Hardly Strictly Bluegrass makes me think I don’t know what bluegrass really is.
There is a very well-to-do person who loves the idea of a lots of free blue grass music, dirty pot-smoking hippies, and peacefully, but loudly, taking over the Golden Gate Park for one weekend a year. They call this phenomenon “Hardly Strictly Bluegrass”. Although I am still trying, and failing, to become a bluegrass fan, Curtis (+ all of his work buddies) were going. How could I really turn down my first big California Dirty Hippie festival anyhow?
Bike Paths, Cold Rivers, and Trail Markers
Curtis and I had planned to bike around wine country this weekend, but, as we should have expected, it was your traditional end of September scorcher of a day. Instead we decided to take the opportunity to swim in Yosemite, and bike around the valley there. We had been avoiding the valley all summer because of the hoards of people everywhere. I enjoy people watching to a degree, but we…
The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Pikas… on Mono Pass!
Pikas are distant cousin of Basil and all bunnies, and occasionally are referred to the real life Pokemon Pikachu. No joke, I read it on the internet ;) And pikas are liable to become an (Word of the day!) endemic species with climate change, due to their highly specific mountain sub-alpine scree environments and mortal distaste for warm environments. These cute little threatened critters can be found throughout the park,…
Where we finally go to San Francisco, but not Alcatraz
Which you would think was a good thing because people tried to get out of Alcatraz all the freaking time and died terribly. But seeing as Curtis’ two Estonian friends, Margus and Arvo, came to the City for the very purpose of seeing Alcatraz it was a minor set back. Instead we wandered around aimlessly until we accidentally walked up to Coit Tower, wandered down to some quaint oldschool part…
Obama said we needed a vacation- So we went to Mono Lake!
Actually Curtis and I had been planing to go to Mono Lake ever since I pleaded with him to understand that the fragile saline ecosystem appealed to my inner environmental engineer. In case if you have not heard the back story, or slept through environmental engineering fundamentals, Mono lake is a saline lake in the great basin that is fed by various freshwater streams. The city of LA quite some…
Hetch Hetchy Day Hike or as we like to call it Hetch Hedgehogy: the story of our water source and a brave hedgehog
Trailhead: Evergreen Rd down into Hetch Hetchy Entrance Station, parking lot by dam
Distance: ~ 4 miles rounds trip to Wapama Falls, we went ~ 1.5 miles past that and in addition got to see rattlesnakes & bears!
Stately Parks in the Santa Cruz Area
Deciding we needed to see the Ocean, Curtis and I ventured through the central valley and over some winding mountain roads to Santa Cruz. We visited the Wilder Ranch State Park and took a cute little low altitude bike ride to the Natural Bridges State beach. I officially decided I much rather like biking at sea level with minimal hill-age. Word to the wise though, the lengthy network of bike…
Day Hiking Inspiration Point, Yosemite: Our second trip focusing on an Inspiration.
Trailhead: Behind Tunnel View, off of Hwy 41 right outside of the Valley
Distance: ~ 2.5 miles, but filled with steep switchbacks and hot in the summer sun!
Valley Floor Day Hike instead of unpacking!
Trailhead: Parked by Bridal Veil Falls (parallel because parking area was full) in the Valley.
Distance: ~4 miles ( we walked there on the trail and back partially along the road/bike paths) Flat with but unexpected hills compared to the road.
Hello! I am a 30-something outdoors-lady, backpacker, and resident of Groveland, California - 
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