Tag: travel

The Carrizo Plain

Lunch time at Soda Lake.
The Temblor Range. Carrizo Plain National Monument.
Desert Candle, Caulanthus inflatus. The Temblor Range. Carrizo Plain National Monument.
Desert Candle, Caulanthus inflatus. The Temblor Range. Carrizo Plain National Monument.
Fields of coreposis on the Carrizo Plain

This year’s rain produced a spectacular display of wildflowers on the Carrizo Plain. Here’s a small sampling from the thousand-plus photos I captured on visit. You can see more photos here.

We spent three days on the Carrizo Plain arriving on Sunday afternoon April 9 and leaving the afternoon of April 11. There were two of us and our dog. Yes, the Carrizo is dog friendly. Our first order of business on arriving was to locate a camp site. With the all the press the wildflower bloom has received we were not surprised to find our preferred camp ground, Selby Camp, full. We did manage to squeeze in on the fringes, and the next morning, moved our camp to a regular site with a table, fire pit and awning when it became available. Selby Camp also has water. Monday we set out to explore Elkhorn Road and the wildflowers on the Temblor range, stopping at Wallace Creek to do a short hike to explore the San Andreas Fault. There are few places in the world where you can see the effects of a fault that are as dramatic as Wallace Creek. From there we drove south a few miles and found a spot we could hike up into the hills. The array of wildflowers is just astounding. On Tuesday we spent our time around Soda Lake.

The park is a bit off the beaten path. It’s situated at 2000 feet of elevation between the Caliente and Temblor Mountain ranges. From the west you can approach from Highway 101 or from the East from Interstate 5. There is not much in the valley in the way of services, so make sure you top off your gas tank before entering the valley, perhaps on Highway 101 or I5. It’s 50 miles from the park headquarters to the nearest gas station, and you can easily run up your mileage while exploring the park. It’s an expansive park. I carry food and water for my stay in the valley. There is water at the park visitor center and at Selby Camp, but in years past water hasn’t always been available. Besides Selby Camp there is another camp ground, KCL camp further south. There is also dispersed camping off the valley floor in areas that were previously disturbed. There is also a motel, the California Valley Motel on Soda Lake Rd North of the park.

While the Carrizo Plain is noted for spring wildflower displays, there are also other sites to visit when the wildflowers are not in bloom. There are several rock formations with displays of Indian petrographs (images painted on rock). Most of these rocks, including Painted Rock are off limits in the spring when birds are nesting. Pronghorn antelope, coyotes, and a number other birds and animals inhabit the plain also.

The Carrizo Plain has been called California’s Serengeti It’s a broad plain, most of which has not been disturbed by modern agriculture and irrigation. It represents what the Central Valley May have looked like before agriculture.

I made my first visit to the Carrizo Plain in 1988 when The Nature Conservancy hired me to photograph, what was then ranch land, and since then it’s become one of my favorite places to visit. Untrammeled, broad open spaces and remote.

A Day with Monet

Treve at the Monet Exhibit at California Palace of the Legion of Honor
Joann at the Monet Exhibit at California Palace of the Legion of Honor
Water Lilly Salad at the cafe. Legion of Honor
Arch at the entrance to the Legion of Honor
Holocaust Memorial at California Palace of the Legion of Honor
Holocaust Memorial at California Palace of the Legion of Honor

We decided to play tourist in our own town today, making our way to the Legion of Honor in the North West corner of San Francisco. The location alone, in Lincoln Park, is worth the visit, overlooking the entrance to San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. We started with lunch at the cafe, eating on the outdoor patio, which was a quiet and peaceful setting. The exhibit “Monet: The Early Years” features works created in the initial stage of Claude Monet’s career (1840-1926). The exhibition runs through May 29. Inspiring to see such a broad variety of work, and to gain appreciation for some of his daring and bold works before he became known for his impressionistic style. On leaving the museum we walked across the street to view the Holocaust Memorial and to admirer the architecture of the Legion of Honor.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day

Trees. Killarney National Forest

Photographed in Killarney National Park in Ireland in May 1981. While the photo is in black and white, I used a green filter to lighten to foliage on the trees. Here’s the photographer in action. Not the same location, but the same equipment.

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Nature Remembers

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Desert Primrose (Camissonia brevipes), photographed in Death Valley, February 2016.
“Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do.” ― Wendell Berry

Plan B: Heart’s Desire Beach

Ready to launch from Heart’s Desire Beach on Tomales Bay
Lone Tree. Tomales Bay.
Native American huts. Indian Beach.

With clear skies, calm wind and a mid-day high tide we decided to head for Drake’s Estero, one of our favorite places to kayak. We loaded the kayaks on the car, and headed for the Bovine Bakery in Point Reyes Station where we had breakfast. The Morning Bun Coffee Cake is something you won’t want to miss.

After a quick breakfast we headed to the Estero, only to find the gate was closed and locked. Drakes Estero is undergoing habitat restoration while the National Park Service removes the remains of the oyster farm; some seven miles of wooden racks.

So Plan B was Heart’s Desire Beach. The beach was deserted, save for a park maintenance truck. It was almost surreal having the whole park to ourselves. Without delay we launched our boats and paddled towards the ocean, stopping at a little beach for lunch, and then continuing to Marshall Beach, exploring some of the side passages that are not normally accessible at lower tides. Our journey covered six miles. You can view the track log here, and view more photos here. My wife Joann tells me that paddling a kayak on Tomales Bay is something everybody should have on there bucket list.

Winter in Yosemite

El Capitan
Yosemite
Yosemite
Joann at Lower Yosemite Falls

Winter brings a sense of peace and solitude to Yosemite Valley. This is my favorite time of year to visit. The throngs of tourists are gone. I spent part of the afternoon traipsing across El Capitan Meadow on snow shoes, with the entire meadow to myself, a welcome retreat from the events of the past few days. We arrived in the Valley yesterday afternoon in rain and ovenight the rain turned to snow. Not that the valley is empty; there are plenty of people with cameras and tripods at strategic vantage points, but also plenty of opportunity to find vantage points and subject matter. With such beauty all around one can almost point your camera anywhere and find interesting compositions.

France: Beyond Bread and Wine

First stop in the morning on our waking tour, and the bike tour as well, was the local boulangerie. It was a real treat to walk into a French bakery in a small town and buy fresh bread. Part of the treat was the opportunity to interact with the local people. While we didn’t have much of a command of the French language, we were always able to communicate with the few words we had and by pointing to what we wanted. Such a variety of choices from which to choose. From the boulangeire, we would then head to the butcher for salami or cured ham of some sort, then the produce market for apples, peaches, or what ever else we might need for our picnic lunch. Once we were provisioned with bread, cheese, and fruit we would head off for the days adventure, walking ancient paths, and country roads.. At the end of the day’s walk we would typically have a fine four course dinner with a local wine. No shortage of fine wine in the Dordogne. Bread and wine becoming the bookends for our daily adventures.

The highlight of the trip though, wasn’t the bread, the food, the wine, or the places we visited. It was the people. Everywhere we went the people were warmhearted  and friendly, whether it was the old woman we met on the first day of our walk, the clerks at the boulangeries, or the inn keepers.

One event in particular stands out as a highlight. Dinner at La Maison Rose. La Maison Rose is a small bead and breakfast in Origne. Dinner is served family style with guests and hosts sitting on benches at a long table. The house, was once the presbytery for the church across the street, and it’s easy to imagine we’re simply carrying on a tradition that has gone on for centuries in the dining room. We shared dinner with Mr et Mme de Rochefort, the hosts, with a fabulous four course dinner of roast rabbit, fresh bread, and a local Bordeaux wine. It was a treat to be entertained by the Rocheforts and to visit with guests from New Zealand, England, and South Africa. Gathering around a common table and sharing bread and wine is like medicine for the soul.

 

The dining room at La Maison Rose. Set for breakfast.
Mr et Mme de Rochefort. Our hosts at La Maison Rose in Origne
La Mason Rose