To the sea
One of the creeks in the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands Unit. This 1,600-acre area in Mendocino County is the only land-based portion of the California Coastal Monument. Photos shot in September and November 2021.
Redwood retreat
You never know quite what to expect when you arrive at a new place, but thus far we’ve been extremely lucky with our Airbnb rentals in Mendocino County. In November our small cabin not only had a piano but also sat on the edge of the redwood forest with a gurgling stream within easy walking distance. Since the weather was […]
The Adventure Continues… World War II
Although I was completely unaware of its existence during my two visits to the Queen Mary in 1974 and 1985, the giant crane featured in the first half of this 1993 episode of California’s Gold was sitting a mere five miles away. It was that very same crane (built in 1941) which lifted the “Spruce Goose” from its original hanger […]
Summer at Caples Lake
We haven’t been up to the Kirkwood area on Highway 88 since last summer, although I believe that Caples Lake was spared from the worst effects of the Caldor Fire. And while snow is thin on the ground at Kirkwood just now, the area is on a winter storm watch this week, with 8-12 inches of snowfall predicted. Here’s a […]
Road tripping
A few days ago I was watching television and happened to see a familiar episode of California’s Gold — one that I featured here on my blog last May about the historic bells of the El Camino Real. You may recall that the last 30 minutes of that one-hour episode included a visit to the foundry where new bells were […]
Erode like the wind
Although the two sites have very little in common, I found that the erosion along portions of the Mendocino Headlands reminded me a lot of certain spots along the shoreline at Folsom Lake’s Rattlesnake Bar, seen in the two photos below, shot in December 2020.
Oh, Raven
I think I saw more ravens than gulls during our visit to Mendocino Headlands State Park earlier this month. While hiking around, I pulled a muscle in my lower back, so I left the Big Guy to wander while I limped back to the car. I was perched sideways in the driver’s seat, feeling more than a little sorry for […]
Off Geary
When you get just a little bit lost looking for the bus stop — but the gorgeous flowers make it all worth the extra mileage.
The Adventure Continues… Yosemite Indian History
Last Wednesday I featured an exciting episode of California’s Gold in which Huell climbed to the top of Half Dome; and this week he’s also in Yosemite. This time he spends some time at a much lower elevation, learning about the original inhabitants of the Yosemite Valley and exploring some of the structures similar to those I’ve seen at Indian […]