Castle Rock State Park
Visits of friends or family is the occasion to go to places we sometimes already went to. And it is always a pleasure to see those places with a different light, at a different time, and to see things we did not see before.
Well, except when it is a good size copperhead rattlesnake coiled right there on the side of the trail. Our first encounter in the San Francisco Bay area. It did not look very happy as one of us almost stepped on it and then our group was separated in two. The trail was narrow and bushy. Although we were very close at first, the photo I took is very blurry.
The funny part is that I looked on my phone to see what was the best way to pass it (the distance we needed between us and him). here I was in the middle of the forest - but connected - checking Google. It turned out the distance was not big enough and we found a way to go around the trail.
Otherwise it was a beautiful hike!
Muir Woods National Monument
In Muir Woods, one of us noticed a sign explaining that in 1945, when the United Nation were born, the international delegation came to Muir Woods and gathered in the "Temple of Peace", one of Muir Woods beautiful Redwood groves.
Lost Trail / Ocean View / Fern Creek Loop. 2.6 miles.
We hiked on the Lost Trail, a beautiful loop back to the park headquarters. Stunning difference between the busy trail next to the visitor center and the quietness of this part of the forest. It was damp, due to the fog at the top, the condensation made it feels like it was raining.
The Golden Gate Bridge
This time I saw the underneath of the bridge. We parked North of the bridge, on the left of it. To get to the sidewalk to walk the bridge, we walked a paved path underneath the bridge and then took the stairs up. The passage is very noisy and impressive, the whole bridge vibrates and resonates.
We walked half the length of the bridge and back. We saw lots of dolphins.
Psycho Donuts in San Jose
Kooky Monster, Suicide Squeeze, Cadillac margarita, Rocky Road, Spare Tire, Blue Velvet, Head Banger and more. Served by a sexy nurse!
Someone in our group noticed this road sign just before
arriving at the headquarters of the park- I've never read it/saw it before.
Big Basin Redwoods State Park
A 6.2 miles loop: Skyline to the Sea / Meteor Trail up to Middle Ridge Road / Dool Trail. We saw salamanders, racer snakes, lizards, banana slugs, millipedes, one inch ants, butterflies and lots of birds.
A few mosquitoes too.
Salamander
Banana slug, along Rodgers Creek (Meteor Trail).
Newt
On the Redwood Trail, Chimney Tree: this tree burned from bottom to top due to successive fires, but is still alive and growing.
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