ve taken since I moved to MN. I will have to return to hike the rest of the trails north and south. I suggested the nearby firepits as a ritual site for my grove, too, so maybe we will all hike out to Quarry Island in the future.

[mothmiso]

Ruskeala marble quarry, 2005 (2) (3) (4) by Kirill Rudynski

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Hodge Close Quarry, Lake District

By John Guerrier

[constance-mcentee]

A Grand Day Out at Quarry Lakes

Sunday, 21 July 2024

Originally I was planning on doing this ride yesterday. But as I ran some errands first thing I felt the day was getting too warm for me to go for a fun ride. It has been a VERY long time since I went for a fun ride and I didn't want to overdo it. So, I left home at about 7:30 in the morning to get an early train.

Image Description: A light blue Retrospec Beaumont Rev-2 ebike on a commuter train platform.

But since this was a Sunday, trains don't run as often. While I was on time for the first train, I had a half-hour wait at my transfer station. Fortunately, I had brought a library book with me for just such a situation. The book in question was Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural Wold of Animal Sexuality by Eliot Schrefer.

After arriving at the Union City BART station, it was a short ride to a grocery store to get some supplies. Since I was so burdened with other things I needed to get yesterday, I didn't get food for the ride. So, I stopped at the store for some Gatorade, Clif Bars, and sunblock. From there, it was a short ride to Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area.

Image Description: A beige concrete sign with green letters reads, "Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area, East Bay Regional Park District." There are low plants around the sign and some trees behind it.

I have to admit, I stopped quite often early in the ride just to marvel at the scenery.

Image Description: The ebike from earlier on the path around one of the lakes.

Image Description: Another view of the lake from above, with some crows on the lakeshore in the middle distance. Trees can be seen to the right and along the far shore.

Image Description: Another view of the lake, with a single tree and some shrubs in the foreground and the tree-lined far shore.

As I kept going long the path, I eventually came to a small stand which had a map and brochure about this place. That's when I learned class-2 ebikes, like the one I was riding, are restricted to paved trails. Oops. There isn't a paved trail around the lakes. It's a gravel trail.

But the brochure's map showed where a paved trail was nearby. So I left the recreation area and headed for that trail.

Image Description: A concrete and stone cairn with a sign for the Niles Community Park.

The search for the paved trail led me past Niles Community Park, a place I visited some time ago with my motorscooter before it was stolen. I had to keep following the gravel path out to the street and over a bridge to get to the paved path. So for next time, I'll stay on that street, skip entering Quarry Lakes, and continue on to this paved path.

Image Description: A heard of goats lounging on the south shore of Alameda Creek.

And as I rode on that paved path, I past a heard of goats which seemed have been brought in to keep the vegetation in check along Alameda Creek. There was a temporary fence around a large area and there were just so many goats.

From there, it was ride back to BART, take BART toward home, and stop at another grocery store to finish getting the things I couldn't haul home yesterday.

By the time all the riding was done, my legs felt rubbery. I don't have the speedometer / odometer installed on my bike yet, so I don't know the overall distance I rode. I could probably try to work it out, but I'm not going to stress over it.

This was my first fun ride in a long time. I just haven't been strong enough to use my regular bike, so getting this ebike made things a lot easier. But as it's a class 2, I'll have to be more mindful of which East Bay Park Districts I visit with it.

I'm looking forward to more rides, and am already planning how to visit Quarry Lakes next time. I won't be able to ride around the lakes themselves, but there are parts of that park I can visit.

[mossmosss]

[meriol-lehmann]

chemin saint-jacques, saint-pierre-de-joliette

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Narrow Gauge Steam in the Heart of the Lake District. Threlkeld Quarry. ...

[rinibayphoto]