Mount Madonna County ParkDecember 21, 2010
posted 01/04/11 - Here's my typical final take-a-step-back-and-look-around habitats post, even though I have several other pics to ID from this excursion, which I may backdate at a later time. Visiting friends and family over the holidays took precedence over keeping up with blogging, as it should be. I haven't even gotten to my cool pics in San Francisco on Christmas Day.
I've said it numerous times before how I almost canceled this trip due to severe winter weather forecasts (i.e., on the CA coast, this term means heavy rain and lots of wind). I am so glad Andy talked me into keeping our yurt reservations. Despite the potential cold, a part of me hoped to have some snow before Christmas, since Mt. Madonna gets a decent dusting a couple times a winter. No luck on that front. After expressing concerns about keeping warm and dry, a friend showed up the night before our trip with a huge pile of dry wood and an axe to make kindling. Thank you, Steve!!! Having a campfire is one of my favorite things and the rain cooperated just enough so that I could make several decent fires to cook and warm ourselves. And, yes, we had 2 camping stoves as backup and more sandwich material than I'd like to eat again anytime soon. The hiking in the rain was incredible! As evidenced in my previous posts for this day, I saw life I've never seen before.
I guess I should mention the broken, moss covered steps in the first picture above were once the grand entrance to Henry Miller's summer home. Without his family's sale of the land to Santa Clara County, Mount Madonna County Park would not exist. The red ground is due to dead redwood needles. The last picture shows the view northwest towards Santa Cruz from near the entrance to the park at Hecker Pass.
I've said it numerous times before how I almost canceled this trip due to severe winter weather forecasts (i.e., on the CA coast, this term means heavy rain and lots of wind). I am so glad Andy talked me into keeping our yurt reservations. Despite the potential cold, a part of me hoped to have some snow before Christmas, since Mt. Madonna gets a decent dusting a couple times a winter. No luck on that front. After expressing concerns about keeping warm and dry, a friend showed up the night before our trip with a huge pile of dry wood and an axe to make kindling. Thank you, Steve!!! Having a campfire is one of my favorite things and the rain cooperated just enough so that I could make several decent fires to cook and warm ourselves. And, yes, we had 2 camping stoves as backup and more sandwich material than I'd like to eat again anytime soon. The hiking in the rain was incredible! As evidenced in my previous posts for this day, I saw life I've never seen before.
I guess I should mention the broken, moss covered steps in the first picture above were once the grand entrance to Henry Miller's summer home. Without his family's sale of the land to Santa Clara County, Mount Madonna County Park would not exist. The red ground is due to dead redwood needles. The last picture shows the view northwest towards Santa Cruz from near the entrance to the park at Hecker Pass.
6 comments:
That first shot of the steps looks like watermelon slices! :)
And your 3rd shot of the tree is just beautiful.
Hi, very beautiful pictures of that place.. seems to be very nice..
Greetings..
Love your photos, and your site!
Thanks for the laugh, twg. The steps with moss and redwood needles do look like watermelon slices!
D.s., when are you heading to the norther hemisphere for a visit?
Thank you, Jennifer. I'll get to your e-mail shortly.
Its like stepping back in time.. I love the moss cover steps.
be happy and well,
Pam
note, your blog is delightful, Katie.
Thank you very much for your comment, Pam. I'll be interested in reading your blog posts.
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