It was October 1996 when I first visited this stretch of the American River with the Big Guy. We rode across a small pedestrian bridge (officially named Jim’s Bridge as of 1989) on our bikes to explore the north bank, looking for promising fishing spots along Sacramento Bar. I had seen this particular bridge many times but had never set […]
It’s not very far from Fort Point to the Golden Gate Bridge Welcoming Center, but if you’re on foot or riding a bike, you must be prepared for a climb! I took these steps up the side of the hill, and it’s a very good workout. Although I paused about halfway up, it wasn’t to catch my breath — I […]
As I hiked along the California Coastal Trail, skirting the Presidio in San Francisco, I found an awful lot of stairs. There were plenty of steps accessing the old concrete structures like Battery Chamberlin, not to mention those on the trail leading down to Marshall’s Beach. I’ve always been fascinated by staircases ever since I was very young; growing up […]
Ice plant flowers come in a lot of different colors, but this was one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen. I spotted it near Baker Beach after I took a slight wrong turn on my way to Battery Chamberlin.
If you take a few hours to wander along the south bank of the American River Canyon below Folsom Prison, you’ll find plenty of history — and a lot of rocks. There are remnants of the old canal that ran from the original Folsom dam to the powerhouse, and you can also find Indian grinding holes overlooking the river. It’s […]
When I visited the site of the Sutro Baths, I saw only a very small portion of San Francisco’s Lincoln Park. The park is located on the western edge of the peninsula, a bit north of Golden Gate Park, and includes the Legion of Honor Museum, the USS San Francisco Memorial, a golf course that used to be a cemetery, […]
At 6:30 a.m. I pretty much had the shore of Lake Natoma to myself, although of course it wouldn’t last. How often does a midweek summer holiday combine with predicted “high” temps of 86º F (30º C), along with a breeze from the south sweeping away most of the smoke that hung in the air for the past few days? […]