I was exploring at Sailor Bar one morning last May, following a trail around to the more overgrown portion of the Turtle Pond, when I heard loud splashing sounds from up ahead. Creeping forward, I managed to catch this California Towhee in the middle of a bath. These little brown birds may be terrifically plain in color, but they are […]
Sailor Bar County Park on the American River, May 2023
I’ve hiked the trails at Anderson Marsh State Park a number of times but never realized the park included trailheads at other locations. I found this one at the end of a dead-end street in the city of Clear Lake. I parked below an osprey nest (beware of “gifts” dropped from above!) and then followed the fairly short trail through […]
Even when I have a car available on one of our trips out of town, I usually like to be able to get out and explore on foot in the area where we’re staying. Sometimes the location offers no safe place for walking; but on our recent visit to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in June I did manage to get […]
Some images from our hike through the Bob Jones Nature Center and Preserve to the south shore of Grapevine Lake in Texas. We were there this past June — right before the record-breaking heat wave — and while we did suffer a bit of warm weather and high humidity (which we’re not used to), we really got very lucky, weather-wise. […]
There’s nothing like getting away from city traffic and crowds of people rushing to their various destinations, and we found an incredible place to enjoy nature and escape for a few hours — just five minutes’ drive from our hotel in Southlake, Texas! It’s the Bob Jones Nature Center and Preserve, sitting along the south shore of Grapevine Lake. There […]
Hiking up the Dorn Nature Trail at Clear Lake State Park two months ago was one of my most enjoyable outings this year. I had the trail nearly to myself, and while the sun frequently vanished behind clouds, leaving behind a chilly wind, I was able to take things at my own pace and spend time just listening to the […]
One day during our stay in Nice last month, the Big Guy suggested that I drive around to the opposite side of Clear Lake and explore the trails at Clear Lake State Park. I’d been to the state park a few times in the past but only to launch the boat and go fishing. He was convinced that I’d find […]
I wrote about a month ago about our forest hike along the Big River in Mendocino County. here are a few more of the photos I shot on that outing. Even though at the time we weren’t sure exactly where we were or where our chosen trail was taking us, we had a great time and the scenery was really […]