Category: California

101 Things To Do ~ Humboldt County, CA

LuAnn

Until we read the publication “101 Things To Do – Humboldt” we thought this was to be the more relaxed, laid-back leg of our journey.  Alas, it was not to be.  Since we only have two weeks we decided to make a list of some of the things that peeked our interest.  There were many items on the list, as you might guess (too many in fact), including the Humboldt Roller Derby.  Something about athletic, sweaty women getting physical with one another, and some in fishnet stockings to boot, is intriguing right?  Well, maybe not for all of us, but I had to admit, stepping out and doing something a bit different had a certain appeal.  Unfortunately, their once-monthly schedule had passed us by so we scratched this off our list.  Sorry, I know some of you are disappointed that you won’t be seeing a post on this subject!  It’s back to more mundane hiking, biking, kayaking, and sightseeing ways for us.

Wild lily
Interesting fungi on fallen log

Besides Redwood National Park, there are many interesting state parks in Humboldt County.

Shoreline view from Wedding Rock

Patrick’s Point State Park was our first stop as it is just down the road from where we are staying at Sounds of the Sea RV Park.  A quick 1/2 mile walk and we are there, meandering through dense forest of coast redwood, spruce, fir, and red alder, on our way to the Rim Trail.  This stunning 4-mile path winds along the bluffs, providing views of sea stacks, barking sea lions lazing on the rocks below, crashing surf, and craggy cliffs.  At the north end of this trail is Agate Beach, which unfortunately can’t be accessed from here right now due to a rock slide.  If you are a tent camper, many of the sites in this park look amazing.

Terry looking out over the Pacific from Wedding Rock
Me atop Wedding Rock

Redwood National and State Parks is a bit unusual because, as the name implies, there are three state parks (Del Norte Coast, Jedediah Smith, and Prairie Creek Redwood State Parks) within the national park.  This unique concept, bringing the National Park Service and California Department of Parks and Recreation together for the protection of the forests and watersheds, came about in the 1920’s due to the efforts by the Save-the-Redwoods League.

Non Nobis Solum ~ Not For Us Alone

Their work formed the creation of the three state parks and in 1968 Redwood National Park was established after ~90% of the remaining coast redwood had been logged.  These four parks, with a combined total of 133,000 acres, are now a World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve, setting aside these forests for everyone’s enjoyment.  Today roughly 45% of the remaining old-growth redwood are here (the tallest of the tall), some living to be 2000 years old and over 360 feet tall.  Walk among these giants and you will be humbled by just how small we truly are!

Terry walking among the giants
Fern Canyon

Arrive early to Redwood National Park if you want to see the famous Fern Canyon, location chosen by Steven Spielberg for the filming of Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World.  There wasn’t another soul around when we arrived at 9:00 am but the crowds were out in force when we returned from our hike.  This is a must-see and with just a short 0.3 mile walk you are immersed in a “hauntingly beautiful” narrow canyon, walls lushly covered by many types of ferns and mosses, dripping with moisture.

Fog swirling through the forest

After spending some time here completely in awe of its beauty, we hopped on the trail to begin our 7.5 mile adventure into the redwood.  A quick side note: do spend time in the visitor centers here.  The rangers are a wealth of knowledge, particularly about hikes available.  This particular hike quickly put us into a world that reminded us of our time spent in Costa Rica.  We felt like we were enveloped in a tropical rain forest and as we penetrated her depths, the fog swirling around us at times, the only sounds to be heard were the occasional squawking of a stellar jay and the droplets of moisture hitting the ferns covering the forest floor.  The canopy overhead was so thick that sunlight had difficulty finding its way in.

Fallen log teeming with life
Even the fungi are super-sized here!

We saw only two other hikers during our entire time in the forest, which is how we like it!  This was rated as a moderate hike, but honestly, it was easier than that.  We made a loop out of the Fern Canyon, Friendship Ridge, and West Ridge Trails and could not have asked for anything more spectacular!

View from section of Coastal Trail

The various shades of green (my favorite color) could not be believed and I’m sure I did not do justice to them with my camera.

Lichen on fire-charred tree
Just missed stepping on this little guy!

Surprise, a beautiful waterfall tucked into the forest sounded its arrival as we approached one of the final bends in the trail!

Surprise waterfall

On our drive out of the park we were treated to a herd of Roosevelt elk, largest of the elk in North America, mainly residing in the rain forests of the Pacific Northwest.  It seemed unusual to see elk in this environment, overlooking the Pacific, as we are accustomed to spotting them in the wilds of Yellowstone National Park.

Roosevelt elk

If you find yourself in Humboldt County, home to the tallest trees and 100 miles of “achingly beautiful California coastline”, you will find so many things to do, 101 Things To Do, as we have read.

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The Trail Less Traveled ~ Sky Trail to Sculptured Beach ~ Point Reyes, CA

LuAnn

Oft times it is the trail less traveled that rewards us with the most treasures. Expansive vistas, fern-covered forest floors full of rich, earthy smells, colorful berries and wildflowers, busy bees at work, trilling of songbirds, and the powerful surging of ocean tides on sculptured rocks await those who dare to venture these paths.

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These are just a few of the sights, sounds, and smells we experienced on the Sky Trail > Woodward Valley Trail > Coast Trail down to Sculptured Beach, a moderate 10-mile round trip of pure delight!

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Small Town/Big Flavor ~ Point Reyes Station, CA

LuAnn

It was love at first sight when we discovered this small town with such big flavors, Point Reyes Station. We have wondered how we missed this little jewel when we visited Point Reyes many years ago but are now making up for lost time, having been here three times since we arrived in San Francisco.  I doubt there are many other towns with ~850 residents (signs show 350 but they have grown) that offer so much.

I could write several posts on Toby’s Feed Barn alone. Oozing ambiance, it is difficult to pull yourself away from this general store and working feed barn.  Family owned and operated since 1942, this is just a sampling of what it has to offer:  local organic produce, working feed barn,  pet food for your smaller 4-legged friends, gifts and gourmet foods, organic coffee bar, yoga studio, community garden, small gallery displaying local artisans’ work, host for concerts, author talks, weddings and fundraisers, and a world-famous farmers’ market – all local, all organic.  I’m sure I have missed something but you get the idea.  This place is pretty sweet!

The story goes that in 1942 Toby Giacomini traded in the family car for a pickup truck and embarked on an amazing adventure.  Announcing that he was “going into trucking” set the wheels in motion for a family business that spans three generations and is still going strong 70 years later.  Tony’s tiny family business began with the delivery of milk and cream from West Marin to the East San Francisco Bay.  Thirty years later his drivers were picking up milk from 50 dairies and he was supplying feed and grain to many of those farmers.

His sons all came into the business with him but it was son Chris who wanted to open a general store (Toby’s), “to create a space where the community could come together and share information and celebrate with each other”.  Toby’s was an instant success, so much so that monthly the Marin farmers gathered here to discuss ways to grow organic.  It wasn’t long before the Marin Organic came to be and two years later Toby’s was hosting the first Point Reyes organic farmers’ market.  In 2001 Chris’s son Nick and wife (3rd generation) came on board and opened the yoga studio Yoga Toes.  The family also collaborates with Point Reyes Books to host some well-known authors.

As their website says, “where else can you go listen to a Pulitzer Prize winning author and go home with fresh strawberries, summer bedding plants, the perfect gift for a friend and a bale of hay?”  Where else indeed?!

Toby passed away in July 2007 at the age of 88 and man, what a legacy he has left!  Although I believe most would agree that Toby’s Feed Barn is the anchor of this charming little town, there are many other stores and boutique shops that call for further investigation.

Station House Cafe is a great choice for a wonderful lunch.

Bovine Bakery is the place to go for organic coffee, great-looking pastries and yummy vegetable focaccia.

For organic linens and jammies, head to Coyuchi.

The Cowgirl Creamery Cantina, where everything looks fabulous (and they make their own cheese), has everything you could want for a superb picnic lunch.  We treated ourselves to a lunch of smoked salmon crostini with fromage blanc.  I am still dreaming about it!

The farmers’ market, although not one of the largest we had been to, was certainly one of the finest.  Just shop here and it wouldn’t be difficult to eat a balanced color palette of vegetables to get all the nutrients and antioxidants you would ever need for a healthy diet.

Time to leave this little gem of a town as we had planned to travel a bit up Coast Highway 1.  Terry had scouted out a place for some barbecued oysters and if you blink, you are likely to miss the Marshall Store on the northeast shore of Tomales Bay.    Their garlic and barbecue oysters are lip-smackin’ good!

The coastline along Highway 1 is like no other, with jaw-dropping views from just about every little turn in the road, and there are many.

Mussel Point at Bodega Bay
Near Gleason Beach further north

Maybe small, but big on flavor, the town of Point Reyes Station will not soon be forgotten by us.

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Biking San Francisco

LuAnn

Hope all of you enjoyed the 4th, taking time to be thankful for our freedoms, even in this uncertain economy.  We decided to enjoy it on bikes, marking our spot for viewing the fireworks over the San Francisco Bay later in the evening, as we were told that reserving a spot early is a must.  Where we positioned our truck, biking San Francisco meant riding across the Golden Gate Bridge and it was a blustery, very cool day.  This ought to be interesting!

Fort Point with Golden Gate Bridge towering over

Riding across the bridge was a little nerve-wracking, with the wind and hordes of bike riders doing the same. Mission accomplished so we headed to Fort Point National Historic Site, a Civil War era brick fort sitting directly below the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, with some stunning up-close views of the bridge.

Spiral staircase accessed from base of tower leads to top tier of fort.

Completed in 1861, this fort was designed to protect San Francisco from hostile warships but surprisingly, no military action was ever seen here.  “Throughout the Civil War, artillerymen at Fort Point stood guard for an enemy that never came.”   It was soon realized that its construction, that of brick, was not going to stand the test of time so future forts were built of concrete reinforced with steel.  This was the only fort of its kind built on the West Coast.

From here we rode our bikes through the Presidio, which served as an Army post since September 17, 1776, when New Spain made it their center of military operations.  It got passed around a bit from its beginnings, to Mexico, then on to the U.S. in 1848, and finally transferred to the National Park Service in 1994.  It is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is best known for its wooded areas, scenic vistas and loads of biking paths (many of them uphill!).

We passed by the San Francisco National Cemetery, which overlooks the San Francisco Bay from a sunny hillside.  Roughly 30,000 Americans were laid to rest here, including Civil War Generals and Buffalo Soldiers.  Terry scaled a steep slope to capture a few photos while I took a breather.

San Francisco National Cemetery
Holy Virgin Cathedral – Joy of all Who Sorrow

Perhaps one of the more captivating sights of the day for me was the Holy Virgin Cathedral Russian Orthodox Spiritual Center of the West Coast.  As we meandered our way over to our lunch spot we saw golden turrets rising above surrounding buildings and, our interest piqued, we pointed our bikes in their direction.  This magnificent cathedral, I have read, has a very vibrant congregation for the Russian population and was consecrated in 1977.

We were craving pho so Pho Garden became our neighborhood lunch spot.  Arriving later than the normal lunch hour, the restaurant was still full, which we thought was a good sign.  We were not disappointed, as this was some of the best pho we had ever had!

Yummy very filling pho lunch

Tummies full (very full), we hopped on our bikes and headed towards Golden Gate Park, the third most visited park in the U.S., behind Central Park (NYC) and Lincoln Park (Chicago).  It appeared that half of San Francisco was out in force in these 1017 acres, ready to celebrate this holiday with picnics.  Given the crowds, and because we had been here before, we elected to ride through instead of stopping.  The crowds were too much for both of us.  As we passed by the Golden Gate Bandshell/Spreckels Temple of Music, the Golden Gate Park Band was celebrating its 130th season of honoring this holiday, with patriotic music floating through the air.  It was a lovely way to celebrate this day.

Golden Gate Park Band

If you have never been to Golden Gate Park, some of the attractions you might want to consider are the Japanese Tea Gardens, Conservatory of Flowers, Botanical Gardens, De Young Museum, California Academy of Sciences and the Dutch Windmills and Tulips Gardens (best seen in February or March).

Our biking loop of the city took us past Ocean Beach and the Cliff House restaurant, where we quickly snapped a few photos before we were blown off the bluff (winds were picking up)!

Ocean Beach view from Cliff House Overlook

Finally, the last leg of our journey (and possibly my last legs), was an uphill slog, some of it riding and some of it pushing our bikes.   The Golden Gate Bridge is now in view and I am starting to wonder what this part of the adventure will be like, given the winds have picked up considerably.  Luckily, very few bikers are on the bridge at this late hour of the afternoon and with eyes watering (from the wind, not from crying) we made it across and back to our truck in one piece.  Our 7-hour bike ride ended with the promise of a nice picnic dinner of poached wild salmon with a lemon-dill sauce and spinach quinoa salad with goat cheese (made by me) and fireworks over the San Francisco Bay.

Night approaches – let the fireworks begin!

I don’t have the camera to capture fireworks from a distance but suffice to say they were special, exploding over San Francisco Bay.  The lights on the Golden Gate Bridge were pretty stunning as well. After a long day biking San Francisco we wandered on back to our rig, ending another wonderful day.  We hope for milder temperatures for those enduring sweltering heat and the absence of wildfires.  You are all in our thoughts.

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The Tallest of Them All ~ Muir Woods National Monument

LuAnn

Advice from a Tree:  Stand tall and proud/Sink your roots deep into the earth/Be content with your natural beauty/Go out on a limb/Drink plenty of water/Remember your roots/Enjoy the view!  ~  (c) Ilan Shamir  http://www.yourtruenature.com*

The tallest of them all is the Coast Redwood, reaching as high as 380 feet up into the heavens.  We had already seen her bulkier relative, the Giant Sequoia, so we were looking forward to our visit to Muir Woods National Monument.

During peak season it is a must to arrive by 9 am to get a parking space.  We did just that and within an hour the tour buses and cars streamed in.  Our reward for arriving early was no crowds and a lovely, peaceful walk among these giants.  This forest has a mystical, fairy-tale feel, somewhat eerie at times, with tendrils of fog snaking among the trees.  Other times it was so peaceful and quiet (in the Cathedral Grove) that we felt as if we were on hallowed ground – really lovely.

These ancient Coast Redwoods covered many northern California valleys before the 1800’s, then logging took its toll.  In 1905 U.S. Congressman William Kent and wife Elizabeth Thacher Kent purchased land here to protect one of the last stands of these giants.  They donated 295 acres to the federal government to ensure lifetime protection.  In 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Muir Woods a National Monument and at Mr. Kent’s request it was named for renown conservationist John Muir.

Muir Woods can’t boast the tallest redwood on record but does have some reaching upwards of 250 feet, which is amazing given its start comes from a seed no bigger than what you would find in a tomato.  Most redwoods in this stand are 500-800 years old, with the oldest in the forest topping out at 1200 years.  Marine layer fog provides needed moisture for these redwoods, even in the dry season.

Another giant who calls this forest home is the banana slug, the second largest species of slug in the world, growing as long as 9.8 inches.  They move at a speedy 6.5 inches per minute.  Just follow the trail of slime and you are certain to spy one of these unusual mollusks.

Once we had finished wandering the trails and seen the hordes arriving, we decided to hop onto the Dipsea Trail, right off the parking lot.  This is a 9.5 miler round-trip if you go all the way to Stinson Beach but we cut it short at 6.5 miles, stopping at the bluffs overlooking San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge and Point Reyes.  It is considered a moderate hike through a beautiful redwood and fir forest.

A trail marker near the top of the bluff peeked our curiosity.

It marks a point on the trail for the annual Dipsea Race, the oldest trail race in America, first run in 1905.  Open to the first 500 entrants, it is run the second Sunday in June and is described as a “grueling and treacherous” 7.4 mile trek from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach.  Sounds suicidal to me!

If you are in these parts and want to see the tallest of them all, Muir Woods National Monument is the perfect place to spend a few hours.  Who knows, you might even get lucky like we did and catch a glimpse of the slippery banana slug.

*NOTE:  To view the poem Advice from a Tree, by Ilan Shamir, in its entirety, see this website or to listen to Mr. Shamir recite his poem to the beat of his cottonwood drum, go here.

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