We discovered Hendy Woods State Park in Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley for the very first time in late October of last year. I was sorry we had arrived so late in the afternoon because I was more than happy to keep exploring the trails. However, the Big Guy was tired from fishing all day, and the sun was headed for […]
There are times when I’m so happy to be hiking through along a forest trail that I feel I’m stopping about every few steps to shoot a photo; and then there’s the time last May when I did actually manage to document nearly every step I took around the back of the Robert Louis Stevenson Tree. As I was doing […]
Today’s post title is actually borrowed from a recent library find that now graces my bookshelves: subtitled Life, Legends, and Religion of the Blackfeet Indians, it was written by Walter McClintock and originally published in 1910. While the North Trail at Mendocino Botanical Gardens isn’t all that old, the sign (see above) certainly looks like it’s survived a few hard […]
Continuing the images from my visit to the Petrified Forest in Napa, California. Although the property is relatively small — especially when compared to the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona! — there is still so much to see that anyone who, like me, loves to pick out interesting details, it’s easy to spend half a day happily exploring. The […]
Walking through the two groves at Hendy Woods State Park, it’s clear that at some point in the past fire has come through and left its mark. But the giant coast redwood trees manage to survive the flames fairly easily, and fire can be beneficial to the health of the forest by clearing out the dense undergrowth. Whenever I feel […]
Probably my favorite part of exploring the Mendocino Botanical Gardens was when I diverted from the main North Trail onto the steep, narrow Fern Canyon and Canyon Rim trails. In early October the coastal morning was sunny but a bit cool. Even better, I had these paths all to myself because most of the visitors to the garden seemed focused […]
Here are a few more images from my trip last May to the Petrified Forest in Napa County, near Calistoga, California.
Here is the Deer Gate I promised you yesterday; when I first saw it I was reminded of something from an African game preserve or Jurassic Park. But of course with all the gorgeous flowers in the eastern part of the grounds it’s understandable that protection from curious/hungry deer is a good idea. And while I really enjoyed myself wandering […]
There are a number of trails to explore when you park at the Rattlesnake Bar area of Folsom Lake SRA, but the trip out to Avery’s Pond is one of the most popular. The best time to hike the trail is in the springtime, when wildflowers are abundant and there are few if any annoying dry weeds. Of course, poison […]