Albion studio

When we headed over to the Mendocino coast last October, we found ourselves staying in a place that was new to us. Rather than Point Arena or farther north in Mendocino, we opted for a more central location — in the vicinity of the tiny town of Albion, near the Navarro River. At first I was concerned that our lodgings were so small, basically one room. But I actually loved staying here and wouldn’t mind returning sometime. Although Highway 1 was only a stone’s throw from our door, traffic noise was almost nonexistent. And while the view from our rear balcony included a small house below us on the same property, we felt comfortably secluded, with magnificent ocean vistas and a beautiful sunset just about every night.

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Point Arena palette

I’ve discovered that the small town of Point Arena in Mendocino County is a great place to spend a few days — or even longer — no matter what time of year. The last time we were there was in December; the weather was a bit unpredictable, and I didn’t get out and go hiking as much as I normally […]

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At Castle Peak

Whenever I take a deep dive into my photo archives in the search for any specific item, I usually end up stumbling across other images long forgotten. That was how I came across these pictures which I shot back in July 2006. I was using my new Kodak EasyShare Z7590, a compact little point-and-shoot with 10x optical zoom, and the […]

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Schoefer Creek Trail

There are so many beautiful places to wander within the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden in Fort Bragg! It seemed to me that most of the other visitors while I was there last October headed for the bluff trails to enjoy the views of the ocean. I preferred the woodland areas and had them mostly to myself — with only birdsong, […]

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On the far side

Our cold gray January weather isn’t exactly motivating me to get outdoors and start moving; I’m already longing for warmer weather. But for some reason this morning I started thinking back to early last May and the week we spent in Napa County, west of Lake Berryessa. We were almost exactly equidistant from Clear Lake and Berryessa. I found the […]

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Picking up the pieces

It’s been awhile since I last posted anything, and I’m just now starting to recuperate from the craziness that was my Christmas and New Year’s. Highlights included a trip to Texas and the Big Guy spending a few days in the hospital there — thankfully, his usual state of health has returned! I realized this morning that I have quite […]

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Bluff Top Trail

I’ve stopped at the small Moat Creek parking area a number of times now, always to follow the short path to the shore. The site is just a bit south of the town of Point Arena, and the beach is popular with surfers (high tide) and with tide pool explorers (low tide). On this visit, I decided to check out […]

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October hike

I really have mixed feelings about hiking from the Sterling Pointe trailhead at Folsom Lake. On the plus side, parking is free and the lot is usually nearly empty whenever I go. It’s also a fairly easy hike downhill to the lakeshore with great scenic views and even a bench or two along the way. Once at the bottom, you […]

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Driving over water

Last June we went on quite a long road trip, driving from Northern California to Fort Worth, Texas, to visit the Big Guy’s parents. It was the second time we’d done this drive, and we figured we were getting to be old hands at this type of travel. So much so that the Big Guy decided on an extra side […]

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