Along the Bobcat Trail

One of the very best parts about our recent stay at The Sea Ranch cabin was the private network of trails winding through the neighborhood. Houses are constructed to blend in with the natural environment, with plenty of undeveloped buffer zones; so it was possible to wander among the redwood trees and barely notice any structures. I also never ran […]

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A good day at Black Point

Black Point is one of a series of public access beaches within the private community known as The Sea Ranch in Sonoma County. The other beaches include Pebble, Stengel, Shell, and Walk On Beach, and they are all connected by the Bluff Trail, which runs north all the way to Gualala Point Regional Park. I have passed by all of […]

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Sandstone art

The ocean views at Point Arena’s Stornetta Public Lands are so spectacular, you could be forgiven for failing to notice much of anything else — unless you happen to run into a few of the local cows (they actually seem fairly skittish of people, which is probably a good thing). But as I was loitering near the north gate, waiting […]

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Continuing their watch

I nearly missed the Historic Life-Saving Station Cemetery even though I was on the alert as I drove along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in Point Reyes National Seashore. I had seen a signpost on my way south, but traveling northbound the turn was unmarked. When I finally spotted it, the narrow lane took me over a cattle guard and up […]

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Meet the Inspector

It was Thursday morning, and I was packing up to leave my AirBnB near Tomales Bay, running in and out of the house with my bundles and bags. Suddenly I realized I was no longer alone — someone had slipped in through the open door and was casually stalking about, tail in the air, casting an eye over the place […]

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Along Tomales Bay

I was almost sorry to be heading to Point Reyes with little time to spare, because there were so many places along Highway 1 in Marin County where I would have loved to pull over and admire the scenery. Although I can just barely remember some trips to Dillon Beach (just across from Tomales Point, at the mouth of the […]

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Aftermath

I’m still trying to find the words to express my feelings after taking a drive last Tuesday up to the west shore of Lake Almanor in Plumas County. Maybe I should have been more prepared for what I saw — the effects of the Dixie Fire, which burned nearly 1 million acres over five California counties from July through October […]

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