Valentines Day, Garcon Point Trail

February 14, 2010 Valentines Day.

It was a beautiful sunny morning and temps climbed rapidly to the low to mid 60’s under the bright sun.

We walked the dogs and did some chores around the rig,  I decided to tackle the satellite re-alignment to pick up the right satellites.  I had picked up 129 and 119 in that order.  I needed to have 119 and 110.  I also wanted to shorten the pole for the dish.  When the installers initially set-up or dish at Big Shoals, they used a 5 ft galvanized pole.  I decided to cut it down to about 3.5 feet.

I used a hacksaw and cut the pole down to size and then moved the tripod a few feet.  I then put the dish/ pole setup back together and attempted to lock in satellites.  According to the manual, because I was locking in on 129 and not 110 I needed to move the aim east 9 degrees.  After some fiddling, I got a good signal!

I had wanted to take my bike for a ride down Avalon Blvd. as I had heard there are some park trails down the road.  However, the wind had picked up and I was no longer in the mood for a ride.  So I drove the car down to the park, Garcon Point Trail.  Joyce stayed home cooking and making a cheese cake.  

The trail is suppose to feature a number of orchids and insect-eating plants such as pitcher plants.  According to the brochure, a botanist referred to Garcon Point as “the Serengeti of carnivorous plants”.

The trail had two entrances, north and south.  The above shots are from the north entrance and below are shots of the south entrance.

I checked out both entrances and hiked a short distance from each entrance before encountering water that was too deep and wide to get by without getting filthy.

Back home, I took Maggie and Rico for another long walk. Then chilled and watched some of the Winter Olympics while Joyce did laundry in the park.  Not and exciting day, but a good day nonetheless!