A thousand feet above Monterey is a county park called Jack’s Peak. With 8.5 miles of trails and the sweet smell of Monterey Pines, this is great place to meet nature and savor some views of Monterey Bay. However, it is also above the airport. It was a little noisy from traffic and planes onContinue reading “Walking Jack’s Peak – Monterey”
Palm Springs, CA is in a desert. On our recent vacation there, we toured homes as part of Modernism Week (link to early post). On other days, we visited the desert. The San Jacinto Mountains dominate Palm Springs, so you know you’re not in Northern California (or Kansas) anymore. But the lusciousness of Palm SpringsContinue reading “Walking in the Desert near Palm Springs”
I’ve come to love China Camp State Park for its sounds and sense of peace. The rustle of beach-pebbles pushed gently by the waves of the San Francisco Bay. Footsteps on the boardwalk between the park museum and the brick oven (where shrimp were dried).
When we travel with a destination in mind, we also stop along the way to explore new places. In early October, this meant we stopped for lunch at the Beach Chalet – great meal, great service in historic place overlooking Ocean Beach in San Francisco for a walk at San Pedro Valley County Park inContinue reading “On the Way to Half Moon Bay”
Walking in Palm Springs Flying into Palm Springs you see a vast Coachella Valley desert with patches of buildings lined by streets and patches of green golf courses and smaller patches of blue swimming pools. Once in town, houses and strip malls seem to stretch on and on. You almost forget about the desert. AsContinue reading “Walking in Palm Springs”
We decided to visit some State Parks that are slated to close next summer. One, we visited recently, we thought we’d visited years ago. Mistaken, yet delighted we arrived at another amazing California park. We approached China Camp State Park from the North on N. San Pedro Rd in Marin County. This 1600-acre park isContinue reading “Walking at China Camp State Park”
Tilden Park On a recent Saturday, we walked for inspiration in the Berkeley Hills. Tilden Park has various entertainments. When we lived in the East Bay, we often enjoyed a fine stroll in this 2,079 acre park.
Go to the mountains? For a flat walk? Yes, isn’t California incredible? Last weekend we went north to the mountains. After several hours on the nerve-grinding, mind-numbing Hwy 5, a snow-topped mountain appeared. It was Mt. Shasta, the sign of a more geographically interesting place.
Update 2014: This post was written in 2010 so things have happened. After a threat to closure in 2012, the park stayed open and improvements have been made. Trails in valley floor are now packed earth (watch for tree roots) and improved (for environment and people.) Steps have been removed so a sturdy wheelchair shouldContinue reading “Over the River and Through the (Armstrong) Woods”
Walking in Sonoma County...mostly 