“Roughing it” may be a bit of an exaggeration, but we have had to adjust — for a few days we’re doing without a microwave and a coffee maker! More dauntingly, our only heat source is a small woodburning stove. We’re off the electrical grid, so all the power is battery operated; we need to keep an eye on the […]
The loop trail through the Pygmy Forest forms a huge contrast from previous sections of the Ecological Staircase at Jug Handle State Reserve. Leaving behind the deeply shaded coastal redwood path and soft forest floor, I found myself on a narrow boardwalk in full sunlight lying above highly acidic, poorly draining soil. I was surrounded by a profusion of trees […]
The small coastal town of Point Arena has become one of my favorite places to stay and explore the Mendocino coast; and the Big Guy likes it too, because he can reliably find a nice, secluded spot along the shore to cast a line within the Stornetta Public Lands. With miles of trail covering a variety of terrain and beautiful […]
I was reading this morning that rockslides have temporarily closed great sections of Highway 70 through the Feather River Canyon to Highway 89. And although I don’t think I’ve ever traveled along that particular route, I was reminded of a couple of road trips up to Eagle Lake via the roughly parallel Highway 32. Our course took us through the […]
This is another one of those episodes I had passed over several times until the topic was suddenly brought to my attention by Facebook a few days ago. Huell actually visited the Madrona Marsh Preserve a couple of different times for separate shows aired in 1995 and in 2003. Today I’m featuring the latter, California’s Golden Parks, which highlights the progress of this very special natural area and the opening of the Visitors Center; but to compare the change since the mid 1990s, you can check out the earlier episode of Visiting. Vernal pools are such an important and precious resource, and the fact that the city of Torrance chose to set this land aside — right across the street from a huge shopping mall — is just amazing. Much of the credit goes to the Friends of the Madrona Marsh, local citizens who donate their time and energy to keeping non-native plants from taking over. And that Facebook item I mentioned? It was a short episode of Pat Pattison’s Best of California, providing a right-up-to-date look at Madrona Marsh today! Rescued from future development and a history of oil drilling, the 42-acre Madrona Marsh Nature Preserve in Torrance is one of the last remaining vernal marshes in Southern California. The non-profit, volunteer organization Friends of the Madrona Marsh fought vigorously throughout the ’70s and ’80s to save this delicate natural habitat. Although Huell’s visit shows us a great success […]
Here is the last of my batch of photos from late July 2006, when the Big Guy took me along on his quest for a good bow hunting spot. I had never stopped to explore this area, not far from Interstate 80, and I honestly didn’t see a whole lot of it even on this day. But there was quite […]
Yes, I did shoot an awful lot of photos on my hike up the Ecological Staircase at Jug Handle in Mendocino County; I used three different cameras and walked very slowly. And even though several of my images were not good enough to share, that still left me with plenty of pictures I’m quite happy with. Today, I present a […]
Huell did more than one show about the L.A. River, and when I chose this for my topic today it took me some time to decide which episode to feature. I finally realized that this half-hour segment, originally aired in 1994, was the best place to start. The L.A. River has been popping up in the news lately following heavy […]
I was going to share a few more images of the Castle Peak area from July 2006, but for whatever reason I can’t get them to load properly. So I’ll just go with the ones that did get through and save the rest for another day. Probably all for the best anyway!