Chilling on the California Coast
Part 3 and last in a series: No one visits North Carolina’s Outer Banks to go hiking. The narrow string of sandy barrier islands runs for 200 miles but never measures more than 3 miles between sound and sea. At 91 feet, Kill Devil Hill is the highest peak. Most nature trails stretch for less than a mile. We gave hiking a shot anyway. Continue reading “Meandering the Outer Banks with Ghost Crabs, Forest Spiders and Dread Pirate Diane”
The innovators at the Djerassi research compound in the mountains above Palo Alto have little need for lab coats or goggles. You won’t find them crafting code in a bean bag chair or doing deals on napkins at Buck’s of Woodside. Djerassi is about innovation in art.
There’s nothing quite like perambulating the Crissy Field Promenade at The Presidio to lift your spirits, especially when San Francisco’s Wave Organ lets you down.
Continue reading “Crissy Field Promenade Rescues a Grand Day Out in San Francisco after Wave Organ Falls Flat”
Yosemite National Park shows best in the spring. Winter storms yield to warm sunshine. Streams and waterfalls run full. Flowers begin to bloom. Pterodactyls prowl the trails and overlooks. Continue reading “The Pterodactyl that Ate Yosemite: A Preschool Pterosaur Adventure”
The @GoldenGateNPS Twitter feed promised “inspiring” wildflowers at Dias Ridge, but nearly six miles and 106 FitBit flights later we were drawing most of our inspiration from the pub at the end of the trail. Continue reading “A Wildflower Hike Becomes a Pub Crawl on Marin County’s Dias Ridge Trail”
Not content with our backyard blossoms in Montara, we made a quick trip to Big Sur last week to experience Calla Lily Valley. The day was sunny. The valley was lovely. But the 110-mile drive took four hours. Oof. Was it worth it? You be the judge. Continue reading “Rugged Big Sur Coast Cradles a Floral Fairyland Called Calla Lily Valley”
We live near the base of Montara Mountain. The 1,900-foot peak impacts our weather, our sunrise and our TV reception. It protects us from the urban sprawl of the San Francisco Peninsula. We decided to climb it. Continue reading “Looking for the Best Panoramic View of the Bay Area? Climb Montara Mountain”
A stroll through the overcrowded Muir Woods National Monument now requires a reservation. Good grief. Fortunately, spontaneous redwood lovers have plenty of Bay Area alternatives, including the Coastside’s Purisima Creek Redwoods Preserve. Continue reading “Redwoods Without a Reservation at the Coastside Alternative to Muir Woods”
Half the fun of visiting Big Sur is the drive. And the newly opened bridge at Pfeiffer Canyon means the good times are back, at least as far as Gorda. For now, think of Highway 1 southbound from Carmel-by-the-Sea as a curvaceous 65-mile cul-de-sac with a view. It was so nice we drove it twice. Continue reading “Road Repairs Restore Big Sur Thrills South to Gorda; Where is Everybody?”
Why walk a labyrinth? Actor Jeff Bridges, who portrayed the ultimate slacker in “The Big Lebowski,” offers this:
“With a labyrinth, you make a choice to go in – and once you’ve chosen, around and around you go. But you always find your way to the center.”
Nice centering metaphor. That is until someone completely lacking in inner peace pitches the labyrinth’s border stones into the ocean. Bummer. Continue reading “Quest for a Coastside Labyrinth Travels from a Quarry to Lands End and Back Again”
A hillside of shiny obsidian born of liquid rock and thrown by Mother Nature herself atop a fiery geologic potter’s wheel rises from the Newberry Volcano just south of Bend, Oregon. It’s so cool they named a beer after it!
Part 6 and last in a series:
The Coastside Slackers had an amazing time in the Canadian Rockies: Soaring mountains, roaring waterfalls, exotic wildlife, orange marshes, placid Alpine lakes. We could drop the mic and end it here, but we wanted to share a few tongue-in-cheek thrills that amused us along the way. We hope you’re amused, too … Continue reading “21 Goofy Reasons to Visit Canada: Maxi Bars, Timbits and Pocket Loonies”
Part 5 in a series: For nearly 30 years, Yosemite National Park defined mountain majesty in our world view. And then we traveled slack-jawed through Canada’s Icefields Parkway. OMG. We need to get out more.
Imagine if the Yosemite Valley were 140 miles of soaring mountain peaks. Conjure up hundreds of ribbon waterfalls pouring meltwater from scores of glaciers into dozens of meandering milky blue streams and turquoise lakes. Now add hundreds of thousands of acres of alpine forest and slash the tourist per square mile ratio. Then we might have a competition. Continue reading “Canada’s Icefields Parkway Eclipses Our Beloved Yosemite; Gobsmacked at Parker Ridge”
Part 4 of a series:
Iron-rich mineral springs color the ochre mud of the Paint Pots of Kootenay National Park. The vivid contrast with the park’s green forests and milky blue rivers is visible from space. Continue reading “A Big Orange Smudge Visible from Space in the Canadian Rockies; What the Heck is That?”
Part 2 of a series:
Who tromps through the Canadian Rockies hoping to see a grizzly with bear repellent in their pockets? Um. We did. Perhaps to the good fortune of all, the Coastside Slackers didn’t meet up with a bear. But we did enjoy a handful of fun critter encounters. And we nearly saw a moose! Continue reading “Loaded for Bear in Banff, We Settle for a Coyote; the Man Who Cried “Moose””
Part 1 of a series:
Ice blue. Mint green. Cyan. Turquoise. However you describe the hue of the lakes and rivers fed by glacial meltwater in the Canadian Rockies, it is spectacular. But why the unique color palate? A hike to the headwaters of Bow Lake is an amazing way to enjoy and explore the effect. Continue reading “A Turquoise Lake in Banff Without the Hub-Bub; Go Ahead, Skip Lake Louise”
The Coastside founding fathers stumbled upon a sweet brand when they came up with “Half Moon Bay.” Who can resist, right? But 100 miles to the south, the bureaucrats who named Garrapata State Park and Beach missed the mark badly if they were trying to evoke seaside romance.
Garrapata — that’s “tick” in Spanish, as in the eight-legged blood-suckers — deserves better. Continue reading “Visit the Beach and Bluffs at Garrapata; With a Name Like “Tick State Park,” it’s Gotta be Good”
The northern nub of Big Sur is open for business despite heavy rain and fire damage to roads and wilderness. But the Coastside Slackers didn’t find much to do on their recent visit. You’d think we had found Slacker Nirvana. But instead we were disappointed. Continue reading “Big Sur is Open for Business – Sorta; We Visited So You Don’t Have To”
If you enjoy Coastside sand and surf but a water temperature of 55 degrees is not on your “to do” list, then consider visiting the beaches, bluffs and tide pools of the James V. Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach. Continue reading “Cold Day Coastside? Break out the Flannel and Chill at the Moss Beach Bluffs, Beach and Tide Pools”