Stacked Lenticular Clouds

When we stepped out the door to go to the Arboretum this morning, this wonderful example of a lenticular cloud formation was just over the hill.

Lately I've been noticing all the variety of clouds in the area. Now that Fall is nearing, there seems to be more unusual formations.

We drove over to San Rafael Park to go walking in the Arboretum there.


Unfortunately, the Museum was closed, so we'll save that for another day.

I noticed these trees were beginning to change color.

Kate took Sarah here when she and the kids were visiting back in July. We were going to see it on Labor Day, but thought it was closed.

I remember Kate telling me she thought the trees looked smaller than normal, which might be due to only 7 inches of rain annually, and a shorter growing season at 4,600 ft. altitude.

The place is huge...over 11 acres, and today we just scratched the surface.

There are many wonderful spots for restful contemplation. I must say our walk, was more of a stroll. I took around 50-60 photos, and will try the share a few good ones.

There are several dozen groves and gardens as well as a Labryinth. We didn't make it to the Labryinth today...another reason to return.




I loved the vast variety of trees! There were many unique pines I'd never seen before.

After I took several dozen photos, Dan suggested I take a pic of the plaque that showed the tree's name. Ha! Too late...but a good idea for identifying trees in the future.

As we moved through the trails, I couldn't help but think of the "tree leaf" projects my kids did in school. This would have been the perfect place for an A+ paper!


In "Kristen's Garden" we found this waterfall, and a perfect place for intimate weddings.

There was a two tiered platform made of stone in front of the waterfall. This would accommodate an officiant on the higher one, and the couple on the other.

Both raised above the arbor where people attending the wedding had a beautiful view of the ceremony.




Here is a photo of that arbor.

According to the literature, "A profusion of wisteria, iris, magnolia, and peonies bloom in the spring; opulent stands of Michaelmas daisies delight visitors for several months in the late summer and fall."

We did see a few daisies, but they were almost finished blooming.




More interesting clouds at the Arboretum.

I think this place is our new favorite place to walk. We have much more to explore here.

Of course we weren't able to tell how far we walked/strolled, but we were on the trails for about an hour.

More photos of the area tomorrow!