Monterey, 12/5/15 - 12/6/15

12/5/15; Pacific Grove.  Went to the Monarch Sanctuary in Pacific Grove.

Afterwards we headed to Monterey to walk along the coastal path.  There were more seagulls than usual.  We found out they were dining on Tuna Crabs that washed to shore.

 

 

 

12/6/15; Point Lobos. 5.26 miles.

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Mono County, 10/16/15 - 10/18/15

10/16/15, left for Silver Lake campground in June Lake in the afternoon.  Because I-5 was closed due to a mudslide, a tanker decided to take 108, and got stuck.  Luckily by the time we got the incident, the tow truck was there, and we were able to proceed after about 10-15 minutes.  We got to the campsite around midnight.  After getting the car set up for sleeping, we finally got to bed around 1am.

10/17/15, McGee Creek, 6.97 miles (.6 miles were added to the originally planned hike because I dropped my poncho and we went back to look for it).

We parked at the McGee Creek trailhead and hiked along the McGee Pass Trail.  It was really foggy, and we remained optimistic about the fall colors and weather, hoping to see the fall colors in a different atmosphere than we're used to.  There was intermittent drizzle, so we had to cover our cameras for most of the hike.  Time to invest in a Pentax?...

 

A lot of the apsen had been stripped of their leaves already :(

Gold and dirt

Drizzle.  Shot with the Oly.

 

Lake created by the beaver dam

After reaching the beaver lake, we took a lunch break, and then turned around and headed back.  It started to rain, so we put on the ponchos.

Back at the parking lot, we explored the creek, and were amazed by all of the fallen leaves.

 

 

Spotted a rainbow on the drive back

10/18/15; It was raining all morning.  We drove to Convict Lake hoping it wouldn't be raining there, but it was, so we opted to go home early.

Note to self regarding gas.  5 gallons with a 36MPG car is more than plenty to get to Pinecrest from Bridgeport.
Base price: $2.75/gal
Mammoth: $3.79/gal
June Lake: $4.09/gal
Lee Vining/Bridgeport: $4.39/gal
Pinecrest: $2.79/gal

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Mt Tamalpais, 9/26/15

2.9 mile loop; Rock Spring TH, Cataract Trail, Simmons Trail, (Barth's Retreat), Mickey O'Brien Trail, Laurel Dell Fire Road, (Ray Murphy's Bridge), Cataract Trail.
Because of the drought, and the season, there were no cascades along the portion of Cataract Trail that we hiked.  The water level was low.  There were lots of gnats.

CA State Park Brochure

Turnout right before Rock Spring TH

Simmons Trail

Laurel Dell Fire Road

I think this is from Ray Murphy's Bridge

The rest are of these shots are along the dried up Cataract Creek.  At least there's still some greenery!

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Redwood Regional Park, 7/12/15

2.4 mile loop.
Skyline Gate Staging Area, Stream Trail, Tres Sendas, French Trail, West Ridge Trail
 
Map from East Bay Regional Park District

There were several bunnies at Girls' Camp.

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Cascade Falls, Tahoe, 05/25/15

2 mile out and back.  Trailhead is in the back of the Bayview Campground.  We parked across the road in the Inspiration Point Vista.  Get here early if you want parking!

These things were growing in the campground

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Mendocino, 5/15/15-5/17/15

5/15/15, Glass Beach

Van Damme State Park Campground;  Two guys gave us some urchins.  C had one; very little meat.

5/16/15, Van Damme State Park; Fern Canyon Scenic Trail  One of the reasons I chose this park was because of the lush photos I've seen.  I was not disappointed.

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