It’s been awhile since I hiked the Monte Vista Loop, and we picked a day that was pretty much perfect. It had rained overnight, so there was enough lingering dampness to keep down the dust and prevent the burs and foxtails from being too bothersome. I also didn’t intend to hike the full 3-mile loop, but there was so much […]
Last Wednesday I drove out to Folsom Lake’s south fork with the Big Guy. He knew the old Salmon Falls Bridge was partially out of the water and wanted to try fishing from it. The last time I’d hiked the trail along Sweetwater Creek was back in 2020, so it’s been awhile! With the water level so low, it might […]
My last group of pictures from our overnight stop in Flagstaff last June includes images from late afternoon on the forest path as well as a couple of views of the area which I shot the next morning. The scene outside our hotel room balcony was so welcoming that it was extremely tempting to stay over another night! But we […]
Happily, you can’t tell from the photos, but the area around Doran beach and campground was pretty much wall-to-wall people when we arrived there on a Sunday afternoon last July. I’m not sure now why we thought it would be a bright idea to head to the coast on a weekend rather than midweek; but I know we’re never going […]
Here are a few more images from my walk along the nature trail at the Little America Hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona, last June. I was quite happy to have the path mostly to myself (the Big Guy had chosen to ignore the trail and set off on his own, cross country), and the clouds and cooler late afternoon temperatures were […]
Whenever we spend a few days at Clear Lake and stay along the northeast shore in Nice, I usually feel the urge to take a walk up and down the short stretch of Lakeshore Boulevard behind the Worldmark hotel property. Over the years I’ve done this quite a few times, and it’s been interesting to see that for the most […]
By the time I reached the first mileage marker on my way up the mountain, I was more than ready to stop for a breather. The wide dirt road may have looked flat, but the incline was obvious to my legs and hips. I think I remember wishing I had tackled Mt. Konocti at least a couple of decades earlier, […]
The beautiful Mendocino Botanical Gardens are divided into two major sections, divided by a narrow strip of land and the impressive Deer Gate (which I’ll show you tomorrow). Just before I arrived at the gate, I couldn’t help lingering for one last look at the great variety of flowers. I’ve been trying to identify them as best I can; but […]
Here is another look back to photos from earlier this year — this time my visit to the Petrified Forest near Calistoga in late May. I drove about 1½ hours from where we were staying on the northeast shore of Clear Lake, taking Highway 29 south toward Calistoga. While it was kind of a long drive, the trip was fun […]