Healing through Nature!

After the big trip down to Tomales Point , we opted for something closer to home today:  Taylor Mountain Regional Park.    Sara and I had to be in Santa Rosa anyway, so we took a late-afternoon walk here.  We chose to do the Todd Creek trail, which connects to the Western Route trail to make it a loop.  There are much longer and more challenging trails, but this was perfect for today!    Taylor mountain Park is essentially hilly Oak Woodlands with vistas overlooking Santa Rosa.  The Todd Creek trail, which we had all to ourselves, goes up into an oak forest for a lovely walk through the woods and a vista of Santa Rosa, then back down along the creek, which was almost completely dry.  I definitely enjoyed the winter sky and the golden afternoon sun. It has started to get a bit more green from our last few rains as you can see in the photos, so a bit more enjoyable than the brown, crunchy parks that I visited a month ago.    Along the...

 Wow, we had a great day trip today out to the Tomales Point trail in Point Reyes National Seashore . Although I have been to Pt. Reyes many times, I have never been on this trail, and I was super excited to do it!  I was waiting until the girls had their winter break, so we could go as a family.  Its a 52 mile, scenic drive to get there (even though its not very far as the crow flies).  You have to go all the way south around Tomales Bay to get there... but... boy is it a beautiful drive.   World class if you ask me. The trail itself is an out and back trail, which at its full length is 9 miles.  I knew the girls wouldn't go for that, so we went about 2 1/4 miles in then back - for a total of 4 1/2 miles -- it seemed like this is what most people were doing as well.  Let me tell you about all the ways this hike was incredible: 1.  We pulled into the parking lot, and and BOOM we have an expansive, gorgeous view of Tomales Bay as well as tule ...

Ever since I road on the Coastal Prairie Trail , I've wanted to come back and bring GG, and go into Bodega Dunes instead of my previous destination.  GG likes to ride bike, so I want to take her to stunning places to explore on bike to deepen her love.    Bodega Dunes is also part of Sonoma Coast State Park , which includes many different beaches and campgrounds along the Sonoma County coast.  We've spent many a night camping at Bodega Dunes with dear friends.  Its a WONDERFUL campground and the beach is stunningly beautiful.   It is often not crowded because there is a day use fee to get it with a car.   There are no dogs allowed on this beach because they are protecting the Western Snowy Plover  that nests in the dunes and is listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act as a threatened species. We had two friends join us today on the adventure, which was great fun!   When we couldn't distance, we wore masks (not to worry)....

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season, however you celebrate! After two days off to focus on all things Christmas with my family, I was itching to get back out and discover a new park that was not in my normal path of travel.  My internet search turned up Bartholomew Memorial Park . Bartholomew Park is owned and operated by the Frank H. Bartholomew Foundation, a private non-profit operating foundation. Situated on 375 acres of vineyards, gardens, and forest, the Park is a protected space where the public can enjoy the beauty and history of the land. As usual, the drive to this park was quite enjoyable, as the park is located in Sonoma, CA, so our wine country drive was just beautiful.  When we arrived, the grounds of the park were quite lovely as most vineyards are.  There were CCOF (organic certification) signs, which is always reason to celebrate! The winery is on site too, so wine tasting  is available along with lots of beautiful picnic spots....

 Today, we took a late afternoon walk at our local favorite:  Ragle Ranch Park.   We had kind of a slow, low-energy day, so around 3:30, Sara and I decided to go for a walk at Ragle.  This park is in Sebastopol, and we have been there dozens and dozens of times over the last 12 years.   It started with the playground, then the walking trails, summer camps, birthday parties, softball games, etc.     Its been pretty central to our lives here in Sebastopol! Ragle Park has a lot going on in 157 acres with soccer fields, softball diamonds, tennis courts, volleyball courts, hiking/biking trails, a dog park, a peace garden and a playground.   There is lots of wildlife to be seen, especially birds because there are plenty of marshes.  I often see deer and bunnies here too.   It is primarily oak woodlands, but it does have a couple of redwood groves which are really sweet. We like to take the longest trail, which is the b...

 Have you ever been driving South on 101 and admired the beauty of the hills South of Petaluma, then you see the sign for Olompali State Historic Park  and think, "I wonder what that place is like? I'd like to check it out sometime.".   I have, and I did check it out many years ago, when my girls were really little, and enjoyed it.  I found myself wanting to remind myself again why I enjoyed my hike here so much! Sara came along with me today, and we hiked the loop trail, which they say is 2 1/2 miles, but we both think its longer!  The trail is 100% in Oak woodland forests that are Oaks (including many madrones) and Bay trees.  It goes up one side of a canyon, then traverses down the other side to complete the loop, so for half it it, it is a moderate uphill climb, then downhill the second half.  These oaks are big and old and there are very big madrones, which I just love!  They are so beautiful, smooth & twisty.  I took a number o...