Category: tourism

Ferry Pt to Pt Isabel

Today was a glorious day for a paddle on San Francisco Bay. We have had several days of stormy wet weather, so it was nice to have some relief from the rain. A low tide meant that some of our favorite launch sites would be muddy, so we opted to launch from Ferry Point. Google Maps refers to this spot as the Point Richmond Pier, part of the Miller Knox Regional Shoreline.

Seven of us were on the water at 10:30. We had flat calm as we paddled out to the end of the jetty, with a little wave action from the wake of passing boats. This was my first day paddling with a Greenland Paddle. You can see the paddle hanging out of the cockpit of my wooden boat.

Once we were out past the jetty we headed east, rounding Brooks Island and then making our way to Point Isabel. I couldn’t resist capturing photos. The blue sky and clouds were dramatic. Every time I take a photo though, I have to stop paddling, and if I’m not paddling, I’m not going anywhere. Meantime, my paddling buddies keep their cadence, so I’m always playing catch-up.

As we passed Bird Rock, we kept our distance, so as not to disturb the harbor seals that were basking on the rocks. We landed at Point Isabel one boat at a time. The tide and rocks didn’t afford us much beach, but it didn’t take much time to get all the boats off the water.

While we were eating lunch the wind picked up, kicking up some wind waves and making work for us as we slogged into the wind and towards Brooks Island. We paddled to the north of Brooks Island, using the island and the breakwater to cut the wind.

As we paddled up the Richmond Channel, we passed the ferry, and we had a bit of rain. Over the course of the day, we logged 8.28 miles. The Greenland Paddle served me well. It felt a bit awkward for the first 20 minutes, but by the end of the day I had grown accustomed to it. I’m also finding that my iPhone 14 in a dive case seems to provide excellent quality photos. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Loch Lomond to China Camp

Another glorious day to be kayaking. Nine of us, all BASK members, assembled at the boat ramp at Loch Lomond. We were on the water at 10:00. With a morning flood, slack water at noon and afternoon ebb our plan was to take advantage of the current to paddle to China Camp for lunch.

We paddled out past the Marin Islands, where we were able to pick up the tail end of the flood current to carry us up the bay. Making good time, we headed to the Sisters where we were able to thread Grendel’s Needle. You can see in the photo two boats heading through the slot, with rippled water on approaching side where the current was pushing us and flat water on the far side. An easy ride through the slot.

From The Sisters it was an easy paddle over to China Camp where we landed and pulled our boats up the beach to make sure they didn’t drift away on the rising tide.

After lunch we were back on the water taking advantage of the ebbing current to give us a push back to Loch Lomond. More photos are available in an online gallery. We logged 8.4 miles on a perfect day to be paddling.

Cactus and Red Rock

We recently returned from a 19-day road trip that took us to the heart of the Sonoran Desert near Ajo Arizona, and then north into the red rocks of the Vermillion Cliffs. We covered 1778 miles leaving on February 8 and returning on February 26. The focus of our trip was to travel a bit off the beaten track, to see some natural wonders and to visit places that were dog friendly. Dog friendly meaning, when we park the rig for the night, we can let Carson run free, off-leash. Here’s a glimpse of some of the highlights of our trip. I’ll be posting more about specific portions of the trip so stay tuned.

The Saguaro cactus is the keystone species in the Sonoran Desert, it’s just amazing to see these huge plants growing like they do, up to 50 feet tall.

One of our camping locations near Ajo was on the Barry M Goldwater Range. The range consists of 1.9 million acres of relatively undisturbed Sonoran Desert. While this is a military range, there are some areas that are open to the public. We found this site through iOverlander, one of the resources we use for locating camping.

Camping here requires a permit which is easy to obtain online. Once you have successfully obtained the permit you are given a gate code to unlock a gate. We accessed this location through Gate 15, area B. We boondocked here for two nights. A beautiful spot, although the silence was occasionally punctuated by the sound of fighter jets.

After a few days in the Ajo area we drove north to the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. There are no paved roads in the Monument, and we put our four-wheel drive to good use driving through deep sand and rough roads. We drove into the Monument to explore the White Pocket, and amazing geologic formation of twisted colorful sandstone. We also explored the Maze Rock Art Site, with several large panels of rock art.

From the Vermillion Hills we made a quick foray into the Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument to explore the old Paria Townsite.

Over the course of the trip, we managed to vary our accommodations a bit. We spent four nights with family and friends, one night in a motel, four nights in paid camp sites, although one of those was essentially dry camping on private property, with a location we found on Hipcamp and we spent 11 nights boondocking. It was refreshing to visit places of natural wonder away from the crowds of so many of the popular locations. While most of the driving was on paved roads we did put our four-wheel drive to good use in several locations. Temperatures ranged from a low of 28 degrees near Joshua Tree to 79 degrees at the visitor center in Death Valley National Park.

White Pocket

One of the destinations for our trip is the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument in Northern Arizona. The website the monument says This remote and unspoiled 280,000-acre monument is a geologic treasure with some of the most spectacular trails and views in the world. We spent several days here. The first night we found an amazing spot to boondock in Marble Canyon right on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Colorado River. This is a location we found using iOverlander.

This is one of those situations where when you think you’ve found a good spot to camp, it’s nice to see what’s further down the road. We had this place all to ourselves. In fact, we felt so isolated I fired up the water heater and hooked up the outside shower.

There are no paved roads within the monument and with deep sand, high clearance and four-wheel drive is essential. I was intrigued with the area called White Pocket so we set off the explore that area.

From US Highway 89A, which skirts the southern edge of the preserve we left the paved road and headed north on House Rock Road. Our first stop along this route was a condor viewing station. We scanned the skies. No Condors. Driving on we found the White Pocket Road. I had downloaded the maps for GaiaGPS, my favorite app for navigation, and we found this quite useful in navigating. We followed the dirt road, and it wasn’t long before we put the Tacoma in four-wheel low and dialed the Multi-Terrain control for sand. That provided a confident ride through the sand.

It was a bumpy. When we opened the back door of the camper to fix lunch, we discovered that all of our silverware had disappeared, and even the drawer which is designed to stay secure had bounced out of the cabinet.

Hiking around White Pocket is basically walking over slick rock. There are no trails, but we had no problem hiking around and exploring various features. These formations consist of twisted and convoluted layers of colorful sandstone which are simply astounding.

After exploring the White Pocket, we found an alternate route, a route that was marked one-way on some maps. I wouldn’t want to meet somebody on these narrow deep sand roads. As the sun was getting lower in the sky, we started to look for a place to boon dock and we found a suitable place to pull the rig off the road and set up camp.

More photos are available in an online gallery.

Colonel Allensworth

On trips heading south, we’ve been challenged finding places to camp in the southern San Joaquin Valley. On this trip, iOverlander, one of our favorite apps for finding camping locations, pointed us to Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park as a potential camping spot. What a lovely location.

The town was founded, financed, and governed by African Americans. Allen Allensworth was born into slavery in Louisville, Kentucky on April 7, 1842. After serving in the Union Army, he went on to gain an education. In 1909, the colony of Allensworth began to come to life. The name and reputation of Colonel Allensworth inspired African Americans who were looking for a better life. People from all over the country, including many who settled in California, came to populate the town.

We arrived on Friday evening February 9 and found we had the campground all to ourselves.

In the morning though, we woke to discover that hundreds of people were showing up for a Black History Month Celebration. In fact, we were asked to break camp so that visitors could use the campground for parking. We moved our rig and took the opportunity to tour the collection of restored and reconstructed buildings.

The buildings include a schoolhouse, a Baptist church, businesses, homes, a hotel, a library, and various other structures that symbolize the rebirth of Colonel Allen Allensworth’s dream of an independent, democratic town where African Americans could live in control of their own destiny.

We took advantage of the Cell Phone Audio Tour, a self-guided audio tour with stop at a number of locations that provide a brief history of Allensworth. It was a bit of a novel experience, being in this isolated location and being able to use such technology to gain insight into the history of Allensworth. More photos are available in an online gallery.

Geezers Go Paddling

At 73 years of age, I’m the youngster on today’s paddle. The five of us range in age from 73 to 81. Never mind that Alan tapes up his hands with duct tape before climbing in his boat. Our launch point is Jean & John Starkweather Shoreline Park near the west end of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. We were on the water at 10:30 launching on calm water under blue skies, a welcome change following several days of rain.

Our course took us out past the Marin Islands, padding by several barges and some dredging equipment. We paddled on to Point San Pedro. From there The Sisters looked quite inviting. Two paddlers decided to head to our designated lunch site at Loch Lomond. Three of us paddled out and around The Sisters, stopping to play in the slot in the rock called Grendel’s Needle. We had a high tide and very little current. Sometimes there can be some dynamic water here. Today it was quiet.

Then it was time to head for Loch Lomond Yacht Harbor for lunch, landing on the boat ramp and carrying our boats up the ramp and out of the way to keep the ramp clear for other boaters.

After lunch it was back on the water. Alan had acquired a unicorn figurehead for his boat. Then it was back across San Rafael Bay to our launch site.

We were back at our launch site at 2:15 pm having logged 9 miles. More photos available in an online gallery. I had to look up the definition of “Geezer,” Vocabulary.com says “A geezer is an old person. It might hurt your grandfather’s feelings if you refer to him as a geezer, since he thinks of himself as being youthful.” So, apologies to my paddling buddies; paddling keeps us young.

Paddling to Paradise

Our paddle today takes us to Paradise. Paradise Beach on the Tiburon Peninsula. Our Lauch site is Windsurfer Beach. Given the tide prediction for the day we decided to launch at 11:00. Yea! I can miss the morning commute traffic on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. It took me less that 30 minutes to get to our launch site. There were 12 of us assembled on the beach at 11:00, quite a turnout for our recurring Thursday paddle.

The temperature was a bit chilly, so I put a second thermal top on under my drysuit and glad I did. I was quite comfortable despite the chilly overcast.

Our course took us across the ferry channel. We stopped to let ferries go by going both directions, then it was across the channel, past Paradise Cay, and on to Paradise Beach.

We landed at 12:05, grabbed our lunches and made the short walk up the hill to the picnic tables in the park.

The overcast sky provided nice lighting for portraits, and a nice view of Mount Tamalpais and we made our way back to Windsurfer Beach. I’m experimenting with my iPhone in a waterproof dive case. It seems some moisture condensation inside the case resulted in a soft-focus effect.

We were back on the beach at 2:30 having logged 8.5 miles. The battery on my iPhone went dead on our return leg, so I lost my GPS log i normally track with GAIA GPS. I was also carrying a Garmin InReach and an Olympus TG-5 camera. It was good to have a backup, both for the GPS log and for photos. More photos ae available in an online gallery.

Botticelli

Our adventures today take us to the Botticelli exhibit at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. It’s 45 minute drive from our house across two bridges, The Richmond-San Rafael and the Golden Gate. We had the windshield wipers going most of the way with wet drizzly weather. The towers of the Golden Gate Bridge were lost in fog. I was thinking it would make a wonderful moody photo, but something for the mind’s eye, since I was driving.

Botticelli was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance (1445 – 1510). Born as Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi he was better known as Sandro Botticelli.

The exhibit is all about drawings. I was surprised to learn that these drawings were studies in preparation for creating larger finished pieces. Needless to say, the drawings are exquisite, using a variety of media on specially prepared paper, not simply sketches that a modern-day artist might make. Some of the drawings were created by other artists working in Botticelli’s workshop, or other artists of the time such as Fra Filippo Lippi.

We picked up our reserved headsets when we entered the museum, and the guided tour was quite educational. Many of the drawings were created using tempera, a medium that consists of egg yolk mixed with pigment. This is a very fast drying media which requires application with many thin layers. We spent an hour and a half in the exhibit taking our time. After viewing the exhibit, we headed to the museum cafe, where we shared the Classic Onion Soup Gratince and the Roasted Beet Salad. Quite delicious and pricey, although we were not surprised with the price given the location.

Upon exiting the museum we were met with rays of sun and blue sky. We stopped to admire Auguste Rodin’s sculpture The Thinker and then took a walk around Lands End to get a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. More photos are available in an online gallery.

de Young Open 2023

Today we made a visit to the de Young museum to see the Open 2023 exhibit. This exhibit celebrates the vision of Bay Area artists. There are 883 works on view created by artists who live in the nine counties surrounding San Francisco Bay. I was one of the 7,766 artists that submitted artwork, although my work was not selected. The piece I entered, Boulders, Alabama Hills, is available in my art store. I was curious to see what works had been selected. With an online web gallery, we were able use our phones to read about a few select pieces.

The first piece that caught my attention was piece #9, entitled Hollow by James Shefik, a piece based on a thumb push puppet. Here’s an excerpt from the artist’s statement:

My original intent was for the puppet to represent America’s continued slide into authoritarianism. The sculpture’s puppet character was made apparent by George Floyd’s murder and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests that spread worldwide. The Robert E. Lee puppet, when collapsed, reflected the fate of many of the monuments that had been raised in America in the past 120 years.

Of course, visiting an art exhibit is also about watching people, so I took a few images to document the event including some long exposures to introduce some intentional camera motion. I was clearly being watched while taking this photo. I’m calling the photo the watcher.

Here’s Joann photographing piece #694 entitled Name that Tune: H___ on the R____ by Ellen Reintjes. Ellen says:

Singing this traditional western song while viewing the painting will hopefully bring a smile to your face as the puns come alive.

We arrived at the museum about 11 a.m., spent an hour or so exploring the exhibit, took a break for lunch and returned to continue. It would be overwhelming to try and read about every piece but taking a few small bites about selected pieces made the experience quite enjoyable. The exhibit goes through January 7, so if you are interested in viewing this exhibit, time is of the essence.

Up the Creek

Ten paddles and eight boats. More paddles than people since you wouldn’t want to be stuck up the creek without a paddle. Some of us carry spare paddles. I broke a paddle a couple of years ago so it’s nice to have a spare available.

Our day began with an early start, with a stop at the Bovine Bakery in Point Reyes Station for breakfast. Their Morning Bun Coffee Cake is extraordinary. After our breakfast stop, we continued on to Miller Boat Launch. From there the plan was to paddle up Walker Creek until we could paddle no further. A king tide would afford us access to the upper reaches of the creek that are not normally accessible. Since this was mostly a flatwater paddle, I decided to take three cameras: my iPhone 14 in a waterproof dive case, my GoPro mounted on the deck and my trusty Olympus TG5 which is my camera of choice for kayaking. If I’m paddling in active water where managing a camera can be a challenge, I usually stick to my TG5 or my GoPro mounted on my helmet.

We were on the water shortly before 10:00 a.m., ahead of the posted OTW (on the water) of 10:00. When you are paddling with this group it’s best to be on time. Our navigation was a bit off. We missed the entrance to the creek and ended up dragging our boats over a bit of marsh. Once we were back on the main waterway it was smooth paddling.

We paddled up the creek and under the Highway 1 Bridge, continuing on as the waterway narrowed, keeping an eye out for snags and an occasional branch slapping us in the face. At the 5-mile mark we could paddle no further, so we turned around and paddled back to a little beach for lunch. 

After lunch we were back on the water, anxious to get back down the creek while we still had water. The current was now moving down the creek and it gave us a bit of a push. We saw a number of birds: egrets, herons and white pelicans. They evaded my photo attempts. More photos are available in an online gallery. You can also view more details about our track online. We were back at our launch point about 2 p.m. having logged 10 miles over the course of our paddle.

I was quite happy with the photos I got from the iPhone, although the shutter actuation on the dive case was a bit problematic. That’s something I need to work on.