Forests of Flagstaff

I’ve been showing you a lot of photos from the areas of Lake, Napa, and Mendocino counties lately, so today here’s something a bit different — Flagstaff, Arizona. Last June on the second night of our road trip to Texas, we decided to treat ourselves to a stay at the 3.5 star Little America Hotel. We enjoyed the large, comfy […]

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The old North Trail

Today’s post title is actually borrowed from a recent library find that now graces my bookshelves: subtitled Life, Legends, and Religion of the Blackfeet Indians, it was written by Walter McClintock and originally published in 1910. While the North Trail at Mendocino Botanical Gardens isn’t all that old, the sign (see above) certainly looks like it’s survived a few hard […]

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Walking in Chinatown

I’m always drawn to San Francisco’s Chinatown whenever I’m in the city, partly because of its history but also because there is always so much to see just wandering the sidewalks. With my hotel located on the lower slope of Nob Hill, I’m actually within walking distance of the Stockton Tunnel, and I used this as my gateway to Chinatown […]

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Lost in the Petrified Forest

Continuing the images from my visit to the Petrified Forest in Napa, California. Although the property is relatively small — especially when compared to the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona! — there is still so much to see that anyone who, like me, loves to pick out interesting details, it’s easy to spend half a day happily exploring. The […]

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Miracle groves

Walking through the two groves at Hendy Woods State Park, it’s clear that at some point in the past fire has come through and left its mark. But the giant coast redwood trees manage to survive the flames fairly easily, and fire can be beneficial to the health of the forest by clearing out the dense undergrowth. Whenever I feel […]

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Canyons of fern

Probably my favorite part of exploring the Mendocino Botanical Gardens was when I diverted from the main North Trail onto the steep, narrow Fern Canyon and Canyon Rim trails. In early October the coastal morning was sunny but a bit cool. Even better, I had these paths all to myself because most of the visitors to the garden seemed focused […]

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Santa Rosa car museum

As we drove home from Texas last June along Highway 40, we spent our second night on the road in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. One reason for stopping here was that the Big Guy wanted to check out the Route 66 Auto Museum. The museum is relatively small, basically filling one large room, but packed full of classic cars and […]

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