Los Alamitos Creek Trail

On Sunday, our first rain-free day in I'm not sure how long, D. and I took a little walk on the stretch of the Los Alamitos Creek Trail in San José between Almaden Lake and Cloverhill Dr, and I took some pics.

The previous night's raindrops still cling to the grass blades along the trail.


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Arastradero Preserve

On Sunday, under threatening skies, D. and I took a short walk on the Red Tail Loop Trail at Arastradero Preserve, and I took some pics before the sprinkles began.

Some of last summer's dry grasses have yet to yield to the winter rains.


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Winter Solstice At Turtle RockAn ancient Ohlone creation story tells that, before humans and other animals existed, the souls of all beings were brought from the ocean by Turtle and were contained within Turtle's shell, represented by a large rounded rock on a ridge top in the Santa Cruz Mountains. At sunset on the winter solstice the sun descended ( Read more... )

Crystal Springs Sawyer Camp Trail 2

On Saturday D. and I returned to Crystal Springs Reservoir to walk the northern segment of the Sawyer Camp Trail (between Hillcrest and the Jepson Laurel), and here are some of the pics I took.

We begin at Mile 0.


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Pescadero Marsh: Round Hill Trail

On Saturday D. and I returned to Pescadero Marsh Natural Preserve to walk the Round Hill Trail, and here are some of the pics I took.


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Crystal Springs Sawyer Camp Trail

After doing an errand in San Mateo on Sunday, D. and I drove over to Crystal Springs Reservoir.  We took a walk along the Sawyer Camp Trail, and I took these pics.

Crystal Springs Reservoir.


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Byrne Preserve

In spite of the threat of rain on Saturday, D. and I decided to return to the Byrne Preserve in Los Altos Hills and walk the Artemas Ginzton Pathway, part of which we had walked back in 2007 (and pictures of which I lost
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Coyote Creek: Montague To Brokaw

On Saturday D. and I returned to Coyote Creek to walk the unofficial trail (the flood control levee) between Montague Expressway and Brokaw Road, taking us past light industrial facilities and a few homeless encampments, and I took some pics ( Read more... )

San Francisco Flowers 'N' Stuff

On Saturday D. and I had to do an errand in San Francisco, so we made a day of it and went to a couple of flowery places there, and I took some pics.

We first go to the Sunnyside Conservatory, built in 1898 by William Augustus Merralls, inventor and stargazer.


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Foothills & Monte Bello Open Space Preserves

On Saturday D. and I went to Foothills Open Space Preserve because we'd never been there before.  We've passed it countless times on our way to other open space preserves but we'd never bothered to stop and see it, primarily because it's so small (212 acres), and there's only one trail and not much to ( Read more... )