Travel and photography blog by Geoff Panek
new photos, cameras
Every year Nevada City celebrates Joe Cain Day, or more commonly called, Mardi Gras, with a wonderful parade. This year was especially colorful and full of wonderful music and dancing, combined with a gorgeous day with weather in the 70s. Here are some pics.
For Kate’s 65th birthday this year we spent the weekend in Inverness on Tomales Bay, which is right next to Point Reyes National Seashore.
We stayed at the Motel Inverness. Good thing we were out and about most of the time cause the room was quite small, but appointed really well and the common areas were very cool. The main lobby we had access to any time, with a huge fireplace, pool table, books, game tables, awesome big leather chairs, telescope and binoculars, and then a nice big deck with tables and all the outdoor furnishings you would need. Then out in back there was a long walk way out into the bay with a bird watching shelter at the end. When we arrived the tide was in and actually just starting to cover the walkway. The other times we used it the tide was out but we saw some amazing herons, photos of which are below. Out on the lawn in the morning we saw a bunch of California Quail which were nothing like the ones we see at home. These were big fat colorful guys that were fun to watch. The hosts, Michael and Janice, were terrific and have done a wonderful job with the landscaping including a meditation type garden in front. Very friendly people.
On Saturday, after a late start, we hiked the Bear Valley Trail out to the coast but were not able to see the famous Arch Rock a the end since it recently collapsed, killing one person. So when we got to the coast we hiked a mile or so north to Kelham Beach which had over 100 stairs built into the cliff, which of course, we had to climb back up. Gorgeous hike as always, with such lush vegetation but really difficult to capture on camera. Total round trip was about 11 miles, so we were pretty bushed when we got back. We ended up sitting on the deck, drinking chardonnay and eating some awesome Marin French Cheese Factory Brie and Olive Brushchetta on Rosemary Sourdough bread for dinner while the sun went down. Truly an amazing explosion of wonderful flavors all combined. Mouthwatering just thinking about it. Of course we had our favorite BBQ oysters at Tonys near Marshall, and went into Pt. Reyes Station for dinner and breakfast. Culinary delights all around.
Weather was perfect Friday and Saturday, and then on Sunday, when we left, a big fog bank came in, which made for some interesting views. We drove out to Limantour Spit and walked around the beach a bit before leaving for home. The drive is about 2.75 hours.
I went for the final week of camping season at Jackson Meadows – East Meadow camp ground for Tuesday to Saturday and had the entire loop to myself until Friday night. It was fantastic. So quiet, all I could hear were the birds, chipmonks and wind in the trees. Oh, and then there was the leaf blowers cleaning up the pine needles for an inspection that week. Ugh. Why blow the sites and the roads when they would be covered in just a matter of weeks. oh well…. luckily it didnt last too long.
Fishing was good however, I had forgotten my rod holders (dam!!) and also forgotten to charge my fishfinder battery, so it wasn’t all as perfect as I wanted it to be. I improvised and caught 8 trout, kept 6. I had charged up my fishfinder and hoped to do my last fishing Saturday morning however it began pouring rain around 5am and finally at 9:30 I gave up and hauled the kayak up from the lake to go home.
I decided to do some videos of Biggs and Ben this time. Mainly documenting a journey up Pass Creek but also some playing around the lake/beach. I was hoping to capture whats its like to go exploring with them. The lake was the lowest I have seen it. With the middle depth in the part directly off my campsite, only 11 feet deep. And the main channel off the boat ramp (which was unusable) was only about 30 feet deep. Islands appeared that are invisible in the springtime. I look forward to see it full next year.
Here’s the video. Starts out with romping around on the lake, and then goes to the hike up Pass Creek
Wrights Lake, in the Crystal Basin, just outside of Desolation Wilderness, is beautiful this time of year. This lake is just west of Lake Tahoe. Kate and I hadn’t been here in three years. The first time I came here in 2011 with the RV, all the waters were flowing. It was truly amazing seeing the water rushing over the granite. Kate missed that trip so she has only seen it in drought years. It’s still gorgeous.
It was a short trip, just the weekend with two nights here. When we arrived on Friday we took the dogs and walked the trail around the lake. Even though the lake was down, it wasn’t enough to take away from the view. And its always nice to check out the cool cabins on the lake. Lucky people, have 20 year leases from the USFS. What a sweet scene they have. We noticed many of the trees that had blown down a couple years ago during a huge windstorm. Amazing how so many had actually been uprooted. Much had been cleaned up but you could still see some of the devatation.
The second day, Saturday, we got up early and did our favorite hike up into the granite and Twin Lakes. Its about eight miles round trip and we decided Biggs could do it. We brought both dogs and they didn’t disappoint us. They were full of energy all the way till the end, but they did sleep quite well that night. Clouds started coming in when we had lunch at our destination, and there was a forecast of rain possibly in the afternoon, so we headed back down right afterwards. No rain, but better to be safe. Total time was six hours, four hours walking time according to my GPS. Altitude at Twin Lakes is 8,000 feet.
Weather was perfect, with a chilly 35 degrees Friday night but warming to the 50s and 60s during the days. Kate made some great hot toddies, Kathleen style, that were just perfect in the evening while we played Qwerkle. The last night it rained and wind really howled, leaving me with visions of a tree or two coming crashing down on our camper. We awoke to no problems and a clear morning, however.
This trip I tried a feature on a new little Cannon camera I got (SX700 HS). It captures a short 2-4 second video each time you shoot a still and then stitches them together. So I decided to make a video of our walk around the lake the first day, and then document our hike up to Twin Lakes the second day. Its really a pretty shitty video, so I added some music. But my hope is that the viewer can get a bit of a feel for the hikes. One problem I had was I didnt know when the camera did the the 4 second video; before, after or during the shot. Turns out its before. At any rate, any dialogue that you might pick up will, undoubtedly, be fractured and disjointed. I think the pictures are better (farther down below) and most taken with my better camera, my Lumix FZ200, … but its only a five minute video so do check it out.
I got this sweet shot up at Jackson Meadows Reservoir in late August, 2015. I just really like it.
Our first campout this year at Loon Lake, and due to the drought we found it to be at the 50% level. Highly unusual since this lake, on opening day is usually full to the tree line. Apparently the powers that be decided to dump half of it into Union Valley Reservoir. Not sure why. Also, this time I tried a bigger, more private site at the end of the campground, #28. It was terrific.
This time Atticus joined Kate and I, our grandson, for the first couple days. We played Qwerke (Atticus was amazing!) and Chicken Foot, swam, went kayaking, fished, looked for bones, climbed rocks and did lots of hiking. I think he had a great time, I know I really enjoyed having him along. When he left on Sunday morning with Kate and Biggs, Ben was quite sad, until he hit the water, then all sense of loss was gone. Ben did a whole lot of swimming this time but never tired of it. He absolutely LOVES the water.
Weather was really hot. Got up to 95 in the Rv, 87 in the shade. So we had to run the AC one night for half an hour just to cool it down. Also lots of bugs. Kate and I went home with too many itchy red spots. I think Atticus didnt get as bit. I hope not.
I didn’t do great in the fishing department but did catch two nice trout while kayak trolling in the morning. I did “catch & release” to Kate’s dismay. It rained on Sunday after they left, and I then found holes in this 30 year old RV awning, which I quickly patched with good ole’ duck tape. Worked good enough. I’ll probably have to replace it after the season is over. Only other event was I found a frog on the kitchen counter one morning and had a mouse (or chipmonk) visit in the night and tear up the toilet paper in the commode. I’m going back again in a week and I surely hope there are less bugs this time. Also will bring a bigger fan. The rocks and boulders were quite challenging getting that heavy kayak down to the water but I did finally find a path thru the woods that was relatively smooth for the wheels. Rather out of the way but at least doable.
June 7 -10th. Jackson Meadows second trip this year. This time I was in site #30. An awesome view, nicely private (thats why it’s called the honeymoon site), plenty of shade where you want it and sun where you need it for the solar panels. But … a pretty steep hike down to the lake. Not far, but steep.
Weather was great up until Tuesday afternoon when it clouded over and began raining around 7pm. Also with thunder and lightening which, as usual, freaked Ben out completely. He seemed to feel the safest place to be was tucked in the leg area of the passenger seat side of the RV. That is until his calming meds kicked in, and I was able to coax him to his bed.
The Yeti and solar panels worked great and kept my rv batteries totally charged the entire time. Pictures below show the setup for the Yeti relative to the batteries and the nice spot I was able to set the panels.
Fishing was not great but good enough. I caught three trout but decided to do the “catch and release” route this time. I very much dislike killing fish. As usual, the kayaking early in the morning, with the lake like glass was just fantastic, whether I caught fish or not. I put the dogs in “Doug” the RV and give them a pigs ear to chew, hoping to keep them busy enough to not complain when I go fishing. However, Biggs would have none of that business the second day. He musta barked for an hour and a half inside the RV while I was on the lake. I could hear him all the way on the opposite side. Luckily he didn’t really bother the neighbors, and there really weren’t many in the campground anyway (midweek and just before school is out). This time I found good fishing in the relatively shallower water to the left of the campsite near the end of the finger. Tried several lures, however the only thing that worked was the SEPS dodger followed by a fat worm.
Here are the pics. I took all with my little Lumix this time. I like to always bring it with me, just in case but didn’t think I would be doing much photography since I have been here a zillion times now, so didn’t take my better camera on hikes etc. The normal posers, Ben and Biggs, are in many of these as usual.
Wouldn’t ya know we have another terrible drought year with nil rain all winter, but when it does rain, its on the Memorial Day weekend. My first campout this year. Oh well, I love weather anyway. I find it fascinating. Plus it really only rained a lot on the first day and nite. Also made for beautiful cloud formations.
I had my lucky site #34 however, with regard with to the fishing… not so lucky. I got skunked. Zilsch. One strike is all with four days of fishing from both the kayak and from the shore. What worked last fall, yielded natha this time around. But trolling in my kayak early in the morning while the lake was smooth as glass and the sunlight beginning to spread across the lake and the only sounds were my paddles hitting the water and the sounds of a wide variety of birds singing …. was absolutely delightful.
Next year I will book it after Memorial Day weekend. Way too many people. A huge group of friends (not mine) from Reno took up almost the entire loop I was in . Probably 30-40 kids and 20 dogs, all running thru my campsite on their way to the lake. Baseball games, horseshoes, and some other thing that just seemed to make a lot of noise. They did paddle boarding, kayaking, canoeing, biking endlessly around the campground loop and splashed around in the freezing water while the outside temp was about 60 at best. Little kids sure can handle the cold. Anyway, it was kind of fun to see everyone enjoying themselves so I let it be. Kate loves the sound of children playing, for me … eh, its ok for a while. But Monday after everyone left and only two other campers in my loop… it was awesome. So quiet and peaceful, I was sad to leave on Tuesday.
First day I got there I was lucky to have a break in the rain while I got my camp set up. But shortly after it started raining again and continued thru the entire night. I thought the lake was going to rise and take away my kayak. That was a useless worry. Metal roofs really allow you to listen to the rain, which is nice … for a while. The next morning it did stop, I went fishing, and Kate arrived around 11. Rain off and on, so we played Qwerkle inside when it was too wet outside. Took a nice hike up Passe Creek which is running just great right now. Waterfalls look terrific. Saw some bizarre mushrooms that look like the formation of pods from the “Invasion of the body snatchers” movie. Kate brought dinner of some amazing shrimp and lemon linguini pasta dish. Wow, it was amazing. She left early the next morning since Memorial Day is a big weekend at the cemetery so she had to work. We only live an hour and 45 away so its rather convenient.
This trip I got to try out three new addons to my old RV (now known as Doug). A Goal Zero Yeti 150 and two Boulder 15 Solar panels. Worked great keeping Doug’s batteries charged and recharging my laptop so I could finish Game of Thrones Season 4. Also in electrical, I installed numerous LED lights throughout which gave off more light and took a lighter toll on the batteries. For heat, since Doug’s heater is extremely temperamental not to mention a power drawer, I got a Mr. Heater Buddy … which works off LPG canisters and totally kept us warm while it was in the 30s outside.
Anyway, here are the photos..
After our first rain in weeks, I wandered up the road and felt I needed to capture the beauty of the Iris before they leave for another year. They are truly an amazing creation of nature. So incredibly intricate. So sensual.
In March, Kate and I took off for a couple days stay at the Beachcomber Motel in Ft. Bragg. The winter of 2015 has been the driest ever, but the forecast for “our” few days was rain, so we left our bikes and the dogs at home. Other than driving rain when we arrived and checked in, the rest of the time was perfect. Our room was on the ground floor facing the ocean and right on the trail that goes from Glass Beach, in town, to MacKerricher State Beach to the north. Plus, this time of year the whales are migrating north and from our little patio we easily saw several of them.
Right next to the motel is a Trestle Bridge that originally was for the private railroad used to transport lumber to ships. The old rail bed is now the trail right outside our room. So we hiked the trail and the headlands but it would have been perfect for bikes so next time we’ll bring them. Also we would upgrade to the upper level which is easily worth the extra ten bucks given the private deck and higher view. We had great food at Taka, a Japanese Sushi place, and North Coast Brewing Co. while in Ft. Bragg and some awesome clam chowder at Spud Point Crab Co. in Bodega Bay, near the marina.
Lots of old abandoned or run down buildings. Some on priceless ocean property. Ya gotta wonder what happened that someone just walked away from these places and let them go back to nature. Even in Ft. Bragg, we walked by houses that were just left to ruin, even with evidence that someone was living inside and looked to be afflicted with hoarder disorder. Some of these places looked downright scary. You just had to wonder who could live like that. Anyway, here are some choice ones. I wish I had captured even more.
We saw seals, coastal birds, whales, wildflowers, Cabrillo Point lighthouse, tidepools at McKerritcher, beautiful sandy beaches, tiny blue jelly fish, and a gorgeous coastline. Another great trip.
