There are just so many details to examine all over the grounds of the Empire Mine State Historic Park that I’m sure I didn’t see them all during my trip in April. I still have a keen desire to go back and spend more time exploring — and revisiting bits that I missed or that I didn’t capture properly with […]
One reason I enjoy staying at the Fort Ross Lodge is the open field between the motel buildings and the ocean cliffs. There is plenty of room to wander and enjoy the view without risking your life along the narrow, winding road that is Highway 1. Our previous stay here was back in November 2020, and while the natural area […]
The rest of my photos from our hike at Gualala Regional Park.
There are plenty of places to hike and explore the rocky coastline of northern Sonoma and southern Mendocino counties, and I’ve barely seen anything at all yet, but Gualala Regional Park is already one of my new favorites. When we visited the area in late April, we had a clear, breezy day, perfect for wandering. We pulled off Highway 1 […]
If our current drought conditions continue, fresh water will soon become even more precious as we once again start looking for ways to conserve. Much of my local drinking water comes from the American River via Folsom Lake; and the shrinking water supply is very much on my mind even as I enjoy the beauty of the river’s south fork, […]
On my previous visit to Rattlesnake Bar (April 20) I found a sea of purple lupine covering the exposed shoreline. Three weeks later, most of the lupine has died out. On this day, we arrived about 8:30 in the morning; the temperature was already warming up and there was very little breeze. The gusty north winds would arrive around 11 […]
Midmorning at Lower Lake Clementine Dam, Placer County — May 2021
It’s fairly common knowledge that Fort Ross in Sonoma County was founded by Russians in the 1800s, when they came to the Pacific Northwest to hunt for furs and to trade with the indigenous people. Fort Ross was actually the southernmost limit of their contact. At Gualala Point Park, just south of the town of Gualala, we came across a […]
Lately it seems like everybody in my area is going crazy over the purple lupine at Folsom Lake, so naturally I had to go and find some alternative wildflowers. Besides the Douglas iris which I found near Gualala growing almost as thick as the lupine at Folsom, there were so many other shapes and colors. Some of them were familiar […]