Category: nature

Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve

The Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve encompasses 552 acres protecting a habitat known as the Santa Cruz Sandhills. These sandhills are perched high above the bluffs, prairies and forests of the central California coast. The sandhills are outcrops of ancient marine life, sediment deposited over 15 million years ago when the region was beneath the sea. These habitats are host to a number of rare plants and animals. The reserve is managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Grandson Micah was quite the nature guide, pointing out various plants and trees including Ponderosa Pine, Redwood and Madrone. We also saw a number of wildflowers.

What’s notable is that in 1989 The Nature Conservancy hired me to photograph this location as part of a fundraising effort to purchase the property. Fun to think that I played a role in protecting this environment.

Also it’s a joy to be able to enjoy this hike pain free. Nine months have passed since I had knee replacement surgery. A year ago I would have been hobbling in pain. I still have work to do on the recovery. I’m continuing Physical Therapy and building strength in the muscles that I hadn’t used for years.

We spent about two hours exploring the preserve, covering 2.3 miles of varied terrain from pines to redwoods, through ferns and chaparral. A glorious day to be exploring nature with family.

Croatia: Walking – Day 4 – Gazul to Bol

At 9:00 our driver meets us at the Velaris Hotel in Supetar on the island of Brac. We jump in the van and are off on narrow winding roads that lead to the very top of the island. A half-hour later we reach the start for today’s hike, Gazul, a tiny village of sheep herders. We don our day packs for the day’s hike down to Bol. Our luggage stays in the van. We’ll reunite with our luggage at the ferry terminal in Bol later in the day.

Our hike takes us over the “highlands” of Brac, over meandering dirt roads and paths, through pine forest and over mossy rocks. Our route leads to Vildova Gora, the highest point on the island at 2559 feet and a spectacular view overlooking the Adriatic and the island of Hvar. As picturesque as the location is, I don’t manage to capture any photos that gave the view justice. It’s a daunting view though. We’re looking over the edge of a sheer cliff and wondering where the trail will take us. Neither of us are fond of steep rocky trails and that’s what this trail promises with its steep drop down to the water. We take our time, happy to have our hiking poles to assist us.

It is a steep walk down a trail which, given the rock curb, has been in use for centuries and shows centuries of erosion and wear. My shoes, which I have worn every day since I bought them two months ago, prove to be a bit light for the job. Fine for most walking but some more substantial boots would be a better choice for this trail. The steep descent causes my toes to jam into the toes of my shoes.

With our slow pace down the steep trail, we feel a little pressured by time given our tickets for the 5:30 ferry to Hvar. It is 4:30 when we reach the ferry dock, and at 5:15 our driver, who had dropped us off at the Gazul trailhead, shows up to reunite us with our luggage. Later that evening when I take off my shoes, I discover three bruised toenails. Over the course of the day, we logged 8.13 miles dropping 2500 feet over the last three miles.

Map of the hiking route from Gazul to Bol on the island of Brac, showing Vidova Gora and surrounding terrain.

Croatia: Walking – Day 2

At 8:30 we were on our way to the Ferry Terminal in Split for our ferry to Brac. We disembarked at Supetar, consulted our walking tour instructions and started our walk along the waterfront. Today’s tour is a loop walk on west side of Brac.

Our walk took us along the coast where we admired sculptures along an azure sea. As we approached the town of Mirca our route turned inland. Mirca had an interesting mix of traditional and contemporary houses. Leaving Mirca our route turned inland. Our directions were a bit confusing so we may have wandered off the prescribed route. Our track then took us back along the coast. A little after 2:00 we reached the town of Sutivan, a charming town of fishermen and farmers with a thousand-year-old tradition closely intertwined with the sea.

From there we started our return leg climbing up into the hills, following stone-lined roads and trails past fields of ancient olive trees.

It was after 6:00 when we finished our loop walk back in Supetar having walked 10 miles. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Croatia: Walking – Day 1

The day before our tour began, we met a representative from the tour company for an orientation. He went over logistics, maps and other details. This included a binder with maps and detailed instructions. We also had an app on our iPhones we could use to guide us. We booked the tour through Macs Adventures; however, they contract with the local company MeridienTen to manage the trips. Both companies provide maps and guides. We discovered that there were a few slight discrepancies between the guides. For additional navigational help we used the app GaiaGPS to track our travels and to resolve the few occasions where the instructions left us confused.

On May 16 we grabbed our day packs and our trekking poles and started our walking journey around Marjan Hill and the Marjan peninsula.

The walk starts along the waterfront along the path of the Olympians. Here every Croatian Olympian medal winner is commemorated with a plaque.

From there our walk took us past a couple of churches and on to Ivan Meštrović’s estate. Ivan was a renowned Croatian sculptor. We stopped and toured the grounds to see some of Meštrović’s works. The gallery was closed so we were not able to view the main exhibits. but a short distance further along our route was Meštrović’s Crikvine, a unique religious and artistic complex with more of Meštrović’s work.

A panoramic view of a coastal city with terracotta roofs, lush greenery, a harbor with a cruise ship, and mountains in the background under a blue sky.
Panoramic view of Split from the top of Marjan Hill

The walk meandered around the penninsula taking us to the top of Marjan hill for a spectacular view of Split and the surrounding coast.

When we reached the western most point of the walk, we were hoping to find a cafe where we could stop and enjoy some refreshments. Unfortunately, since we were early in the season, we did not find any facilities open. We broke out our emergency energy bars and water and enjoyed a few minutes on the beach. Our return walk took us along the north side of the peninsula where the wind kicked up, throwing up whitecaps on the water. We continued our walk, deviating from the prescribed course a bit, looking for a place to have dinner. We found a Pizza place that fit the bill. Once we were back in Split it was time to find some Gelato. Over the course of the day, we walked 12.2 miles. With all of our stops to explore sites the walk took us just shy of 12 hours.

More photos are available in an online gallery.

Winter Road Trip to Bishop: Memories and Challenges

We missed the Bishop contingent of our family over Thanksgiving since they were hunkered down with Covid. This prompted us to clear our calendars to make the trek over the mountains for a visit. Since the camper had been sitting idle in the driveway for three months, it was no surprise that the battery was dead. A quick trip to the local auto parts store and we were ready to roll. We decided we’d break the drive up over two days.

We like to take our time. It was 10:30 am when we rolled out of the driveway. Highway 89 was open, so we drove over Echo Summit on Highway 50 and then took 89 over Luther Pass and down through Markleeville. It was 5:30 pm when we parked the rig for the night on National Forest land near Mono Lake. It was dark, but we found a spot to camp without much trouble. Four-wheel drive is recommended here since there is soft sand. This is dispersed camping, boondocking if you like. No services. We cooked dinner, turned the heater on and hunkered down for the night. It was 18 degrees when I stepped out of the camper at 7 am the next morning. I wandered around with my camera, fascinated by the stark beauty of our location.

We arrived in Bishop at 10:30 am with plenty of time to get settled before the evening Winter Tradition program at granddaughter Annabelle’s school.

Holiday activities also included a visit the Laws Railroad Museum, where we rode the train and sang Christmas carols with Santa. Daughter-in-law Serena got to show off a quilt project that she participated in.

On December 15 it was time to head home. A winter storm had dumped snow on the mountains, leaving the roads icy. We started our return journey by heading north on 395, but the ice on the roads was intimidating even with four-wheel drive and snow tires.

We turned around and headed south, arriving back in Bishop about noon where we rendezvoused with family for lunch at the Pupfish Cafe. This is one of our favorite local restaurants, noted for their Belgian waffles. From there we continued south going over Walker Pass. We found a gorgeous little campground, Sandy Flat Camp, on the Kern River and spent the night there. We were the only campers in the campground. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Exploring the Beauty of Point Reyes by Kayak

Our adventure today starts at Miller Boat Launch. Nine of us were on the water at 10:30. Here’s a photo of Steve and Joann carrying my red Dagger Stratos down the boat ramp. Since I’m still a little gimpy following knee surgery I’m happy to have help. Once we were on the water, we paddled south across Tomales Bay, and then followed the shore along the Point Reyes Peninsula.

We encountered thousands of birds flying past us, most of them cormorants. We paddled past Tomales Beach and Marshall Beach and poked into a little inlet with a cabin, trying to recall the history of this location. Then with ample water from a high tide, we explored a little marsh at Long Cove Beach.

For lunch we found a little beach just south of Fruit Tree Beach. After lunch we paddled north back across the bay and followed the coast back to our launch site.

We were back on the beach at 2:00 having paddled a little over eight miles. It’s always an adventure to paddle on Tomales Bay, one of my favorite places to paddle.

Redwoods in the Bay Area: Visiting Muir Woods

Peter, my Cornish “cousin” spent a couple of day with us on his recent visit. I mentioned Peter in a previous post. One of Peter’s requests while visiting was to see redwoods. What better place to see redwoods in the Bay Area than Muir Woods National Monument? This can be a very busy location, and you must book parking ahead of time to ensure you can access the park if you are driving. There is also a shuttle run by Marin Transit.

Here you can see Peter and me standing in front of a grove of trees. Looking up these trees are truly awe inspiring, raising their limbs high above the forest floor. The tallest tree in the park is 786 years old give or take a few years, standing at over 250 feet. This tree sprouted at about the time of the last Crusades. Redwood trees can live as long as 2500 years and grow up to 380 feet tall. The oldest tree in the park is at least 1,200 years old.

We walked the main trail along the east side of the creek as far as the Fourth Bridge, which was out of service and being repaired. We then backtracked and crossed the creek at the Third Bridge, returning on the west side of the creek. I was pleased to be able to walk the 2.5 miles given my recent knee surgery. The fact that the trail is quite flat was a welcome benefit given my gimpy knee.

Book Review: The Invention of Nature

Let me start by telling you how this book came into my hands. I was at a dinner party at a friend’s house. This was a dinner party that revolved around the theme of creation care. All of the dinner guests were people of faith that have an interest in taking care of the planet. We had an Episcopalian priest, a Presbyterian minister and a number of people from various churches. I had just finished reading On the Origin of Species and The Voyage of the Beagle, both by Charles Darwin, both as homework for a trip to the Galapagos Islands. On sharing some of the insights I had in my readings, my good friend
Carol said I have a book you should read. She handed me a copy of this book.

The Invention of Nature by Andra Wulf

I would consider this book to be a “must read” for anybody with an interest in the natural world.

Humbolt had an insatiable curiosity about the natural world and Wulf’s writing infects the reader with that curiosity. Darwin called Humbolt “the greatest scientific traveler who ever lived.” Humbolt was instrumental in formulating a wholistic and unified approach to the natural world, ideas that are fundamental to our current understanding of the world. His ideas influenced scientific, artistic and geopolitical worlds, from Jules Verne to Thomas Jefferson, to Simon Bolivar, to Henry David Thoreau, to John Muir and beyond. While his legacy lives on in many parts of the world, particularly Latin America, he seems to have been forgotten here. As Andrea Wulf remarks “it is almost as though his ideas have become so manifest that the man behind them has disappeared.” A very entertaining and enlightening book. Highly recommended.

Drakes Estero

14 of us, all BASK members, were ready to get on the water shortly before 10:00 am. With tide being low we dallied a bit, getting on the water at 10:20. You can see the muddy footprints in the photo. The tide prediction for Drakes Bay indicated 3.0 feet of water at 11:00, and we were hoping that by the time we reached the sand bars near the beach we would have enough water to paddle, assuming we could find the channel.

Our course took us south along the west edge of the estero until we ran aground. At that point we paddled east inside the sand bar and eventually found a channel that would take us to the beach. We landed just shy of the point at which the incoming current threatened to send us in the wrong direction. Along the way we saw a group of river otters, pelicans and bat rays.

After lunch we were back in our boats, paddling back along the eastern edge of the estero, and turning into Home Bay.

Paddling along the shore we found the airplane propeller, the remains of a It seems hard to imagine P-39 Airacobras. I wrote about this in a previous blog a few years ago. We also found a few Leopard Sharks and Bat Rays.

We logged 10.4 miles over the course of the day, paddling into a slight current and wind on the way to the beach and taking advantage of the same current and wind on the return. A perfect day to be on the water at Drakes Estero. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Family Reunion on Whidbey Island

On July 8 we all congregated at my brother’s place on Whidby Island for our biannual family reunion. Sixteen of us, my two brothers, and their families. Missing were one nephew and his wife that were in the midst of moving and job hunting. We came from Texas, California and Hawaii.

Johnson family reunion 2024

My brother has 25 acres of beachfront property, which I like to refer to as the Johnson resort. His place would not accommodate all of us, we rented a house in Langley, a short drive from Kurt’s place.

For food we feasted on oysters which Kurt grows on his beach, clams that inhabit the same beach, as well as crab and leg of lamb; Kurt raises a few lambs as well.

Making sandcastles, flying kites and making forts out of driftwood were all fun activities. Kurt roasted up a delicious leg of lamb for one of our meals. And one morning when donuts were on the mind we piled into our cars and drove to Whidbey Doughnuts, a short drive from our rental property in Langley.

On the beach it took no time to collect clams and oysters, and we spent quite a few hours telling family stories, looking at family photo albums, and looking at maps to plan the next leg of our road trip.

It was such a delight to spend time together and to watch the grand kids playing together so famously. I’m looking forward to our next get together, sometime in 2026.