Healing through Nature!

 One of my all time favorite places to hike in the North Bay is Mt. Tamalpais State Park.   I used to hike here all the time when I lived in Sausalito.  The trail I chose to hike is the Cataract Trail starting from the Rock Spring Parking lot.  I wanted to hike here because it was my favorite hike to take with my dog Bonsai.  She is now 17 years old, and we are preparing to send to her soul over the rainbow bridge.  I've been doing a lot of reminiscing about her, and all the many hours we spent hiking together.  This was our favorite trail to hike together.  It is rare for a CA State Park to allow dogs on the trail, and this park does, but you have to keep them on leash.  We actually saw some people being lectured by a Ranger about their dogs being off leash.  He gave them a warning, and he said next time it would be a $300 fine.  I used to let Bonsai off leash here all the time (oops!).  This trail is so beautiful because it ...

 My youngest and I recently took a drive down to Mill Valley and walked the multi-use trail that I used to cycle all the time when I lived in Sausalito.   It was a lovely, sunny Sunday, and she was in the mood for a long drive and listening to her favorite music.  I chose this because I knew I could park at an EV charging station and power up while we were walking.    I love this trail for the birding opportunities.  While we walked it, I believe it is better on a bike. You can go a lot farther and it branches off to Corte Madera and Tiburon.  We essentially walked from Hauke Park in Mill Valley (where there are EV chargers) to Sausalito and back - about 7 miles.  It is very scenic with Mt. Tamalpais in the back ground and wetlands all around.   The trail was quite crowded with cyclists of all varieties:  serious cyclists, tourists that rented bikes, families with little ones.  The whole gamit!  Everyone was very wel...

This morning, I went for a sunrise hike the Laguna de Santa Rosa Trail.  I quickly learned that the parking lot on highway 12 is temporarily closed for repairs, so I parked at the Chevron and started off there.   I have written about this park in the Fall , but it is much different after some winter rain, so I'm writing another post about it now.  I love to walk around the Meadowlark field and close to the water.  This is where there is an abundance of life in the water and trees.  The birds, especially at sunrise are prolific here, and it is incredibly pleasurable for me to walk amongst their morning song!  I was excited that there was a beautiful tule fog today, and here was my first glance upon entering the trail: Good morning Mt. St. Helena: The initial stretch of this trail is along highway 12, and while beautiful, also has a lot of traffic noise.  It didn't take long to make the turn away from the highway and be fully immersed in bird song....

My 6th grader's teacher asked us to to take our kids on a "field trip" and have them photograph and note observations on a variety of ecosystems.  Perfect opportunity to have my daughter and two of her friends join one of my park visits.    Tolay Lake Regional Park includes a working ranch with goats and cattle, and it was only opened for daily public access in recent years.  I have been wanting to go here for a while, so I decided that this was a great place for their field trip!  It  is located about 8 miles southeast of downtown Petaluma, bordered by hills between the Petaluma River and Sonoma, and there is a $7 parking fee (unless you have an annual pass). As we started off from the parking lot, it immediately started raining, but the girls were eager to observe and take photos, so they were not deterred by the rain.  Most of the photos on this post were taken by my daughter. Once we made it by this initial entry point, our senses were pleased wit...

 Want a great way to spend the day on a warm, winter Saturday in Sonoma County (especially during a pandemic)?   Go hiking at Lake Sonoma .   We did this with a group of friends, and it was gorgeous, fun and a great workout! The 45-minute drive to the lake was absolutely gorgeous, especially this time of year as things are getting green from the rain.   The lake is man-made and is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and this is their description, "Created by the construction of Warm Springs Dam in 1983, the lake provides for flood control, irrigation and recreation. When full, the lake has a surface area of more than 2,700 acres and 50 miles of shoreline, forming the perfect setting for a wealth of recreational activities. We invite you to hike, swim, ride, boat, camp, fish, or hunt at our beautiful lake." My friend, Tina, suggested that we hike the "Half a Canoe Loop Trail".  Evidently, when they were creating this trail, they uncovered ...